Summary

Materials Needed

The following is a list of all the materials and teaching resources that are needed to complete the VEX 123 Lab. First listed are the materials needed for the entire Lab, including the 123 Robot. In certain Labs, links to teaching resources in a slideshow format have been included. Not all Labs will include a slideshow. These slides can help provide context and inspiration for your students. All slides are editable, and can be projected for students or used as a teacher resource.

Materials	Purpose	Recommendation
123 Robot	To use in Play Part 2 to create and run a project. Also, during engage to test how it is affected by motion and force.	1 per group
VEXcode 123	To create a project to run on the 123 Robot.	1 per group
Device	To run VEXcode 123.	1 per group
Lab 1 Image Slideshow	For teacher facilitation.	1 per class
Recycled Materials (paper, cardboard, pipe cleaners)	To create a bridge in Play Part 1.	Recycled materials need to be used by every group. Depending on the size of the classroom differs for the amount of materials needed.
123 Tiles	For both Play Sections as a foundation and the walls will give students the same height for their bridge to go over.	1 per group

Environment Setup

Organize a station to hand out materials for making the bridge.
Allow students to shop for materials in order to limit excessive use of materials.
Create a space for your tiles to be set up.

Engage

Begin the lab by engaging with the students.

Hook
There are a lot of kids on the playground at recess. Pretend you are trying to go on the swings, how do you get there?

Can you think of a time when you had to solve a problem? What did you do to solve the problem?
Demonstrate
The teacher will demonstrate how the 123 Robot can push or pull an object. Teacher will explain how motion and force works with the 123 Robot.
Leading Question
Do you think we could help the 123 Robot solve a problem?

Play

Allow students to explore the concepts introduced.

Part 1

Teacher will introduce the design challenge. Students will build a bridge using recycled materials. Students will have guidelines. Teams will work together to build a bridge that goes over the tile’s wall.

Mid-Play Break

Class will have a gallery walk of bridges.

Part 2

Students will complete a final challenge to use what they know about motion and force to get their 123 Robot up and over the bridge. Students will work on coding with partners to solve the challenge.

Allow students to discuss and display their learning.

Active Share

Allow students to put bridges together as a class and create a large obstacle course for teams to program through using 123 Robot.

Discussion Prompts

What successes did you have during any of the three challenges?
What did you find harder than other things? Why do you think some challenges were harder than others?
Where do you see force and motion in real life?

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