Before You Begin

Essential Question: How do precise movements relate to our ability to solve problems effectively?

Unit Understandings:

• The robot’s task determines the path it must follow and the orientation it needs.
• The robot can make absolute and relative movements.
• How to calculate the robot’s heading and determine which headings to turn to.

Standards Alignment

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

• 1B-CS-02: Model how computer hardware and software work together as a system to accomplish tasks.
• 1B-DA-07: Use data to highlight or propose cause-and-effect relationships, predict outcomes, or communicate an idea.
• 1B-AP-08: Compare and refine multiple algorithms for the same task and determine which is the most appropriate.
• 1B-AP-10: Create programs that include sequences, events, loops, and conditionals.
• 1B-AP-11: Decompose (break down) problems into smaller, manageable subproblems to facilitate the program development process.
• 1B-AP-15: Test and debug (identify and fix errors) a program or algorithm to ensure it runs as intended.
• 2-AP-15: Seek and incorporate feedback from team members and users to refine a solution that meets user needs.
• 2-AP-19: Document programs in order to make them easier to follow, test, and debug.
• 3A-AP-22: Design and develop computational artifacts working in team roles using collaborative tools.

View additional standards from ISTE, Common Core, NGSS, and other standards bodies as well as descriptions of how and where each of these standards are met in this unit here.

Materials Needed (per group):

• VEX AIM Coding Robot
• One Stick Controller
• 3 orange barrels
• 3 blue barrels
• AprilTag ID 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4
• AIM Field (4 tiles and 8 walls)
• VEXcode AIM
• A computer
• Robot Protractor (per student)
• Journal (per student)

Suggested Time for this Unit: 6-9 Sessions

While pacing will vary classroom to classroom, suggested timing can help you plan effectively. A ‘session’ is considered approximately 45-50 minutes. You know your students best, so adjust timing as needed to best meet the needs of your students in your setting.

• Introduction: 1 session
• Lesson 1: 1-2 sessions
• Lesson 2: 1 session
• Lesson 3: 1-2 sessions
• Unit Challenge: 2-3 sessions

After students have watched the video, facilitate a whole-class discussion to elicit students' observations and prepare them for co-creating learning targets for the unit.

• Ask students to share their observations and ideas based on the video, encouraging them to back them up with reasoning. Remind students to apply what they learned previously about the way the robot interacts with objects, including the magnet and the kicker, to add details to their explanations.
• As students share their questions and ideas, help students frame their wonderings as productive scientific questions, ensuring each of the Unit Understandings for this unit are included.
• Guide students to consider the skills and understandings they might need to complete the challenge, as they will use these as they co-create learning targets. 

Next, help students to make a real-world connection to the content in this unit and to engage prior knowledge using the following prompt:  What are some examples of industries that might use robots for precise navigation?

• In a busier city, students might recognize autonomous delivery robots.
• In communities with hospitals, they might be familiar with the idea of robotic surgical assistants.
• In a farming region, they might be aware of GPS-guided tractors, or crop monitoring drones.

Students may relate back to the earlier unit where precision was discussed. Those examples and connections should also be used to create a thread back to students' prior learning.

Guide students as a whole-class through the process of co-creating learning targets.

1. Brainstorm with students what they will need to know to complete the activities shown in the video above. Frame these as “I can” statements.
   1. Example “I can” statements for this unit include:
      1. I can use VEXcode AIM to code my robot to turn in a specific direction.
      2. I can plan a path for my robot to collect and place barrels.
2. Co-create learning targets based on that list.

For more guidance on co-creating learning targets with your students, see this VEX Library Article.