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Engage

Launch the Engage Section

ACTS is what the teacher will do and ASKS is how the teacher will facilitate.

ACTS ASKS
  1. Hold up the robot and show students the 123 Field with the zoo map. Have students share the animals they would most like to see at the zoo.
  2. Have students share what they know about coding the robot using the Touch buttons. 
  3. Hold up the Coder with the example project from slide 7 of the Lab 1 Image Slideshow (Google Doc / .docx/ .pdf)
  4. Guide students' whole group exploration of the Coder by having students share observations about the Coder and the Coder cards, what they might do in the example project, and why the Coder is a useful tool.
  5. Place the 123 Robot on the zoo map field at the Zoo Entrance location, and project or display the Side by Side planning printable for students to see. 
  1. Guess what? Our robot is going to take a Field trip to the zoo! It's very excited to see the animals. What animals would you like to see at the zoo?
  2. The robot is especially excited to see the lions,  the tigers and the bears. And, as you know, the robot can only move if we code it to move! So we are going to have to code our robot to drive to the animals it wants to see. How would we code our robot to visit the animals?

  3. What if I told you that we could code our robot to visit the animals without pressing any of the Touch buttons on the robot? We can do it using the 123 Coder!

  4. What do you notice about the Coder? What do you think these cards are used for? What do you think the robot would do if we ran this project using the Coder? Why do you think it is a good idea to use the Coder to code our 123 robot?

  5. The robot really wants to visit the lions first, so we'd better get started. But, before we learn to use the Coder, first we need to plan a project to move the robot from the zoo entrance to the lions using the Touch buttons. Later we'll learn how to do the same thing using the Coder!

Engage

  1. InstructInstruct students that you are now going to work as a group to code the robot to visit the lions using the Touch buttons on the robot. First you will plan each step on the path that the robot must take, and then you will assign a button press to each step. Watch the animation below to see how the touch buttons can be used to move the robot from the zoo entrance to the lion.

    The robot begins in the third square from the left on the second row from the bottom of the Zoo Field. A finger presses the Move button on the robot, followed by the Right button and then the Move button again. The robot moves forward one square, turns right, and moves forward on more square to stop on the lion.

  2. DistributeDistribute the Side by Side Planning Printable, a 123 Robot, and a Field to each group. Have students wake their 123 Robots. View the following animation to show how to wake the 123 Robot by pushing it forward with its wheels on a surface. The robot makes a startup sound and the light in its center flashes to indicate the robot is awake.
  3. FacilitateFacilitate by guiding students as a class through the process of planning the path the robot should take to reach the lions, using the Side by Side Planning Printable.

    Blank Touch to Coder sheet for Lab 1. Rows of bubbles of the 4 Robot commands can be colored in to represent a program.
    Side By Side Planning Printable

     Decompose the path into each individual step the robot should take, one at at time. As you talk students through the process, point out each step the robot should take on the Field using the zoo map.
     

    Top down view of the Zoo Field Setup for Lab 1, which consists of a 2 by 2 square of 123 Field Tiles. A zoo entrance sign and three animals are marked on the field: a lion, a tiger, and a bear. The zoo entrance sign is 2 to the right and 1 up from the bottom left corner. The lion is 4 to the right and 2 up from the bottom left corner. The tiger is 6 to the right and 2 up from the bottom left corner. Finally, the bear is 1 to the right and 4 up from the bottom left corner.
    Zoo Field Setup
    • Invite students to identify the first step the robot should take (Drive forward)
    • Instruct students to color in the button press that corresponds to that behavior on their printable.
    • Continue this process through the next two steps: (Turn right, Drive forward).

    Once you have finished planning the path with the whole group, have students code the robot using the Touch buttons, and run the code to test. 

  4. OfferOffer students a reminder to share responsibilities by having one student fill in the printable, and the other press the buttons on the 123 Robot.

Teacher Troubleshooting

Facilitation Strategies

  • During the environment set up, the teacher should have the zoo map set up on the 123 Field for each group before beginning the Lab. Students can color the Zoo Animals Printable prior to starting the lab, if desired.
  • Reinforce the idea with students that each button press corresponds to one behavior on the robot, and that planning a path before coding can help them to code their robot more easily and successfully. This will help to facilitate the transition from coding with the Touch buttons to coding with the Coder.
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