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Implementing VEX GO STEM Labs

STEM Labs are designed to be the online teacher’s manual for VEX GO. Like a printed teacher’s manual, the teacher-facing content of the STEM Labs provides all of the resources, materials, and information needed to be able to plan, teach, and assess with VEX GO. The Lab Image Slideshows are the student-facing companion to this material. For more detailed information about how to implement a STEM Lab in your classroom, see the Implementing VEX GO STEM Labs article.

Goals and Standards

Goals

Students will apply

  • How to create a VEXcode GO project to demonstrate the cycle of day and night
  • How to create a VEXcode GO project to model the position of the Earth's rotation every hour, to demonstrate why it appears the Sun is moving across the sky

Students will make meaning of

  • How a model can be used to demonstrate and explain scientific misconceptions, such as the idea that the Sun is moving across the sky
  • How to solve a problem using VEXcode GO

Students will be skilled at

  • Following Build Instructions to build the Code Day/Night VEX GO Build
  • Using the Code Day/Night VEX GO build to model how the Sun appears to move across the sky while the Earth rotates
  • Identifying the position of themselves on the Earth in relation to the Sun in one-hour increments
  • Configuring a custom robot in VEXcode GO
  • Connecting a Brain to a tablet or computer in VEXcode GO
  • Saving and naming projects in VEXcode GO
  • Adding VEXcode GO blocks to a project
  • Sequencing blocks in a project
  • Coding an individual motor in VEXcode GO
  • Using the LED light on the Eye Sensor in a VEXcode GO project
  • Changing parameters in VEXcode GO blocks

Students will know

  • That the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky over the course of a day is caused by the Earth's rotation, and not the actual movement of the Sun
  • How to use VEXcode GO with a custom robot to solve a problem
  • That the [Set eye light] block can be used to code the LED on the Eye Sensor
  • That the [Wait] block can be used to cause a VEXcode project to pause for a given amount of time
  • That the [Spin for] block can be used to rotate a motor for a certain number of degrees

Objective(s)

Objective

  1. Students will add the VEX GO Battery, Brain, and Eye Sensor to their model.
  2. Students will model the day/night cycle by adding a [Spin for] and [Wait] blocks to their project.
  3. Students will code the Earth in their model to spin and wait in 15 degree increments, representing the Earth's position for three consecutive hours of the day, then add on to their project in their groups to represent three more consecutive hours of the day. 
  4. Students will observe their project running on their model and use it to explain why it appears that the Sun is moving across the sky throughout the day.

Activity

  1. In Engage, students will swap out the Switch from their model for the VEX GO Brain, Battery, and Eye Sensor, as they build the Code Day/Night Build.
  2. Students will follow along, adding the [Spin for] and [Wait] blocks on to their VEXcode GO project to rotate the Earth so their dot is 180 degrees away from the Sun.
  3. In Play Part 2, students will follow along to create a project in VEXcode GO for the Earth to rotate and wait in 15 degree increments, using the [Spin for] and [Wait] Blocks.
  4. Students will observe the position of the Earth relative to the position of the Sun at each of the 15 degree increments.

Assessment

  1. In Engage students will build the Code Day/Night build, adding the Eye Sensor, the Brain and the Battery. 
  2. In Play Part 1, students will code their model so the the dot on the Earth will face 180 degrees away from the Sun and pause, then 180 more degrees back toward the Sun and pause. During the Mid-Play Break, they will describe how the code worked to make the model function correctly. 
  3. In Play Part 2, students will continue to build onto the project they began with their teacher so that their model shows the Earth spinning in 15 degree increments and pausing, illustrating the Earth's position relative to the sun for six consecutive hours.
  4. In the Share section, students will discuss how that Earth's relative position each hour causes the Sun to appear to be moving, but it is actually the Earth's rotation that is causing this illusion.

Connections to Standards