Engage

Launch the Engage Section

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

ACTS	ASKS
Have students share their experiences with one another. As students share things they have created, you may want to note things they've built on the board. Use experiences from school that students may be familiar with, to help them think of the uses for their creations, like science projects, coding club, or STEM class. Write the word STEM on the board, and note students' ideas of Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) concepts or explorations they could engage in by building and creating. Some ideas could include learning about how a clock works, practicing coding, exploring math and concepts like measurement or angles, science experiments, etc. Show students a VEX GO Kit, and have them point out similarities to other building or creative mediums they've used. Encourage students to ask questions about what they see, and to share what they are curious about.	Have you ever made something out of loose pieces, like bricks or blocks, at school or at home? Have you ever made something that had moving parts or pieces? What was it? What kinds of things did you do with your builds? Did you do any experiments, or races, or coding, or look at how things worked? If we were to build and create things in our classroom, with moving parts and pieces, what kinds of things could we learn about? What STEM learning could we do together? We have something new in our classroom, that is going to help us be STEM thinkers, and it's called VEX GO! Do you see anything in this kit that reminds you of something you've used before? Do you see anything that looks interesting or exciting to you?

ACTS

ASKS

Have students share their experiences with one another.
As students share things they have created, you may want to note things they've built on the board.
Use experiences from school that students may be familiar with, to help them think of the uses for their creations, like science projects, coding club, or STEM class.
Write the word STEM on the board, and note students' ideas of Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) concepts or explorations they could engage in by building and creating. Some ideas could include learning about how a clock works, practicing coding, exploring math and concepts like measurement or angles, science experiments, etc.
Show students a VEX GO Kit, and have them point out similarities to other building or creative mediums they've used. Encourage students to ask questions about what they see, and to share what they are curious about.

Have you ever made something out of loose pieces, like bricks or blocks, at school or at home?
Have you ever made something that had moving parts or pieces? What was it?
What kinds of things did you do with your builds? Did you do any experiments, or races, or coding, or look at how things worked?
If we were to build and create things in our classroom, with moving parts and pieces, what kinds of things could we learn about? What STEM learning could we do together?
We have something new in our classroom, that is going to help us be STEM thinkers, and it's called VEX GO! Do you see anything in this kit that reminds you of something you've used before? Do you see anything that looks interesting or exciting to you?

Getting the Students Ready to Build

Before we dive right into building, I've got a book to share with you to introduce us all to VEX GO together.

Facilitate the Build

InstructInstruct students that they are going to be introduced to their VEX GO Kits through the Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! story, and activity. Have students join their groups, as this will be interactive.
DistributeDistribute VEX GO Kits to each group. Tell students to keep their kits closed for now, and that they will be opening them up to find pieces and build something as the story progresses. Distribute the Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! PDF book and Teacher's Guide for demonstration purposes.

Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! Teacher's Guide
FacilitateFacilitate reading Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! to the class, and have students follow along with the building activity within.
Facilitate student engagement using the prompts provided in the Teacher's Guide, as you read each page.
- To focus on VEX GO connections in a more concrete or tangible way, use the Share, Show or Find prompts on each page to give students an opportunity to get to know their kits in more depth.
- To focus on the habits of mind that support building and learning with VEX GO, like persistence, patience, and teamwork, use the Think prompts on each page to engage students in conversations about mindset and strategies to support successful group work and creative thinking.
Facilitate students' building J.O.S.H. using their VEX GO Kit pieces.
- You may want to project the pages of the Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! book for students to be able to view the build instructions more clearly.
- You can use a VEX GO Kit to build alongside your students and model how to create the J.O.S.H. build for them.
- Use the prompts in the Teacher's Guide to help you engage students as they are building.
OfferOffer positive reinforcement for students who are engaging in the story and discussion prompts and following directions. Highlight student behavior, like turn taking, and keeping materials organized, to help set the tone for working with VEX GO in your classroom.

Teacher Troubleshooting

You can show students that the "arms" on J.O.S.H. can be connected to the front or back of the Orange Connector. Have students move the arms to practice using the pins or the Pin Tool.

Facilitation Strategies

Keep students' excitement about VEX GO growing by offering the "Keep GOing" activities at the end of the Teacher's Guide as follow up activities after the Lab, or in a Learning Center. These activities are designed to allow students to continue to explore VEX GO after the initial introduction. They can be used in conjunction with any of the Labs in this Unit by individual students, small groups, or as a whole class activity.
You may want to print the Teacher's Guide and add it to your VEX GO space in the classroom, to be able to reference the discussion prompts, or build instructions for J.O.S.H. at any time while using VEX GO.
Add the Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! book to your classroom library, STEM space, or VEX GO learning center so that students can revisit it and read it on their own, as they gain familiarity with VEX GO.

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