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Summary

Materials Needed

The following is a list of all the materials that are needed to complete the VEX GO Lab. These materials include student facing materials as well as teacher facilitation materials. It is recommended that you assign two students to each VEX GO Kit.

In some Labs, links to teaching resources in a slideshow format have been included. These slides can help provide context and inspiration for your students. Teachers will be guided in how to implement the slides with suggestions throughout the lab. All slides are editable, and can be projected for students or used as a teacher resource. To edit the Google Slides, make a copy into your personal Drive and edit as needed.

Other editable documents have been included to assist in implementing the Labs in a small group format. Print the worksheets as is or copy and edit those documents to suit the needs of your classroom. Example Data Collection sheet setups have been included for certain experiments as well as the original blank copy. While they offer suggestions for setup, these documents are all editable to best suit your classroom and the needs of your students.

Materials Purpose Recommendation

VEX GO Kit

For building a launch pad.

 1 per group

VEX GO Tiles

For building a launch pad.

 1 per group

Robotics Roles & Routines

Google Doc / .docx / .pdf

Editable Google Doc for organizing group work and best practices for using the VEX GO Kit.

 1 per group

Lab 3 Image Slideshow

Google Doc / .pptx / .pdf

For teacher and student context and inspiration during the Lab.

 1 per group

Pencils

For students to document their design ideas and fill out the Robotics Roles & Routines worksheet.

 1 per student

Paper or Blueprint Worksheet

Google Doc / .docx / .pdf

Editable Google Doc for students to document their launch pad design ideas and their build instructions.

 1 per student

Pin Tool

To help remove pins or pry beams apart.

 1 per group

Engage

Begin the lab by engaging with the students.

  1. Hook

    Ask how many of the students have walked across a bridge before? What was it like?
    Have they been across a bridge that felt wobbly or unstable?

    We want our Astronaut to safely get to their spaceship across the launch pad. Launch pads are similar to bridges because an astronaut must walk across the launch pad to get to the spaceship.

  2. Leading Question

    Ask students, “What are some things a bridge and launch pad must be able to do?”

  3. Build Explain what a beam and plate is before attaching them to a GO Tile.
    Note to students that they need to use balance and stability to get their astronaut safely across the launch pad.

Play

Allow students to explore the concepts introduced.

Part 1

Students will join with another group to design and build their launch pad. The only constraint is that the launch pad must bridge the gap between two GO Tiles.

Mid-Play Break

Discuss the student builds from Play Part 1. Ask them how their designs could have been made stronger. Encourage students to use spatial vocabulary when explaining. Discuss the concepts of stability and balance.

Part 2

After students have discussed their designs with the class, ask them to create build instructions for it. Once students are finished, encourage them to share their build and its instructions with the class. Encourage students to explain how their design is stable and balanced.

Share

Allow students to discuss and display their learning.

Discussion Prompts

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