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 the Motorized Robot Arm. |
2 per build |
Lab 2 Image Slideshow Google Doc / .pptx / .pdf |
For visual aids while teaching. |
1 per class |
Pre-build Robot Arm from Lab 1 (optional) |
For reference during Engage section. |
1 per class |
Motorized Robot Arm Build Instructions Motorized Robot Arm Add-On Build Instructions *Requires 2 VEX GO Kits |
For building the Motorized Robot Arm. |
1 per group, or 1 displayed for class |
Robotics Roles & Routines Google Doc / .docx / .pdf |
For organizing student roles within their groups. |
1 per group |
Paper or Blueprint Worksheet Google Doc / .docx / .pdf |
For completing written portions of the Lab. |
1 per group |
Writing Utensils |
For completing written portions of the Lab. |
1 per student |
To help remove pins or pry beams apart. |
1 per group |
Engage
Begin the lab by engaging with the students.
-
Hook
Students will compare manual movements versus moving things with motors. They will be asked if they get tired of doing something repeatedly. What if they had to hold a book in the air all day?
-
Leading Question
How can motors make the Robot Arm more useful?
-
Build Motorized Robot Arm
Play
Allow students to explore the concepts introduced.
Part 1
Students will move disks using the motors and switches on the Motorized Robot Arm build. They will break down the steps to move one disk to another location and write the step-by-step instructions for another group to follow.
Mid-Play Break
Ask students if they think their directions will be easy to follow for another group. Did they find it easy or hard to write directions? Why?
Part 2
Students will swap directions with another group. As they follow the directions of the other group, students will identify problems in the steps. After identifying the problems in the directions, students will be asked to edit the other group’s directions and try again.
Share
Allow students to discuss and display their learning.

Discussion Prompts
- Why is it important to be specific with directions?
- How many groups had perfect directions that could be followed?
- What were some problems that you saw in the directions you were given?
- Why might it be important to be specific when giving directions to robots?
- How did adding the motor change your robot arm?