Engage

Launch the Engage Section

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

ACTS	ASKS
Display an image of a human arm, bent at the elbow from the Lab 1 Slideshow (slide 2). Display an image of an industrial robotic arm, bent to show its movable joints (slide 3). Display both images side by side for comparison (slide 4). Mark on the image of the human arm (or on a sketch of the image) the points of movement and function as you talk about them with the students. Mark on the image of the robotic arm (or on a sketch of the image) the points of movement and function as you talk about them with the students.	Look at this human arm, and move and bend your own arms. How does an arm move? How far can you move your arm in each direction? That is your limit of movement. This is a robotic arm. What do you notice about this arm? How do you think it moves? What do you think it can do? Now, look at both of the arms, side by side. What similarities do you see between the human arm and the robotic arm? Let’s think about how arms move and pick things up. How do you pick things up? Which parts of your arm do that? Try picking up your pencil, what movements do you make when picking up the pencil? Which parts of the robotic arm do you think do these same actions? What movements have to happen for the robotic arm to bend, pick something up, and move it?

ACTS

ASKS

Display an image of a human arm, bent at the elbow from the Lab 1 Slideshow (slide 2).
Display an image of an industrial robotic arm, bent to show its movable joints (slide 3).
Display both images side by side for comparison (slide 4).
Mark on the image of the human arm (or on a sketch of the image) the points of movement and function as you talk about them with the students.
Mark on the image of the robotic arm (or on a sketch of the image) the points of movement and function as you talk about them with the students.

Look at this human arm, and move and bend your own arms. How does an arm move? How far can you move your arm in each direction? That is your limit of movement.
This is a robotic arm. What do you notice about this arm? How do you think it moves? What do you think it can do?
Now, look at both of the arms, side by side. What similarities do you see between the human arm and the robotic arm?
Let’s think about how arms move and pick things up. How do you pick things up? Which parts of your arm do that? Try picking up your pencil, what movements do you make when picking up the pencil?
Which parts of the robotic arm do you think do these same actions? What movements have to happen for the robotic arm to bend, pick something up, and move it?

How does a robotic arm relate to a human arm when it moves objects? Let’s build a Robot Arm and find out!

InstructInstruct students that this is a large build, so they are going to begin by just completing Steps 1-28 of the Build Instructions. Instruct students to join their team, and have them complete the Robotics Roles & Routines sheet. Use the Suggested Role Responsibilities slide in the Lab Image Slideshow as a guide for students to complete this sheet.
DistributeDistribute Robot Arm build instructions to each group or display them for the class. Journalists should gather the materials on the checklist.

Build the first half of the Robot Arm
FacilitateFacilitate the building process.
1. Builders can begin building.
2. Journalists should assist with build instructions as needed.
3. As students build, ask questions to prompt their thinking about the arm connections, like:
  1. What part of the arm do you think you are building?
  2. What kind of movement do you think this part of the arm will do?
OfferOffer suggestions and note positive team-building and problem-solving strategies as teams build together.

Teacher Troubleshooting

Look for the “Eyes” - Remind students to look for the special callouts in the build instructions for orientation of parts, and places where steps are replicated. This is a great job for the Journalist to do. Paying close attention during each individual step can prevent frustration later on if pieces need to be removed and changed because of the orientation.
Part on the Tile, Part off - The entirety of the build will be affixed to the tile, but much of the moving part of the Robot Arm will be assembled off the tile. Make sure that students realize that some steps are constructed independently, and will be connected to the tile later. Encourage student thinking about the nature of building by asking why they think the build is structured this way.
Understand the VEX GO Kit Pieces - View the Pieces of the GO Kit VEX Library article if you or students have questions about how the various pieces function in a build.

What part of the arm is this? As groups are working, and if they finish early, encourage students to think about what part of the arm they have built - and relate it to a human arm. How does it move so far? Is it more like your elbow or your wrist? What part do you think you will build next to make this more functional?
Change Roles in Play Part 1 - Since this is a large build, there are equal building components between Engage and Play Part 1. To give all students a chance to build, invite students to switch roles after Engage, so everyone engages in the building process.

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