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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 students to build the Clock.

 1 per group

Lab 4 Image Slideshow Google / .pptx / .pdf

For teacher and student context and inspiration during the Lab.
 

 1 for teacher facilitation

Clock Build Instructions

For students to build the Clock.

 1 per group

Clock printout

 To create clock face. 1 per group

Robotics Roles & Routines Google / .docx / .pdf

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

 1 per group

Data Collection Sheet (Google / .docx / .pdf) or Lab 4 Data Collection Sheet Example (Google / .docx / .pdf)

Editable Google Doc for students to record observations about the movement of gears. 

 2 per group

Pre-built Clock

For teachers to demonstrate the movement of the gears.

 1 for classroom demonstration

Pencils

For students to fill out the Robotics Roles & Routines Sheet and the Data Collection Sheet.

 1 per group

Pin Tool

To help remove pins or pry beams apart.

 1 per group

Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! PDF Book (optional)

 To read with students to introduce them to VEX GO through a story and introductory build. 1 for demonstration purposes

Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! Teacher's Guide (optional) Google / .pptx / .pdf

For additional prompts when introducing students to VEX GO with the PDF Book. 1 for teacher use

Engage

Begin the lab by engaging with the students.

  1. Hook

    Show students the video in the Lab 4 slideshow of two gears of the same size meshed together. Ask the students what they notice about the gears and how they move? Have you ever seen gears before? Define ‘gear’ and ‘meshing’ for students.

    • Gears are a wheel with teeth used to transfer or receive force.
    • Meshing is when two or more gears are connected with their teeth.

    Note: If students are new to VEX GO, use the Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! PDF book and Teacher’s Guide (Google / .pptx / .pdf) to introduce them to learning and building with VEX GO. Add an additional 10-15 minutes to your lesson time to accommodate this additional activity. 

  2. Leading Question

    How can gears help us do work? How many gears do you think will be needed to make our Clock do work?

  3. Build Students will use build instructions to build the Clock.

Play

Allow students to explore the concepts introduced.

Part 1

Groups turn the handle and observe the force created through the gears to the Clock’s hands. Students will record their observations on their Data Collection Sheet. Observations will note which gears turn faster or slower than the gear before or after.

Mid-Play Break

Discuss the results of the investigation from Play Part 1. How did the different gears affect the motions of the clock? Groups will make their predictions for the next two gears using their observations from Play Part 1. These predictions will be recorded on the Data Collection Sheet.

Part 2

Students will add an additional gear to the face of the Clock with teacher guidance. Then, students will test their predictions of the new output gear.
 

Share

Allow students to discuss and display their learning.

Discussion Prompts

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