Cubelets Makerspace Lesson Plan
Project Title: Hide-and-Seek Cubes
Setting:
The project can be adapted to nearly any setting. In this case it is being developed as a stand-alone project and thus fits best with a public library setting, but it could also be incorporated into a broader class introducing students to the world of programming and computer science and thus readily be used in a scholastic setting as part of a larger lesson.
Target Audience:
Children (7-9+) and teens would be the focus, but the project can be adapted to any age group.
Skills Needed:
The ability to connect blocks and a willingness to experiment are all that would be needed.
Difficulty level:
1-2
Content area:
Programming and Computer Science, as well as simple Robotics
Subject:
Basic programming and robotics
Source:
Modular Robotics (2014). Cubelets. Retrieved from http://www.modrobotics.com/cubelets/
Standards for Learning – expectations for student learning:
Library/Information standards:
YALSA Guidelines:
Essential questions for learning:
Objective:
Students will have a very basic understanding of how programming works and how it relates to robotics.
Lesson overview:
The lesson here would consist of dividing the group into teams of two. Each team would then have a goal, either to build a robot that will chase the other team’s robot, or to build a robot that will flee from and hide from the other team’s robot. This serves primarily to introduce students to the basic concepts of building and programming a robot, with time allotted thereafter to allow groups to experiment and explore with the blocks to see what sorts of robots they can create.
Groups would then participate in a final discussion where each would be invited to discuss their thoughts and experiences and talk about what they learned about programming and robotics, with the librarian offering guidance and clarifications where necessary. During this process, individuals would be asked to write down their thoughts and questions in brief, this serving as a way to encourage them to crystalize their thoughts and ideas and thus feel more comfortable pursuing them in discussion.
At the end, the librarian would relate the discussion back to the library’s collection by bringing in books related to the topics and encouraging individuals to use these and others as a means of further pursuing their interests.
Materials needed:
Planning and teaching responsibilities:
Librarian:
Lesson activities:
All times can be adjusted as necessary.
Assessments:
As this activity is not a formal academic activity, the role of assessment becomes drastically more informal. Rather than attempting to reduce students to a rubric and a range of numbers and letters, the focus instead is on encouraging individual curiosity and knowledge such that individuals gain a hunger for more and pursue these topics further on their own time. Thus there is little place for summative assessment, but formative assessment can be incorporated to a degree both in the form of the question and discussion session and also with the process of asking students to write down their thoughts and submit them, this encouraging them to crystallize their thoughts, questions, and curiosities.
From the librarian’s perspective, the project can be judged a success if participants were inspired to be creative and curious and were able to gain a rudimentary understanding of programming and robotics. While the project only acts as an entry point for individuals, it nonetheless should serve to inspire some to pursue the topics further and thus in turn opening the door to future advanced sessions. Thus the maker space becomes symbiotic with the library itself, the library providing a space in which individuals can do research while the maker space becomes a laboratory in which they can experiment and explore their knowledge in a practical way, solidifying and furthering their understanding such that they can do further research, more experimentation, and so on in an ever-advancing cycle.
Setting:
The project can be adapted to nearly any setting. In this case it is being developed as a stand-alone project and thus fits best with a public library setting, but it could also be incorporated into a broader class introducing students to the world of programming and computer science and thus readily be used in a scholastic setting as part of a larger lesson.
Target Audience:
Children (7-9+) and teens would be the focus, but the project can be adapted to any age group.
Skills Needed:
The ability to connect blocks and a willingness to experiment are all that would be needed.
Difficulty level:
1-2
Content area:
Programming and Computer Science, as well as simple Robotics
Subject:
Basic programming and robotics
Source:
Modular Robotics (2014). Cubelets. Retrieved from http://www.modrobotics.com/cubelets/
Standards for Learning – expectations for student learning:
Library/Information standards:
- 1.2.3 Demonstrate creativity by using multiple resources and formats
- 2.1.1 Continue an inquiry based research process by applying critical thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions and create new knowledge.
- 2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world.
YALSA Guidelines:
- 2. Play and Learning with Media and Technology
- 3. Developing Information Access and Research Skills
Essential questions for learning:
- How do modules (cubes) interact?
- How can modules be adapted to accomplish different goals?
- How do robots “think”?
- If a combination of modules doesn’t work as imagined, then why?
- How does this relate to programming—for example, if-then statements?
Objective:
Students will have a very basic understanding of how programming works and how it relates to robotics.
Lesson overview:
The lesson here would consist of dividing the group into teams of two. Each team would then have a goal, either to build a robot that will chase the other team’s robot, or to build a robot that will flee from and hide from the other team’s robot. This serves primarily to introduce students to the basic concepts of building and programming a robot, with time allotted thereafter to allow groups to experiment and explore with the blocks to see what sorts of robots they can create.
Groups would then participate in a final discussion where each would be invited to discuss their thoughts and experiences and talk about what they learned about programming and robotics, with the librarian offering guidance and clarifications where necessary. During this process, individuals would be asked to write down their thoughts and questions in brief, this serving as a way to encourage them to crystalize their thoughts and ideas and thus feel more comfortable pursuing them in discussion.
At the end, the librarian would relate the discussion back to the library’s collection by bringing in books related to the topics and encouraging individuals to use these and others as a means of further pursuing their interests.
Materials needed:
- Cubelets sets of a number depending on group size. A minimum of two sets would be advisable, with the group taking turns if necessary.
- Books related to the topics of robotics and programming for the intended age group.
Planning and teaching responsibilities:
Librarian:
- Set up Cubelets station
- Prepare questions for discussion
- Give students a quick introduction to Cubelets and how they function.
- Observe teams and provide assistance where necessary, but try to encourage groups to solve their own problems.
- Encourage discussion afterward and clarify how this demonstrates the fundamentals of programming and robotics.
- Relate group interests to the library collection, potentially bringing a few example books which individuals can read to further pursue their curiosity.
Lesson activities:
- Setup and preparation (10-15 minutes)
- Introduction (5 minutes)
- Team Cubelets building (15 minutes)
- Team Cubelets competition (10 minutes)
- Open Cubelets experimentation/free-building (15 minutes)
- Closing discussion and questions (10-15 minutes)
All times can be adjusted as necessary.
Assessments:
As this activity is not a formal academic activity, the role of assessment becomes drastically more informal. Rather than attempting to reduce students to a rubric and a range of numbers and letters, the focus instead is on encouraging individual curiosity and knowledge such that individuals gain a hunger for more and pursue these topics further on their own time. Thus there is little place for summative assessment, but formative assessment can be incorporated to a degree both in the form of the question and discussion session and also with the process of asking students to write down their thoughts and submit them, this encouraging them to crystallize their thoughts, questions, and curiosities.
From the librarian’s perspective, the project can be judged a success if participants were inspired to be creative and curious and were able to gain a rudimentary understanding of programming and robotics. While the project only acts as an entry point for individuals, it nonetheless should serve to inspire some to pursue the topics further and thus in turn opening the door to future advanced sessions. Thus the maker space becomes symbiotic with the library itself, the library providing a space in which individuals can do research while the maker space becomes a laboratory in which they can experiment and explore their knowledge in a practical way, solidifying and furthering their understanding such that they can do further research, more experimentation, and so on in an ever-advancing cycle.