LEGO WeDo: Introducing Primary Students to Robotics with the Concept of Systems LEGO WeDo is a new robotic system designed for primary age children. This session will both review how WeDo was utilized in a 15-hour summer program for kindergarten through third graders and provide an interactive demonstration of the drag-and-drop block programming language. Steve Coxon College of William and Mary’s Center for Gifted Education, Williamsburg 1:45 – 3:15 PM Focus: K-3

Session overview Materials and format of 15 hour summer session (5, 3-hour days). – Organization, scheduling – Letters to parents – Concept mapping – Systems model – Frayer vocabulary Programming overview

LEGO WeDo: The science and engineering of robotics The Center for Gifted Education’s (CFGE) Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) 2009 Teacher: Steve Coxon; Assistant: Mr. Smith Dear students and families, I am very excited to be teaching this new robotics course! Before leaving the classroom to pursue my Ph.D. full-time at the College of William and Mary and to work at the CFGE, I served as a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) coach for five years at the elementary school where I taught fourth and fifth grade in southwest Virginia. I have also served as a mentor to new coaches and as an FLL competition judge at both the local and state levels. When I saw that LEGO had introduced a new robotics kit, the WeDo, I knew I would have to design a new SEP course! In this course, students will problem solve to design, engineer, and program robots using LEGO bricks, a computer, a motor, and other special elements. Students will learn to incorporate tilt and motion sensors into their designs. Students will test their designs and programming. After reflecting on what did and did not work students can consult with peers, adapt programming, and adjust their designs. The macro-concept of systems and the Frayer model of vocabulary development will be integrated into the course to deepen students’ understandings of robotics’ use in science and engineering. Students will generally work in pairs and will have the experience of working with several other students, as we will switch pairs several times. We will also work on teamwork with particular foci on politeness, fair sharing, “I messages,” and constructive feedback. It is my expectation that students will act with gracious professionalism. On Friday, families are invited in at 11:00 a.m. to observe their children’s robotics demonstrations. Families and students will receive pre- and post-assessments on the student’s understandings of robots and the concept of systems. Families and students will also receive summative assessment of the student’s daily progress on course objectives, teamwork, and robot design. Some important things to remember: Students may arrive between 8:45 and 9 a.m. Please do not arrive earlier. Unless your child is participating in an afternoon SEP course, families should arrive to pick up between 11:55 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. Families are invited in on Friday at 11:00 a.m. to observe their children’s robotics demonstrations. Without exception, no child will be allowed to leave with any adult (even mom or dad) unless a driver’s license matching a name on the child’s pick up form is shown. Licenses will be checked every day for every child for your child’s safety. If any LEGO pieces accidently make it home, please return them the following day. We do not have extra pieces for these kits at this time; missing pieces could prevent some projects from completion. Students are welcome to bring a snack, but please do not bring peanuts or products containing peanuts. Students are not allowed to use the vending machines. We do not administer any medication except for EpiPens, which should have prior approval and be labeled with the child’s first and last names. If needed, I may be reached by cell phone between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. at XXX-XXX-XXXX. I do not make a habit of answering the phone while teaching, but will check for messages at our break and around the end of class. You may also me at Sincerely, Steve Coxon

LEGO WeDo 235 Jones Hall Family members are welcome to come and see their student’s robotic creations and programs today, arriving anytime between 11 and 11:30. Expect to spend about 10 minutes. Students will need to begin our end of the day procedures at 11:40 a.m. and class will conclude at noon, as usual. For family members who cannot make it in, I will take a digital picture of each project. You are welcome to me at for a Also, several families have asked about purchasing a WeDo set. Search for product number W991479, which includes the necessary software, at

LEGO WeDo: The science and engineering of robotics Teacher: Mr. Coxon Assistant: Mr. Smith Your name: ________________________________

Organization of your kit:

MONDAY 8:45-9:15Check inK’nex tub 9:15-10 Welcome, introduction, team building Hand squeeze challenge Concept map pre-assessment Frayer vocabulary model 10:00-10:30 “Order the human robot” game Ball 10:30-10:45Bathroom break 10:45-11 About the pieces: organization and what’s what Kits Intro video 11-11:40 (add time here if speedier) Build “Dancing Birds,” program and experiment as time allows Kits 11:40-12Organize kit Complete day’s learning log Play with K’nex Learning Log K’nex tub

Sample Concept Map Center for Gifted Education, The College of William and Mary, 2009

Robot concept map (pre-assessment) Robots

Vocabulary Building DefinitionCharacteristics Examples Non-Examples Center for Gifted Education, The College of William and Mary, 2009 Robot

Learning Log for: Monday Gracious professionalism: ___ I showed politeness ___ I shared fairly ___ I gave my partner constructive feedback ___ I used “I messages” when talking to my partner What I did today: What I learned today: I think that the most important thing to remember is that: What I still want to know:

TUESDAY 8:45-9:15Check inK’nex tub 9:15-9:30 Welcome back, review of yesterday, team building Hand squeeze challenge (OBSERVED 9:15-9:45) 9:30-10Systems intro Systems pre-assessment Gracious professionalism 10-10:30 Order the human robot game in pairs Balls or other object 10:30-10:45Bathroom break 10:45-11:40 Build and program the “smart spinner” Kits 11:40-12Organize kit Complete day’s learning log Play with K’nex Learning Log K’nex tub

Boundaries Elements InputsOutputs Interactions Analyzing a robot as a system (Pre-assessment)

Systems Provide examples: Provide non-examples: On the back, categorize your list. Include every item. What generalizations can you make about systems? Center for Gifted Education, The College of William and Mary, 2009

Gracious Professionalism Politeness example: Politeness non-example: Fair sharing example: Fair sharing non-example:

“I message” example: “I message” non-example: Constructive feedback example: Constructive feedback non-example: Gracious Professionalism

Vocabulary Building DefinitionCharacteristics Examples Non-Examples Center for Gifted Education, The College of William and Mary, 2009 Gracious Professionalism

Learning Log for (circle one): Tuesday ___ I showed politeness ___ I shared fairly ___ I gave my partner constructive feedback ___ I used “I messages” when talking to my partner What I did today: What I learned today: I think that the most important thing to remember is that: What I still want to know:

WEDNESDAY 8:45-9:15Check inK’nex tub 9:15-9:30 Welcome back, review of yesterday, team building Hand squeeze challenge 9:30-10Systems continuedAquarium as a system 10-10:30 Build and program a choice from the “wild animals” choices Kits 10:30-10:45Bathroom break 10:45-11:40 Build and program a choice from the “wild animals” choices Kits 11:40-12Organize kit Complete day’s learning log Play with K’nex Learning Log K’nex tub

Systems Draw an aquarium Draw and label – Elements – Inputs – Outputs – Boundaries

Learning Log for (circle one): Wednesday ___ I showed politeness ___ I shared fairly ___ I gave my partner constructive feedback ___ I used “I messages” when talking to my partner What I did today: What I learned today: I think that the most important thing to remember is that: What I still want to know:

THURSDAY 8:45-9:15Check inK’nex tub 9:15-9:30 Welcome back, review of yesterday, team building Hand squeeze challenge 9:30-10Systems continuedSystems model 10-10:30 Design own or choose a model to build and program Kits 10:30-10:45Bathroom break 10:45-11:40 Design own or choose a model to build and program Kits 11:40-12Organize kit Complete day’s learning log Play with K’nex Learning Log K’nex tub

Boundaries Elements InputsOutputs Interactions Analyzing a/an _____________________________ as a system

Learning Log for (circle one): Thursday ___ I showed politeness ___ I shared fairly ___ I gave my partner constructive feedback ___ I used “I messages” when talking to my partner What I did today: What I learned today: I think that the most important thing to remember is that: What I still want to know:

FRIDAY 8:45-9:15Check inK’nex tub 9:15-9:30 Welcome back, review of yesterday, team building Hand squeeze challenge 9:30-10Post-assessments Robots as a system Robot concept map 10-10:45 Complete building and programming of own design Kits 10:45-11:00Bathroom break 11:00-11:40Parents attendKits 11:40-12Organize kit Complete day’s learning log Play with K’nex Learning Log K’nex tub

Robot concept map (post-assessment) Robots

Boundaries Elements InputsOutputs Interactions Analyzing a robot as a system (Post-assessment)

Learning Log for (circle one): Friday ___ I showed politeness ___ I shared fairly ___ I gave my partner constructive feedback ___ I used “I messages” when talking to my partner What I did today: What I learned today: I think that the most important thing to remember is that: What I still want to know:

Center for Gifted Education College of William and Mary Concept goal and outcomes generalizations for systems Generalizations:Outcomes: (Students will be able to…) Systems have elements. Recognize that a robot is a system with identifiable elements. Systems have boundaries. Define the boundaries of a robot system. Systems have input and output. Discover that systems have identifiable inputs and outputs. The interactions and outputs of a system change when its inputs, elements, or boundaries change. Observe the nature and behavior of a system as its elements interact with each other and with input from outside the system.