Skip to main content

Engaging Learners

 Robots are traditionally thought of as appropriate for junior high students and above. I disagree. Elementary students' engagement increases when robotic activities are integrated into academic learning. Students do not need a background in coding to operate Sphero Bolt, Indi, or Dash robots. 

I always have students work in pairs or groups of three when using robots. Group work teaches collaboration and communication skills. Coding in a group also increases critical thinking skills and creativity. Additionally, working collaboratively is a differentiation strategy that plays to all students' academic strengths while growing their weaknesses. 

Over the last few weeks, I have integrated robots into several academic tasks. For example, in kindergarten, we worked on retelling a story by drawing pictures and having the robot stop at each image while the student retold that part of the story.

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 

We used Sphero Bolt and Indi robots to practice nonstandard measurement in kindergarten and first grade. 

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 

In sixth grade, robots helped students understand coding loops as we compared them to natural cycles such as rocks, life, lunar, and weather. 

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 
In second grade, students created a poster of the rock cycle and used the robots to travel the rock cycle. The robots stopped at each rock type and spoke a fact about it. Second-grade students also used Sphero Bolt robots to cement their understanding of the compass rose as they traveled across a map using clues to move to their next state. 
Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 

In fourth grade, I partnered with the counselor and used robots in a social-emotional lesson to demonstrate how fast rumors and gossip spread. The robots showed how ignoring the rumor or gossip stopped it from spreading. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures!

In third and fourth grade, students used robots to review fractions. First, the students created a number line and then used the robot to show equivalent fractions - halves, fourths, eighths, thirds, sixths, fifths, and tenths. 

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub 

How can you use robots to increase engagement?

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Pencils to Pixels: Animating Opinions with Scratch

Our latest Scratch adventure with second graders was one for the books! After writing persuasive pieces on the quirky question, "Would you rather be a shark that can't bite or a penguin that can't swim?" students brought their stories to life—one code block at a time. Using Scratch, each student animated their opinion, adding movement, dialogue, and even sound effects to express their ideas in a whole new way. I was blown away by how thoughtful and creative their projects turned out. Every animation was full of voice, personality, and purpose. A simple writing prompt evolved into a cross-curricular project that blended literacy, storytelling, and computer science. More importantly, it allowed students to see their ideas come alive–and the pride on their faces was everything. We started with storyboarding our ideas. Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech hub Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub Then, went straight to learning to code wit...
1 comment
Read more

Fractions Come Alive: Teaching Number Lines with Dash Robots

 Today’s third-grade math lesson reminded me why I love blending creativity with core curriculum. There’s something energizing about watching students light up when a challenging concept finally clicks–especially when robots are involved. Fractions can feel abstract for many learners. Number lines, equivalent fractions, and relationships between numerator and denominator aren’t always easy to visualize. So instead of beginning with worksheets or diagrams, we brought out Wonder Dash robots and turned the classroom floor into a living, breathing math lab. Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub Students started by examining a 240-centimeter number line taped to the floor. We talked about wholes, halves, fourths, and eighths, and what it means to partition a space into equal parts. Then came the challenge: How far does Dash need to travel to land precisely on one-half? What about one-fourth? Three-eighths? Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub Suddenly, fractions weren’t symbols on a page. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Robots, Color Codes, and Measuring Feet – A Non-Standard Day of Math Magic!

Who says math can’t be a hands-on adventure? In this joyful kindergarten lesson, students used Sphero Indi robots to practice non-standard measurement and had a BLAST doing it! Here’s how it worked: Students received task sheets with color-coded paths that told Indi what to do. Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub They arranged color tiles to “program” Indi and watched their robot zoom across the floor. Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub Then came the magic: using their hands and feet to measure how far Indi traveled. Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub Finally, they designed their own sequences to measure! Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub We traded rulers for sneakers. We built logic through coding. We turned measurement into play. The room buzzed with excitement. Students helped each other troubleshoot, celebrated when Indi followed their codes, and giggled when their feet didn’t quite match up with their partners'. This is the kind of learning that sticks. Creative. Collabora...
Post a Comment
Read more