OVERVIEW

Activity Overview:

My 5/6 grade class will use micro:bits to design a predator/prey program on micro:bits that assigns each device a fish or bear identity. They will program the devices to signal when the opposite animal gets closer. These micro:bits will be used by 1/2 grade class who is studying bears preparing for hibernation. They will play this game as an introduction to their project of viewing live cameras of bears fishing and collecting data to share on a Jamboard.

Meta description

• Subject Area: Computer Science, Science, Technology
• Grade Level : K-2, 6-8
• Computer Science Domains:
  • Data Analysis, Algorithms and Programming
• Computer Science Principles:
  • Collaborating Around Computing, Developing and Using Abstractions, Creating Computational Artifacts, Testing and Refining Computational Artifacts
• Materials:
  • Website, Micro:bit
• Considerations: +

Lesson Plan

Overview

My 5/6 grade class will use micro:bits to design a predator/prey program on micro:bits that assigns each device a fish or bear identity. They will program the devices to signal when the opposite animal gets closer. These micro:bits will be used by 1/2 grade class who is studying bears preparing for hibernation. They will play this game as an introduction to their project of viewing live cameras of bears fishing and collecting data to share on a Jamboard.

ASSESSMENT PRE/POST-TEST

What are some potential challenges in designing a predator/prey game?
What are some examples of predator/prey games? For 1/2, why do bears fish in the summer? Where do you think they fish? Why do you think some bears are fatter than others?

OBJECTIVES

5/6 Students will be able to create a functional predator/prey program for micro:bits 1/2 Students will be able to use this program to develop interest in how bears fish to prepare for hibernation 1/2 Students will produce a Jamboard with data on bears fishing for salmon

CATCH/HOOK

We will watch some live cam videos on explore.org

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

In mid-September I will bring micro:bits to my 5/6 class. These students have worked with micro:bits previously. I will have the devices pre-programed with animal tracker code (https://microbit.org/projects/make-it-code-it/animal-tracker/). I will ask students how they think it works and to replicate the program with a salmon and bear, with the salmon running from the bear and the bear trying to catch the salmon. They will have until the first week of October (since we meet once a week) to work on this program. Fat Bear Week is a competition during this time, and greatly enjoyed by my 1/2 grade class. I will use the micro:bit game to introduce them to the concept of fishing and talk about bear techniques for fishing and how this affects hibernation. They will watch live cams on explore.org and make hypotheses about which bears are more successful and gather data to support their statements. They will share this info on a shared Jamboard that we will review as a class.

Supplements

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REVIEW

5/6 Graders- How did loops help create a shorter code for our program? What would you do differently next time? What was the biggest challenge in programming? What else could we use this program for? 1/2 Graders-Why is it important for bears to be good fishers? What were some techniques you used to catch/or avoid be caught? Do you think your hypothesis was correct? How would you change it now?

STANDARDS