OVERVIEW

Activity Overview:

Students will use the drawing paper, colored markers, and the various codes available to Ozobot to create a racetrack. Students will need to work together to determine appropriate line thickness, correct coding of colors, and Ozobot’s ability to follow the track, in order to complete the task. At the end, students can participate in racing Ozobot on each of the tracks created, if only one Ozobot is available, timing Ozobot to see how long it takes to complete each track will work, however, if there is more than one Ozobot available, students can start their Ozobots at the same time and see which bot crosses which track the fastest.

Meta description

• Subject Area: Computer Science, Technology
• Grade Level : K-2
• Computer Science Domains:
  • Data Analysis, Algorithms and Programming
• Computer Science Principles:
  • Creating Computational Artifacts, Testing and Refining Computational Artifacts
• Materials:
  • Ozobot(s)
• Considerations:
  • There are a variety of grants available to purchase Ozobots- either through their website directly or through a simple google search!

Lesson Plan

Overview

Students will use the drawing paper, colored markers, and the various codes available to Ozobot to create a racetrack. Students will need to work together to determine appropriate line thickness, correct coding of colors, and Ozobot’s ability to follow the track, in order to complete the task. At the end, students can participate in racing Ozobot on each of the tracks created, if only one Ozobot is available, timing Ozobot to see how long it takes to complete each track will work, however, if there is more than one Ozobot available, students can start their Ozobots at the same time and see which bot crosses which track the fastest.

ASSESSMENT PRE/POST-TEST

How does Ozobot “read” the code that you write with markers? (Various answers for pre-questioning, post-questioning- Ozobot is a robot that uses sensors on the bottom to determine colors, when colors are placed in a certain order, they tell Ozobot to do something specific.) Why is line thickness important? (Various answers- if the line is too thin, Ozobot won’t be able to recognize it as a line, if the line is too thick, Ozobot won’t know what to do either.)

OBJECTIVES

Students will: create a unique race track with a minimum of three Ozobot codes from the sheet provided with their Ozobots, utilizing at least 3 pieces of drawing paper in length.

CATCH/HOOK

Have you ever imagined being in charge of a robot and getting to tell it exactly what to do?

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

Start by passing around an Ozobot to let the students get a feel for the size and features that Ozobot has. Ask students questions about what they notice about the Ozobot, demonstrate how to turn on and off the Ozobot at this time (using the little black button on the bottom- holding it for two to three seconds until the top of Ozobot lights up.) Show students the correct line thickness for Ozobot, as demonstrated by the manual provided with the Ozobot. Talk about why line thickness is important to the Ozobot-if the line is too thin, Ozobot won’t be able to recognize it as a line, if the line is too thick, Ozobot won’t know what to do either. Demonstrate a variety of the codes available to the students based on the printout that will be provided to them. Show them what each code will make Ozobot do, depending on the color of markers used.
Next, provide each group of students with a set of markers and paper. Explain that today they are going to make a racetrack for Ozobot to race on. They need to use at least three different Ozobot color codes and black lines to make their racetrack. When you are sure that students understand the directions, let them begin working, I would suggest allowing for 15 minutes of racetrack design.
When students have finished designing their racetracks, allow each group time with an Ozobot to make sure that the Ozobot will read the codes that they have created and follow their track appropriately. If needed, allow students time to make changes, taping another piece of white paper over the area of track that needs fixed should work as long as the tape is not where the students need to mark or where Ozobot needs to run.
Then, depending on the amount of Ozobots you are able to use, allow students to time how long it takes the Ozobot to complete each track. Have the other groups watch each race to see what each team came up with for ideas, etc. If you have more than one Ozobot available, allow students to race Ozobots against each other’s tracks to add some fun competition! This activity should take one 60 minute session- or it can be broken down into several days of 20-30 minute sessions depending on time available to you and engagement of your students. Closure: When wrapping up this lesson, ask students what they noticed about other student’s racetracks? Would they make changes to their racetracks after seeing the other groups? Did any groups have a hard time getting Ozobot to read their racetrack? Why do they think that is? If time is available, allow students to create a new racetrack after their initial learning track has been finished.

Supplements

Any items in this section are the property & under the license of their respective owners.

REVIEW

Checking student racetracks for required components, determining if the Ozobot could complete the track successfully.

STANDARDS