VEX 123 - Touch to Code

Lab 1 - Code and Read

Teacher Portal

Goals and Standards

Implementing VEX 123 STEM Labs

STEM Labs are designed to be the online teacher’s manual for VEX 123. Like a printed teacher’s manual, the
teacher-facing content of the STEM Labs provides all of the resources, materials, and information needed to
be able to plan, teach, and assess with VEX 123. The Lab Image Slideshows are the student-facing companion
to this material. For more detailed information about how to implement a STEM Lab in your classroom, see
the Implementing VEX 123 STEM Labs article.

Goals

Students will apply

How to create and start projects using the touch buttons on the 123 Robot.

Coding the 123 Robot to move in an intended way to complete a challenge.

Students will make meaning of

How a programming language is a set of rules in which symbols represent

actions. For example, the arrow symbol on the “Move” button has the 123
Robot move forward one robot length.

How to code the 123 Robot to solve a challenge, such as driving to letters to
spell a word.

Students will be skilled at

Identifying behaviors using symbols on the touch buttons.

Creating a project with the touch buttons on the 123 Robot.

Sequencing button presses in a project.

Waking up the 123 Robot.

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 1 of 18
 Starting a project with the touch buttons on the 123 Robot.

Shaking to erase a project on the 123 Robot.

Students will know

How to create a project using the touch buttons on the 123 Robot.

How one button press represents one behavior for the 123 Robot.

How complex behaviors can be created by sequencing button presses

together.

Objective(s)

Objective

1. Students will explain how the symbols on the touch buttons represent behaviors for the 123 Robot.

2. Students will demonstrate how to use the touch buttons to build a project that has the 123 Robot solve a
challenge.

Activity

1. Students will discuss how each of the touch buttons has the 123 Robot move or play a sound, as they test each of
the buttons individually in Engage. Then in the Mid-Play Break, they will describe how the symbols on the touch
buttons represent the 123 Robot behaviors that are executed when the button is pressed.

2. In Play Part 1, students will write a simple word, and use the touch buttons on the 123 Robot to code their robots
to drive over each letter, so that they can sound out the word to read it with their 123 Robots. Then in Play Part 2,
they will code their 123 Robots to read the words written by other groups.

Assessment

1. In Share, students will describe how the symbols on the touch buttons represent the 123 Robot behaviors that
are executed when the button is pressed. They will also discuss how they used this understanding to create their
projects in Play.

2. In the Play sections, students will be able to successfully sequence touch button presses to code the 123 Robot to
complete the Lab challenge — to drive over each letter of the word on their 123 Tile. They can show their projects
in the Share section.

Connections to Standards

Showcase Standards

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 2 of 18
 Computer Science Teacher Association (CSTA)

CSTA 1A-AP-09: Model the way programs store and manipulate data by using numbers or other symbols to
represent information.

How Standard is Achieved: In the Engage section, students are introduced to the touch buttons on the 123 Robot
as a programming language. They are shown how these symbols represent behaviors performed by the 123 Robot.
During the Play sections, students will use the touch buttons to create a project for the 123 Robot to move across
letters in the correct sequence, to sound out a word with their robots.

Summary

Materials Needed

The following is a list of all the materials and teaching resources that are needed to complete the VEX 123 Lab. First listed
are the materials needed for the entire Lab, including the 123 Robot. In certain Labs, links to teaching resources in a
slideshow format have been included. Not all Labs will include a slideshow. These slides can help provide context and
inspiration for your students. All slides are editable, and can be projected for students or used as a teacher resource.

Materials Purpose Recommendation

123 Robot For teachers and students to create 1 per group

and start projects and observe 123
Robot behaviors.

Lab 1 Image Slideshow For visual aids while facilitating the 1 for the class to view
Lab.

123 Tiles To use as the testing surface for 1 per group

projects.

Dry erase marker To write words on the 123 Tiles for 1 per group
the Lab activities.

White board eraser To erase the dry erase marker from 1 for the class to share
the Tiles at the end of the Lab.

Environment Setup

Gather the materials each group needs before class. For this Lab, each group of two students will need a 123
Robot, a 123 Tile, a dry erase marker, and access to an eraser to erase the marker from the Tile at the end of the
Lab.

Give students direction for how to share responsibilities to help students take turns and stay focused Lab
activities. For groups larger than the recommended two students, provide students with more granular roles.
Examples of responsibilities for students in this Lab:

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 3 of 18
 Writing the word on the Tile.

Pressing the touch buttons to create the project.

Placing the 123 Robot on the Tile in the correct location.

Pressing the “Start” button to run the project.

It is recommended that you erase the dry erase marker from the Tiles at the end of the Lab. Be mindful of this
when preparing materials, and cleaning up at the close of the lesson.

For younger students, you may want to write the words on the Tiles for the groups before class begins. If you
want to prepare your Tiles ahead of time, write a 3 letter word on the center 3 squares of a Tile for each group as
shown below.

123 Tile Setup

Engage

Begin the lab by engaging with the students.

1. Hook

We know our 123 Robots can do lots of things. How do we tell our 123 Robots what to do? We use a
programming language!

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 4 of 18
 2. Demonstrate

Test each of the touch buttons individually, to help students learn what the touch buttons
communicate in the 123 Robot’s programming language.

3. Leading Question

How do we know which buttons to press to make our 123 Robots do what we want them to do? Just like
we learn words in our language, we have to learn the buttons in the 123 Robot’s programming
language.

Play

Allow students to explore the concepts introduced.

Part 1

Students will write a simple word on a Tile. Then, they will use the touch buttons to code the 123 Robot to drive to each of
the letters of the word and sound out the word to read it with their 123 Robots.

Mid-Play Break

Students discuss the connection between the touch button and the 123 Robot behavior. What do you think each of the
button presses was communicating to the 123 Robot? How do the symbols on the touch buttons relate to the behaviors
performed by the 123 Robot?

Part 2

Students practice what they have learned and code the 123 Robot to drive to the letters of a new word and “read” it with
their robot.

Alternate Coding Methods

While this Lab is written to use the buttons on the 123 Robot to touch to code, it can also be completed using the Coder or
VEXcode 123. If adapting this Lab for the Coder, give each group a Coder and Drive 1, Turn left, and Turn right Coder cards
to create projects that move the 123 Robot to “read” a word. For more information about how to use the Coder, see the
Using the VEX 123 Coder Knowledge Base article. If modifying the Lab to use VEXcode 123, give students a tablet or
computer and build projects using the [Drive for] and [Turn for] blocks in VEXcode 123. For more information on using
VEXcode 123, see the VEXcode 123 section of the Knowledge Base.

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 5 of 18
 Share

Allow students to discuss and display their learning.

Active Share

Have each group share their last word and project. When it is their turn, students hold up their Tile, to show the class their
word. Then they can share their project, and have the whole class sound out and read the word together.

Discussion Prompts

What is the programming language that we used with our 123 Robots today? How did we communicate
our project to the 123 Robot?

What is similar or different about how you communicate behaviors that you want your 123 Robot to do,
compared to how you would communicate behaviors with your friends and family?

If you were going to explain what a robot behavior was to a visitor to our classroom, how would you
describe it?

Engage

Launch the Engage Section

ACTS is what the teacher will do and ASKS is how the teacher will facilitate.

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 6 of 18
 ACTS ASKS

1. Hold up the 123 Robot, and have students share 1. We know our 123 Robots can do lots of things.
their ideas about how to communicate with the How do we tell our 123 Robots what to do? Can we
robot. use the same kind of language that we use with
each other? Why or why not?
2. Have students share ideas, and you can point out
that the 123 Robot doesn’t have anything on it 2. Can our 123 Robots hear our voices? Let’s think
that lets it hear your voice. about how we tell other devices what we want
them to do. How can you communicate something
3. Pretend to press your nose or poke towards the
on a smartphone, or a tablet? We have to
circle, as you would to select an app on a phone,
communicate in a different way - what kinds of
to indicate that we do not communicate with
things do we do? (Like pressing buttons, or
humans that way.
touching it)
4. Show the 123 Robot’s buttons to the students, as
3. Would we communicate with other people by
the buttons will be used as the programming
poking or touching them like we do on a tablet? I
language for the 123 Robot in this Unit. You can
hope not! But do people sometimes use different
pass the 123 Robot around the circle, hold it up so
kinds of language?
everyone can clearly see the buttons, or refer to
the image of the 123 Robot in the Lab 1 Image 4. Just like we communicate with different people in
Slideshow. different ways, we can communicate with robots
and devices in different ways, called programming
5. Have students share what they think or remember
languages. Let’s look at our 123 Robot, it has
about what each button does on the 123 Robot.
buttons on the top, that we can touch. How do you
Remind them that the white arrow shows which
think we can use those buttons to communicate
way the 123 Robot is facing so that they can
with our 123 Robot?
discern left and right accurately each time.
5. How do we know which buttons to press to make
our 123 Robots do what we want them to do? Just
like we learn words in our language, we have to
learn the buttons in the 123 Robot’s programming
language.

Engage

1
Instruct
Instruct students that they are going to test each of the touch buttons on the 123 Robot to learn about
how to communicate using its programming language. Each button will make the 123 Robot do a
different behavior. We need to learn what behavior goes with each touch button, so we can do things
with our 123 Robots.

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 7 of 18
 123 Robot

2
Distribute
Distribute a 123 Robot and a Tile to each group, and have students wake their 123 Robots. This can be
done all together, or by each group as they receive their 123 Robot. View the following animation to show
how to wake the 123 Robot.

3
Facilitate
Facilitate testing and observing the behavior that corresponds to each touch button, by having the whole
class test the same button at the same time.

Follow the steps below to test and observe each touch button and behavior together:

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 8 of 18
 Test the touch buttons

Identify the touch button you are going to test (Move, Left, Right, or Sound).

Press that button one time, and set the 123 Robot on the Tile, with the white arrow facing away
from you.

Press the Start button, and observe the behavior of the 123 Robot.

Name the behavior that matches that touch button, and make sure that all students agree.

Shake the 123 Robot to erase the project, as shown in the animation below. Remind students to
shake the 123 Robot until they hear the erase sound so that their 123 Robot is ready for the next
project. Repeat this process for each button.

For younger students, you may want to do this activity as a teacher-led demonstration, where students
are observing the 123 Robot behaviors, but the teacher is pressing the touch buttons on the robot.

You may want to create a Touch Button Chart on the board while you are testing, like the one shown here,
so that students can refer back to it during the Lab

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 9 of 18
 Example of a Touch Button Chart

4
Offer
Offer positive reinforcement for students who are following directions well, and taking turns to press the
buttons on the 123 Robot.

Teacher Troubleshooting

Remind students that one press of a button will cause the 123 Robot to move 1 square on the Tile in the
direction that the arrow is pointing.

Students may need to be reminded to shake the 123 Robot to erase the project. This will come in handy as
students troubleshoot their projects and start again.

For more information on using the touch buttons, see the Coding with the Touch buttons on the 123
Robot Knowledge Base article.

For additional information on working with the 123 Robot including charging, waking, and coding the
robot, see the Using the VEX 123 Robot Knowledge Base article.

See the Identifying the 123 Robot’s Features Knowledge Base article for detailed information on the
physical features of the robot, including the touch buttons.

Facilitation Strategies

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 10 of 18
 Create a Touch Button Chart - During Engage, capture students’ findings as they test each of the touch buttons.
As a class, fill in the chart and hang it prominently for students to reference as they work through the activities in
the Lab. See the the Lab 1 Image slideshow for an example of how to structure the chart.

Take Turns - Throughout the Lab, students should take turns in their groups. Suggestions for facilitating this
include:

During Engage, students can take turns testing each of the touch buttons on the 123 Robot.

During Play, alternate who creates the touch project, and who places the 123 Robot on the Tile and
presses the “Start” button.

Try a new starting position - If groups complete the challenge quickly, have them start on a different square
and code the 123 Robot to drive to the first letter from the new starting position.

Pre-write words for younger students - You may want to pre-write the words on the Tiles, or assign words to
students, so they can focus on the coding activity.

Divide words by letter sounds on the Tile - To have students practice with digraphs and diphthongs, write one
sound per square, instead of one letter. Then students can still sound it out along with the 123 Robot’s behaviors,
but can practice more complex decoding. For instance, write “Ship” as “SH - I - P”, or the word “Rain” as “R - AI -
N.”

Use printables as manipulative to support project planning - See the printable resources available in the
Knowledge Base, and use them with students as they are planning and building their touch projects. You could
cut out the touch button symbols and have students lay them out on their desk as they build their projects, or use
the color-in sheet for students to color in the sequence of button presses in their projects.

Play

Part 1 - Step by Step

1
Instruct
Instruct students that they are going to use the programming language to code their 123 Robots to help
them read a word! First, they will write a word on their Tile. Then, they will use the touch buttons to code
their 123 Robots to drive over each letter, to sound out and read the word. View the animation below to
see how the 123 Robot will move to complete this activity.

2
Model
Model for students how to set up their Tile and 123 Robot, and plan and test a project.

Give each group a dry erase marker, and have them write a 3 letter word across the center row of
squares on the Tile. Each square should have one letter in it, as shown in the image below.

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 11 of 18
 Set up to read

Once the word is written, students should place their 123 Robot on the bottom left corner of the
Tile, with the white arrow pointing to the first letter of the word, as shown in the above image.

Model how to plan and test a project in small pieces, by breaking down the task of driving over the
whole word into smaller behaviors.

Ask students what the 123 Robot needs to do first, to drive to the first letter. Then press the
Move button on the 123 Robot, and press Start to test it. As the 123 Robot drives to the first

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 12 of 18
 letter, have students say that letter sound aloud.

Press the Move button

Then, ask students what the 123 Robot needs to do to get to the next letter. Have students
press those buttons (Right then Move), and place the 123 Robot back at the starting point,
as pictured above. Press Start to test the project, and as the 123 Robot drives to each letter,
have students say the letter sounds aloud.

Right button then Move Button

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 13 of 18
 Then, ask students what the 123 Robot needs to do to get to the last letter, and have them
follow the same process to code, test, and sound out the word.

For groups that finish early, have them erase their word and write a different one. They should
shake the 123 Robot to erase their project, before starting a new one. Then, they can and use the
touch buttons to code the 123 Robot to read the new word.

If students need an additional challenge, have them add a sound to their project, so that the 123
Robot plays a sound when it reaches the end of the word.

3
Facilitate
Facilitate student groups planning and testing their project to read a word with their 123 Robots. Ask
groups to tell you what their word is as they read it, and to show you their completed project.

Sound out and read the word

To help students when their 123 Robot does not move as they intended, have them to identify
what went wrong before they shake the robot to erase the project to try again.

Make sure that the 123 Robot starts off facing the first letter.

Ask questions like “Did the 123 Robot turn the wrong way? Which way does it need to turn
instead?” to help students identify the problem. When students rebuild their project, be
sure that they make that change before testing it.

To help students connect what they are doing to the concept of a programming language, ask
questions like:

If you wanted your friend to move the same way your 123 Robot is moving, would you
explain it with touch buttons (like move 1, turn right)? How would you explain it
differently?

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 14 of 18
 To help students who are confusing left and right, have them stand in the same direction the 123
Robot is facing, and point to where they need to turn. Then, connect that to the correct touch
button. You can use the colors on the buttons to help students differentiate left and right as well
(Blue = Left and Pink = Right).

4
Remind
Remind students that they do not need to erase their project in the 123 Robot after driving to each letter,
if the robot is moving correctly. They can continue to build on to their project by adding button presses.
They can erase it after they have shown you their completed project and read their word.

5
Ask
Ask students about how their spoken language used to plan a project is connected to the 123 Robot’s
programming language. Is it easier or more difficult to communicate through the touch buttons? What
makes you think that?

Mid-Play Break & Group Discussion

As soon as every group has accomplished sounding out and reading their word with the 123 Robot, come together for a
brief conversation.

We communicated with our 123 Robots so that they could help us to sound out and read a word. What do you
think each of the button presses was communicating to the 123 Robot? How do the symbols on the touch buttons
relate to the behaviors performed by the 123 Robot? What did you see that makes you say that?

When we code our 123 Robots, we’re communicating what behavior we want the robot to do. Moving 1 step, or
turning right, are separate robot behaviors.

Just like our human language is different than a programming language, robot behaviors are different than
human behaviors. Our 123 Robot’s behaviors are much smaller and more specific than ours. What are the
behaviors that you communicated to your 123 Robot to read your words with it? (Help students to recognize the
connection between the touch button and the 123 Robot behavior.)

Part 2 - Step by Step

1
Instruct
Instruct students that they are going to practice using the touch buttons to communicate behaviors to
their 123 Robots. They are going to code their robots to read other groups' words. Students will leave

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 15 of 18
 their Tiles at their space, and take their 123 Robot as they move to another groups’ Tile to code and read
more words. The animation below shows how the 123 Robot will move to read a different word.

2
Model
Model for students how to shake the 123 Robot to erase the project, and reset it on a new Tile with a
different word.

Show how to shake the 123 Robot until you hear the erase sound, so that it is ready for a new
project.

Place the 123 Robot on the bottom corner of the Tile, with the white arrow facing the first letter of
the word.

Model how to plan and code each behavior you want to communicate to the 123 Robot, using the
first behavior as an example. Students will repeat this process on their own to sound out and read
a new word.

Plan then press the touch button

For students who need an additional challenge, combine 2 or 3 groups and put their Tiles
together, so that they can code and read a series of words or a simple sentence together.

3
Facilitate
Facilitate students planning and testing their projects to sound out and read new words. Students should
read their words aloud to you, and show you their projects as they are completed.

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 16 of 18
 Sound out and read the word

Remind students that they should say the letter sound aloud as their 123 Robot drives to it.

As groups share their completed projects with you, have them switch or move to a new Tile so that
as groups are finished, they can move on to another word. If moving is an issue, students can
swap Tiles between groups, and follow the same process.

To help students connect the 123 Robot’s behaviors to the touch buttons, ask questions like:

What do you notice about the number of button presses and the number of 123 Robot
behaviors? Does the 123 Robot do more than 1 behavior for each button press?

To read the whole word, you need to communicate more than one behavior. How did you
do that?

If one group has completed coding and reading their word before another group is ready to
switch, you can erase their word and write a new one for them, or use an extra Tile until a different
group is ready.

4
Remind
Remind students to use gestures as they talk through the behaviors they want their 123 Robots to do,
before pressing the touch buttons to code them. Explaining and showing what you want to have happen
first can help students to code movements and turns more accurately.

5
Ask
Ask students if they think that the order they communicate behaviors to their 123 Robot is important. If
they coded the button presses in a different order, would the 123 Robot still read the word the same way?
Why not?

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 17 of 18
Share

Show Your Learning

Active Share

Have each group share the word they end with. When it is their turn, students hold up their Tile, to show the class
their word. Then they can share their project, and have the whole class sound out and read the word together.
The group who is sharing can then “check” the answer the class gives.

If there are particular letter sounds that students are confusing, use this opportunity to address those
misconceptions, and reinforce the correct letter sounds together.

Discussion Prompts

Digital Documentation

Take short videos of groups as they share their completed projects with you throughout the Lab. Share these
videos with your classroom community to show how students are learning about programming languages by
coding their 123 Robots to help them read words.

Student-Driven Visible Thinking

Note students’ words during your conversations throughout the Lab, and how they are making sense of the
concepts of programming language and robot behaviors. Hang them in your classroom, to remind students of
these connections in future Labs. This is also a good baseline to see how students’ understanding develops the
more they work with the 123 Robots.

Metacognition-Reflecting Together

What is the programming language that we used with our 123 Robots today? How did we communicate our
project to the 123 Robot?

What is similar or different about how you communicate behaviors that you want your 123 Robot to do,
compared to how you would communicate behaviors with your friends and family?

If you were going to explain what a robot behavior was to a visitor to our classroom, how would you describe it?

What was one thing your group did not get right the first time? How did you solve the problem?

VEX 123 - Touch to Code - Lab 1 - Code and Read Copyright ©2021 VEX Robotics, Inc. Page 18 of 18