VEX 123 - Meet Your Robot

Lab 2 - Robot Rules

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

Collaboratively establishing Robot Rules as best practices for using the 123
Robot in class.

Students will make meaning of

How using the 123 Robot with care will allow it to work properly and last
longer.

Students will be skilled at

Speaking the rules and care practices within your group and classroom, and
begin to act upon them in activities.

Students will know

How to use and take care of the 123 Robots in practice within the
classroom.

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 Objective(s)

Objective

1. Students will develop Robot Rules and clear expectations for how to work with the 123 Robot and each other in
their classroom.

Activity

1. Students will collectively develop Robot Rules for their classroom through role play activities in the Engage
section, and in a guided discussion in Play Part 1. In Play Part 2, students will engage in a guided exploration of a
variety of scenarios in which they test their Robot Rules.

Assessment

1. Students will collectively develop a written Robot Rules document in Play Part 1. Students will refer to this
document in the Mid-Play Break and Play Part 2 sections.

Connections to Standards

Showcase Standards

Computer Science Teaching Association (CSTA)

CSTA 1A-CS-02: Use appropriate terminology in identifying and describing the function of common physical
components of computing systems (hardware).

How Standard is Achieved: Students use correct terminology when reviewing the component functions of the 123
Robot in the Engage section. They apply correct terminology as they participate in role play in order to collectively
establish Robot Rules and best practices in Engage. In Play Part 1, students are encouraged to use correct
terminology in a collaborative discussion designed to establish ground rules for working with the 123 Robot.
Students have additional opportunities to use appropriate terminology in problem solving scenarios in the Mid-Play
Break and Play Part 2.

Showcase Standards

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.1: Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the
relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.

How Standard is Achieved: During Play Part 2, the students will engage in a “what if” discussion. During this
discussion, the teacher will prompt the students by asking questions such as, “what if we programmed the 123
Robot to drive without stopping on a desk?” Students will use spatial reasoning skills to mentally map how the 123
Robot would move, and will need to use directional words as they explain how they think the 123 Robot will behave.

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 They will then use this information to determine if there should be a specific rule to prevent the 123 Robot from
being damaged or mishandled.

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 To use for demonstrations in the Lab. 1 for demonstration

Meet Your Robot Storybook PDF Present as a read-a-long story to 1 for teacher facilitation
introduce the 123 Robot.

Teacher Guide for Meet Your Robot Guide for how to incorporate 1 for teacher facilitation
Story Slideshow interactive elements for the story in a
read-a-long.

Lab 2 Image Slideshow Images for teacher facilitation of Lab. 1 for teacher facilitation

Robot Rules Chart (see example in To create a shared document of best 1 for display
Image Slideshow) practices and expectations.

Writing Utensils To complete any documents in the 1 per child

Environment Setup

Conversational Learning Space - The first parts of this lab will rely on facilitated conversations in the classroom.
You may want to do this in a space like your “Circle Time” or “Meeting Carpet”. This enables everyone to see
what you are sharing, as well as to easily see each other as you are talking.

Making Robot Rules Chart - this can be made on chart paper, or projected from the linked Image slideshow.
This should be a document that is created collaboratively. The Robot Rules Chart sample is intentionally general,
so that it will apply in many classrooms and situations. Add student suggestions for rules and amend as needed
to meet the needs of your students.

Engage

Begin the lab by engaging with the students.

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 1. Hook

We now know a little bit about how the robot works, but we need to figure out how we work with the
robots. If we all try to grab and touch all the robots and buttons at the same time, what will happen?
So how can we make sure we’re being our best selves when we work with our robots?

2. Demonstrate

If I pass the 123 Robot to Tim, should he throw it across the table to Jason, or should he take his turn
and gently pass it?

3. Leading Question

See, we already know a little bit about how this should work. Let’s see what else we need to know.

Play

Allow students to explore the concepts introduced.

Part 1

Students will engage in a collaborative discussion facilitated by the teacher, in order to create “ground rules”,
expectations, and decision making strategies for how students will engage with the robots and group members. (An
example is provided in the Lab 2 Image Slideshow.)

Mid-Play Break

Robot Rules in action! Read several scenarios, and ask students if the Robot Rules are working in this situation. If not,
have students share ideas or act out solutions.

Part 2

Students will be able to wonder “What if…?” with their teacher, to engage in a guided child driven exploration in robot
cause and effect. For each “What if…” scenario, the class will decide first if it is within the “Robot Rules”, and then come
up with a way to test their ideas.

Share

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Allow students to discuss and display their learning.

Active Share

Divide students into groups and give them 3-5 minutes to decide on a name for their 123 Robot, and 3 personality
traits for it. Then share each with the class.

Post a Robot Roster: Create a chart, and as students share their 123 Robot’s name; add it into the Chart. Show
the students, and point out that this will help them take care and organize their 123 Robots.

Discussion Prompts

What are you most excited about doing with our robots?

What is 1 way that you will put the Robot Rules into action the next time we work with them?

Engage

Launch the Engage Section

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

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 ACTS ASKS

1. Make a connection to Lab 2. Say, “We now know a 1. What will happen if we all try to grab and touch
little about how the 123 Robot works with us, but the buttons at the same time?
now we need to figure out how WE work with the
2. Is that how we should handle our 123 Robots
123 Robot.
when we take them out? What should I do
2. Demo the Do’s and Do Not’s. The teacher should differently?
take out the 123 Robot, and pretend to snatch it
3. Respond enthusiastically to student’s corrections:
off the table and mimic winding up to throw it to a
Oh, I see. Thank you for showing me how to take
student.
care of my 123 Robot so well. Is that all I need to
3. Teacher will replay taking the 123 Robot out with know?
the student’s corrections. Then pass it gently to a
4. What about that? Can we all press the buttons at
student, and ask if he/she can show how to pass it
the same time?
to the next person.
5. Thank you. I can already tell that you are going to
4. Teacher moves to the child who has the robot, and
be really good at what we’re about to do today.
asks him/her to press an arrow. As the child goes
to press it, the teacher should try to keep pressing 6. Let’s practice how we can work with our 123
buttons at the same time. Robots.

5. Teacher thanks the students who participated in

6. Give students a chance to practice careful passing

Engage

1
Instruct
Instruct students that while they know a little about how the 123 Robot itself works, today they are going
to make some decisions together about how they will take care of their 123 Robots.

Suggested language: We have classroom and school rules and agreements so that we know how
to play and work together, right? So now we’re going to think about how to create some of the
same kinds of rules and agreements for how to treat our robots and each other, while we work
together.

2
Distribute
Distribute the Robot Rules print out to students (optional). Project the Meet Your Robot story.

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 Facilitate

3 Facilitate a conversation connecting likes/dislikes from the Meet Your Robot story to how rules are made.
(Likes are things that you should do to take care of the 123 Robot. We should not do anything that the 123
robot dislikes.)

Suggested prompts: What is a rule in our classroom that helps us to be treated in a way that we
like? What is something that Vex likes that might help us make a good rule? What is something
Vex does not like, that might help us make a good rule?

4
Offer
Offer positive feedback for students as they make successful connections between the information in the
story, their own experiences of rules, and Robot Rule ideas.

Teacher Troubleshooting

Allow students to sit with their group and give students specific roles or tasks in the group. One student
can be the scribe—writing or sketching ideas, while the other student handles the 123 Robot. Make sure
to let students switch roles at least once during the Engage section of the Lab.

Facilitation Strategies

Give frequent, timely, and positive reinforcement for any and all prosocial behaviors that occur in relation to the
123 Robot. It may seem repetitive, but when a new product or process in the classroom brings excitement, it is
easy for students to lose track of the behavioral strides they may have made in other areas.

Play

Part 1 - Step by Step

1
Instruct
Instruct students that they are now going to ‘officially’ create their Robot Rules for the classroom.
Distribute or project the Robot Rules template as a jumping off point.

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 Robot Rules Template

2
Model
Model by explaining what the first rule means to you, and talking through one thing that would follow the
rule and one thing that would break it. Check in for clarity, and ask students if they have anything to add.
Then vote on whether to keep this rule, or amend it. Encourage students to use proper terminology of the
123 Robot as they are discussing.

Using the Rule Template

3
Facilitate
Facilitate this process for each of the 5 Rules, and add/delete/amend them as needed for your classroom
setting. Use questions such as:

What does this rule mean to you?

How can this rule help us take care of the 123 Robot?

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 Do you have anything to add to this rule? Why do you think it is important to add this?

4
Remind
Remind students that they will all be responsible for following these rules and guidelines each and every
time they use the 123 Robots - both as a class, or at Centers.

5
Ask
Ask students to think about ways that they make decisions with others in their classroom; and how that
can be applied to working with the 123 Robots. As a class, agree on 1-3 strategies for decision-making (i.e.
voting, taking turns, rolling dice, flipping a coin).

Mid-Play Break & Group Discussion

As soon as every group has accomplished creating Robot Rules and decision-making strategies, come together for a brief
conversation.

Read several situations and scenarios, and ask the children if the students are following the Robot Rules. If not,
how can they change the scenario so that everyone is following the Robot Rules and taking care of the 123 Robot
properly. Encourage students to use correct terminology when referring to the 123 Robot.

Scenario 1: Your group is moving your 123 Robot around on a map. How do you decide which way to go?

Scenario 2: We are breaking into our groups to get started. Who gets to touch the 123 Robot first?

Scenario 3: Someone in your group keeps touching the 123 Robot when it is not his/her turn. What
should your group do?

Try acting out these scenarios. How can they fix the scenarios? Have students act it out!

Scenario 4: Tim and Jason are fighting over whose turn it is to push the 123 Robot’s buttons. Lauren is
trying to use her words to ask them to stop, but they are not listening. Jason grabs the 123 Robot and
holds it up in the air, and then accidentally drops it on the floor.

Scenario 5: Olivia and Alaina are working on driving their 123 Robot across a map. Olivia wants to go left,
but Alaina wants to go right. They program the 123 Robot to go left, but while it’s driving, Alaina grabs
the robot and moves it.

Add as many other situations and/or scenarios as needed for your group’s needs and special circumstances.

Part 2 - Step by Step

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 Instruct

1 Instruct students that now they are going to put their Robot Rules into practice, as they test out some
ideas about things they can do with their 123 Robots together. Write the phrase “What if…?” on the
board, as a group prompt.

What if?

2
Model
Model what this methodology looks like for the students, and write the ideas on the board. For example:

What if I wanted to push all of the buttons 100 times with no plan?

1. Does that follow the Robot Rules? (No)

2. What if I pushed a button 10 times? (Question)

3. What do you think will happen? (Hypothesize)

4. What happened? (Observe)

5. What does that tell us about that button? (Conclude)

"What If" Question Process

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 3
Facilitate
Facilitate a series of scenarios like this, using student ideas in response to the “What if?” prompt.
Encourage students to use correct terminology when referring to the 123 Robot.

4
Remind
Remind students that they should be thinking about actual things that they think their 123 Robots might
be able to accomplish, to help stay focused during the exploration, and about the importance of planning
when working with robots. Questions like “What if I took my robot to the moon?” are less helpful, than
“What if my robot is about to roll off the table?” This exercise should be used to help preempt some
problem solving strategies into your 123 Robot experience.

What if questions?

5
Ask
Ask students questions like "Why might you want to do that behavior?" Or "What could that behavior
help you do with your robot?" To help guide the conversation.

Share

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 Show Your Learning

Active Share

1. Name Your Robot - Divide students into groups and give them 3-5 minutes to decide on a name for their 123
Robot, and list up to 3 personality traits about it. Then share each with the class.

2. Post a Robot Roster: Create a chart, and as students share their 123 Robot’s name; add it into the Chart. Show
the students, and point out that this will help them take care and organize their 123 Robots.

Discussion Prompts

Digital Documentation

Take photos of each of the “What if?” processes as written or explained on the board, to share and remind
students of these moments later on.

Student-Driven Visible Thinking

Post the student’s “Robot Personalities” and any other written elements from the lab.

Sign to Ratify the Robot Rules - you can have your class “sign off” that they agree to follow the Robot Rules for
the class, and post these wherever you are keeping your 123 Robot documentation.

Metacognition-Reflecting Together

Observing Prompt - What is something our robots can or cannot do, that is different from other devices you
know?

Predicting Prompt - What is 1 prediction (or conclusion) that surprised you in the What if’s?

Collaborating Prompt - What is 1 way that you will put the Robot Rules into action the next time we work with
them?

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