Technology is all around us, and the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics system gives students the opportunity to have an open-ended, hands-on experience with technology in a way that is accessible, grounded in real-world problem solving, and is fun.

Most students are familiar with playing with LEGO bricks, and this unit of introductory LEGO Robotics lessons combines LEGO bricks with ROBOLAB software enabling students to use old familiar materials in ways they never dreamed possible.

The "big ideas" of robotics will be demystified by engaging students in authentic experiences with the concepts of robotics while reinforcing mathematics, science, technology and literacy standards.

Students will be challenged to:
1. Explore what is a robot
2. Explore LEGO Robots made by MINDSTORMS enthusiasts
3. Construct and program an autonomous car powered by 1 motor
4. Measure and graph a robot's speed
5. Work in cooperative groups
6. Keep an ongoing reflective record of work accomplished

Students are asked to observe technology in the world around them (in their homes, in the art world, and in industry), and bring their observations into their hands-on investigations.

:: rationale

:: materials

:: lesson plans

    :: lesson 1
    :: lesson 2
    :: lesson 3
    :: lesson 4

:: student work

:: resources

Each lesson is designed to be student centered, encouraging students to work out their own methods for exploring the materials and challenges presented, and enable the development of the "out of the box" thinking that is vital for scientific innovation. Students will construct their own understandings of robotic concepts, with the teacher in the role of the facilitator presenting information on a "need to know" basis. The lessons authentically call on math, science, technology, literacy and problem solving skills, as students will naturally need to draw upon them to help them through their investigations.

Standards Addressed in the Lessons

NYS Mathematics Standards (4th Grade)

Problem Solving Strand
Explore, examine, and make observations about a social problem or mathematical situation
Interpret information correctly, identify the problem, and generate possible solutions
Represent problem situations in oral, written, concrete, pictorial, and graphical forms
Use trial and error to solve problems
Make pictures/diagrams of problems
Use physical objects to model problems
Work in collaboration with others to solve problems
Verify results of a problem

Reasoning and Proof Strand
Use representations to support mathematical ideas
Justify general claims or conjectures, using manipulatives, models, and expressions

Communication Strand
Provide reasoning both in written and verbal form
Organize and accurately label work
Share organized mathematical ideas through the manipulation of objects, drawings, pictures, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, models, symbols, and expressions in written and verbal form

Connections Strand
Recognize, understand, and make connections in their everyday experiences to mathematical ideas
Connect and apply mathematical information to solve problems
Model situations with objects and representations and be able to make observations
Recognize the presence of mathematics in their daily lives
Apply mathematics to solve problems that develop outside of mathematics
Recognize and apply mathematics to other disciplines

Representation Strand
Use verbal and written language, physical models, drawing charts, graphs, tables, symbols, and equations as representations
Use standard and nonstandard representations with accuracy and detail
Use mathematics to show and understand physical phenomena (e.g., estimate and represent the number of apples in a tree)

Number Sense and Operations Strand
Develop an understanding of decimals as part of a whole
Select appropriate computational and operational methods to solve problems
Express decimals as an equivalent form of fractions to tenths and hundredths
Understand various meanings of multiplication and division

Measurement Strand
Select tools and units (customary and metric) appropriate for the length measured
Use a ruler to measure to the nearest standard unit (whole, _ and _ inches, whole feet, whole yards, whole centimeters, and whole meters)
Know and understand equivalent standard units of length: 12 inches = 1 foot 3 feet = 1 yard

Statistics and Probability Strand
Design investigations to address a question from given data
Collect data using observations, surveys, and experiments and record appropriately
Represent data using tables, bar graphs, and pictographs
Develop and make predictions that are based on data
Formulate conclusions and make predictions from graphs

NYS Elementary ELA Standards

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. Students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts.

Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression
Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts, relate texts to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation in group work, whole group discussions, in lesson handouts, and in reflective journals.

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction
During group work and class discussions, students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction.

NYS Elementary Science Standards

Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions

Physical Science
Investigate the use of common forces (pushes and pulls) on objects, such as those caused by gravity, magnetism, and mechanical forces

NYS Elementary Technology Education Standards

Engineering Design
Investigate prior solutions and ideas from books, magazines, family, friends, neighbors, and community members
Generate ideas for possible solutions, individually and through group activity; apply age-appropriate mathematics and science skills; evaluate the ideas and determine the best solution; and explain reasons for the choices
Plan and build, under supervision, a model of the solution using familiar materials, processes, and hand tools
Discuss how best to test the solution; perform the test under teacher supervision; record and portray results through numerical and graphic means; discuss orally why things worked or didn't work; and summarize results in writing, suggesting ways to make the solution better

Technology Systems
Access needed information from media, electronic data bases and community resources
Assemble and operate simple technological systems, including those with interconnecting mechanisms to achieve different kinds of movement
Understand that larger systems are made up of smaller component subsystems

Tools, Resources and Technological Processes
Assemble components using a fastening process
Process materials into more useful forms
Understand the importance of safety and ease of use in selecting tools and resources for a specific purpose
Use simple manufacturing processes (e.g., assembly, multiple stages of production, quality control) to produce a product

Computer Technology
Control computerized devices and systems through programming
Describe how technology can have positive and negative effects on the environment and on the way people live and work

Management of Technology
Participate in small group projects and in structured group tasks requiring planning, financing, production, quality control, and follow-up