Geography and Robotics

A few weeks ago I was asked if I had any ideas for a grade 4 unit on geography that need to review the students understanding of the compass rose and introduce the concepts coordinate points, longitude and latitude.  I cam up with the usual activities with Google Earth.  However, I felt that I wanted something easier for the students which is when I thought of a newly acquired resource: Cubetto.

Cubetto more than a cute face:

Cubetto is a cute wooden robot created by Primo Toys that operates via bluetooth.  Cubetto is controlled via a control panel and blocks that you place in the panel.  Cubetto comes with a variety of blocks: forward, turn right, turn left, and function.  It also comes with a few stories that challenge you to move Cubetto to along various parts of the mat.  It is these mats that intrigued me with Grade 4.

Getting the teachers on board

The mats include an image of the compass rose simplified coordinate points.  I thought this would be a perfect introduction to the concepts of the unit.

To get the teachers on board, I organized a time with the team leader to join a planning meeting.  I took with me 1 Cubetto (out of the 4 that I had available).  During the meeting I modelled for the teachers how I would introduce the Cubetto and taught them how it worked.

Once the teachers become comfortable with the basics of the robot I challenged them to make the robot move around the board.  The directions were designed to use the key terminology:

• Move Cubetto to D4 and have him face East
• Move Cubetto to A2 and have him fact West

To say it was a hit with the teachers, would be a mild understatement and we arranged times before I left.

Leading the class

When I went into the classes with this activity, I co-taught along with the homeroom teachers and TA's.  This allowed for great flexibility.  Once the introduction was finished, divided the class into 4 groups and assigned an instructor to work with each one.  

While working with the students, the instructor guided the students through giving directions and helping them with the code.  In the groups the students took turns providing the directions and coding the Cubetto.  While a student was programming the Cubetto, I asked the other students for other options for moving the Cubetto.

Reflections

This lesson was a bonafide success.  The teachers had a ball with it and the students were all engaged and using the correct terminology.  In fact the teachers kept the kits for a few weeks after the activity so they could use it again with the students.

While the activity was a success, there are a few changes I would like to make for the next time:

• Remind students to document their work using their iPads
• Provide additional questions like 
  • Move Cubetto South 3 squares, turn East, move 4 blocks.  Where are you?  What is the corordinate you are at.