Before fall break, third grade educator Michael Upchurch led his class through a series of experiences connecting coding, robotics, and the solar system.
His science unit focused on recognizing patterns in the natural world, specifically how the planets in Earth’s solar system relate to each other and their positions in relation to the Sun. After learning the vocabulary necessary to engage in academic discourse about planetary movement and position, the learners met in the school library’s makerspace to deepen their understanding of planetary orbits using Ozobots, which are small robots that bring together physical and digital manipulatives. One of the strategies Mr. Upchurch used that maximized learning was what he called explore time: he gave his learners the tools to make Ozobots work (the robot, white printer paper, and markers), and then gave them free time to simply figure it all out. He walked around the room as his class tried drawing different lines on the paper and seeing if the Ozobot would follow their pattern. These were powerful moments to witness because the learners had to problem-solve when the Ozobot wouldn’t follow the lines. Sometimes it was because the lines they drew were too thin. Sometimes they drew a complicated pattern and the Ozobot followed the path, but not in the way the learners were predicting it would. Explore time allowed the pairs to figure out on their own what worked and didn’t work and gave them time to make adjustments and try again. Then, when it was time to focus on content, they were equipped to make their orbital models. Learners were then instructed to draw an orbit. This was again powerful review because they had to activate what they knew about orbits. Some learners had to make more than one attempt because they drew intersecting orbital lines, or their orbits didn’t move in the appropriate curved path. Throughout the drawing of orbits and the Ozobots tracing the orbital path, Mr. Upchurch questioned his class about orbits and planetary movement. Learners had the chance to show their understanding in a different way while also receiving constructive feedback and opportunities to extend their thinking. He asked questions like, “How is the Ozobot’s orbit different from a planet’s orbit?” Learners then had to recall additional vocabulary to explain how the Ozobot followed the orbital path, but did not revolve on its axis the way a planet would.
The following week, Mr. Upchurch took orbits and planetary movement to the next level. He brought in Spheros, which are more complex spherical robots operated by a smartphone or tablet (we used iPads). Mr. Upchurch partnered with the school librarian, Meghan Hunt, to help his class program different Spheros to represent the planets in our solar system. They marked out a large area in the library with a Sun, and then placed masking taped at different intervals leading away from the Sun to show where each planet’s orbital path would be.
Learners from his class who volunteered to program the Spheros then spent explore time learning how to operate their more complex robotic “planet.” Together with Mr. Upchurch and Mrs. Hunt, the learners problem-solved at a much more complex level to figure out how to connect their Sphero to the iPad, how to aim it in the correct direction, and how to code it so that it followed the correct orbital path.
When it was time for the first demonstration, the class gathered around the “solar system” and were excited to watch. Mr. Upchurch counted down, and then the coders set their planets in motion. Some of them got going right away, some planets stayed put. A few of the planets orbited in the correct direction, while some planets rolled right out of the solar system. And you know what? It was awesome. It was an opportunity to regroup, find glitches in the code, and try again. The second time was better. Four of the planets followed their orbital path around the sun and travelled in the correct direction. Other planets still rolled away from the sun, while others didn’t move at all. It was still awesome. Some of our coders were able to figure out the problems and course-correct, while others are still learning. Again, learners got to answer questions about the solar system and planetary movement, as well as discuss how the coding could be improved. Mr. Upchurch also talked about why a real scale model of the solar system is mathematically impossible. Overall, the learning experiences were powerful, and far more memorable than the styrofoam balls floating on coat hangers that I (probably) made in third grade. Learners not only had opportunities to move their new learning into long-term memory, but they also had ample opportunities to develop collaboration and problem-solving skills. Did you know that you can check out Ozobots and Spheros from the DLC team? Want to make your own model of the solar system?
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I hope you had a fun time trick or treating and passing out candy last night! I personally am thankful that we did not end up getting any rain! Speaking of gratitude, we’ve now entered November, and what better time to celebrate our gratitude than the month of Thanksgiving? I have created a Flipgrid just for that purpose. I am inviting you all to share your own gratitude and to use this is a reflection space for your learners! I have provided 21 Days of Gratitude sentence stems on the Flipgrid if anyone would like to use that as inspiration or to help the learners express what they’re grateful for. Feel free to use this resource or ignore it completely! A neat feature you might also explore with your learners is the ability to respond to other learners’ videos. This would be a fun way to connect your classrooms, connect to other campuses across the district, or involve your classroom families! I hope you’ll join me in utilizing this reflection space! To add to the Flipgrid, simply go to either:
I am so grateful to you for stopping by! Looking forward to partnering with you on this, Sam |