Teaching Sequence in Kindergarten with Robots

Bongo and 3 of the Bee Bots

Our first lesson was a getting to know the bee bots session.  We had 4-5 kids per mat and we distributed some command cards to each kids (next time I should give each kid identical mixed packs of command cards).  The kids had to map out the course with the cards and I modeled placing each card on the mat in order.  This helped them visualize the sequence.  This is the real skill.  When I gave a student the bee and asked him to program it he scooted the bee along the route and pressed the program step button each time.  This is a stepping stone but this is NOT sequencing.  As I continue to work with this student I will limiting him to command cards and asking him to use the command cards to audit and rewrite programs.

Programming a robot requires knowing what you want the robot to do.  One of the first steps to creating a program is to develop a detailed sequence of every move the robot will make.  Once you have this sequence you can begin to use the  programming language to write the program that will guide the robot through the steps.  I was talking with some great teachers at EdCamp Silicon Valley in a session on programming with elementary students.  Diane Main defined programming as “creating a set of instructions for a computer or robot to follow.”  I am quoting from memory, so Diane if I got that wrong, let me know.

This week I brought the Bee Bots into my kindergarten class.  I showed up to weekly planning meeting and asked these two wonderful teachers “How do we use these?.”  I showed them how the Bots are programmed and how they interact with the mats.  I currently have 5 of the Bee Bots and 2 of the mats, and two sets of command cards, their “class set” plus one other bot.   As I showed these to the teachers they shared their sequencing goals with me.  after a litter discussion it seem like a natural match to have the student use the bee bots as physical tools to explore recognizing and expressing sequences.

If I have learned anything from Wes Fryer it is “Have a challenge, and have a few more ready.”  For these kindergarten students the challenge was placing a post-it note on a square and asking them to make the robot go to the square.  After the first student programmed the robot, they all got a turn.  I was really impressed with their ability to watch their classmates program the same course into the robot.  After the first round we placed 2 notes on the board, a way point and an end point.  

The students were engaged and they took turns well.  This activity ran for about 40 minutes.  I am looking forward to exploring sequence more with the kindergarten soon.