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1.16 – Obstacle Course 2

45 Minutes

Lesson Overview

This lesson is similar to lesson 1.14 where students had to program Marty to go around an obstacle course. The main difference here is that students will be using bump switches to help them with programming Marty to go around the course without measuring out the number of steps required but by sensing when to do certain things.

Key vocabulary:
    Obstacle course , Algorithm , Sensing , Bump switches , Reacting , Programming,

Content Sections

  • Learning Objectives
  • Extensions & Challenges
    • Additional Reading
    • 1.16 – Obstacle Course 2

      45 Minutes

      Lesson Overview

      This lesson is similar to lesson 1.14 where students had to program Marty to go around an obstacle course. The main difference here is that students will be using bump switches to help them with programming Marty to go around the course without measuring out the number of steps required but by sensing when to do certain things.

      Key vocabulary:
        Obstacle course , Algorithm , Sensing , Bump switches , Reacting , Programming,
      • Lessons 1.1-1.15
      • Laptop, PC or Tablet
        • Marty the Robot with bump switches
        • Marty Workbook (Lesson 2)
        • Laptops/Computers/Tablets
        • Access to the Scratch editor
        • Obstacle course design
        • Objects to be in obstacle course

      Learning Objectives

      • Create/select an appropriate obstacle course based on Marty’s size and functionality
      • Program Marty to go around obstacle course using bump switches/sensing instead of using exact values and number of steps

      1. Recap what was covered in last lesson in terms of bump switches and how we use them to help Marty sense and make decisions

      2. Create obstacle course

      a. If creating your own, then give students time to design

      b. Then either print out example ones or create based on this design/student designs using random objects as obstacles and markers

      3. Split students into small groups and give time to plan out their program

      4. Time dedicated to programming Marty with a limit so that we can see which team has managed to program Marty to go the furthest through the obstacle course (click run once on computer/tablet and then leave to run!)

      Extensions & Support

      • Time each of the Marty robots to see who can get through the course the quickest
      • Give extra time to go back and make changes to the program after seeing how other groups have tackled different obstacles

      Additional Reading

      • Educator’s Guide
      • Introduction to Programming with Marty using Scratch