Warm up

Share the objectives and success criteria from the presentation (slides 2 and 3).

Play a game of fizz buzz starting with just the 3 times tables and, if confident, extending to the 3 and 5 times tables.

Below is a reminder of the game.

• Learners will stand in a circle and start to count from 1: 1, 2, buzz, 4, 5, buzz, 7, 8, buzz.
• This will repeat every three numbers.
• To increase the challenge, you could have fizz for 3 and buzz for 5; at 15, learners would say fizz buzz.
• This can be done for individual learners or spoken as a whole class.

The reason for this game is to introduce the idea of repeated actions: something happens every three, or five, numbers.

Get Learning

Read the text from the presentation from slides 4 to 8 to share a scenario where a group of children are using the MartyBlocks environment. The key takeaway from the text from the slides is that the repeat block removes the need to use the same blocks over and over, in a program. If you have had a chance to look at MartyBlocks Jr, the presentation provides an opportunity to compare the two. It is valuable to talk about the comparison between the two environments, if you have used MB Jr.

Take time to discuss the video, from slide 6, that shows two Marty's doing exactly the same thing. It is important that learners see that there is nothing different about what they are doing and they might not believe you when you say that they are not using the same code. There are notes on slides 6 and 7 to support this.

Below is a video of the two Martys and the code for comparison.

Time for Practice

Slide 9 shows videos of Marty performing four separate actions, each of which have a repeating element. If you want, feel free to use the code in the teacher guide that will instruct Marty to perform as in the video, use the videos to show the movements again, if you choose to create the code for the class Marty.

Learners need to decide which of the actions repeat, from Marty's movements, and create a plan with a repeat block; there is a section in the workbook where learners can work in groups and record their thoughts or this could be completed as a whole class activity; alternatively, resources permitting, groups could create the code in MartyBlocks to share with the class. Learners need to be specific about how many times the code will run and if there are any actions that don't repeat.

Cool Down

Bring learners back together to discuss the challenges they faced and overcame. Have groups share their code for a class discussion. It is likely that a lot of the creations will be similar. Encourage other groups to compare their work and ask questions to deepen their understanding of the processes.

Suggested questions you might ask:

• Do you prefer the repeat block in MartyBlocks or MartyBlocks Jr (if applicable)?
• Do you prefer shorter code that has the repeat block or longer code that does not have it?
• What challenges did you face when thinking about the repeating parts of Marty's actions?
• When do you think it might be best to use the forever block compared to the 'repeat a certain number of times block'?

Carry out any end of lesson routines.

Log off devices and clear everything away.