EDPC 664 Keystone Assignment

Candidate’s Name: Ian Wharton

Grade Level: 2nd GradeTitle of the lesson: Sequences: Sounds, Lights and Animations with DashLength of the lesson: 45 minutes

Description Students will be introduced to coding using Blockly and Dash the robot, and will explore sequencing with Dash.

Subject: Coding

Prior KnowledgeKnowledge of students to inform teaching (prior knowledge/prerequisite skills and personal/cultural/community assets)

Key questions: 

In the last lesson, how did we use sequencing to help Dash complete tasks?” “What would have happened if the arrows were in the wrong order?” 



New York State Next Generation ELA Learning Standards CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.2: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

K12 Computer Science Education Framework StandardsK-2-ETS1-1: Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation peoplewant to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.K-2-ETS1-2: Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.

Learning objectivesStudents will be able to:1.Understand what problems are best solved with sequencing.2.Use sequencing to revise code and complete coding challenges in an iterative process.

Materials RequiredDash robotChallenge cards1 tablet per groupDash directions handoutPencilsprojector

Challenges:Students will learn about sequencing and simple loops

Instructional procedure: Introduction to using Blocky AppProject your tablet screen and open the Blockly app. Model connecting Dash to the app by tapping the plus sign on the top right.Go to the menu at the top left of the screen and select the Puzzles menu. Select Dash and the first puzzle, Driving School.Select student volunteers to help you complete each step of the Driving School puzzle

Guided PracticeProject the following Challenge Cards and complete them as a class together:              A 1.1: Ready, Set, Go!              A 1.2: Ready, Set, Dance!              A 1.3: Ready, Set, Rainbow!Select student volunteers to help you add blocks to the program.
Independent Practice
Say, “Before we work with Dash, let’s review some Dash Directions.” Project the Dash Directions PDF and discuss each direction with students.For each direction, ask students, “Why do you think this direction is important? If we didn’t follow this direction, what could happen to Dash?”
Arrange students into small groups (2–3 students per robot). Encourage students to share tablet and robot time. Have them establish and rotate through roles such as:Programmer: Holds the tablet and manipulates the code.Robot Wrangler: Retrieves and resets the robot after every program attempt.Documentarian: Records group results, thoughts, and progress. Illustrates group designs and ideas
Have students complete the following Challenge Cards for a second time, as the repetition will help them get acclimated to using the robots independently:A 1.1: Ready, Set, Go!A 1.2: Ready, Set, Dance!A 1.3: Ready, Set, Rainbow!

For each challenge, encourage students to:Use the Wonder Journal: Dash Planning worksheet to discuss how they can complete the challenge.Review the Troubleshooting and Problem Solving & Debugging worksheets if they run into any problems with their code.Add more lights, sounds, or animations to their program after they’ve completed each challenge.After they finish each challenge, have students:Complete a Wonder Journal: Reflection worksheet.Take a screenshot of their Blockly code.Take a video of Dash while the code is running.

Formal and informal assessment Have student groups take turns sharing one of their programs with the class. Encourage them to:Explain their design thinking (e.g., “We wanted to change Dash’s colors so we used different All Lights blocks”).Share any obstacles and difficulties they overcame during the activity (e.g., “We had trouble figuring out how to change Dash’s dance but then we found the right animation block”)Encourage students to ask each other how they accomplished different objectives and give each other feedback on their programs. Use the Evaluation Rubric to review students’ work and presentations.