SPIKE™ Essential

Explore Lesson 2

Coach your team through the FIRST LEGO League Explore guided lessons and prepare them for the challenges to come!

30-45 min.
Beginner
All Years
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Prepare

  • Review the Explore Lesson 2 lesson in the LEGO® Education SPIKE App.
  • If necessary, pre-teach these related vocabulary words:
    change, need, solution.

Engage

(5 minutes)

  • Facilitate a quick discussion about changing a solution.
  • Prompt pupils to think about an object such as a car or a cell phone.
  • How might people use that object differently?

Explore

(20 minutes)

  • Allow pupils to be guided by the LEGO® Education SPIKE App to complete their first challenge.

  • Build the basic model, on which the pupils can explore new ideas.

  • Pupils will then iterate and test their model to complete the next two challenges in the app.

  • The next challenges include:

  • Change the program to modify how the model can be used.

  • Upgrade the model and use creativity to iterate on the design.

Explain

(5 minutes)

  • Talk to the pupils using GECKO to reflect on their challenges by asking questions such as:
  • What did you change to modify how the object could be used?
  • How did you work together and combine ideas to make it different?

Elaborate

(5 minutes)

  • Prompt pupils to discuss and reflect on the importance of changing solutions to meet the needs or wishes of others.
  • Why do you think it is important to include what other people want as you create something new?
  • What does it feel like when your needs or wishes are included?

Evaluate

(as needed)

  • Ask guiding questions to encourage your pupils to “think aloud” and explain their thought processes and reasoning in the decisions they’ve made while building and programming.

Teacher Observation Checklist

  • Measure your pupils’ proficiency in brainstorming solutions for a defined problem.
  • Create a scale that matches your needs. For example:
    1. Requires additional support
    2. Can work independently
    3. Can teach others

Self-Assessment

  • Have each pupil choose the brick that they feel best represents their performance.
    • Yellow: I think I can change a solution to meet the needs of others.
    • Blue: I can change a solution to meet the needs of others.
    • Green: I can change a solution to meet the needs of others, and I can help a friend do it too.

Peer Assessment

  • In their small groups, have your pupils discuss their experiences working together.
  • Encourage them to use statements like these:
    • I liked it when you…
    • I’d like to hear more about how you…

Tips

Model Tip

  • After your pupils complete their second challenge, they’ll be provided with an open-ended prompt for improving their models.
  • Encourage them to consider the Explore challenge, and how they might create something relevant to that context.

There are no specific building instructions for this challenge.

Differentiation

Simplify this lesson by:

  • Shortening the lesson to only include the first challenge.

Increase the difficulty by:

  • Adding a motor and including it in the program.
  • Iterating on the design so that it could be a solution to the Explore challenge.

Teacher Support

Pupils will:

  • Change a solution to meet the needs or wishes of others.
  • Learn to use SPIKE Essential to help solve the Explore challenge.

(one for every two pupils)

  • LEGO® Education SPIKE Essential Set
  • Device with the LEGO® Education SPIKE App installed
  • FIRST LEGO League Explore Set
- Building instructions- Meet the Team: Minifigure Bios

*FIRST* LEGO League Explore Engineering Notebook

Pupil Material

Student Worksheet

Download, view or share as an online HTML page or a printable PDF.