SPIKE™ Prime Set

The Coach

Design, build, and program a training coach to improve the process of mastering something.

120+ min.
Intermed.
Grades 6-8
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Lesson plan

1. Prepare

  • Read through the student material in the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ App.
  • Plan accordingly, this project is designed to be run over multiple sessions.

Part A

2. Engage (10 Min.)

  • Use the ideas in the Ignite a Discussion section below to engage your students in a discussion related to this lesson.
  • Explain the lesson.

3. Explore (35-55 Min.)

  • Have your students work in pairs to brainstorm about something they'd like to become an expert at.
  • Ask them to think about things they could invent to help them.
  • Make sure they incorporate the use of data in their idea.
  • Give them some time to make prototypes with the bricks.

4. Explain (10 Min.)

  • Ask your students to build and program their training device.
  • Have them put together a demo of their training program.
  • Remind them to describe their trainer and their goals.

Part B

5. Elaborate (60 Min.)

  • Facilitate a sharing session where everybody gets to present what their training program and what their trainer is good at (or not so good at).

6. Evaluate

  • Give feedback on each student's performance.
  • You can use the assessment rubrics provided to simplify the process.

Ignite a Discussion

Start a discussion about how to become an expert at something. Ask relevant questions, like:

  • What's something you'd like to become an expert at?
  • How do people use apps to master new skills?
  • How data is used in training apps to track a person's progress?

Building Tips

Open-Ended Solutions
This project is designed so that every student or team can have a unique solution.

Example Solution
Here's an idea you can use to inspire your students' design process.

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Coding Tips

Main Program

SPIKE Life Hacks The Coach Teacher Solution - en-us

Differentiation

Simplify this lesson by:

  • Having the teams work on a specific topic (e.g., training for a marathon), this will allow teams to share ideas and help each other
  • Providing specific programs you'd like them to use in their projects

Take this lesson to the next level by:

  • Asking the teams to develop a real training program for a real person

    ▷ Have them conduct interviews with the person to identify their needs, then verify whether they've developed an appropriate solution

Assessment Opportunities

Teacher Observation Checklist
Create a scale that matches your needs, for example:

  1. Partially accomplished
  2. Fully accomplished
  3. Overachieved

Use the following success criteria to evaluate your students' progress:

  • Students can identify the key elements of a problem.
  • Students are autonomous in developing a creative and working solution.
  • Students can clearly communicate their ideas.

Self-Assessment
Have each student choose the brick that they feel best represents their performance.

  • Blue: I've successfully created a training program for my favorite activity.
  • Yellow: I've successfully created a training program that uses creative ways to solve the problem
  • Violet: I've successfully created a training program that uses creative ways to solve the problem and I've presented my ideas clearly.

Peer-Assessment
Encourage your students to provide feedback to others by:

  • Having one student score the performance of another using the colored brick scale above.
  • Asking them to present constructive feedback to each other so that they can improve their group's performance during the next lesson.
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Language Arts Extension

To incorporate language arts skills development:

  • Ask your students to use text, images, sketches, etc. to record their design process, creating an Inventor Notebook to document their work.
  • Have them create a website presenting their training program.

Students who enjoyed this lesson might be interested in exploring these career pathways:

  • Health Science (Medical & Health Careers)
  • Information Technology (Computer Programming)
  • Information Technology (Game Programming)
  • Information Technology (IT Applications)
  • Education And Training (Teaching)

Teacher Support

Students will:

  • Design a solution that can help improve everyday life

NGSS
MS-ETS1-2
Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

CSTA
2-IC-20 6-8
Compare tradeoffs associated with computing technologies that affect people's everyday activities and career options.

2-CS-02 6-8
Design projects that combine hardware and software components to collect and exchange data.

Common core
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.4
Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

Student Material

Student Worksheet

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

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