Bowling Fun

• Review the Bowling Fun lesson in the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ App.
• If necessary, pre-teach these related vocabulary words: force, modify, potential energy, and ramp.
• Consider the abilities and backgrounds of all your students. Differentiate the lesson to make it accessible to everyone. See the Differentiation section below for suggestions.
• If time allows, plan and facilitate the language arts extension. See the Extension section below for more information.

• Facilitate a quick discussion about the outcomes of the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
  • Talk with your students about what happens when two or more objects collide (e.g., in bowling, baseball, golf).
  • Ask questions, like: What will you see when two objects collide? What do you think happens to the energy of the objects when they collide?
• Introduce your students to the story’s main characters and the first challenge: bowling a strike.
• Distribute a brick set and a device to each group.

• Have your students use the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ App to guide them through their first challenge:
  • Create and test the program to get a strike.
• Have your students iterate and test their models to complete the next two challenges in the app:
  • Modify the program to improve the bowling game.
  • Upgrade the bowling game to knock down different types of pins.
• You can find coding and building support in the Tips section below.

• Gather your students together to reflect on their completed challenges.
• Ask questions, like: How did you bowl a strike? How did the ball’s energy impact the bowling pins?

• Prompt your students to discuss and reflect on the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
• Ask questions, like: How do you know that two objects have collided? Why does the speed of an object affect what happens when two objects collide?
• Have your students clean up their workstations.

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

Observation Checklist

• Measure your students’ proficiency in predicting the outcomes of changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
• Create a scale that matches your needs. For example:
  1. Needs additional support
  2. Can work independently
  3. Can teach others

Self-Assessment

• Have each student choose the brick that they feel best represents their performance.
  • Yellow: I think I can describe how energy changes when objects collide.
  • Blue: I can describe how energy changes when objects collide.
  • Green: I can describe how energy changes when objects collide, and I can help a friend do it too.

Peer-Feedback

• In their small groups, have your students 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…

Coding Tip

• After your students complete their first challenge, they'll be provided with three Inspiration Coding Blocks to help them modify their programs.
• The Inspiration Coding Blocks are intended to spark their imaginations as they experiment to find their own solutions.

Model Tip

• After your students complete their second challenge, they’ll be provided with three Inspiration Images and an open-ended prompt for improving their models.
• The Inspiration Images are to help spark their imaginations as they experiment and change their models.

There aren't any building instructions for this challenge.

Simplify this lesson by:

• Selecting one Inspiration Image to help your students change their models
• Experimenting with either the coding or the building

Increase the difficulty by:

• Using the Color Sensor to start the program for the bowling ramp
• Adding additional obstacles that could impact the ball’s energy before it reaches the pins

• Have your students conduct a short research project about accessibility in public spaces, and how objects can be modified to make the space accessible to everyone.

If facilitated, this will extend beyond the 45-minute lesson.

Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7