High-Tech Playground

• Review the High-Tech Playground lesson in the LEGO^® Education SPIKE^™ App.
• 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 making changes and improvements to an everyday object.
  • Talk with your students about some objects around your school that they'd like to improve.
  • Ask questions, like: What object from around our school would you like to improve? What would you change about it?
• Introduce your students to the story’s main characters and the first challenge: rocking the seesaw.
• 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 that rocks the seesaw.
• Have your students iterate and test their models to complete the next two challenges in the app:
  • Modify the program to make the seesaw more exciting.
  • Design your own upgraded seesaw.
• 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 program the seesaw to make it high tech? How did your changes make the seesaw more fun for Maria?

• Prompt your students to discuss and reflect on ways of using the design process to improve an existing object.
• Ask questions, like: What happens when you try to improve something but your first idea doesn’t work? How can you adjust your idea to make it successful?
• 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 using the design process to improve an existing object.
• 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 use the design process to improve an existing object.
  • Blue: I can use the design process to improve an existing object.
  • Green: I can use the design process to improve an existing object, 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 personalize their models.

There aren't any building instructions for this challenge.

Simplify this lesson by:

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

Increase the difficulty by:

• Having your students interview each other about the features they'd like a seesaw to have, then designing one that meets those specifications
• Exploring new and different coding blocks in the program

• Have your students write an opinion piece on whether there should be a playground at their school. Make sure that they give a clear argument supported by facts and details.

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

Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1