The National Center for Quality Afterschool

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Afterschool Lesson Plan Database

Lesson Plan

Building Robotic Machines
Subject: Technology
Grade span: 8 to 12
Duration: Multiple 60-minute sessions, twice a week; depending on the difficulty of the activity as well as experience level of instructor and students. Projects could require several weeks to complete.
This lesson was excerpted from the Afterschool Training Toolkit under the promising practice: Finding and Solving Problems

Description:

Afterschool students are excited to come to class because they are using LEGOs to build robotic machines. Working in pairs they learn that robotics go beyond scary cinema creatures to carefully engineered constructions that make positive contributions to society. After they learn basic construction techniques, they create their own robotic inventions with practical functions of interest to them. This lesson provides some ideas for setting up a LEGO lab classroom, introducing students to robotics, and leading students in their first construction.

Learning Goals:

Materials:

Preparation:

What to Do:

Introduce the activity. What is a robot? Introducing the Project

Extension Activities:

Evaluate (Outcomes to look for):

Students will:

Standards:
Click this link to see additional learning goals, grade-level benchmarks, and standards covered in this lesson.

Learn More:

For more information and ideas to support this lesson, see the Resources page.
Online Training for Afterschool Staff
The Afterschool Training Toolkit is available online free of charge.

The following resources can be used with the online Afterschool Training Toolkit to give you the resources you need to build fun, innovative, and academically enriching afterschool activities.