Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Andrea Holzwarth Director of School Engagement Kansas/Missouri aholzwarth@pltw.org 785.332.0293 @andreaholzwarth
PLTW Sample Activity • ‘Rosie’s Run Time’ • Computer Science: Animated Storytelling • First Grade • Computational Thinking • FREE downloadable activity for your group! • K – 2 and 3 -5 • *Today’s activity is K -2.
Rosie’s Run Time • Introduction • In this life-sized game, students build a program out of code cards to direct Rosie the Robotic Dog through a grid to find her bones and get to her doghouse without stepping in any mud puddles. • Along the way students will discover that computers do exactly what you tell them, nothing more and nothing less!
Rosie’s Run Time • Learning Goals • By the end of this activity, students will be able to: • Evaluate a problem, such as a maze or a puzzle, and construct a set of statements that, when carried out step-by-step, will solve the problem. • Explain in simple terms how humans control computers. • Define a program as instructions written in a language that a computer can follow. • Demonstrate persistence in the cycle of testing a program, finding errors, and fixing incorrect behavior.
Rosie’s Run Time • Overview • In the Rosie’s Runtime game, Rosie the robotic dog wants to get her bones and bring them back to her doghouse, but she must not get her paws dirty! Use the Rosie code cards to make a program that tells Rosie how to get to her bones and then go to her doghouse. Remember to jump over mud puddles! • Rules • Rosie must land on a bone before she can pick it up. • Rosie cannot jump over a spot if doing so would take her off of the game grid. • Rosie has to land on her doghouse to finish the game.
Get Started! • Divide into groups of 4-5. • Build a program by putting code cards in a sequence to tell Rosie the steps she should take. • Remember, Rosie is a robot, so she has a computer for a brain! • That means she can only follow the commands on the code cards, and she will do exactly what the cards say.
Finding & Fixing Bugs • If Rosie steps in a puddle, goes off the grid, or doesn’t have both bones with her upon arriving at the doghouse, then the programmers say, “Bug in the program!” • The programmers then fix (de-bug) the program by taking back their code cards and rearranging them as needed. When they are ready to try again, the programmers hand the code cards one at a time to Rosie, who follows the instructions step by step.
Challenge #1
Challenge #2
Conclusion Questions for Discussion • Can Rosie the Robot Dog figure out what you mean if you miss a step by accident? Why or why not? • Rosie does exactly what the code card in front of her says to do. She can’t guess what you mean, and she doesn’t know what card is coming next. Rosie is a robot, so she can’t think for herself. She can only follow instructions. • If you were going to write a step-by-step program for going from your classroom to the gym, what would be the first three steps? • Note: Often students miss the crucial first steps. Make sure that students start with steps such as “get up out of your chair,” “walk to the classroom door,” etc.
Download Rosie's Runtime FREE for Your Class! PLTW Rosie’s Runtime
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