Robots

This activity integrated our study of machines with language arts. After studying simple machines and performing experiments in the science center, the students worked with a partner to design and build a robot with moving parts and wrote stories about their creations. 


The project began with Jojo and the Robot, a story read to the whole class. We discussed jobs we would enjoy having a robot help us do and made a list of all the possibilities. The students were assigned a partner and asked to draw a picture of what their robot might look like.

Next, they were asked to work together to create robots from Lego blocks that were similar to their designs. They were given about an hour to complete their robots.

Each group shared their robot with the class and demonstrated how it moved. They also explained or modeled the job it could help them do. The students discussed the difficulties they had building a robot and the different ways they attempted to solve their problems.

The next day during our language arts time the students wrote fictional stories about their robots. The stories were read aloud to the class.