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MISSION MATERIALS

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MISSION RESOURCES

Learning Goals

Learning Activities

ELA Extension: Robot Miscommunication Comic

• Pair students up or allow them to work independently based on writing and drawing preferences. Students will write and illustrate a comic or short story that shows what happens when a robot follows commands too literally—leading to unexpected or hilarious results.
• Begin by brainstorming a funny or chaotic scenario in which a robot misunderstands a command. Examples: “Piperbot was told to ‘go bananas’ and started launching fruit across the room.”
• Have students develop their story using clear cause-and-effect structure:
• Who gave the command?
• What did the robot do (literally)?
• What was the outcome?
• Students will write and illustrate their story using dialogue bubbles, narration boxes, and sequencing words such as: first, then, next, finally.
• Encourage them to highlight how miscommunication between humans and robots can lead to silly or surprising consequences. Stories may be one full comic strip, a three-panel cartoon, or a written narrative with spot illustrations.

Bonus vocabulary words to include: command, sequence, robot, input, output, literal

EXTENSION: Students write an alternate version of the story where the human gives a clearer command and the robot responds correctly. Have students present both versions side by side and reflect on how clarity changes outcomes.

ELD Extension: Command & Sequence Practice

• Pair students so that each English Learner (EL) is working with a fluent or higher-level EL. Students will develop listening, speaking, and sequencing skills through guided physical movement and structured oral practice.
• Begin by introducing simple command words with visuals and gestures: stand, sit, turn, stop, go, clap, spin, wave Practice each word using call-and-response and teacher modeling.
• In pairs, students take turns playing the “programmer” and the “robot.” The programmer gives a sequence of 2–5 commands (e.g., “Clap twice, then turn left.”) The robot must follow the commands exactly—no improvising or guessing!
• After each round, students switch roles and then retell what happened using sentence frames:
• “My partner told me to __, then __.”
• “The robot __ when I said __.”
• Wrap up with a class reflection:
• What made the instructions easy or confusing?
• What happened when the robot didn’t follow the command exactly?
• Use sentence frames to support oral responses:
• “The robot __ when it heard __.”
• “I gave the command __, and the robot __.”
• “First we __. Then we __.”

Math Extension: Step-by-Step Algorithms

• Pair students together or allow them to work independently based on task complexity and math readiness. Students will identify and write clear, step-by-step instructions (algorithms) to complete a simple task, exploring the role of order and logic in solving real-world problems.
• Begin with a Step-by-Step Task. Choose a simple activity such as:
• Making a peanut butter sandwich (or a paper version)
• Walking to the pencil sharpener
• Drawing a face or shape (e.g., triangle, square)
• Students will write an algorithm using numbered steps. Example: “Step 1: Pick up the pencil. Step 2: Draw a circle.” Emphasize clarity, order, and logic—like giving instructions to a robot.
• Students then test and debug by trading instructions with a partner who acts as the “robot.” The “robot” must follow the steps exactly—no guessing! If the task doesn’t work as expected, students revise their instructions to correct or clarify.
• After testing, students reflect on the process using prompts such as:
• “What did I need to fix in my algorithm?”
• “How did the order of steps affect the outcome?”
• “Where did my logic break down?”

EXTENSION CHALLENGE: Introduce if/then logic to handle conditional steps (e.g., “If the cap is on, then remove it”). Add loop or repeat commands for actions that occur more than once (e.g., “Repeat 3 times: draw a line.”)

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Blueprint

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Troubleshooting Tips

• Are you not receiving any inputs from the button presses?
  • Ensure that you’ve plugged the wires into the right GPIO. Look at the Digital View to see which pin you’re affecting.
• What is binary?
  • Binary describes a numbering scheme with only two possible values for each digit – 0 or 1 –. It is the basis for all binary code used in computing systems

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