Walker Race

MISSION MATERIALS

Computer with USB port and Chrome or Edge browser

Piper Make Base Station or Starter Kit

Piper Make Walker

MISSION RESOURCES

Learning Goals

Students will build Walker and program its first walking motion using servo motor angles, sequencing steps, and repeating loops to create continuous movement.
Students will learn how software and hardware work together to form a system.
Students will model how computer hardware and software work together to complete tasks.
Students will determine potential solutions to solve simple hardware and software problems using common troubleshooting strategies.
Students will understand fundamental concepts of how technology works, demonstrate the ability to choose and use current technologies effectively, and are adept at thoughtfully exploring emerging technologies.

I WILL BE ABLE TO...

Connect servo motors and set them to specific angles to control Walker’s legs
Write code that makes Walker move its legs forward and backward
Use loops to repeat Walker’s movement, so it keeps walking
Adjust angles to change how far Walker steps with each movement

Learning Activities

The following sections will contain step by step instructions for ELA, ELD and Math extensions directly related to this mission. Adjust the directions to fit your ELA, ELD and Math standards.

ELA Extension: Walker Race Narrative Have students work independently to write a one-, three-, or five-paragraph story about their robot entering a race, based on grade-level standards.

Create a unique writing situation where the teacher randomly chooses students to have their robot win or lose, allowing them to write about a situation they may not be used to or find difficult.
Ensure students include details: the name of their robot, where the competition is happening, etc.
If students are inspired and want to write beyond one paragraph, let them run wild!
Ask students to share their story with two other students for feedback and then make the appropriate changes.
Add a dash of art into this activity by giving the option to draw their robot during the dancing competition, winning, losing, etc.
Bonus points if the students incorporate each vocabulary word: function, logic, loops, variable.

ELD Extension: Winning and Losing Pair students up so that one English Learner (EL) works with one other student who is a non-EL or a higher-level EL.

They will start by sharing with their partner, via an oral retelling, of a time they either won or lost, which should differ from the story they wrote about.
The teacher or students can decide which story to tell: a loss or a win.
The listening partner will need to take notes to remember key moments of the story and work towards retelling it as accurately as possible.
Students will then go up in pairs to retell their partner’s story, with the partner grading them on how accurate they were.

Math Extension: What is an Angle? Pair students together or allow them to choose their partners.

Partner A will be rotating; Partner B will oversee rotating Partner A. They will eventually switch roles.
Connect back to the Walker Race activity and ask them to describe an angle in their own words.
Collect these descriptions on the board or a doc to display.
Start students off by having them rotate their partner with easy-to-use angles: 45, 90, 180, 360.
Have pairs switch roles and move on to angles that are a little more difficult to work with, such as 30, 60, 120, 150, etc.
Observe how students have rotated their partners each time and ask them to explain their reasoning.
Finally, ask students to decide which role they want, the partner being rotated or the one doing the rotating.