Lausanne's Second Grade students have been hard at work over the last couple of months, challenging their design knowledge to prepare for their Primary Years Programme (PYP) unit on robotics while gaining real-world skills.
"We've been discussing computer science and learning how to code using a programming language called Blockly, which helps young students learn resilience and math applications and is a precursor to other languages like Java and HTML," said Lower School ANTS Instructor Amy Brownlee.
For their PYP unit, second-graders explore how technology alters our lives through robotics and coding. The students began by creating video games and animations using Scratch, a program developed at MIT. (See some of their work here.) After reflecting on their coding experience, the students were ready to move on to robotics.
"What I like about coding is you can make games and play other people's games," Micah Lewis '31 shared when she reflected on her experience. "What I would like to do in coding someday is to be able to code robots and to learn how to get them to code themselves."
Once students had a better understanding of coding from their ANTS sessions, they combined their newfound knowledge with the classroom curriculum on robotics design. With LEGO sets, the Lower Schoolers had the opportunity to collaborate with classmates to build robots. The students brought their creations to life using LEGO WeDo software that connects the robot to a computer and allows them to make movements and commands.
"We've been working hard on our robots and it was so cool to make them move finally," said ZariaI Jackson '31. "Coding and Robotics have been my favorite activities this year so far!"
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