Discuss with students the ways to change the construction of the robot, so that it doesn't tumble after a sudden change in speed. Let the students give suggestions and repeat the good ones out loud so that everyone hears them.
Stay open-minded to original solutions. In the beginning, we knew of three solutions, then our own students came up with two more, resulting in five solutions so far. Here they are:
Attention: Do not change the support wheel behind the robot, because students must build on top of it when they attach sensor for the additional tasks.
This Tutorial is used in the following courses and lessons
The third level of the Robotics with LEGO curriculum for students in second, third or fourth grades.
In these lessons, we stress on more complex and challenging robots. The concept of Condition is introduced. Students learn about physics concepts of inertia and center of mass. Robots with two sensors are built and students program both of them. Programming becomes more complex as robots now can make complex decisions. "Spy"-robots sneakily follow their targets, trying to be undetected.
The second level of the Robotics with LEGO curriculum for students from fifth to twelfth grades.
Students build multiple robots with thread chains and become familiar with the physical concepts of momentum and center of gravity. The concept of gears, their use and basic constructions involving gears are studied.
The new concept of "condition" is introduced in programming. Robots are becoming smarter as they can make complex decisions on their own. "Spy robots" follow their targets and avoid being noticed. This level introduces the light sensor which the robots use to recognize the colors of the objects they are looking for. Robots can stop on a black line and follow a route marked with a colored line on the floor.
The spy's most complex mission in the end of the level is to turn into a sumo wrestler and defeat any other robot in the ring.
