Course Title: Junior Genius Coders: My First Stories & Games with ScratchJr
Age Group: Below 7 years (Up to Age 7)
Course Synopsis: This 10-week course introduces young learners to the exciting world of coding through ScratchJr. Using a visual, block-based interface, children will develop computational thinking skills by creating interactive stories and simple games. The course emphasizes playful learning, creativity, collaboration, and building a foundational appreciation for science and programming.
Tools: ScratchJr (Tablet or iPad recommended)
Session Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes
Week 1: Welcome to ScratchJr – Let’s Move!
- Learning Objective: Introduce ScratchJr interface and basic movement blocks (move right, move left).
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “The Magical Tablet Adventure!”
- Gather children, introduce the tablet as a magic window to create stories.
- Show the ScratchJr app icon. “This is our magic tool!”
- Open ScratchJr together, point out key areas: Stage, Character Library, Block Palette.
- Introduce ‘Blocky’ the ScratchJr cat as their first friend. “Meet Blocky! He wants to move!”
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Making Blocky Dance!
- Guide children to drag Blocky to the stage.
- Introduce the blue ‘Movement’ blocks.
- Demonstrate dragging and connecting ‘move right’ and ‘move left’ blocks to Blocky.
- Encourage experimentation: “Let’s make Blocky dance! Try different move blocks. What happens?”
- Let them explore moving Blocky around the screen.
- (15 min) Creative Application: Draw Blocky’s Playground!
- “Blocky needs a playground! Let’s draw one.”
- Introduce the paint editor (brush, colors).
- Children draw a simple background for Blocky (e.g., grass, sky, path).
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Super Movers!”
- Review: “What blocks did we use to make Blocky move? (Move right, move left).”
- Praise everyone’s ‘dancing’ Blocky and playgrounds.
- Give out stickers: “You are all ‘Super Movers’!”
Week 2: Jump, Grow, Shrink – Fun with Size and Action!
- Learning Objective: Introduce jump, grow, and shrink blocks; explore speed using number inputs.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Blocky’s Magic Potion!”
- Recap: “Last week Blocky danced! Today he found a magic potion!”
- “This potion can make him jump and change size!”
- Introduce ‘jump’, ‘grow’, ‘shrink’ blocks from the purple ‘Looks’ palette.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Potion Effects!
- Guide children to use ‘jump’, ‘grow’, ‘shrink’ blocks on Blocky.
- Introduce number inputs in move blocks to control speed/distance. “Let’s make him jump HIGH! Change the number!”
- Challenge: “Can you make Blocky jump over an imaginary puddle (or a drawn line)?”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Build an Obstacle Course!
- “Let’s build an obstacle course for Blocky’s jumping!”
- Children draw simple obstacles in the background (lines, shapes).
- Encourage them to plan Blocky’s jumps over the obstacles.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Size & Action Experts!”
- Review: “What blocks made Blocky jump? Grow? Shrink?”
- Praise their obstacle courses and jumping Blocky.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Size & Action Experts’!”
Week 3: Let’s Talk! – Speech Bubbles and Sounds
- Learning Objective: Introduce speech bubble block (say) and basic sound blocks.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Blocky Wants to Talk!”
- Recap: “Blocky can move and jump! But he’s lonely. Let’s make him talk!”
- “What would Blocky say if he met a friend?”
- Introduce the pink ‘Sound’ palette, focusing on the ‘say’ block (speech bubble) and simple sound blocks (e.g., pop, meow – if available in ScratchJr default sounds).
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Blocky Says Hello!
- Guide children to use the ‘say’ block to make Blocky say “Hello!” or their name.
- Experiment with changing the text in the speech bubble.
- Introduce adding a simple sound block after the ‘say’ block. “Let’s add a ‘pop’ sound when he says hello!”
- Challenge: “Can you make Blocky say something and make a sound?”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Draw Emotion Bubbles!
- “Blocky can show emotions with speech bubbles! Let’s draw some.”
- Children draw speech bubbles with different emotions (happy, sad, surprised).
- Discuss what words Blocky might say in each emotion bubble.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Chatty Coders!”
- Review: “What blocks made Blocky talk? Make sounds?”
- Praise their talking Blocky and emotion bubbles.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Chatty Coders’!”
Week 4: Repeating Fun – Loops with the Repeat Block
- Learning Objective: Introduce the repeat block for creating simple loops and repeating actions.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “The Magical Repeat Flower!”
- Recap: “Blocky can talk and move! Now he found a magical flower!”
- “This flower makes actions repeat again and again, like spinning or clapping!”
- Introduce the orange ‘Control’ palette and the ‘repeat’ block.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Repeat Dance Moves!
- Guide children to use the ‘repeat’ block to make Blocky repeat movements (e.g., move right and move left repeatedly to make him wiggle).
- Experiment with changing the number inside the ‘repeat’ block to change how many times the action repeats. “Let’s make him spin 3 times! Change the number to 3.”
- Challenge: “Can you make Blocky do a repeating dance with jumps and spins?”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Draw Repeating Patterns!
- “Let’s draw patterns that repeat, like the magical flower’s petals!”
- Children draw simple repeating patterns (lines, shapes, colors).
- Connect patterns to the ‘repeat’ block concept.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Looping Legends!”
- Review: “What block makes actions repeat?” “What is a loop?”
- Praise their repeating dances and patterns.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Looping Legends’!”
Week 5: Start and Stop – Trigger Blocks and Endings
- Learning Objective: Introduce start blocks (green flag, tap) and the end block to control project flow.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Starting Our Stories!”
- Recap: “Blocky can do lots of things! But how do we start our stories and games?”
- “We need a ‘start’ button! And sometimes we need an ‘end’ too.”
- Introduce the yellow ‘Trigger’ palette: ‘start on green flag’ and ‘start on tap’. Introduce the red ‘End’ block.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Making Interactive Stories!
- Guide children to use the ‘green flag’ block to start their projects. “Let’s put this at the beginning so our story starts when we press the green flag!”
- Experiment with the ‘tap’ block to make characters react when tapped. “Let’s make Blocky jump when we tap him!”
- Introduce the ‘end’ block to stop a sequence. “Let’s make Blocky say ‘Goodbye!’ and then stop.”
- Challenge: “Create a short story where Blocky moves when you press the green flag and says something when you tap him, then stops.”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Design Start and End Scenes!
- “Every story has a beginning and end! Let’s draw start and end scenes.”
- Children draw a ‘start’ scene (e.g., a stage curtain opening) and an ‘end’ scene (e.g., a curtain closing, fireworks).
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Story Starters & Finishers!”
- Review: “What blocks start our stories? How do we make things happen when we tap? How do we end a sequence?”
- Praise their interactive stories and start/end scenes.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Story Starters & Finishers’!”
Week 6: Changing Scenes – Backgrounds and Pages
- Learning Objective: Explore backgrounds and adding multiple pages to create stories with different scenes.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Exploring New Places!”
- Recap: “Blocky’s stories are getting exciting! Let’s take him to new places!”
- “We can change the background and even have different pages for different scenes in our story!”
- Introduce the background library (at the top of the screen). Show how to add new backgrounds.
- Introduce adding new pages (the ‘+’ button next to page numbers).
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Story in Two Scenes!
- Guide children to change the background to a different scene (e.g., from city to forest).
- Show them how to add a new page. “Let’s make a story with two pages! Page 1: City, Page 2: Forest.”
- Create a simple story that moves Blocky from one background (page) to another. “Let’s make Blocky walk from the city to the forest!”
- Challenge: “Create a story with at least two different backgrounds and make Blocky do something different in each scene.”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Draw Different Backgrounds!
- “Let’s draw backgrounds for different places Blocky can visit!”
- Children draw backgrounds for a city, a forest, a beach, etc.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Scene Changers!”
- Review: “How do we change backgrounds? How do we add new pages for scenes?”
- Praise their multi-scene stories and backgrounds.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Scene Changers’!”
Week 7: More Friends! – Adding Characters and Interactions
- Learning Objective: Add multiple characters and create simple interactions between them using speech and movement.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Blocky Makes New Friends!”
- Recap: “Blocky is exploring new places! Maybe he’ll meet some friends!”
- “Let’s add more characters to our stories! And make them talk to each other!”
- Show how to add new characters from the character library (‘+’ button next to Blocky).
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Character Conversations!
- Guide children to add a new character (e.g., Pipsi the bird).
- Make Blocky and Pipsi have a simple conversation using ‘say’ blocks. “Let’s make Blocky say ‘Hello Pipsi!’ and Pipsi say ‘Hello Blocky!'”
- Use movement blocks to make characters move towards each other and interact.
- Challenge: “Create a short scene where Blocky and Pipsi meet and say hello to each other and maybe do a little dance together.”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Design New Characters!
- “Let’s design some new friends for Blocky and Pipsi! What kind of animals or creatures?”
- Children use the paint editor to create their own characters.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Friendship Coders!”
- Review: “How do we add new characters? How can we make characters talk to each other?”
- Praise their character interactions and new character designs.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Friendship Coders’!”
Week 8: Simple Games – The Chase Game!
- Learning Objective: Apply learned concepts to create a very simple chase game.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Let’s Play a Game!”
- Recap: “We’ve made stories! Now let’s try making a simple game!”
- “Let’s make a chase game where one character tries to catch another!”
- Explain the basic concept of a chase game.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Building a Chase Game (Simplified)!
- Use two characters (e.g., Blocky and Pipsi).
- Make one character (player – maybe controlled by tap) move around. “Let’s make Pipsi move when we tap the screen!” (Use ‘start on tap’ and move blocks for Pipsi).
- Make the other character (chaser – maybe Blocky) move slowly in one direction (using repeat and move blocks) to ‘chase’ Pipsi. Keep it very simple – no collision detection or scoring needed at this age. The goal is basic movement and the idea of a game.
- Challenge: “Can you make Pipsi move away from Blocky? Or make Blocky move faster?”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Design Game Elements!
- “Let’s draw things for our chase game! Maybe some paths or decorations.”
- Children draw simple paths or decorations for their game background.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Game Creators!”
- Review: “What did we do to make a game? How did we make characters move in our game?”
- Praise their game creations and efforts.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Game Creators’!”
Week 9: Teamwork Time – Collaborative Storytelling
- Learning Objective: Promote teamwork and collaboration through creating a story together.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Let’s Tell a Story Together!”
- Recap: “We’ve made stories and games by ourselves! Now let’s work together!”
- “We’ll make a story as a team! We can share ideas and help each other.”
- Explain the concept of teamwork and sharing ideas.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Team Story Creation!
- Divide children into pairs or small groups (depending on class size and device availability).
- Each group brainstorms a short story idea together.
- Groups work together to create their ScratchJr story. Depending on device setup, they can either take turns using one device, or each group works on their own story to present.
- Encourage communication and sharing of ideas within the groups.
- (15 min) Creative Application: Team Character Design!
- “Let’s design a special character for our team story, together!”
- Each group works together to design a new character for their collaborative story.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Teamwork Triumphs!”
- Review: “What was it like to work as a team? Did you share ideas?”
- Praise their teamwork and collaborative stories.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Teamwork Triumphs’!”
Week 10: Showcase & Your Own Project – Junior Genius Showcase!
- Learning Objective: Creative project to apply all learned skills, showcase projects, celebrate learning.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Your Junior Genius Project!”
- Recap: “Wow, we’ve learned so much! Now it’s time to create ANYTHING you want!”
- “You can make a story, a game, or anything you can imagine using ScratchJr!”
- Encourage them to use all the blocks and skills they’ve learned throughout the course.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Creative Project Time!
- Children work individually or in pairs (if preferred) to create their own ScratchJr project.
- Provide support and encouragement as they work on their projects.
- Encourage them to be creative and have fun!
- (15 min) Showcase Time: “Junior Genius Showcase!”
- Each child (or group) gets to briefly showcase their project to the class.
- Encourage positive feedback and appreciation from classmates.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Junior Genius Coders!”
- Congratulate everyone on completing the course and becoming “Junior Genius Coders!”
- Give out certificates of completion (pre-printed or make simple ones).
- Provide small celebratory rewards (e.g., small toys, pencils, erasers).
- Final words of encouragement and appreciation.
This curriculum is designed to be flexible and adaptable. Observe the children’s engagement and adjust pacing or activities as needed. Remember to keep it fun, positive, and celebrate every child’s effort and creativity!
Course Title: Junior Genius Robotics Adventures: My First Robot Friend – Tale-Bot!
Age Group: Below 7 years (Up to Age 7)
Course Synopsis: This 10-week course introduces young learners to the exciting world of robotics through hands-on activities with Tale-Bot. Without relying on screens, children will develop computational thinking skills by programming Tale-Bot to navigate, solve simple challenges, and even tell stories. The course emphasizes playful exploration, problem-solving, communication, teamwork, and fostering a love for science and technology.
Tools: Matatalab Tale-Bot Pro
Session Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes
Week 1: Hello Tale-Bot! – Getting to Know My Robot Friend
- Learning Objective: Introduce Tale-Bot, identify its parts, and learn basic command buttons (Forward, Backward).
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “The Robot Delivery!”
- Gather children, present Tale-Bot as a special delivery – a new robot friend!
- “Wow! Look who arrived! This is Tale-Bot! He’s here to play and learn with us.”
- Let children gently touch and explore Tale-Bot. Identify key parts: buttons, wheels, lights (if applicable).
- Focus on the ‘Forward’ and ‘Backward’ buttons. “These buttons make Tale-Bot move!”
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Tale-Bot Says Hello and Moves!
- Guide children to press the ‘Forward’ button on Tale-Bot. “Let’s make Tale-Bot say hello by moving forward!”
- Experiment with ‘Forward’ and ‘Backward’ buttons. “What happens when we press ‘Forward’? What about ‘Backward’?”
- Simple challenge: “Can you make Tale-Bot move from your hand to your friend’s hand (or a marker on the table) using only ‘Forward’?”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Draw a Path for Tale-Bot!
- “Tale-Bot needs a path to explore! Let’s draw one.”
- Children draw simple straight paths on paper or large sheets.
- Discuss: “Will Tale-Bot move straight on this path?”
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Robot Explorers!”
- Review: “What are the ‘Forward’ and ‘Backward’ buttons for? What did Tale-Bot do?”
- Praise everyone for meeting their new robot friend and making him move.
- Give out stickers: “You are all ‘Robot Explorers’!”
Week 2: Turn, Tale-Bot, Turn! – Learning to Change Direction
- Learning Objective: Introduce ‘Turn Right’ and ‘Turn Left’ buttons; combine with ‘Forward’ and ‘Backward’.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Tale-Bot Gets Lost in the Garden!”
- Recap: “Last week, Tale-Bot moved forward and backward! But now he’s lost in a garden with lots of turns!”
- “He needs to learn how to turn to find his way out!”
- Introduce ‘Turn Right’ and ‘Turn Left’ buttons. “These buttons help Tale-Bot turn!”
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Tale-Bot Navigates a Corner!
- Guide children to use ‘Forward’ and ‘Turn Right’ (or ‘Turn Left’) to make Tale-Bot turn a corner.
- Practice making 90-degree turns. “Let’s make Tale-Bot turn like a square corner!”
- Challenge: “Can you make Tale-Bot follow a path with one corner? (L-shape path drawn on paper).”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Build a Maze with Blocks!
- “Let’s build a maze for Tale-Bot to navigate with turns!”
- Use blocks (Legos, wooden blocks, etc.) to create simple mazes with clear paths and corners.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Turning Experts!”
- Review: “What are the ‘Turn Right’ and ‘Turn Left’ buttons for? How do we make Tale-Bot turn a corner?”
- Praise their corner-turning and maze-building skills.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Turning Experts’!”
Week 3: Sequences of Moves – Planning a Robot Dance!
- Learning Objective: Program sequences of commands (multiple button presses) to create a planned movement.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Tale-Bot Wants to Dance!”
- Recap: “Tale-Bot can move forward, backward, and turn! Now he wants to dance!”
- “But he needs our help to plan his dance moves in a sequence!”
- Introduce the idea of a sequence – doing things in order.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Programming a Simple Dance Sequence!
- Guide children to plan a short dance sequence for Tale-Bot using a combination of ‘Forward’, ‘Backward’, ‘Turn Right’, ‘Turn Left’ buttons.
- Example sequence: Forward, Turn Right, Forward.
- Program the sequence on Tale-Bot (press buttons in order) and press ‘Play’. Observe the dance.
- Experiment with different sequences to create different dance moves.
- Challenge: “Can you create a dance sequence with at least 4 moves?”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Draw Dance Steps!
- “Let’s draw pictures to show Tale-Bot’s dance steps!”
- Children draw simple symbols or pictures to represent ‘Forward’, ‘Backward’, ‘Turn Right’, ‘Turn Left’ to visualize their dance sequences.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Sequence Stars!”
- Review: “What is a sequence? How do we program a sequence of moves for Tale-Bot?”
- Praise their dance sequences and dance step drawings.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Sequence Stars’!”
Week 4: Obstacle Course Challenge – Navigating Around Things!
- Learning Objective: Apply sequencing and turning skills to navigate Tale-Bot around obstacles.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Tale-Bot’s Obstacle Race!”
- Recap: “Tale-Bot can dance with sequences! Now he’s entering an obstacle race!”
- “He needs to use all his moves to go around obstacles and reach the finish line!”
- Explain the concept of an obstacle course and avoiding obstacles.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Navigating a Simple Obstacle Course!
- Set up a simple obstacle course using blocks, cups, or toys on the floor.
- Guide children to plan and program a sequence of commands to navigate Tale-Bot from a start point, around the obstacles, to a finish line.
- Encourage trial and error – if Tale-Bot bumps into an obstacle, they need to adjust their program.
- Challenge: “Can you navigate Tale-Bot through the obstacle course without touching any obstacles?”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Design Your Own Obstacle Course Map!
- “Let’s draw a map of a super fun obstacle course for Tale-Bot!”
- Children draw maps of obstacle courses, including start, finish, obstacles, and paths.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Obstacle Navigators!”
- Review: “How did we help Tale-Bot go around obstacles? What skills did we use?”
- Praise their obstacle course navigation and map designs.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Obstacle Navigators’!”
Week 5: Tale-Bot Story Time – Acting Out a Simple Story
- Learning Objective: Use Tale-Bot to act out a simple narrative, focusing on sequencing story events.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “The Tale of Tale-Bot’s Day!”
- Recap: “Tale-Bot is great at moving around! Let’s make him tell a story with his movements!”
- “We’ll create a story about Tale-Bot’s day, and he will act it out!”
- Tell a very simple, short story about Tale-Bot (e.g., Tale-Bot wakes up, goes for a walk, meets a friend, comes home).
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Programming Tale-Bot to Act Out Story Events!
- Break down the story into simple events (e.g., wake up = move forward a little, walk = move forward longer, meet a friend = turn around, come home = move backward).
- Guide children to program Tale-Bot to perform actions that represent each story event in sequence.
- Tell the story aloud as Tale-Bot acts it out.
- Challenge: “Can you add one more event to Tale-Bot’s day and program it?”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Draw Story Pictures!
- “Let’s draw pictures for each part of Tale-Bot’s story!”
- Children draw simple pictures representing each event in the story sequence.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Storytelling Robots!”
- Review: “How did we use Tale-Bot to tell a story? What did we need to think about?” (Sequence of events)
- Praise their storytelling and story pictures.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Storytelling Robots’!”
Week 6: Repeat After Me! – Introducing Simple Repetition (If Tale-Bot Pro has ‘Repeat’ Button)
- Learning Objective: Introduce the ‘Repeat’ button (if available on Tale-Bot Pro) to make Tale-Bot repeat actions. If ‘Repeat’ is not available, adapt to simple repeated sequences programmed manually.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “The Magical Repeat Song!”
- Recap: “Tale-Bot can tell stories! Now he learned a magical song that repeats!”
- “This song makes actions happen again and again, like clapping or spinning!”
- Introduce the ‘Repeat’ button (if available). “This button makes Tale-Bot do things again and again!”
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Creating a Repeating Action Sequence!
- Guide children to use the ‘Repeat’ button along with a simple movement (e.g., ‘Forward’ a little bit).
- Program: ‘Repeat’ (maybe press it a few times to set repetitions), then ‘Forward’. Press ‘Play’. Observe Tale-Bot moving forward repeatedly.
- Experiment with different numbers of repetitions (if controllable) and different movements to repeat.
- Challenge: “Can you make Tale-Bot spin around and around using the ‘Repeat’ button and ‘Turn’ buttons?”
- If ‘Repeat’ button is not available, create a short sequence like ‘Turn Right, Forward, Turn Left, Forward’ and program it multiple times in a row to achieve a similar repeating effect.
- (15 min) Creative Application: Draw Repeating Patterns!
- “Let’s draw patterns that repeat, like the magical song!”
- Children draw simple repeating patterns using shapes or colors.
- Connect patterns to the concept of repetition in coding.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Repeating Robot Masters!”
- Review: “What does the ‘Repeat’ button do? How can we make Tale-Bot repeat actions?”
- Praise their repeating actions and patterns.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Repeating Robot Masters’!”
Week 7: Tale-Bot Sounds and Actions (If Tale-Bot Pro has Sound/Record features)
- Learning Objective: Explore sound features of Tale-Bot Pro (if available), linking sounds to actions. If no sound features, focus on more complex action sequences or introduce simple sound effects using voice or instruments alongside Tale-Bot.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Tale-Bot Makes Noises!”
- Recap: “Tale-Bot can move and repeat actions! Guess what? He can also make sounds (if feature available)!”
- “Let’s explore how Tale-Bot can make noises and use them in our activities!”
- Introduce sound buttons or recording features (if available).
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Sound Effects for Tale-Bot Actions!
- If Tale-Bot has sound features: Experiment with pre-set sounds or recording simple sounds (e.g., “Beep!”, “Woof!”, “Clap!”). Program Tale-Bot to play sounds before, during, or after movements. Example: ‘Sound’ (beep), then ‘Forward’.
- If no sound features: Use simple vocal sound effects or instruments (shakers, bells) to accompany Tale-Bot’s movements. Children create sound effects while Tale-Bot moves according to their program.
- Challenge: “Can you make Tale-Bot move and make a sound at the same time (or one after the other)?”
- (15 min) Creative Application: Sound and Movement Storyboard!
- “Let’s draw a storyboard showing Tale-Bot’s movements and the sounds he makes!”
- Children draw a sequence of pictures, showing Tale-Bot’s actions and writing down or drawing symbols for the sounds.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Sound & Action Superstars!”
- Review: “How can we make Tale-Bot make sounds (if applicable)? How can we connect sounds to actions?”
- Praise their sound-action combinations and storyboards.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Sound & Action Superstars’!”
Week 8: Tale-Bot Goes to the Farm (Cross-Curricular – Science/Animals)
- Learning Objective: Integrate Tale-Bot with a cross-curricular theme (animals/farm), using it to explore a simple environment.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Tale-Bot Visits the Farm!”
- Recap: “Tale-Bot knows sounds and movements! Today, Tale-Bot is going on a trip to the farm!”
- “Let’s imagine a farm with animals and help Tale-Bot explore it.”
- Talk about farm animals and farm environments.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Navigating a Farm Map (Simple)!
- Create a very simple “farm map” on the floor using paper, fabric, or drawn lines. Include pictures or toy animals (cow, pig, chicken) at different locations on the map.
- Challenge: “Can you program Tale-Bot to visit the cow? Then the pig? Then the chicken?” (Each ‘visit’ could be reaching a certain point on the map near each animal).
- Children plan sequences to move Tale-Bot from one animal to another.
- (15 min) Creative Application: Draw Farm Animals and the Farm Map!
- “Let’s draw our favorite farm animals and make our own farm map for Tale-Bot!”
- Children draw farm animals and design their own farm maps with paths and animal locations.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Farm Robot Explorers!”
- Review: “What animals did Tale-Bot visit on the farm? How did we use Tale-Bot to explore the farm?”
- Praise their farm explorations and animal/map drawings.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Farm Robot Explorers’!”
Week 9: Teamwork Challenge – Collaborative Maze Navigation
- Learning Objective: Promote teamwork and collaboration by solving a Tale-Bot challenge together.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Tale-Bot Needs a Team!”
- Recap: “Tale-Bot has explored the farm! Now he needs help from a team to solve a tricky maze!”
- “We’ll work together as a team to guide Tale-Bot through a maze!”
- Emphasize teamwork and sharing ideas.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Team Maze Challenge!
- Build a more complex maze than in Week 2 (using blocks, boxes, etc.).
- Divide children into small groups (pairs or small teams).
- Each team works together to plan and program Tale-Bot to navigate the maze. Groups can take turns programming and testing, or if multiple Tale-Bots are available, each group can have their own robot and maze.
- Encourage communication and sharing of ideas within the teams.
- (15 min) Creative Application: Team Maze Design!
- “Let’s design a super maze for other teams to try!”
- Each team designs a maze on paper, thinking about challenges and pathways.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Teamwork Robot Heroes!”
- Review: “How did we work together as a team? Did we share ideas? Was it easier to solve the maze as a team?”
- Praise their teamwork and maze-solving efforts.
- Stickers: “You are ‘Teamwork Robot Heroes’!”
Week 10: Tale-Bot’s Grand Finale – Your Creative Robot Project & Showcase!
- Learning Objective: Creative project to apply all learned skills, showcase projects, celebrate learning.
- (20 min) Interactive Storytelling Intro: “Tale-Bot’s Grand Performance!”
- Recap: “Wow, we’ve learned so much with Tale-Bot! Now it’s time for Tale-Bot’s grand finale – a project created by YOU!”
- “You can make Tale-Bot dance, tell a story, navigate a special path, or anything you can imagine using all your Tale-Bot skills!”
- Encourage creativity and using all the skills learned throughout the course.
- (30 min) Hands-on Activity: Creative Project Time!
- Children work individually or in pairs to create their own Tale-Bot project.
- Provide support and encouragement as they work on their projects.
- Encourage them to be creative and have fun!
- (15 min) Showcase Time: “Tale-Bot Grand Finale Showcase!”
- Each child (or group) gets to briefly showcase their project to the class.
- Encourage positive feedback and appreciation from classmates.
- (5 min) Recap + Rewards: “Junior Genius Robot Masters!”
- Congratulate everyone on completing the course and becoming “Junior Genius Robot Masters!”
- Give out certificates of completion (pre-printed or make simple ones).
- Provide small celebratory rewards (e.g., small robot-themed toys, pencils, erasers).
- Final words of encouragement and appreciation.
This curriculum is designed to be adaptable. Observe the children’s engagement and adjust activities or pacing as needed. If Tale-Bot Pro has features I’m unaware of, feel free to integrate them. The key is to keep it playful, hands-on, and celebrate their robotic adventures!