This document provides information about starting a robotics club or program in elementary and middle schools. It discusses the benefits of robotics education, what materials and resources are needed to get started, how to form teams and define roles, ideas for club activities, and information on competitions like First Lego League. Resources and instructions for a sample robot sumo competition are also included.

1. Title Layout
Subtitle
Let Go
My Lego!
http://bit.ly/1NzlwqV

2. Presented by:
▪ Jenny Bruno, 5th grade Stem teacher,
coach of Oak Grove Primary’s robotics club
▪ Stephanie Gaspard, 6-8 grades Technology and
STEM teacher, coach of Dutchtown Middle
School’s robotics club
▪ Ashley Townsend, 5th grade math teacher, coach
of Oak Grove Primary’s robotics club
Mission- To become STEAM strong in Ascension Parish

5. Top Reasons:
Robotics in Elementary and Middle Schools
▪ Robotics is a newly envisioned multi-disciplinary program and curriculum that
integrates math, science, and technology content and skills.
▪ Robotics offers problem based learning, integration and application of
knowledge, hands-on learning in cooperative groups, and ability to
demonstrate mastery of new skills.
▪ Robotics introduces students to knowledge, concepts, and skills that are
needed for understanding the intelligent information-based technology of the
future.
▪ Robotics engages students in 21st century education! Students love robotics!
▪ Students are excited because they are enthusiastic users and consumers of
information technology.

6. Who can start a club?
▪Teachers
▪Parents
▪Coaches
▪After school club leaders https://youtu.be/5UDqFyeSQck
Watch to see how we introduced robotics.

7. What do you need to get started?
▪ Resources- a robot (EV3, NXT, etc.) per
every 2-4 students, a computer per robot
that can be used to program the robot, a
place to meet, 2 or more adult coaches, a
desire to have fun and learn, a spirit of
adventure and a time to meet
▪ https://shop.education.lego.com/legoed/en-
US/search/navSearchResults.jsp?gradeLevels=Elementary

8. Things to think about
▪ What are your teaching goals?
▪ how will robotics impact your students?
▪ Are you using robotics for teaching math
concepts, programming, teamwork,
problem solving, competitions?
▪ How many robots will you have?
▪ How large do you want the club? 2 adult
coaches are needed. Recommended- 10
students to start if you only have 2
coaches

16. Great to have, but not necessary to begin
▪ Practice table- see First Lego League for building
instructions
▪ https://www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge/teamresources
▪ Parts storage- Can keep simple and buy tackle boxes and
a big storage box

17. MIDDLE SCHOOL
Middle School – Robotics is an ideal tool to reinforce fundamental
mathematics and scientific process; it also allows the teacher to introduce
the concepts of systems integration, digital control, and innovative design.
LEGO NXT is an ideal solution for middle school teaching; The LEGO
Mindstorms Education Base Set will allow you to complete all of the lessons
in both of the curriculums created by Carnegie Mellon – Robotics
Engineering Vol. I - Introduction to Mobile Robotics and the Robotics
Engineering Vol. II - Guided Research.
If it is in your budget, we recommend purchasing at least one Education
Resource Set with every two NXT Education Base Sets. This accessory kit
includes many parts and connectors not included in the Education Base
Set; including tracks.

18. Decide who will be in your team
▪ What kind of group will you have?
▪ Lego Robotics?
▪ First Lego League?
▪ Local competitions?
▪ Just a team, not competing?
▪ Application process
▪ How many students? 8-10 per robot for First Lego League is a good
number. FLL has a max of 10 students per team. Depending on the
number of sponsors and mentors available will help determine the
number of team members you will want.
▪ After competition, if participating in FLL, one robot for 10 students may
not be enough. Typically you may want 1 robot per 2-4 students.

19. Define roles on the team
▪ Engineer (builder)
▪ Software Specialist (programmer)
▪ Information Specialist (researcher)
▪ Project Manager
*Have students change jobs regularly.

20. Club Ideas
▪ Split into groups and take turns alternating building
and programming
▪ Build using resources such as books and online
resources
▪ Set up a course with missions for a competition
▪ Robot Sumo!

22. Ready for Competition?
▪ FLL- First Lego League- Signup August 2015, 6 weeks
preparation
▪ World War II – Sign up January 2016, 3 months preparation
▪ http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-
teachers/robotics/

23. Start a team with FLL!
▪ http://www.firstinspires.org/
▪ http://www.firstinspires.org/node/3166

24. Why FLL?
▪ No experience required
▪ Abundance of resource available online
▪ You will never be alone!
▪ Easy for all levels of experience
▪ Core Values
▪ Robot Game
▪ Project

25. 6 essential steps to starting First Lego League
1. Research online to see what FLL is all about!
http://www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge/startateam
2. Form a team and register
http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/fll
3. Order your materials
4. Begin working on the Challenge
5. Apply for a tournament
6. Attend a tournament and celebrate your season

26. Visit us at www.ogprobotics.weebly.com

27. Just for
fun!

28. Robot Sumo
▪ Robot Sumo started in Japan and is now the most popular robot competition worldwide. There
are some simplified rules below, which are based on the official Japanese rules.
▪ Objective
– Push the other robot out of the Sumo ring two times in a three minute period.
Robot Construction
• Maximum size 8 inches long x 8 inches wide. No height limitation.
• Maximum weight 2.2 pounds
• Parts are limited to any official or compatible Lego piece, rubber bands, removable tape, and cardboard. Not
allowed: glue, anything that damages the Lego parts, vacuum or sticky wheels.
• A maximum of 3 motors may be used.
Match Rules
• A match consists of up to three games.
• The first robot to win two games wins the match.

29. Game Rules
▪ To start a game, players position their robots anywhere behind the starting
line on their side of the ring.
▪ When given the signal, both players press their start buttons simultaneously
then move back out of the way so spectators can see.
▪ Players cannot touch their robots or enter the ring for the remainder of the
game.
▪ • The robot must start moving 5 seconds after the start button is pushed. If
a robot does not wait 5 seconds it is disqualified.
▪ • A robot wins a game when it pushes its opponent out of the ring or if the
opponent moves out of the ring by itself.
▪ The opponent's robot must touch the floor outside the ring.

30. ▪ If any of the following occur the game will be restarted:
a. Both robots are locked together and stop movements for 30 seconds, or
are stuck in the a repetitive pattern for 30 seconds.
b. Both robots move or stop for 30 seconds without touching each other.
c. Both robots at the same moment touch the space outside the Ring.
▪ If one robot stops its movement for 30 seconds, he shall be considered not
having the will to fight, and the opponent shall win the game.
▪ If neither robot moves outside the ring within 2 minutes, the judge will
decide the winner based on technical merit of the movements and
operation of the robots and attitude of the players during the game.
▪ The winner is determined by a double elimination tournament.

31. Resources
▪ www.legoengineering.com
Contains basic information on Lego Mindstorms as well as some basic building and programming instructions
▪ www.nxtprograms.com
Great resource that contains lots of step by step illustrated building instructions for the Lego Mindstorms NXT
▪ For First Lego League information visit http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll/default.aspx?id=970
▪ http://www.techbrick.com/Lego/TechBrick/ This is a great site that compiles all the information they can find on the
year’s FLL challenge in one convenient location.
Carnegie Mellon University RobotC Curriculum Preview
▪ http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu

32. Credits
▪ https://www.clemson.edu/.../Robotics%20Handout.pdf
▪ http://www.slideshare.net/arifkazanci/robotics-program-at-school
▪ http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=robot+sumo&view=detailv2
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