Dive into Adventure: Kickstart Lego Robotics and Lego Coding with the ‘Boat Trip’ Lesson Plan

Ready to introduce your students to the exciting world of STEM? The ‘Boat Trip’ lesson from the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential ‘Great Adventures’ unit is the perfect launchpad for young learners (Years 1-2) to explore fundamental engineering and programming concepts.

This 30-45 minute beginner activity places students in the role of problem-solvers. The challenge? Characters Maria and Sofie need to get their boat into the water! To help them, students must design and build a simple mechanism using the SPIKE Essential Set, providing a hands-on introduction to Lego Robotics. They learn how physical construction directly influences how a robot can move and interact with its environment.

The real learning magic happens in the digital realm. Students will use the intuitive, icon-based SPIKE App to develop their first programs, engaging in essential Lego Coding practice. They will follow clear instructions to create a program that makes their model push the boat into the water. Critically, the lesson encourages iteration—students must then change the program to make the robot better, giving them their first taste of debugging and refining algorithms. This exercise directly supports key computational thinking standards by teaching children to understand that programs execute by following precise, unambiguous instructions.

If you are a teacher or parent searching for engaging, standards-aligned lessons that bridge storytelling with practical STEM skills, look no further. This lesson provides a structured, collaborative, and fun environment for children to master early-stage Lego Robotics and Lego Coding.

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