Navigate the North: Introducing Directional Lego Coding with ‘Arctic Ride’

Are your students ready for their next challenge in Lego Robotics? The ‘Arctic Ride’ lesson plan, the second in the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential ‘Great Adventures’ unit, transforms building and programming into an icy adventure. Designed for beginner learners (Years 1-2), this 30-45 minute lesson focuses on critical thinking, directional vocabulary, and sequential programming.

The mission: Help Leo, the story’s main character, use his snowmobile to travel to the Arctic to see polar bears, and then make sure he can get home safely!

This activity provides rich opportunities for mastering fundamental Lego Coding concepts. Students first construct a snowmobile model, engaging the physical Lego Robotics element. Then, using the visual SPIKE App, they learn to translate abstract directional language (forwards, backwards, left, right) into a sequence of code. The core objective is for students to:

1. Program Movement: Create a program that makes the snowmobile go.
2. Route Planning & Debugging: Change the program to navigate a map for Leo’s trip, including the return journey.

By tackling this multi-step challenge, pupils practice breaking down complex problems (like navigating a path) into smaller, manageable parts. They use logical reasoning to predict the behavior of their simple programs, aligning directly with key computing curriculum standards. The ‘Arctic Ride’ lesson is an essential stepping stone for young students building confidence in both Lego Robotics and creative, problem-solving Lego Coding.

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