Shedding Light on Sequences: Master Lego Coding with the ‘Cave Car’ Challenge

The third lesson in the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential ‘Great Adventures’ unit, ‘Cave Car,’ offers a brilliant opportunity for young students (Years 1-2) to explore the relationship between Lego Coding and physical outputs, moving beyond basic movement.

In this exciting 30-45 minute activity, students help Daniel, the story’s explorer, venture into a dark cave. The central challenge involves building a Lego Robotics model—the Cave Car—and then programming its light to turn on, allowing Daniel to see what’s hidden inside.

This beginner lesson is crucial for developing logical reasoning and foundational programming skills. Students learn to:

1. Code the Light: Create a program using the SPIKE App that sequences the action required to switch on the Cave Car’s light. This introduces them to controlling different components of their robot beyond just motors.
2. Predict and Debug: Modify the program for Daniel’s “next trip,” requiring them to predict the outcome of their changes and debug their code if the light doesn’t behave as expected.

By focusing on the simple, visual outcome of lighting up a dark space, students gain a clear understanding of a program’s goals, its sequence of events, and the expected results. This hands-on, inquiry-based approach makes the concepts of Lego Robotics and Lego Coding tangible and fun, reinforcing that technology is a tool for solving real-world (or story-world!) problems.

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