he Power of Repetition: Mastering Loops in Lego Coding with ‘Underwater Quest’

The ‘Underwater Quest’ lesson plan, the fifth lesson in the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential ‘Great Adventures’ unit, introduces young programmers (Years 1-2) to one of the most powerful concepts in computer science: repetition, or loops. This 30-45 minute beginner challenge moves students from sequential code to efficient, repeating actions.

The scenario: Maria needs her submarine to efficiently explore life below the sea, like visiting the turtles. To achieve this, students must first construct their submarine model, reinforcing the foundational Lego Robotics aspect of the lesson.

The heart of the learning, however, lies in Lego Coding. Students use the visual SPIKE App to:

1. Program Movement: Create an initial program that moves the submarine.
2. Introduce Loops: Modify their code to make the movement repeat continuously or for a set number of times. This directly teaches them the value of a loop block—it saves time and ensures the robot performs an action over and over without lengthy code.

By programming their submarine to efficiently repeat its movements, students develop a core computational thinking skill: understanding how repetition simplifies complex programs. This hands-on experience not only strengthens their Lego Robotics assembly skills but, more importantly, solidifies their grasp on the three pillars of basic programming: sequence, selection (from prior lessons), and now, repetition.

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