Social studies comes alive as Lynhaven 4th graders program robotic tours of California

“The students are loving it!” said Andrea Tracy about her 4th graders’ reaction to the group activity culminating their lesson on California’s Coastal, Mountain, Central Valley and Desert regions.

Excited and engaged in every step, the students planned, plotted, problem solved and programmed Dash robots to present their facts as it travelled across carefully designed diagrams the students made. Reinforcing their math measurement skills, students also measured the path that Dash would take to teach others about the plants, animals, geography, and industry of their California region.

“Whoa! We can do 45-degree angles too!”

“Do we need a closing sentence for this?”

“Let’s get him to blink when he gets to the third stop!”

“It’s your turn to record.”

They were having a great time, and never suspected that this basic coding activity was also teaching them to use logic and sequencing with their math and presentation skills. Like Tracy, teachers in Campbell Union School District are integrating multiple subjects into hands-on activities that help students gain a deeper understanding of concepts.

All of our elementary schools will be receiving a set of 8 Dash Robots in the next few months as a part of their STEAM Resource Libraries. Teachers will also be trained in how to integrate these robots into their classroom lessons.