andrei calapod

Early years and primary

Polly the robot bee

Educational robotics and unplugged coding. Children work on orientation and sequences first with their body and a floor grid, then with a Blue-Bot.

At a glance

Audience
Early years and primary school
Format
Programme across several sessions
Technologies
Blue-Bot · unplugged coding · interactive whiteboard app
Physical activities
Movement routes · arrows · grids · drawing · pixel art
Organisation
Small groups with roles that rotate during the activities

The programme

Polly is a character who needs the children's help to move, collect flowers and reach a destination. The first activity takes place on a floor grid, where one child plays the robot while the group builds and checks the sequence of instructions.

Once the mechanics are familiar the same sequences move onto a smaller grid and the Blue-Bot is introduced. The work then continues on the interactive whiteboard and through drawing and pixel art, while mistakes stay visible and are corrected by the group.

What it develops

  • Orientation in space
  • Laterality
  • Sequences of instructions
  • Problem solving
  • Checking mistakes
  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Representation

Contact

The programme can be adapted to the age of the group, the number of sessions and the tools available.