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Day 5: Sphero Run-Through + Task Bot Presentations + Manufacturing Favorites

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Run the Sphero through the factory floor course; complete H&L "Task Bot in Action" Steps 3-6 (Brainstorm → Action Plan → Consult Personnel → Present); favorite 2 Manufacturing careers in H&L
TEKS d(1)(B), d(1)(C)
Deliverable Sphero demo run + Task Bot 3-minute team presentation + 2 Manufacturing Hats favorited in Climber Profile
Materials Sphero RVR+ robots, SpheroEDU app, factory floor course, H&L Workbook Ch 14 (pp. 242-245), Chromebooks, projector, Xello accounts

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Look at your Sphero program from yesterday. What worked? What failed? What are you going to change today?

Quick share. Frame the day: "Today is the test day. Both your Sphero AND your Task Bot solution have to be presentation-ready by the end of class."

Activity 1: Sphero Final Run-Through (15 min)

Teams have 8 minutes to refine their Sphero programs and run them through the factory floor course at least twice. Each run, they observe and adjust:

  • Did the Sphero make it from Start to Delivery zone?
  • Did it hit any obstacles?
  • Was the path efficient or did it overshoot?

After the 8 minutes, each team gets ONE official run while the rest of the class watches. The teacher (or a designated observer) tracks: did the Sphero complete the course without hitting obstacles?

Facilitation Tip

Some teams' Sphero will fail spectacularly on the official run, backwards, off-course, into a wall. Celebrate the failures as much as the successes. Tell the class: "Real factory engineers spend 80% of their time fixing problems. Failure IS the job. What matters is what you learn and how you iterate."

DOK 2: How would you describe the connection between the code blocks you wrote and the actual movement of the robot? Where did your code differ from what you expected?

Activity 2: Complete H&L "Task Bot in Action" Action Plan (15 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 14, pp. 242-245, "Task Bot in Action" Steps 3-6

Teams return to the workbook and complete the remaining steps of Task Bot in Action:

Step 3: Brainstorm Solutions (5 min): Each role brainstorms from their perspective. The workbook (Ch 14, p. 242) provides space for solutions to both Color Confusion and Slowpoke Robot. Teams combine ideas across roles.

Step 4: Create Your Action Plan (5 min): The workbook (Ch 14, p. 243) requires:

  • A description of the solution and how it works
  • Steps needed to implement it
  • Materials or adjustments required
  • Estimated time to fix the problem
  • How it will improve production and prevent future issues

Teams write the action plan into the workbook for each of the two problems.

Step 5: Decide Who to Consult (5 min): The workbook (Ch 14, p. 243) tells students they cannot implement their solution alone. They must identify FOUR key factory personnel to consult. The workbook prompts:

  • Who can approve cost and time for the fix?
  • Who has technical expertise to adjust the robot?
  • Who needs to know about packaging and shipping deadlines?
  • Who ensures safety during repairs?

For each person, teams write Title, Why They're Important, and What Questions to Ask.

Activity 3: Task Bot Team Presentations + H&L Manufacturing Favorites (15 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 14, p. 244, "Step 6: Present Your Plan"

Presentations (10 min): Each team has 2 minutes to present to the class. The workbook spec (Ch 14, p. 244) requires presentations to:

  • Explain the problems clearly
  • Describe the solutions and why they were chosen
  • Show how the plan gets production back on track
  • Introduce the key personnel to involve

Use the H&L Task Bot rubric (Ch 14, p. 245) to score each team on Teamwork & Role Fulfillment, Problem Investigation, Solution Development, Identifying Key Personnel, and Presentation. Total: 20 points.

H&L Manufacturing Favorites (5 min): After presentations, direct students to their Climber Profile.

[H&L PLATFORM] Direct students to open the Hat Finder, navigate to the Manufacturing cluster, and favorite at least 2 Manufacturing Hats that interest them. The workbook's Hat Research template (Ch 14, p. 239) was completed on Day 2. Students can re-favorite that career or pick a new one based on what they learned this week. Favorites are saved to the Climber Profile and accumulate across all 36 weeks of the course.

Xello: What is CTE? + Add Interests (final 2 min if time): Direct students to Xello and have them complete the "What is CTE?" lesson and add at least 2 manufacturing-related interests using the Add Interests feature. This is a quick task, the goal is just to start the Xello data set for the cluster.

[VERIFY IN eDynamic] eDynamic Unit 2.1 (Knowledge and Innovation) is mapped for this week in the scope-and-sequence. Confirm specific activities in eDynamic and assign as a homework option for students who finish early.

Exit Ticket (2 min)

EXIT TICKET (Concept Map / Connection Diagram) · Printable PDF:

A Manufacturing career I favorited in H&L this week: _____

Connect this career to THREE things:

1. The Manufacturing PATHWAY it belongs to (Robotics & Automation, Industrial Maintenance, Manufacturing Tech, Electronics, Welding, or Advanced Manufacturing)

My pathway: _____. Why does this career belong to that pathway? One sentence:

2. My Wk0 RIASEC type (Doer, Analyzer, Creator, Helper, Persuader, or Organizer)

My RIASEC type: _____. Why does this career match (or not match) my type? One sentence:

3. A TRAINING FACT from my Day 2 Hat Research (example: "FANUC Robot Operator training is 1 semester at Singley")

My training fact: _____. One sentence on why this fact matters to a student deciding whether to pursue this career:

(d(1)(B), d(1)(C))

Differentiation

  • Support: Allow students who are uncomfortable presenting to submit a written version of the action plan instead. They write 1 paragraph per problem (Color Confusion and Slowpoke Robot).
  • Extension: Advanced students complete the workbook's "Extra Time?" prompt (Ch 14, p. 245): Design a new crayon box with an info card about how Kaleido-Crayons ensures quality production.
  • ELL: Provide bilingual presentation sentence stems: "Our solution to Problem 1 is _ (Nuestra solución al Problema 1 es ___)." Allow ELL students to present in pairs so they can support each other.