TEACHER ONLY · LESSON GUIDE
RVR Days 4–5 — Talking Robots School-of-Fish
Run the lesson here; the student item below remains the independent and absence route.
Daily Learning Contract
Topic: Infrared coordination and algorithm revision
Objective: Students will analyze how shared channels, message timing, and spacing control coordinated RVR behavior and revise leader/follower programs from test evidence.
- §126.19(c)(1)(E) — develop, compare, and improve algorithms for a specific task to solve a problem; and
- §126.19(c)(2)(C) — modify and implement previously written code to develop improved programs.
Demonstration of learning: Leader and follower code, coordinated-run evidence, and a revision claim explaining the timing or spacing change.
Before class
Time: Two class periods
Student route: Days 4 + 5 · Talking Robots: School-of-Fish Challenge
Use what already exists: RVR overview; Sphero EDU; School-of-Fish Challenge DOCX/PDF.
Lesson flow
- Launch: Launch with a concrete question or failure that makes infrared coordination matter.
- Model: Model one current example or tool move before students begin.
- Do: Guide the first decision together, then release students to the existing Canvas task.
- Check + support: Check for the named evidence, not completion alone; keep a visual sequence, sentence stems, and purposeful partner roles available.
- Close + handoff: Collect or verify the evidence and name the next lesson's connection.
Check before students leave
Ask students to point to the specific evidence above and explain one choice, test, or revision. Completion alone is not evidence of understanding.
Support + troubleshooting
Scaffold: Keep the visual task sequence visible, assign purposeful partner roles, and use the sentence stems on the student page before simplifying the task.
When students get stuck: Ask for the exact step where the tool, code, or task stopped. Check setup, inputs, and saved work before replacing the task or lowering the thinking.