TEACHER ONLY · LESSON GUIDE
Leaving Land Lesson 3 — Crab Cruisin'
Run the lesson here; the student item below remains the independent and absence route.
Daily Learning Contract
Topic: Game design and usability
Objective: Students will apply an iterative design process to plan a micro:bit game, observe a new player's experience, and revise the game from usability evidence.
- §126.19(c)(3)(B) — discuss and implement a design process that includes planning, selecting digital tools to develop, test, and evaluate design limitations, and refining a prototype or model; and
- §126.19(c)(2)(C) — modify and implement previously written code to develop improved programs.
Demonstration of learning: Playable game, completed worksheet, partner playtest notes, and one documented revision based on observed confusion.
Before class
Time: One class period
Student route: Learn: Crab Cruisin' with micro:bit
Use what already exists: AIR Unit 1 overview; current Learn/Do pages; MakeCode.
Lesson flow
- Launch: Launch with a concrete question or failure that makes game design and usability 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.