FINCH ROBOTS

Zach Garcia

The students at James Woods Elementary school recently got the

chance to program and personally control their own finch robots! These
robots, though small in size, can be programed and utilized a variety of
different way to impact a variety of subjects. Here is a small example of a
few subjects that the students were able to work on the Finch Robots with.
Math: Process Standard 1: Problem Solving
3. Develop, test, and apply strategies to solve a variety of routine and nonroutine problems (e.g., look for patterns, make a table, make a problem
simpler, process of elimination, trial and error).
To meet this standard the students were made to program the robots
to run in specific shapes and around obstacles. Obstacle courses were
constructed by the students and then everyone went to work on program
their robots to turn at the right times and make it through everything!
Science & engineering practices 3rd grade Standard 2
Planning and carrying out investigations to answer questions or test
solutions to problems in 35 builds on K2 experiences and progresses to
include investigations that control variables and provide evidence to support
explanations or design solutions. Make observations and/or measurements
to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence for an explanation of a
phenomenon or test a design solution
To meet this standard the students were made to analyze what went
wrong in the programming of the robots if they didnt make it through the
obstacle course that had been constructed. This not only reinforced the
programming skills that were being developed, but led the students to come
up with some pretty creative solutions to their programming problems.

Social Studies: Process and Literacy Skills Standard 1: The student will
develop and demonstrate Common Core informational text reading literacy
skills.
C. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Use information gained from
illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to

demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key
events occur).
To meet this standard the students were made to figure out how to
start up and operate the Finch robots with minimal help from staff. The
students were encouraged to read all the directions and test the robots out
through series of trials and errors to figure out how to best operate them.
STANDARD 1: Language of Music: Responding The student meaningfully
engages with the artform through reading, notating, and/or interpreting
music.
f. Pitch (high and low),
To meet this standard the students were made to program the Finch
Robots to sing either a high note or a low note. This reinforced the
students knowledge of programming and, at the same time, taught them
how to monitor pitch levels in regards to music.
English Grade 1
Standard 6: Comprehension/Critical Literacy The student will interact with
the words and concepts in a text to construct an appropriate meaning.
2. Inferences and Interpretations - Make simple inferences based on what is
stated in text.
To meet this standard, the students were given a more complicated set
of directions to follow in regards to executing desired programs on the
robots. If the directions were applied correctly, the students would be able to
successfully program a robot to navigate an obstacle course, without ever
seeing the course.