Microbit Starter

Overview

Today’s 45-minute STEM micro:bit mini-lesson introduces the idea of sequences in programming and shows how inputs and outputs work together in MakeCode. Students build a simple “reaction” program and connect it to real-world meaning of 0 (start condition) and magnitudes using number lines and coordinate thinking as a math bridge.

Learning intentions

• Students will be able to describe a sequence as a step-by-step set of instructions.
• Students will be able to create and run a basic MakeCode program that produces an output.
• Students will be able to predict what a program will do before clicking “Start.”
• Students will be able to interpret a simple numeric result using magnitude and location ideas (distance from 0 on a number line).

Success criteria

• I can list the steps of my program in order.
• I can connect an input condition (button press) to an output (LED display or sound).
• I can predict the output for at least one test case before running.
• I can explain what “0” means in my mini-task (start/neutral state) and use magnitude as “distance from 0.”

Curriculum links

• Number System — understand positive and negative numbers used together to describe opposite directions and explain the meaning of 0 (real contexts).
• Number System — absolute value as distance from 0 and interpret as magnitude for a positive or negative quantity.
• Engineering habits of mind — computational thinking through testing, revising, and communicating reasoning (prediction before running).

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook (Demo + Question). Teacher shows a micro:bit program where pressing Button A changes what the LEDs display; students turn-and-talk: “What instruction happens first, next, last?”

• Students write a 3-step prediction for what they expect to see.

2. 5–12 min · Direct teach (Sequence + Input/Output). Teacher models MakeCode blocks: events (input) trigger a sequence of actions (output), emphasizing “order matters.”

• Students copy a small “Button A → show icon” template plan on paper before touching devices.

3. 12–25 min · Guided build (Reaction Display). Teacher releases a task: “Make Button A show one symbol (like a heart) and Button B show another; then test both.”

• Students program in pairs, then run “test cases” three times each, recording whether results match predictions.

4. 25–32 min · Math bridge (Meaning of 0 + magnitude). Teacher asks: “If we label ‘neutral’ as 0 presses, and ‘pressed’ as 1, what is the magnitude of the change when the first press happens? What does distance from 0 mean?”

• Students answer in short sentences: “Magnitude tells us how big the change is, not the direction.”

5. 32–40 min · Debug sprint (Find and fix one issue). Teacher seeds a common error (swapped button blocks or missing event block); pairs trade challenges and debug.

• Students use a “Check-Order-Check-Blocks” routine and fix one issue, then retest.

6. 40–45 min · Exit ticket (Quick check). Students complete: “In my program, the sequence is: __ → __ → __. My input is __ and my output is __. My ‘0’ means __.”

• Teacher collects and scans for misconceptions about order or input/output.

Resources

• micro:bit devices (one per pair), MakeCode access
• Printed “Button A/B template” for students who need structure
• Marker/whiteboards for sequence step writing
• Sample icons (teacher-created list) for consistent choices
• Debug challenge cards (missing event, swapped buttons, wrong LED block)
• Exit ticket slips

Assessment

• Formative: prediction accuracy before running (teacher listens during early partner checks)
• Formative: debugging notes—students must identify the specific step that caused mismatch
• Exit ticket: checks sequence description + meaning of 0 + correct input/output language

Differentiation

• Support: provide a block starter with Button events already in place; add sentence starters: “First…, Next…, Then…”
• Support: offer a “three-line test log” chart (Prediction / What happened / Why)
• Extension: require a third button action or a timed sequence (Button A shows frame, then after 1 second shows another frame)
• EAL/SEN: allow oral explanations; give a word bank (input, output, sequence, start, before/after, magnitude, zero)

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If you want, I can generate the full 15-lesson micro:bit mini-unit next (Lessons 1–15, 45 minutes each) while keeping the total for each lesson within your word/character limits and making the math-alignment consistent across the unit.