Build and Program the Rover

Overview

In this sixth lesson of the eight-part “Designing for Other Worlds” unit, students work as a team of four to construct and program a prototype rover. They apply prior learning about rover design, constraints, and computational problem-solving while testing performance, recording evidence, and revising the rover’s mechanisms or code.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Construct a rover prototype that addresses a defined exploration task.
• Program movement and actions using clear, sequenced instructions.
• Collect observations and measurements during repeated trials.
• Use evidence to explain and make improvements to a design.
• Write an objective explanation of the rover’s process and results.

Success criteria

• I can contribute to a team role and use materials responsibly.
• I can write or modify code that makes the rover complete part of the task.
• I can record accurate observations from at least two trials.
• I can identify a problem, propose a change, and explain whether the change improved performance.

Curriculum links

• Informative/explanatory writing in science and technical subjects: students document the rover’s design, procedure, testing, and results.
• Reading science and technical texts: students identify central ideas and summarize key design and programming information accurately.
• Formal style and objective tone: students describe testing without unsupported opinions.
• Precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and relevant evidence: students use terms such as prototype, mechanism, sensor, algorithm, variable, iteration, and constraint.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Mission briefing. Teacher opens with the rover mission hook and learning goals and presents the exploration task: move from a starting zone to a marked destination, avoid an obstacle, and deliver a small payload or stop in the target area. Students restate the success conditions and identify one likely design challenge.

2. 5–10 min · Plan and assign roles. Teacher reviews the available materials, safety expectations, and the testing cycle: predict, test, observe, revise, and retest. Students use the rover design and testing log to sketch a design, identify a constraint, and assign four roles: builder, programmer, tester, and recorder; students rotate roles after the first trial.

3. 10–22 min · Build and program. Teacher circulates, asks teams to justify design choices, and uses the build steps, coding reminders, and team-role directions to keep the group focused. Students construct the rover, connect components safely, and create an initial program with ordered commands; the recorder notes materials, predicted behavior, and any assumptions.

4. 22–32 min · Test and record. Teacher establishes a clear test lane and prompts students to conduct at least two trials, changing only one major feature or code choice at a time when possible. Students run the rover, measure or estimate distance and completion time, record successes and failures in the rover design and testing log, and describe observable evidence rather than opinions.

5. 32–39 min · Revise and retest. Teacher asks, “What evidence shows the problem, and which change is most likely to address it?” Students identify one design or programming problem, revise the mechanism or code, retest the rover, and compare results using a simple difference or improvement calculation when appropriate. They record the change and its effect.

6. 39–45 min · Explain and debrief. Teacher displays the evidence discussion and exit prompt and leads a brief team share-out. Students state the rover’s goal, summarize the procedure and central result, and complete the exit response: “Our most effective revision was ___ because the evidence showed ___.” They use precise technical vocabulary and maintain an objective tone.

Resources

• Computers or tablets with the rover programming environment
• Rover kits, motors, wheels, chassis pieces, connectors, and batteries
• Small payload, obstacle pieces, target zone, tape, and measuring tools
• the rover mission and testing deck
• the rover design and testing log
• Timer or stopwatch
• Safety glasses, if required for the equipment
• Teacher checklist for roles, testing, and evidence

Assessment

• During planning and construction, check whether students can explain the task, identify constraints, sequence commands, and participate in assigned roles.
• Review testing logs for at least two trials, accurate observations, a clearly described revision, and evidence-based comparison.
• Use the exit response to assess whether students can summarize the process and result distinctly from personal opinion while using technical vocabulary.

Differentiation

• Support students with a partially completed flowchart, a command bank, labeled rover diagrams, sentence starters such as “The rover failed when…” and “After we changed…, the result was…,” and teacher modeling of one test cycle.
• Allow students who need additional support to dictate observations to the recorder, use speech-to-text, or complete the explanation orally before writing.
• Provide EAL support through illustrated vocabulary, partner rehearsal, and explicit modeling of objective language such as “The rover traveled…” rather than “The rover was awesome.”
• Extend capable students by requiring them to control a second variable, calculate an improvement percentage or difference, or justify why one revision was more effective than another.