Leveling Up Tele-Potato

Overview

Students improve their Tele-Potato Micro:bit game by adding score tracking, increasing difficulty levels, sound effects, and a visual countdown. The lesson includes a structured playtest and feedback cycle and uses rational-number reasoning for “timer math” (countdowns, scoring changes, and difficulty scaling).

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Add and subtract rational numbers and represent changes on a number line.
• Divide integers (nonzero divisor) and interpret quotients as rational numbers.
• Use number-line distance and sign reasoning to explain how score and difficulty update during gameplay.
• Prototype one game-improvement solution and test it with peers using a feedback checklist.

Success criteria

• I can show how a rational score update (add/subtract) is represented on a number line.
• I can explain why a quotient like (-p/q) is rational and what sign it should have in my game logic.
• I can use a rational-number calculation to set a timer or difficulty change that matches my design plan.
• I can complete a working game feature set and provide specific, kind, actionable feedback to a teammate.

Curriculum links

• The Number System — apply and extend addition and subtraction to add and subtract rational numbers; represent on a horizontal or vertical number line diagram.
• The Number System — understand addition as distance with direction; show additive inverses sum to 0.
• The Number System — understand subtraction of rational numbers as adding the additive inverse.
• The Number System — understand integers can be divided to produce rational quotients; interpret quotients of rational numbers.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook (game sprint). Teacher displays a “broken” Tele-Potato scoring example: score starts at 5 and should change by (-3), then by (+2), then uses a difficulty scale like “timer halves each level.” Students predict the final score and how the timer should change, using quick think time.

2. 5–12 min · Mini direct teach (rational update math). Teacher models two examples on the board:

• Score update: start at 5, add (-3), then add (+2). Students draw the jumps on a number line and explain direction.
• Difficulty division: “timer = 12 seconds, Level 2 uses half”: (12/2 = 6) and discuss why division stays rational and keeps the sign rules when values represent “increases/decreases.” Students complete a 1-minute pair check: each partner says (a) the sign of the change and (b) the final value.

3. 12–22 min · Engineering design prompt (problem → solution). Teacher posts the prompt: “Identify one problem in your current game (example: scoring is unclear, difficulty doesn’t ramp, no urgency). Prototype a solution feature today.” Students use a quick plan sheet (2–3 sentences) to choose one target problem and link it to a rational update they will implement (for example: “Each hit adds +2 points; each miss subtracts 1 point,” or “Countdown starts at 8, decreases by a fixed amount each round.”).

4. 22–34 min · Build time (Micro:bit implementation). Teacher circulates with a checklist:

• Score tracking: update score using add/subtract logic.
• Difficulty levels: implement a changing countdown length; difficulty can scale using division (for example: “timer length = base / level,” ensuring divisors are nonzero).
• Sound + visual countdown: add a beep pattern and LED numbers or steps (e.g., show 3-2-1-Ready). Students work in teams of 2–3 to code and test one enhancement, recording the exact “math rule” they used in words (e.g., “miss = -1 point,” “each level divides timer length by 2”).

5. 34–41 min · Structured playtest (feedback). Teacher runs a short “round robin.” Each team plays two other teams’ games (about 2 minutes each) and completes a brief feedback form:

• What worked best?
• What confused you?
• One suggested improvement for clarity, fairness, or pacing. During play, students must also answer: “What number changed during the game? Was it an increase or decrease?”

6. 41–45 min · Exit ticket (rational reasoning check). Teacher gives a quick 3-item exit ticket:

• If score starts at 4 and you add (-6), what is the score? (number-line justification in words)
• If timer length changes from 10 to 10/5, what is the new timer length?
• Explain (in one sentence) why a negative score change is represented as a jump opposite the positive direction.

Resources

• Micro:bit devices with batteries/USB cables
• Student game starter files or templates
• LEDs/sound cues cards (example countdown and beep patterns)
• Printed “Math Rule” plan sheet (problem → feature → rule)
• Number line handout or digital graphing tool
• Structured feedback checklist sheets

Assessment

• Teacher observation during build: students correctly describe score/difficulty updates using sign and rational-number language.
• Pair check during mini teach: students explain direction and final value for rational updates.
• Exit ticket: verifies addition/subtraction of rationals and interpretation of integer division as rational quotients.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for math rules (“Each hit adds…,” “Each miss subtracts…,” “I divide the timer by…”); offer a partially completed number line for one example.
• Support for code: give a “timer scaling” option with fixed divisors (like dividing by 2 or 5) so students focus on sign and quotient meaning.
• Extension: students add a randomized countdown choice and document it as “timer length = base ÷ k,” where k is chosen from a set of nonzero integers; then they explain how this changes difficulty across levels.
• EAL/SEN: allow verbal reasoning submissions (recorded explanation) for the exit ticket and provide picture cues for “increase/decrease” direction.