The Robotics program is an after-school club for fifth and sixth-grade students.  Students work in teams to design and program either an NXT or EV3 robot.  The robots must solve challenges to score points in two and one half minute rounds. The First Lego League selects a theme each year and develops the challenges.  The theme for 2018-2019 is "Into Orbit."

We participate in the Robot Game Challenge.

Team members must master the rules and demonstrate the Core Values of First LEGO League.

The FIRST LEGO League Core Values are the cornerstones of the program. They are among the fundamental elements that distinguish FIRST LEGO League from other programs of its kind. By embracing the Core Values, participants learn that friendly competition and mutual gain are not separate goals and that helping one another is the foundation of teamwork.

• We are a team.
• We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
• We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.
• We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
• What we discover is more important than what we win.
• We share our experiences with others.
• We display Gracious Professionalism^® and Coopertition^® in everything we do.
• We have FUN!

Team tips, smart programming suggestions, and robot design are all explained at Mastering LEGO Robotics.

This site has good information about designing a solid robot and also using the light sensor for navigation.

The Berkshire Robotics Championship will be held March 16 in Lenox, MA.  

The 6th grade is currently working on a "Million Dollar Project." Their task: to (thoughtfully) spend their "inheritance" on education, a home, vehicle, vacation, and charity. They must research and present their budget in a slideshow, where they will incorporate important design elements and embed various features such as video. 

The 5th grade is using lab time to learn about the solar system. Embedded in the science lessons are opportunities to extend Google docs skills (creating links, inserting images, tables, bullets, etc.). 

The 4th grade is learning about ancient civilizations of the Americas. They started with an exploration of the field of archaeology, followed by a study of the history of human evolution. They are now on to the Beringian land bridge theory. The curriculum is presented via the new Google sites platform, which they are learning how to navigate. There are many tech skills incorporated in this unit, from how to navigate a website to how to copy a view-only google doc. Hopefully, they'll create their own Google site in the not-too-distant future!

All upper-grade students are learning about digital citizenship. The most current lesson, done with the 6th grade, is about protecting your identity and distinguishing between legitimate and fraudulent digital content (phishing, etc.). This proved to be a surprisingly engaging topic!

Some students are working on a podcast to submit to NPR's Student Podcast Challenge. More on that to come.

TeacherAUP   StudentAUP

From the School Improvement Plan:

Common Sense Media is a great site for parents. Have a question about a video game?  a movie?  Thinking about letting your child get a cell phone or join YouTube?  Common Sense Media can help.

Lexia at home

Lexia Reading Core5 provides personalized learning on fundamental literacy skills for students in grades pre-K-5 and delivers real-time performance data without testing.

Lexia Stategies is used with students in grade 6

IXL

IXL is a site where students practice math skills.

Everyday Math

Students can log in to use their textbook, reference book, online tools, and Everyday Math tools.  Login here.

Google Apps For Education

Students can access their files from Google Drive here or they can connect directly to their Google Classroom accounts here.

Discovery Education

Students in grades 3-6 can use their Google credentials to access this amazing science and social studies resource.

This year's theme is Into Orbit

The Berkshire Robotics Challenge will be March 16 at Lenox Memorial High School.

Here is our recess "Mannequin Challenge."

More Photos of the Challenge Here. (from Ms Brookner)

The FLL program emphasizes "gracious professionalism." All designing, programming, and problem solving is to be done by the team members.

Helpful Links:     About First LEGO league

                            Team Resources

We meet after school on Thursdays.