Today we merge the physical world with the digital world! We built mechanical robots yesterday, but today we give them a BRAIN. We will use Tinkercad, Wokwi, Micro:bit, and Arduino to write code that controls lights and reads sensors.
Student Name: _______________________ Age: _____
Is the student excited to write code for hardware? (Check one)
Before we risk burning real electronic parts, we will test our circuits on the computer! We use Tinkercad and Wokwi to connect a virtual battery to an LED and see it glow on the screen.
Focus: Using the mouse/tablet to click on an LED in the simulator and change its color. Seeing that the screen can act like real life. Spatial
Focus: Dragging and dropping components (Battery, Resistor, LED) in Tinkercad. Drawing virtual wires to connect them.
Focus: Using Wokwi to wire an Arduino Uno to an LED. Understanding how the simulator reads the code before we upload it to a real board. Logical-Math
Navigation of the simulator software:
The Micro:bit is a tiny pocket-sized computer. We will use block coding (like Scratch) to program its LED screen to show a smiling face, a beating heart, or our name!
Focus: Pressing the A and B buttons on the physical Micro:bit to see the pictures change. Connecting cause and effect. Bodily-Kinesthetic
Focus: Snapping blocks to say "On Button A pressed -> Show Icon (Heart)". Downloading the code and flashing it to the device.
Focus: Using the built-in accelerometer to program a "Shake" event, turning the Micro:bit into a digital dice (Random numbers 1-6).
Connection between code on screen and hardware reaction:
Now we use text-based C++ coding on the Arduino IDE! We will define an Output pin, write a `void setup()`, and use `void loop()` to turn an LED HIGH (on) and LOW (off) with delays.
Focus: Learning that computers read commands line by line. Watching older kids or the teacher change the `delay(1000)` to make it blink faster! Linguistic
Focus: Typing the exact syntax: digitalWrite(13, HIGH);. Understanding semicolons and brackets, and uploading to the real Arduino Uno.
Syntax accuracy in Arduino IDE (C++):
Why blink one LED when we can blink five in a sequence? We will wire multiple LEDs to different pins and write a code sequence to make the light bounce back and forth like the famous Knightrider car!
Focus: Wiring the LEDs correctly on the breadboard (understanding Anode/Cathode) while older peers code. Bodily-Kinesthetic
Focus: Using `for` loops and arrays instead of writing 100 lines of code. Learning optimization in programming.
Understanding sequence and timing (delay):
A smart robot makes decisions based on its environment! We will use an LDR (Light Sensor) or an Ultrasonic sensor. The code will say: IF the room is dark, THEN turn the LED on automatically.
Focus: Covering the light sensor with their hands to make the "night light" turn on magically!
Focus: Understanding INPUT (sensor sensing) vs OUTPUT (LED glowing).
Focus: Writing `if / else` conditional statements. Using the Serial Monitor to read raw data values from the sensor. Logical-Math
Understanding Input vs Output:
Based on today's hardware programming, where did the student shine the most? (Mark top 2)
Overall Day 7 Rating for Technical Problem Solving:
Educator Notes: ___________________________________________________________