Language Arts Mini Projects

Poetry

Grades: Middle School
Subject: Poetry
Students use Arts & Bots to bring poems to life. 

Animal Farm Characters
Grades: Middle school
Subject: English
In this Robot Diary, students would create a character from George Orwell's novel Animal Farm. The character would need to communicate using both spoken and written word as well as have at least two emotional states. This project would be completed in tandem with the work already in the curriculum for the student's English class, providing greater depth to a student's understanding and empathy for one or more of the characters. One potential robot could be a horse that is completing some heavy task and then is also sad, talking about how after his ability to work was used up he was sold to be made into glue.

Poe-bots
Grades: Middles school
Subject: Poetry, English
The students will create a robotic reenactment of an Edgar Allen Poe work. The teacher can limit the works that can be chosen. This could be done solo or in groups of two. This idea could also be applied to the works of Shakespeare and others.

Mythological creatures 
Grades: Middle School
Subjects: Mythology, Language Arts
Our after school “Classics Club” participates in an Ancient Coin Museum Project where the participating students learn about the history, art, culture, language, and history of the ancient Romans & Greeks.  Students will be assigned a mythological creature that is represented on an ancient coin in our museum collection. Students will design a robot that tells the related myth with movements and lights that highlight the creatures’ features.  For example, the chimera would have the body and head of a lion, a goat’s head extending from the middle of the body, and a snake for a tail. Coordinating animal sounds and movements can be incorporated into the audio. Lights can represent areas as they are introduced or they can reflect mood.

Create your own Super Hero
Grades: Middle School
Subject: English, Language Arts
Our English teacher assigns a yearly creative writing project where students design and create their own Super Hero. Students draw their Super Hero and write a description of their powers for a poster. We have collaborated in the past on this project.  This year we could add the option of having students choose to represent their Super Hero in robot form using the Robot Diaries kits.  The servos, lights, and sounds will be used to show the emotions, expressions, and powers of the Super Hero.  For example, Super Margot has the ability to fly so a motor can be used to show the flying motion. She can read minds and her eyes will light up when she is reading your mind. 

Full Curriculum

Grades: Middle School
Students analyze a poem for literary devices, as well as symbolzing the meaning of the poem. They then use the symbols to create a robot that illustrates the poem. 

Grades: Middle School
Integrating sensors into 2D artwork to depict changes occurring in nature (day to night, caterpillar to butterfly, food chain etc.)
One extension to this curriculum is a robotic haunted house scene including of robots that react to light and proximity.

Grades: Middle School
Time: 14.4 hours
Students create painting to visualy portray Beatles lyrics or themes and build robots inspired by the choosen theme. This curriculum was written for use in an Art class by one teacher.

Science, Technology, Math, Social Studies, Language Arts, Art -  Museum Bots

Grades: High School
This curriculum integrates Science, Technology, Mathematics, Social Studies, Language Arts and Art. It was written for collaborative implementation by an inter-disciplinary team of teachers. 

Grades: Pre-K
Students will design and build their own robot.

Grades: High School
Students study an organ system and then recreate one of its functions using Arts & Bots

  

Language Arts - Literary Bots

Grades: Middle School
Student write stories in their own voice, as well as stories in the literary voice of Dr Seuss' and build robots to support the narration. This curriculum was written for implementation by one teacher.

Grades: High School
Students create a model of the arm to show muscle movement.

Robotic Poetry

Sue Mellon, Gifted Support Coordinator in the Allegheny Valley School District integrated Arts & Bots into 7th and 8th grade Language Arts classes. The project served as a culminating activity for a poetry unit, giving students an exciting anchor for the unit, and allowing them to practice their poetry analysis skills. Students worked in teams to analyze a poem and then create a scene or a billboard display for their poem. 

 

Grass by Carl Sanburg

"I learned that even though programming looks difficult it is actually easier than it seems."


A Drop Fell on the Apple Tree by Emily Dickinson

 

A Drop Fell on the Apple Tree by Emily Dickinson from CREATE Lab on Vimeo.


"I thought programming was really easy then I realized it takes a lot of timing and work to put everything together."

 

The Human Seasons by John Keats

"It doesn't take a genius to do robotics." 

"I'm happy that art can be intergrated into robotics."

 

El Dorado by Edgar Allan Poe

"Communication is key when working as a team."

"Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses."

 

The Pasture by Robert Frost


"Poetry can sometimes be hard to understand but using robotics and giving you a visual can help you understand it."

 

The Sun Has Long Been Set by William Wordsworth

"I learned how the robotics can relate to poetry."

 

Design by Robert Frost

"It takes dedication not necessarily a level of smartness to understand the robots."
"Programming is very challenging but once you get use to it, its easy."

 

Bright Star by John Keats

"I learned that poems can be brought to life off the paper."

Mini-Project Ideas: Inspired by SNAKE ROBOTS at CMU - Zee Ann Poerio

At Carnegie Mellon University,  Snake Robots have been designed and engineered to perform tasks which benefit humans in many ways.  Looking to nature for inspiration, influence, and problem solving, engineers have designed some of the robots’ movements from those of real snakes.  And new “gaits” are being developed for the snake robots beyond what mother nature intended for snake locomotion. The robotic snakes are able to move through pipes, climb poles, and even thread their way through rubble after a disaster to assist in search and rescue.  Now, smaller versions are being engineering to assist with a less invasive form of heart surgery.   

My inspiration for the mini porject comes from a small snakebot that was in the lab  with a model of a human heart.  Learning that the robotic snakes were now being used in medicine reminded me of the common symbol associated with medicine - the snake entwined staff of Asclepius, Greek god of medicine and healing.

Mini-Project inspired by a visit with SNAKE ROBOTS: STAFF of ASCLEPIUS ROBOT DIARY

Student s will research snakes and using the Robot Diaries kits will create their own robotic staff of Asclepius.  Students can choose the species of snake of their choice to depict on the staff.  The robot should include two servos, and at least two lights and at least one sound effect.   The student will read his/her presentation from the point of view of the snake and coordinate the animations with their presentation which will includes the species, diet, how the snake moves, typical size and weight, and  lifespan. The snake itself should represent the snake’s true color and markings.  Additional information can include other interesting facts about snakes (not all snakes have fangs), symbolism of snakes (ex. Biblical references or snake images in ancient or modern times), a joke about snakes (What is a snake’s favorite subject?  Hiss-tory!), or a retelling of one of Aesop’s fables which include snakes.

Zee Ann Poerio

Mini Project Idea: Scientific Term Pronunciation Decoder - Terry Richards

The mini project is based on and inspired by the LISTEN Project in the CREATE Lab. The project would be designed to teach Human Anatomy and Physiology students how to pronounce common scientific or medical terms including ones most likely to be mispronounced.  This project will involve listing the common medical terms associated with each unit, determining the correct pronunciation (using a variety of resources), and finally creating a recording of each term.  This recording would be the voice of the Robot Diaries robot “Decoder” created by different groups of students.  The “Decoder” could possibly be a model of a female physician/scientist who is a specialist for the unit.  The project would be a collaborative such that the terms would be divided among groups of students and each would then listen to the others’ robot.

Classroom experience supports that the students would feel more comfortable when making their end-of-term presentations as their speech would be more accurate and professional when correct pronunciation is used.  A student’s presentation appears unrehearsed when she stumbles over the difficult-to-pronounce words.

 

 

Terry Richards

 

Project Ideas - Sue Mellon

Sue Mellon – Project Ideas

Project #1
Discipline:  Mathematics
Grade level:  6th
Skill:  Measuring Angles to 180°
(Math Assessment Anchor –
 Measurement, Eligible Content: M6.B.2.1.3 Measure angles using a protractor up to 180° - protractor must be drawn - one side of the angle to be measured should line up with the straight edge of the protractor. )
Idea:  Using Servo motors with the “finger like” extension, position small characters at the end of the “finger like” extension and have students move their characters various degrees less than 180°.

Project #2
Discipline:  Reading
Grade levels: 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th
Skill:  Comprehension of Poetry 
(Note:  The “Target Passage Types for the Reading PSSA” chart indicates that poems will be included in all tests for these grade levels.  Many students view poetry negatively and they need to accept the fact that must demonstrate understanding.)
Idea:  Hold a “Robot Theater Classroom Festival” where students give poems “life” by using Robot Diaries.  I would divide the students into groups of two and assign them a poem.  After completing an analysis of the poem, they will create a scene with the servos, LEDs, etc. to accompany a recorded reading of the poem.  After all projects are complete, students will walk around the room viewing each other’s scenes.

Project #3
Discipline:  Social Studies
Grade level:  7th
Skill:  Reporting Research
(Note:  For the last two school years, I have been working with our 7th grade Social Studies teacher to complete the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh’s Middle School Ambassador Program.  Each year, the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh identifies an area of the world for targeted study.  We invite speakers from these regions to our school.  We also research the region by dividing the students into teams and have them create PowerPoint shows as part of a team presentation.  These presentations are very important to the students because they are the basis of determining the top 20-25 students who get to attend the culminating seminar held at the Cathedral of Learning each spring.)
Idea:  I believe that Robot Diaries could be a nice addition to this presentation and would give the teams of four more “hands-on” activities.  The students could use the Robot Diaries to recreate a famous citizen from their region.

Project #4
Discipline:  Technology
Grade level:  5th & 6th
Skill:  Understanding Programming Basics
(Note:  Each week, during one of the daily IE (Intervention-Enrichment) periods, I have a “pull-out” Gifted Support Time called GATE Tech in which we create technology based projects.  With the 4th grader, we do a great deal with PowerPoint—taping presentations and attaching these files, attaching videos from Discovery Education as well as creating interactive presentations (non-sequential).  With the 5th and 6th graders, we complete projects using MovieMaker and Storytelling Alice.)
Idea:  I believe that adding Robot Diaries would be a perfect addition to this work as many of my students are very artistic and love creating things this year.  My students love the new duct tape art as well as origami.  This would also reinforce our exploration of programming concepts such “looping.”

Project #5
Discipline:  Health and PE
Grade level:  6th and 7th
Skill:  Identifying health eating habits
Idea:   Students could create a robotic character and have the character deliver the “health message.”