GEOGRAPHY
Year 1
Information
Robot routes
Objectives
•
To estimate distances
•
To use north, south, east and west directions
•
To use a simple map to identify features and possible routes (e.g. longest and
shortest)
•
To develop a set of instructions to control a programmable floor robot
Prior learning
To benefit from this lesson, children should:
•
be able to estimate distances using non-standard units;
•
understand quarter, half and full turns;
•
understand directional language;
•
have discussed who lives the furthest away and who lives the nearest to the
school;
•
have identified a clear sequence of features seen on their route to school, and
begun to develop an understanding of the significance of landmarks.
Vocabulary
compass directions (north, south, east, west), route, length, distance, direction,
estimate, turn, clockwise, anticlockwise, right, left, forwards, backwards, control,
instructions, commands, program, sequence, predict, estimate
Resources
•
one or more programmable floor robots (in this Example, Pixie)
•
a large-scale floor map
•
A4 copies of the map or plan for recording instructions.
You can ask for a large-scale map of your local area (e.g. 1 : 2000 scale) at
LEA planning departments or a local library; you can copy them provided their
use is for educational purposes within your school only. Other useful means for
obtaining copies of maps are:
http://www.multimap.com
http://wwwordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/education/
ICT skills needed by teachers
To teach this unit, teachers need to know how to:
•
use a programmable floor robot.
Preparation for this lesson
Prepare a very simple large-scale map for the floor. Mark north, south, east and
west on the map. Any routes should be in one of these directions and at right
angles to each other.
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Refer to the yearly teaching programmes in the Framework for teaching
mathematics from Reception to Year 6 to identify the aspects of shape and space
that can be drawn out in this lesson. This will help to make sure that the teaching
and learning of mathematics and geography are mutually reinforcing.
An alternative lesson with a floor robot is offered in the Year 2 design and
technology lesson ‘Controlling a vehicle’.
Lesson extract
Main activity
Explain to the class that they are going to take the programmable floor robot for a
‘walk’ (e.g. around the roads on the road layout, like a postman who delivers
letters). You may wish to change the character of the programmable floor robot.
Demonstrate how the floor robot moves in units, and that one unit is the same as
the length of the robot. Show how it can make whole turns, half turns and quarter
turns and how these relate to left, right, back, forward and to the four compass
points.
Organise the class to work in small groups, so that each group has some adult
support. Give the groups A4 copies of the floor map. Ask the groups to plan a
simple route for the floor robot.
Work with the children to move the floor robot along the agreed route.
During the activity, question the children using questions such as:
Q Where is the floor robot going? (e.g. to the shops, to classroom 2, to the
railway station, to deliver letters to the house at the end of Smith Street)
Q How will the robot get there?
Encourage children to describe the route in terms of distance and what the robot
will pass along the way. Ask them, in pairs, to use their A4 copy of the map to
make a rough sketch of the route, with estimates of distances.
Q Which direction is the robot travelling in for this part of the journey?
Encourage children to relate the direction for each ‘straight’ part of the robot’s
journey to the directions north, south, east and west.
Once one journey has been completed, repeat with different starting points and
destinations.
Next steps
When visiting a contrasting locality (e.g. a village or town centre), create a route
guide to the main features. You may prefer to develop spatial understanding with
fantasy scenarios such as the route that Little Red Hen takes, or similar stories.
(The process could be quicker as the plot is already established.)
Notes
Links to QCA schemes of work
The lesson links to:
QCA Geography Unit 25: Geography and numbers
Section 1.3.3 Shape and space
QCA ICT Unit 2D: Routes: controlling a floor turtle
Section 3 Key idea: that instructions can be sequenced for more complicated tasks
2 | Primary National Strategy | Using ICT in Year 1
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© Crown copyright 2004
Context of this lesson
This is the third lesson in Unit 1: Around our school – the local area.
Subject links
Links can be made to estimating and measuring distances in the daily mathematics
lesson.
Why use ICT?
The advantages of using ICT are as follows:
•
A programmable floor robot allows children to think creatively about and to test
solutions to spatial problems. Children can identify with a floor robot and,
through its eyes, visualise movement in space.
•
The use of a robot helps to develop estimation skills.
3 | Primary National Strategy | Using ICT in Year 1
DfES 0390-2004 G
© Crown copyright 2004