LaunchPad
Grades 3-5 and Grades 6-8
Project Description
Dive into coding with a hand-held electronic circuit board — equipped with touch sensors, lights, sounds, remote control, and an accelerometer. LaunchPad can be programmed as an electronic board game, a light and sound show, a musical instrument, a speed reaction game, a balance device, or anything else students can think of. Unlike other coding platforms, students learn the fundamentals of coding principles through activities, thought experiments, class discussions, journaling, and guided and independent coding. They also explore and use real-life coding strategies to bring their ideas to life.
Key Concepts
Accelerometer, Algorithm, Capacitance, Coding, Command, Conditionals, Cones, Cone response, Debug, Doppler effect, Electrical components, Energy, For loops, Frequency, Infrared light, Iterative math, Light, Loop, Microcontroller, Pins, Pitch, Pixel, Printed Circuit Board (PCB), Program, Pseudocode, Random number generator, RGB colors, RGB pixel, Remote control, Serial output, Sound waves, Spatial dimensions, Subroutines, Switch/Case blocks, Tilt, Touchpads, Variables, Variable math, Wavelength
Essential Question
How can we use programming to turn a circuit board into an interactive game console?
Summary of Standards
Students will model how software and hardware work together to accomplish tasks; create programs that include sequences, events, loops, and conditionals; and test and debug a program or algorithm to ensure that it runs as intended.
Common Core ELA
Students will learn new content-specific vocabulary terms, participate in collaborative group discussions, and draw relevant conclusions based upon the curriculum that is presented.
Common Core Math
Students will interpret products of whole numbers, identify arithmetic patterns, and compare whole numbers.
Students will model how software and hardware work together to accomplish tasks, create variables to represent data, develop programs that combine control structures and design programs.
Common Core ELA
Students will learn new content-specific vocabulary terms, participate in collaborative group discussions, and draw relevant conclusions based upon the curriculum that is presented.
Common Core Math
Students will use variables to represent quantities.