Whew, we can hardly believe it’s March already! 2019 has begun with a blast and as we head into the changing seasons with spring beginning this month, we may be experiencing some growing pains. March also marks Women’s History Month, so we’d like to call attention to a mission close to our heart: inspiring girls and young women to grow into coders, programmers, and creators of technology.
Solutions to technology’s gender gap start with education. Studies show that girls often start to lose interest in STEM subjects by the time they reach middle school, and are less likely to seek out classes and electives that incorporate coding as a result. By incorporating coding into a wide range of subjects and topics in the classroom—from music to animal habitats—teachers can instill more students with 21st-century skills.
Take some time this month to explore the STEAM lessons below with your growing girls! We’ve organized them by grade level, so girls of all ages can find something to pique their interest and inspire them to start programming.
Grades K–1
Hungry Hungry Ozobot
Color Codes
Grades K-1
Food and games can be great ways to bring girls and bots together! In this cooperative game, students collaborate to collect food for their Hungry Hungry Ozobot and experience a great introduction to numbers, counting, and coding.
I See, Ozobot Sees
Color Codes
Grades K-1
I see; Ozobot sees; we all see girls in STEAM! This lesson explains how Ozobots process the external environment and how this compares to the way humans interpret systems. Students record observations in a journal and then work to create an environment that Ozobot can understand.
Grades 2–3
Modeling Animal Habits and Habitats
Color Codes
Grades 1-5
Rabbits meet robots! Use Evo or Bit to show your students how robots can be used to model mother nature. Students will use point counter Color Codes to make their bot model a rabbit grazing on a grassy hill, then stopping after eating its fill.
Immigration with Ozobot!
Color Codes
Grade 2
Experience a piece of Women’s History with this lesson based on the experience that mothers, daughters, aunts, sisters, grandmothers ,and more all went through as they took a courageous step to come to a country that would grow to offer them opportunities in STEAM. As Ozobot goes through the path of the island’s processes, students scan QR codes to learn more.
Grades 4–5
Evo Teaches Notes on a Keyboard
OzoBlockly
Grades 3-12
In this lesson, use Evo to help introduce girls to the octave of a standard keyboard, and get engaged with other music fundamentals and terms including notes, clefs, scales, sharps, keys, and more! The OzoBlockly program is provided as a map for a musical tour given by Evo.
Bit’s Growing Patterns Challenge
OzoBlockly
Grades 4-6
Forget growing pains through focusing on growing patterns! Girls will create their own OzoBlockly program that contains a recursive pattern and also explain the rule used.
Grades 6–8
Ozobot and Transformations
Color Codes
Grade 8
Spring is a time for transformation, and both Bit and Evo can experience mathematical movement in this lesson! Girls will complete a worksheet filling in Color Codes corresponding with the transformations before testing.
Dorothy Vaughan and Fortran
OzoBlockly
Grades 5-10
In this lesson, students program their Ozobot Evo or Bit with OzoBlockly. If your students are new to OzoBlockly, start with OzoBlockly Basic Training beforehand. Students will dive straight into coding with Dorothy as their guide and heroine! First, learn about Ms. Vaughan and why we honor her accomplishments this month. Then explore Fortran, which is the very same programming language Dorothy learned and helped teach her colleagues at NASA.
Grades 9–12
Ozobot Odyssey
Color Codes
Grades 9-12
Students can experience classical literature and how point of view impacts the reader by positioning Ozobot as a specific character and coding it through The Odyssey. For example, how do you think Evo sees STEAM in the world compared to Bit’s view of programming? We’re pretty sure they’d each have different and unique stories to tell.
A Lesson in Business Process Simulation Modeling
Color Codes
Grades 11 and beyond!
Finally, Evo and Bit bring us a lesson in which girls can start applying coding and programming concepts to thinking about what career they may wish to grow into! Students will follow five basic steps in solving business problems, and they’ll work together to learn how simulation modeling can help them better iterate on business processes.
All Grades
Linking #Peel21st @Ozobot code to emotions or conditions help learners demonstrate their understanding of content in exciting new ways. pic.twitter.com/xNPsj7vPhj
— Mister Schuermann (@MrSchuermann) March 5, 2019
A Creative Prompt: Emotional Growing Pains
Color Codes
Grades K-12
Brought to you by @MrSchuermann on Twitter, we’d like to challenge girls of all ages to get creative when experiencing any growing pains of their own. Tie Ozobot Color Codes to specific emotions and share a video of your bot growing through the story conditions you design!
Share your March lessons, activities, and STEAM creations with us @Ozobot and use #OzoSquad)! Who knows, you may inspire someone else to try coding along the way…
