6172RB Science a STEM approach Year 2 low res watermark

Biological sciences
GROWING AND CHANGING
STEM project
Teacher notes
STEM project:
Design and create a mat for a Bee-Bot activity, which shows how a living thing grows and changes.
Students can then program a Bee-Bot to move along the correct pathway. (If your school does not
have access to Bee-Bots, students act as a ‘Bee-Bot’ and move around the mat as directed by a
fellow student.)
Estimated duration: 4 weeks
1. Introduce the project
• Go to and
ask students what they know about Beebots
or other robots. How do they move?
What kind of instructions do they need?
Note: The direction pad shows forward and
backward using up and down arrows, and
turns using left and right arrows.
• ​Watch the video about how a Bee-Bot
works at .
• Display page 32 to read to the class and
introduce the problem and task—to design
and create a Bee-Bot mat and program a
Bee-Bot to follow the life cycle of a living
thing in the correct order. Clarify what a
living thing is, and any details about the
task that students do not understand. Give
students a copy of the project steps on
page 33.
2. Investigate
• Students select a living thing and explore
how it grows and changes throughout its life.
Students use page 34 to collate information.
Information from previous lessons can be
applied here. If more stages are needed,
students can draw up their own table.
• Students explore the website individually to
ensure they understand how a Bee-Bot
moves and what type of instructions are
required to program it.
• Students explore the website to explore different
mats that can be used with a Bee-Bot.
Display the example on page 35.
• Practise how to instruct a Bee-Bot/student
to the different stages in the life of a
butterfly in the correct order, using page 35.
3. Design, plan and manage
• Students design a mat by sketching a plan
first, using page 36. The sketch should
include images of stages of the living thing
as it grows and some extra decorative
squares to complete the 4 x 4 configuration.
Students may write details about the
changes in the living thing at each stage if
space allows.
4. Create
• Groups create their design cooperatively
and decide who will complete each
component of the design.
• Students measure and rule up the squares
on the mat using a large sheet of cardboard
or a piece of white vinyl cut to the length and
width of two rulers; i.e. 60 cm x 60 cm. Divide
the large squares into sixteen equal-sized
squares in a 4 x 4 array.
• Students draw and label images of different
stages in the life cycle of a living thing on the
squares. Other images/text relating to the
living thing such as elements of its habitat
will also need to be drawn as filler squares.
Alternatively, students may repeat some of
the stages so a number of different pathways
can be programmed into the Bee-Bot.
• Students write one way of programming the
Bee-Bot so it follows the growth of the living
thing in the correct order.
5. Evaluate and refine
• Students check that their mat includes all
stages of how the living thing grows and
changes throughout its life.
• Students also check that their mat is
constructed correctly and contains
16 equal-sized squares in the correct array.
6. Communicate
• Students display their mat, explaining
how they made it and describing the life
cycles of their chosen living thing. They can
demonstrate the programming they worked
out to navigate to the stages of the life
cycle. Once they know the life cycle, other
students should be given opportunities to
test the Bee-Bot mats of other students.
Discuss the directions in terms of turns and
position, as well as simple digital code.
© R.I.C. Publications
Low resolution display copy
R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricpublications.com.au 978-1-925431-95-7 YEAR
Science:
A STEM APPROACH
31
2