Cover lesson · Science and Technology · Year 3 · Beginner
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Problem-solving and modelling
Also assessed, LNF: Numeracy → Learning about geometry helps us understand shape, space and position, and learning about measurement helps us quantify in the real world → Angle
Name: Class: Date:
What this practises: following, fixing and writing a set of instructions (an algorithm) for a rover, all on paper. Pupils also name each turn as a quarter turn or half turn, clockwise or anticlockwise, which is real numeracy (angle) and is marked from the sheet. The science link is rocks: rovers on Mars collect rock samples so scientists can find out what the planet is made of.
Print: this sheet, one per pupil, and the stimulus sheet “Mars crater map and rover command cards”, one between two. No computers or robots are needed. Pupils can move a finger, a rubber or a counter along the map.
Run: 5 min read “What you are doing” and section 3 of the stimulus sheet aloud, then act out the 3 cards: step forward, make a quarter turn right, then a quarter turn left · 7 min Step 1 · 6 min Step 2 · 10 min Step 3 · 10 min Step 4 · 10 min Step 5 · 7 min Step 6 · 5 min pairs test each other’s Step 4 program. Total 60 minutes.
Collect: this sheet. Angle (numeracy) evidence is in Step 5 (the turn table and questions a and b) and the turn column in Step 4. Quick checks: Program A ends at the layered rock; Program B ends at the speckled rock; Cai’s bug is card 7 (R should be L); Megan’s program has one F missing, so her rover gets stuck in the soft sand; R then R is a half turn.
Year 3 at Ysgol Glan Ffrwd have a toy rover and a floor map of a crater on Mars. The rover must drive from its base to collect rock samples for scientists. It only does what the cards tell it. You will follow programs, fix programs that go wrong and write your own.
| Card | Letter | What the rover does |
|---|---|---|
| F | Forward: move 1 square the way it is facing. | |
| R | Turn right: a quarter turn clockwise. The rover stays on the same square. | |
| L | Turn left: a quarter turn anticlockwise. The rover stays on the same square. |
The rover must not drive into the crater or the soft sand, and it cannot drive over the cliffs at the edge.
The rover starts at the base, facing up. Put your finger on the base. Follow the cards one at a time.
1
F2
F3
F
Which rock does the rover reach? Circle it.
layered rock speckled rock red rock
The rover starts on the layered rock, still facing up.
1
R2
F3
F4
F
(a) Which way is the rover facing after card 1?
(b) Which rock does the rover reach?
Cai and Megan both tried to send the rover from the base (facing up) to the red rock. Both programs have a mistake, called a bug.
Cai’s program
1
R2
F3
F4
F5
F6
F7
R8
F
(a) Where does Cai’s rover go wrong? Which card number is the bug?
Megan’s program
1
R2
F3
F4
F5
F6
L7
F
(b) Where does Megan’s rover end up? What is missing?
(c) Write the fixed program, one letter in each box.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The rover is on the red rock, facing up. Write a program to take it to the speckled rock. Keep away from the soft sand! Then fill in the turn column for each turn card.
| Card | Letter (F, R or L) | If it is a turn: quarter or half? clockwise or anticlockwise? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 7 |
Test it: follow your program with your finger. Did the rover reach the speckled rock? Yes ☐ No ☐
The rover turns on the spot. Two quarter turns the same way make a half turn. Draw an arrow to show which way the rover faces at the end. Then name the turn.
| Rover starts facing | Cards | Rover ends facing (draw an arrow) | Name the turn |
|---|---|---|---|
| up | R | right | quarter turn clockwise |
| up | L | ||
| up | R R | ||
| right | L L | ||
| left | R |
(a) Count the turn cards in your fixed program from Step 3. How many quarter turns clockwise? How many quarter turns anticlockwise?
(b) The rover faces up. Osian uses “R R R” and Ffion uses “L”. Their rovers end up facing the same way. Which way? Whose program is shorter?
Your fixed program in Step 3 has the same card 5 times in a row. A repeat makes it shorter: Repeat 5 times: F.
Write the fixed program again using a repeat.
How many instructions did you save?