Programming Bee-Bots to Draw Geometric Shapes

Abstract

This article describes an activity that integrates Bee-Bot robots, to engage first-grade students in creating different geometric shapes. In this activity, students work collaboratively to program Bee-Bots to move on a specific path with two markers attached to the Bee-Bots to create a geometric shape on a sheet of paper. After exploring the robots, first-grade students are asked to create geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles, and circles. Students write and test their programs, then observe the drawing to debug their program. This allows students to attend to the number of sides and vertices and the relations among them to complete the task.