Arduino Learning Studiorobotics pathway

Robotics pathway · ages 6–17

One robot idea, met four ways.

Every robot senses, decides and acts, kept safe and proven by testing. Those ideas stay the same from age 6 to 17. What changes is how a child meets them: with hands and pictures first, then cards and blocks, then real code.

Age is a starting point, never a limit. Each unit says what a learner should be able to do first and what it leads to. A learner who is ready moves on, at any age.

    • Sense

    Notice the world: switches, light, distance, cameras.

    • Decide

    Choose what to do: sequences, conditions, states.

    • Act

    Make something happen: lights, sound, wheels, arms.

    • Power and safety

    Keep power and people safe: the right supply, a driver, a stop switch.

    • Test and debug

    Prove it works, find what doesn't, and improve it.

Find a starting point

Tick what the learner can already show, not what they have heard of. The pathway lists the units they are ready for, at any age. Nothing here is saved.

Hands and pictures 0/19 ticked
Act
Decide
Sense
Power and safety
Test and debug
Engineering practice
Cards and blocks 0/19 ticked
Act
Decide
Sense
Power and safety
Test and debug
Engineering practice
Arduino code 0/22 ticked
Act
Decide
Sense
Power and safety
Test and debug
Engineering practice
Systems 0/14 ticked
Act
Decide
Sense
Power and safety
Test and debug
Engineering practice

2 ready from here. First: R06-U1 Machines Around Us.

Ready now

  1. R06-U1 · Little Inventors · usually age 6

    Machines Around Us

    New: Kinds of movement, Predict and test, Safe making

  2. R06-U3 · Little Inventors · usually age 6

    Robot Instructions

    New: Ordering steps, Try again

Age bands

Ages 6–8 · Hands and pictures

Little Inventors

First machines, movement and instructions, built with hands and cardboard.

This page is for the adult leading the sessions.

How they learn
By making, moving and playing: ramps, wheels, levers, a classmate acting as a robot. Pictures and arrows instead of words; no code text.
The adult's role
An adult leads every session and prepares anything powered. Children never handle loose batteries, sharp tools or hot parts.
Session
45–60 minutes
Screen time
Minimal. Most of the session is away from the screen.
Reading
Little or none: pictures, symbols and spoken instructions.
Evidence of learning
Showing and telling: a demonstration, a photo of the build (not of the child) or a drawing kept by the adult, or the adult's own note.
Hardware
No controller needed: cardboard, wheels, gears; optional enclosed low-voltage modules. The adult prepares or checks any wiring. No loose batteries, coin cells, small magnets, sharp tools or hot parts.
In this studio today
Robot Instructions, a picture-card activity (no reading needed) for R06-U3, R08-U2 and R08-U3: sequences, then repeats and sensing. Unit plans for R06-U1, R06-U2, R06-U3, R06-U4, R07-U1, R07-U2, R07-U3, R07-U4, R08-U1, R08-U2, R08-U3 and R08-U4 (hands-on, with picture cards and no controller), each on its own unit page.

Start here

No experience needed: this is where the pathway begins.

Ready for more? Any later unit is open, whatever the learner's age. Use “Find a starting point” above.

Safety for every band (the adult checks before power-on)
  • Low voltage only: battery packs or USB. Never mains electricity.
  • Never connect a motor straight to a controller pin: use a driver and a separate supply.
  • Every moving robot has a power-off switch within reach that cuts the motor battery (or all power). A software stop button is extra, never a replacement.
  • No coin or button cells and no loose small magnets; battery compartments screwed shut.
  • Guard wheels and moving parts against pinched fingers; keep robots slow and indoors.
  • No exposed lithium cells, improvised chargers or lasers.
  • No Li-ion, LiPo or RC packs: AA alkaline or NiMH cells in a closed holder with a switch, or USB.
  • Check polarity and voltage before power-on; a 3.3 V board must not receive 5 V signals.

Usually age 6

  1. R06-U1

    Machines Around Us

    What makes something a machine?

    Build: Movement museum of everyday objects

    • Act
    How it connects
    Starts from
    Nothing: the starting point.
    Builds
    • Show and name ways things move: push, pull, roll and spin.
    • Predict what will happen, test it, and say what happened.
    • Follow safe-making rules: tools, small parts, hands clear of moving parts.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 4 sessions →

  2. R06-U2

    Roll, Slide and Balance

    Why do some objects move more easily?

    Build: Cardboard rolling-ramp experiment

    • Act
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Kinds of movement
    • Predict and test
    Builds
    • Explain why wheels and axles make moving easier, and compare two designs.
    • Compare two designs fairly: change one thing at a time.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 4 sessions →

  4. R06-U4

    My Moving Creature

    How can we make a creature move?

    Build: Hand-powered cardboard walking creature

    • Act
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Kinds of movement
    • Safe making
    • Try again
    Builds
    • Make a linkage that turns one movement into another.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 4 sessions →

Usually age 7

  1. R07-U1

    Levers and Gears

    How do mechanisms change movement?

    Build: Mechanical grabber

    • Act
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Kinds of movement
    • Fair comparison
    Builds
    • Use a lever or gears to lift or turn something more easily.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 4 sessions →

  2. R07-U2

    Wheels and Steering

    What makes a vehicle turn?

    Build: Steerable rolling vehicle

    • Act
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Wheels and axles
    • Fair comparison
    Builds
    • Make a vehicle go straight and turn on purpose.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 4 sessions →

  3. R07-U3

    Signals and Switches

    How can a machine communicate?

    Build: Low-voltage signal model

    • Sense
    • Act
    • Power and safety
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Safe making
    • Predict and test
    Builds
    • Build a safe low-voltage circuit and say why it must be a closed loop.
    • Use a switch or touch as an input to a machine.
    • Make a machine respond with a light, a sound or a movement.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 4 sessions →

  4. R07-U4

    Rescue Vehicle Workshop

    Can we build a machine for a mission?

    Build: Mechanical rescue vehicle

    • Act
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Steering
    • Levers and gears
    • Try again
    Builds
    • Turn a mission into goals and limits (criteria and constraints).
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 4 sessions →

Usually age 8

  1. R08-U1

    Input, Output and Events

    How does a machine react?

    Build: Interactive light-and-sound toy

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Act
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Switch inputs
    • Outputs
    Builds
    • Make something start when something happens (an event).
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 4 sessions →

  4. R08-U4

    Interactive Robot Story

    Can a robot become a story character?

    Build: Programmable moving animal

    • Decide
    • Act
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Events
    • Repeat
    • Linkages
    Builds
    • Explain how a machine works and what to improve.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 4 sessions →

Units come from the curriculum candidate v0.1. Outlines are a title, a question and an intended prototype, not written lessons. Nothing here is classroom-validated yet, and age is a starting guide: learners can start wherever their experience fits.