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 9–11 · Cards and blocks

Robot Explorers

Programs, sensors and first moving robots, with blocks and simple kits.

This page is for the adult leading the sessions.

How they learn
By arranging instruction cards or blocks, predicting what happens, and testing on a kit. Short sentences, with words and pictures together.
The adult's role
An adult oversees circuits, batteries and motors.
Session
60–75 minutes
Screen time
Short bursts at the screen, between building and testing.
Reading
Short sentences, key words with pictures.
Evidence of learning
A prediction, a short test table and a spoken or written explanation.
Hardware
micro:bit with MakeCode, or a similar child-friendly board. Start in the board's own simulator. A micro:bit is 3.3 V: never connect a 5 V signal straight to it.
In this studio today
Robot Blocks, a blocks activity for R09-U1 (loops, a loop inside a loop) and R09-U3 (repeat until, if … else, a distance threshold). Each program is also shown as Arduino-style code. Unit plans for R09-U1, R09-U2, R09-U3, R09-U4, R10-U1, R10-U2, R10-U3, R10-U4, R11-U1, R11-U2, R11-U3 and R11-U4 (micro:bit and MakeCode, simulator first), each on its own unit page. The Arduino labs are written for ages 12 and up.

To start R09-U1 or R10-U1, the learner should be able to

  • Repeat
  • Events
  • Closed circuits
  • Outputs
Later units in this band also draw on (6)
  • Switch inputs
  • If … else
  • Predict and test
  • Criteria and constraints
  • Steering
  • Finding faults

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 9

  2. R09-U2

    Sense the World

    How can a device measure its surroundings?

    Build: Temperature and motion logger

    • Sense
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Switch inputs
    • Block programs
    Builds
    • Take readings with units and compare them.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

  3. R09-U3

    Make Decisions

    How do robots choose what to do?

    Build: Dark-activated alert

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Readings with units
    • If … else
    • Predict and test
    Builds
    • Turn a measurement into a decision with a threshold.
    • Record trials in a table.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →
    Studio activity: ▶ Robot Blocks (levels 3–6)

  4. R09-U4

    Smart Crossing

    Can a signal system protect a crossing?

    Build: Programmable pedestrian crossing

    • Decide
    • Power and safety
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Block programs
    • If … else
    • Criteria and constraints
    Builds
    • Make a system fall back to a safe state when something goes wrong.
    • Say who a machine could help or harm, and how to make it fairer and safer.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

Usually age 10

  1. R10-U1

    Power a Moving Machine

    What makes a motor turn?

    Build: Safe motorised spinner

    • Act
    • Power and safety
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Closed circuits
    • Outputs
    Builds
    • Tell the power path from the signal path, and keep motors off signal pins.
    • Make a motor spin and change its speed safely.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

  2. R10-U2

    Measure Distance

    How does a robot know something is near?

    Build: Digital parking-distance display

    • Sense
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Readings with units
    • Trial tables
    Builds
    • Measure distance with a sensor and check it against a ruler.
    • Calibrate a sensor for the real conditions.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

  4. R10-U4

    Automated Gate Challenge

    Can our design work for different vehicles?

    Build: Automatic parking gate

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Act
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Distance sensing
    • Servo angles
    • Thresholds
    • Trial tables
    Builds
    • Combine sensing, deciding and acting into one working system.
    • Run several varied trials before calling something reliable.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

Usually age 11

  1. R11-U1

    Build the Rover

    What turns a chassis into a robot?

    Build: Two-wheel rover chassis

    • Act
    • Power and safety
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Motor speed
    • Steering
    • Power vs signal
    Builds
    • Use a motor driver with its own supply, and a stop switch that cuts motor power.
    • Drive a two-wheel rover forward, back, turning and stopped.
    • Assemble a square, firmly fastened chassis with wiring that can't be pulled loose.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

  2. R11-U2

    Follow the Path

    How can a robot follow a line?

    Build: Line-sensing robot

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Act
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Thresholds
    • Driving a rover
    Builds
    • Steer continuously from a sensor reading, reacting all the time.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

  3. R11-U3

    Measure and Improve

    Why does the rover lose the line?

    Build: Calibrated line-following robot

    • Sense
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Reacting continuously
    • Calibration
    • Repeatable trials
    • Trial tables
    Builds
    • Tune a setting by comparing results before and after.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

  4. R11-U4

    Robot Trail Mission

    Can our rover handle an unfamiliar path?

    Build: Line-following rescue rover

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Act
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Reacting continuously
    • Tuning
    • Finding faults
    • Integration
    Builds
    • Document trials and changes so someone else can follow them.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 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.