Christmas - KS2
Seasonal Suggestions
Robot Wrapper
Using paper and pencil, write a code for a robot that can wrap your Christmas presents for you.
The Robot Wrapper
Year 3/4 - Year 5/6
You don't always need a screen or a real robot to teach coding. In this activity, we ask the pupils to write a code that would enable a robot to wrap, and then hand out, Christmas presents. The difficulty of the task varies according to experience and ability, but Years 5 and 6 pupils should be able to complete every level.
- Ask your pupils to imagine how much easier Christmas would be if a robot wrapped all of our presents. Explain that they need to write codes that would enable a robot to do just that.
- Show them the example code below for a penalty-taking robot.
- Highlight the simple language, clear instructions and the fact that a flow chart takes us from one step to the next.
- Hand out blank flow chart templates and have the pupils write their code for wrapping presents. The more concise they are, the better. More able pupils can be encouraged to limit themselves to 3 words per instruction.
- Act as the robot, attempting to wrap a present to test the codes, with pupils reading their codes step by step to you.
Ability Variation
Simple
Stick to a simple, one-present code.
Medium
Ask pupils to repeat the code to wrap more presents. You'll notice on the example above that the loop doesn't necessarily go from the very beginning or end of the code.
Challenge
Insert a Boolean question into the code. Look at the 'Question Code' example to see how simple this can be.
Success Criteria
Simple
- I can create instructions for another child to follow.
- I can write my instructions in a flow chart.
Medium
- I can insert a loop into my code.
Challenge
- I can insert a Boolean question into my code.
Framework Elements
Main Framework Element(s)
4.1 - Problem Solving & Modelling
Other Framework Element(s)
3.3 - Evaluating and Improving
Which Words?
Challenge your pupils to use their online search skills to work out which three keywords you used to find a silly picture.
Which Words?
Years 3/4 - Years 5/6
Most children have not been taught how to use online search effectively. Instead of typing in keywords, they type whole sentences. This fun, ten-minute activity makes them focus on selecting the keywords that will help them find a very specific picture.
- Using only three words in each Google image search, find Christmas-themed photos.
- Make sure that the photo is a fair representation of the three words you used (see examples below).
- Show the pictures to your pupils and explain the rules of their challenge:
- They can only type three words into each image search.
- They must keep guessing words until they find your image in the top two lines of their image results.
Ability Variation
The level of challenge here depends on how vague your keywords are and how obvious they are from the photo. Start easy and make it harder every time you do the activity. (It's a great morning starter throughout the Christmas period).
Success Criteria
I can select the right keywords when searching for an image.
Framework Elements
Main Framework Element(s)
3.1 - Planning, Sourcing and Searching
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