Dash the Meter Mover

Recommended Grade: Primary

Curriculum Expectations (strand): Measurement

Learning Goal:

Students will learn to estimate, measure and record distances. They will also learn to use positional language to program and describe the route Dash takes.

Required Supplies:

      • Dash
      • iPad Mini with Blockly or Blocklify
      • String or measuring tape/metre stick
      • Whiteboard & Marker

Challenge

Use Dash like a meter stick, moving at 100 cm intervals to prove the distance between two places.

Instructions or Directions:

  1. Make an estimate as to how far you think it is from your classroom door to the office (or another location in the school).
  2. Starting at your classroom door, program Dash to travel at 100 cm intervals to arrive there.
  3. Run the code, make a tally mark for each time he moves 100 cm until he arrives.
  4. Compare your estimate to how many meters Dash actually had to travel to arrive at his destination.
  5. Think of two other places that might be the same distance apart. Test your theory using Dash.

Reflection Questions:

  1. What benchmarks did you use to help you estimate what the distance could be?
  2. What are two places that Dash could trave that would be about half the distance? How do you know?
  3. How did you feel about Math today?
  4. Were your estimates close? How can you make better estimates in the future?