Year Five have been looking at Physical Computing. Y5 used physical computing to explore the concept of selection in programming through the use of the Crumble programming environment. They were introduced to a microcontroller (Crumble controller) and learnt how to connect and program it to control components (including output devices — LEDs and motors). Y5 were introduced to conditions as a means of controlling the flow of actions in a program. They made use of their knowledge of repetition and conditions when introduced to the concept of selection (through the ‘if…then…’ structure) and wrote algorithms and programs that utilised this concept.
The National Curriculum requires that pupils should be taught to:
- design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts.
- use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output.
- use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs.
Here are Y5 in action.
In this lesson, Y5 familiarised themselves with the Crumble controller and the programming environment used to control it. They connected a Sparkle to a Crumble and then programmed the Crumble to make the Sparkle flash different colour patterns using infinite loops.
In this lesson, Y5 connected a Sparkle and a motor to the Crumble controller. They will designed sequences of actions for these components. They will then apply their understanding of repetition by using count-controlled loops when implementing their design as a program.
In this lesson, Y5 were introduced to conditions, and how they could be used in programs to control their flow. They identified conditions in statements, stating if they were true or false. They were introduced to a Crumble switch, and learnt how it could provide the Crumble controller with an input that could be used as a condition. They explore how to write programs that use an input as a condition.
Fantastic work Year 5!