Bristlebot

Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 6

Subject: Technology Applications

Lesson Overview

Students will create a simple circuit of a battery and motor resulting in a bristlebot robot.

Goals / Outcomes

Students will be able to connect a simple circuit of a battery and motor. Students will build a robot, observe, and adjust their creation. Students will reflect on their level of success in their science notebook.

Student Activity

Students will build a simple robot to explore basic circuits and engineering. Students will use materials to attempt to create a moving robot. They will problem solve to get the bristlebot to be as mobile as possible, such as centering weight distribution of materials in order to give the bristlebot good balance. Students can add extra materials to contribute to better robot movement or decorate as desired.

Students will get one set of materials to create their bristlebot. They will explore and experiment with the tools to see how to make the motor run. In previous lessons, students have been introduced to the principles of a circuit.

Show students (or confirm for those who have figured it out during experimentation time) how the battery and motor run together. Watch video tutorial on making a bristlebot where is reviewed that the wires need to touch each side of the battery.

Give students build time. Encourage kids to notice whether their build can stand as they construct it. They will use foam tape to connect materials and they will make decisions on making wire connections stay intact. Example bristlebots will be available for reference.

When building my bristlebot, I had to change the arrangement on the toothbrush head a few times to keep it balanced. The motor I bought was a bit larger than the suggested one since the first one I ordered was advertised as arriving in 2 days, but is scheduled to arrive over a month late. Due to the weight, I added some paperclip stabilizers to keep the bot standing.

Rubric