Activity 03 Little Bus Driver

Children will continue their ring road itinerary with mTiny. This time, however, they will play the role of the bus driver and direct Bus mTiny to different places. This activity will also introduce some new road map blocks which have some hidden interactive effects. Children will utilize route planning and reasoning abilities to figure out the best route.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this activity, children will be able to:
(1) Understand the use of the Repeat Cards which can repeat one action (or sequence) for the assigned number of times;
(2) Understand the benefits of using Repeat Cards during coding.

Key Competencies

Resources

For Child
Input Card × 1	Go! Card × 1	Forward Card × 4	Turn Right Card × 4	Turn Left Card × 4
mTiny Toolkit × 1	×2 Repeat Card × 2	×3 Repeat Card × 2	×4 Repeat Card × 2	×5 Repeat Card × 2

For Educator
(Example Map 1 for Advanced Learners)
Crossroad × 2	Intersection × 6	Road Corner × 6	Straight Road × 5	Road with Scenes × 5
(Example Map 2 for Intermediate Learner)
Crossroad × 1	Intersection × 1	Road Corner × 6	Straight Road × 5	Road with Scenes × 5

* Scene Cards: The selected scene cards should be the same as Road with Scenes Map Blocks. There are five Road with Scenes Map Blocks in the two example map
** Four mTiny Robot Kits are needed to assemble the two maps shown below.

Setting-up

Educator-Led Instructions

Introduction

1. Introduce the following road map blocks with additional interactive effects:

1. Have children discuss the above map blocks, for example:

(1) What do the characters do in the pictures?
(2) Can you create a scenario based on some of these pictures? Please work in pair to develop a story for the above pictures.

Main Activity

1. Divide children into groups of two to four.

2. Explain the rule: “You are now a bus driver and need to pick up passengers at different steps.”

3. Have each child draw one scene cards at a time and do it twice:

(1) Shuffle the scene cards beforehand and then ask one child from one group to draw one card at random and remember the scene.
(2) The child should then put the scene card back and ask one of his or her peers from the same group to draw the next one.
(3) Children should also count the number of times that each scene card has been drawn.
(4) Remember to shuffle the scene cards whenever a child is going to draw one.

:::tips Note: You can give children some stickers to record the number of times when a scene card is drawn. Children can paste a sticker on the Map Blocks that correspond with the scenes. :::

1. Children need to make Bus mTiny depart from the Starting Point and pass through the scenes on the map blocks and then back to the Starting Point.

2. Each group should direct mTiny Bus to pass through the scenes in order.

Recap

Discuss the use of Repeat Cards with children, ask them to think about what are the benefits of using Repeat Cards.

Attachment

Scene Cards (You can print and cut them out for the activity):