Sphero Computer Science Foundations - Course 1

Computer Science Foundations (CSF) by Sphero is a supplemental, standards-aligned curriculum designed to be taught in the classroom with Sphero robots. CSF features three courses, each with their own spiral-bound Educator Guide. Using CSF, teachers and students will explore STEAM principles through creative coding.

CSF features student-facing instructions and pre-loaded blocks for every activity. Teachers can access every lesson in the Sphero Edu app by scanning the QR code or by navigating to the CS Foundations tab under ‘Activities’ in the app. Teachers can then assign individual lessons to each student’s Workbook. Many lessons have pre-loaded blocks so students can start coding right away.

Course 1 features three themes, each theme comprising eight lessons. By the end of Course 1, students will demonstrate proficiency with the Draw Canvas and know how to use block programs to manipulate lights and sounds and create loops and conditionals.

Course 1 Content

• Arts
  Using Sphero robots, students will use the Draw and Block Canvas to paint, write poetry, compose music, and dance.
• Shapes & Numbers
  As students progress to programming with blocks, they’ll learn how to connect numbers in equations, play dice games, design guessing games, and create their own figure skating routines.
• Nature
  Students will use their polycarbonate robotic ball to understand the natural world by mimicking the movement of animals, programming a school of fish, and modeling sleep patterns.

By the end of Course 1 students will be able to:

• Create their own Draw programs—including movement (direction and speed) and lights
• Manipulate and sequence movement, lights and sound Blocks.
• Create and animate their own designs on the BOLT LED matrix.
• Create Block programs with 1 to 2 simple controls, including loop forever and loop x times.
• Display a basic understanding of how 1-2 more complex controls, including loop until, if/then, and if/else affect programs.
• Explain how conditionals use sensors, comparators, and operators to make decisions.
• Read and interpret sensor data from all Draw and basic Block programs.

Includes

• A spiral-bound Course Educator Guide book containing 24 lessons
• A 1 year license to access all digital student-facing materials and content within the Sphero Edu app

• ACARA and NSW Curriculum
  Curriculum links for ACARA and NSW are available here.
• CS Foundation Course 1 Sample Activities
  Click here for CS Foundation Course 1 sample activities.
• CS Foundation Course 1 Sample Pages