Engineering and Computer Science Essentials™ Grade 1

Engineering Unit: Designing Lighting Systems

Optical engineers design technologies that use light to do something useful—from lasers and telescopes to fiber-optic communication systems. In the storybook Omar’s Time to Shine, an Egyptian boy uses what he learns from optical engineers working inside an ancient tomb to develop a system for lighting the dancers in a school performance. Students think like optical engineers as they explore how light interacts with different materials. Using what they’ve learned, students then follow the steps of the Engineering Design Process to imagine, plan, create, and improve systems to illuminate hieroglyphs inside model tombs.

Computer Science Unit: Programming Robots

Computer scientists program robots to complete tasks that are difficult for humans to do. In the story Omar’s Robotic Reach, when Omar loses a gem from his costume for a school performance, he programs a robot to retrieve it from under the stage. Students explore how to write an algorithm to tell a robot how to move, then investigate how to program a robot such as the Code & Go^® Robot Mouse. They then follow the steps of the Engineering Design Process to imagine, plan, create, and improve a program to make a robot navigate a maze. Students extend their computational thinking skills to mathematical concepts as they practice strategies for addition and subtraction.

Unit Core Program Components 

• Digital Teacher Guide
• Easy-to-Print Classroom Resources 
• Resources for Diverse Learners
• Interactive Digital Storybooks
• Math Extension Lesson  (Computer Science) 
• Materials Kits