Example units · Design

Microbit Robots

IB MYPDesignGrades 7–9

Explore the unit · illustrative introduction

micro:bit robot

micro:bit robotIn this example program, A turns the wheels forward and B reverses them. Try a button. Illustration by April Zhu and Tolga Cohce. MIT licensed.AB
Explore micro:bit robot

In this example program, A turns the wheels forward and B reverses them. Try a button.

Students in Grades 7–9 design and build simple robots using micro:bits, sensors, and cardboard. They start by taking apart a working micro:bit pet to understand its electronics, then explore how robots appear in media and real life. They learn how sensors work by sorting real-world examples into categories.

Next, students design their robot, create a cardboard enclosure through prototyping, and learn to code using makecode.microbit.org. They write block code to control their micro:bit, document their final plans, and build their cardboard shell, combining hardware and code to create a functioning device.

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What students do

  • Make & document46%
  • Read25%
  • Check understanding10%
  • Write7%
  • Think6%
  • Hand in6%

IB MYP criteria

  • AInquiring and Analysing
  • BDeveloping Ideas
  • CCreating the Solution

The lessons

  1. A paper cut-out man looking through a magnifying glass at sticky notes of questions

    Discover

    Find out what's really going on.

  2. 1. Microbit Pet Autopsy — Product Analysis

    Assessment

    7 activities

    1. Your taskYou are a Forensic Engineer.Read
    2. 🔧 Microbit Pet AutopsyRules: Don't break the electronics.Read
    3. Autopsy photos #1 - the pet workingPhoto 1 — the pet working: drop a pin on every INPUT (button, sensor) and every OUTPUT (LED, motor, sound).Make & document
    4. Autopsy photos #2 - stripped electronicsPhoto 2 — the stripped electronics laid out in order: pin where the POWER starts and where the SIGNAL travels (battery → micro:bit → motor/output).Make & document
    5. Answer each in one sentence.Which cardboard connections broke easily, and which stayed strong?Write
    6. How this is markedRead
    7. Hand it inHand in

  3. 2. Robot Design

    6 activities

    1. Find 5 examples of robots in movies, TV, games, real-life, etc.Upload 6 images. For each, write what makes this robot design successful for its contextThink
    2. Kindchenschema & Uncanny ValleyRead all three cards.Read
    3. Valley or No Valley? Sort the RobotsSort each robot or character into the correct category.Check understanding
    4. Checking Your UnderstandingAnswer each question in your own words.Write
    5. Robot Analysis: Annotate Real ExamplesFind or use the provided images of two different robots (one that uses Kindchenschema and one that sits in or near the uncanny valley).Make & document
    6. Share Your FindingsThink (1 min): Look back at your two annotated robots.Write

  4. 3. Sensors in Real Life

    6 activities

    1. Sensors Around Us — First ThoughtsIn the centre of the mind map is the word 'Sensors'.Think
    2. How a Sensor WorksRead the three cards.Read
    3. Sort into categoriesBelow are 12 sensor examples from everyday products.Check understanding
    4. Sensor Chain SortSort each description into the correct column — is it describing the INPUT, the SENSOR, or the OUTPUT?Check understanding
    5. 5 Real-World Sensor ExamplesFind 5 sensors used in real locations around you or in photos you can take or look up.Make & document
    6. Sensor Comparison & DebriefShare your five examples with the person next to you.Write
  5. A paper cut-out man leaning on an empty square frame

    Define

    Say exactly what you're solving.

  6. 4. Design Your Robot

    Assessment

    4 activities

    1. Your taskWhat you're making You are designing and making a robotic pet — an aesthetic shell that houses real electronics.Read
    2. Upload photos of your 2 designs hereUpload your work.Make & document
    3. How this is markedRead
    4. Hand it inHand in
  7. A paper cut-out man looking through a magnifying glass at sticky notes of questions

    Discover

    Find out what's really going on.

  8. 5. Intro to Microbits

    4 activities

    1. micro:bit Term MatchSort each term into the column that best matches its description.Check understanding
    2. Image annotateUsing the interactive diagram from microbit.org drag and drop each labelled pin (LED matrix, buttons A & B, edge connector, USB port, accelerometer, compass, …Make & document
    3. Intro to makecode.microbit.orgRead
    4. Take a screenshot of your block code and annotate what each part doesTake a screenshot of your block code annotate each block with a description of what it didMake & document
  9. A paper cut-out girl holding a clear phone mock-up over a sketchbook

    Prototype

    Make it real, roughly, then properly.

  10. 6. Virtual Microbit Training

    2 activities

    1. Key wordsRead
    2. Intro to Makecode Microbits tutorials (beginners)Read
  11. A paper cut-out woman timing a cardboard car down a ramp with a stopwatch

    Test

    Try it. Find what breaks. Fix it.

  12. 7. Checkpoint 1

    Checkpoint

    No activity detail for this lesson.

  13. A paper cut-out girl holding a clear phone mock-up over a sketchbook

    Prototype

    Make it real, roughly, then properly.

  14. 8. Virtual Microbit Training #2

    1 activity

    1. Intro to Makecode Microbits tutorials (intermediate)Read

  15. 9. Prototype your enclosure

    Assessment

    5 activities

    1. Your taskWhat you're making You will select one of your enclosure designs and build a full cardboard prototype of the main robot body.Read
    2. Process logAfter each making session, add one log entry: photograph the step you just completed (joint, fold, hole, or assembly), then write a note that says what you …Make & document
    3. Final PrototypeUpload 1 photo of your prototype.Make & document
    4. How this is markedRead
    5. Hand it inHand in

  16. 10. Final Robot Plans

    Assessment

    4 activities

    1. Your taskWhat you're making You are producing a precise, fully dimensioned technical drawing of your final robot design — top view and side view — completed on grid …Read
    2. Photo or file uploadUpload your work.Make & document
    3. How this is markedRead
    4. Hand it inHand in

  17. 11. Build the shell

    1 activity

    1. Build your cardboard shellIf you need to use spray paint you'll need to pass the safety test firstRead

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