Reprinted from the PEG page, a programming education project promoted by CANVAS.

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[July 8: Tokyo Metropolitan Shakujii Special Needs School Class Report #2]
Since June, teachers and 8th-grade students have been working on LEGO WeDo 2.0 lessons using CANVAS.
We’re challenging the students—who used LEGO StoryStarter last year to create stories by combining photos and words—to see what kinds of expressions they can create by adding movement.

In the first class, students build a car that moves by connecting a motor to a pulley,
and in subsequent classes, they practice controlling the car using block-based programming through an app.

While the LEGO building and motion control blocks are easy to use because they limit the types of blocks you can use, it’s difficult to get students to participate in class if they aren’t interested in the assignment.

The children who took an interest in stopping exactly at the finish line began to control
their speed and time, and would proudly report, “I did it!”

Here’s a secret trick for kids who are so excited about creating stories on the 7th and 8th that they just can’t seem to get interested in stopping at the finish line!
We used the houses and flags everyone built with LEGO as the finish line and put the characters in the cars.

Even
the children who had previously struggled to concentrate were able to immerse themselves in the story all at once and guide their cars all the way to the finish line.
We have three more classes scheduled for July! In the second semester, we’ll finally take on the challenge of creating our own stories.

*This initiative is being carried out as part of the “YouthSpark: Programming for All” project, a collaboration between Microsoft and CANVAS.
http://canvas.ws/project/youthspark

*What is LEGO WeDo 2.0?
https://education.lego.com/ja-jp/learn/elementary/wedo-2

*What
is LEGO StoryStarter? https://education.lego.com/ja-jp/preschool-and-school/lower-primary/6plus-storystarter/introducing-storystarter