code club Icebreakers Introduce a Teammate Robot Maze Instructions
- September 30, 2024
- code club
Table of Contents
code club Icebreakers Introduce a Teammate Robot Maze
Product Information
Specifications:
- Manufacturer: Code Club
- Product Name: Icebreakers and Games Kit
- Recommended Age: All ages
- Number of Games: 6
- Manufacturer’s Website: codeclub.org
Product Usage Instructions
The Bridge
- Players: Whole group
- Resources: A piece of string long enough for the whole group to stand on
- Instructions: Each player stands on the piece of string, the ‘bridge’. They can take one foot off the bridge but fall off if both feet are off. The group must arrange themselves in a specific order without anyone falling off to cross the bridge.
- Objectives/Outcomes: Encourages communication and teamwork. Follow-up discussion on teamwork is recommended.
Introduce a Teammate
- Players: Whole group, in pairs initially
- Resources: Optional: Pen and paper for creators
- Instructions: Players split into pairs, ask questions to learn about each other, and introduce their pair to the group with learned information.
- Objectives/Outcomes: Helps creators get to know each other and practice presenting.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
-
Q: Is there a recommended group size for these games?
A: The games are designed to be flexible and can be adapted for various group sizes. However, larger groups may require more space for certain activities. -
Q: Can these games be played virtually?
A: While some games may need physical interaction, adaptations can be made for virtual play, such as using video conferencing tools and online collaboration platforms.
The bridge
Players: Whole group
Resources
A piece of string long enough for the whole group to stand on
Instructions
Each player must stand on the piece of string, the ‘bridge’. They can take one
foot off the bridge. If they take both feet off the bridge, they fall off! To
be allowed to cross the bridge, the group must arrange themselves in a
specific order (e.g. alphabetically, by birthday) without anybody falling off
the bridge.
Objectives/outcomes
This game encourages communication and teamwork. A follow-up discussion
regarding thinking about your teammates as well as yourself (e.g. stepping
back to let people pass) and a second attempt at the game is worthwhile.
Introduce a teammate
Players: Whole group, in pairs initially
Resources
Optional: Pen and paper for creators
Instructions
The group splits into pairs, and pairs ask questions to find out things about
each other, writing down answers if they wish. The group reassembles, and then
each person introduces the other person in their pair to the rest of the
group, mentioning at least 3 pieces of information they learned about their
teammate; name, age, or school do not count.
Objectives/outcomes
This game helps the creators get to know each other, and it’s also a simple
introduction to planning and delivering a presentation.
Robot maze
Players: Creators can work in teams or individually
Resources
- A few square metres of space for walking around
- Masking tape, string, or other objects with which to outline or construct either a maze or a set path to follow on the floor
- Paper and pens or pencils
Instructions
Using the tape or other items, define a path or a maze on the floor. Nominate
a mentor to act as the robot. The aim of the game is to guide the robot to the
end of the path. Creators write down a set of instructions for the robot to
follow. The mentor acting as the robot should follow the instructions
literally, making no assumptions about context or implied meaning. The
exercise may take a few iterations to get the robot to the end. Creators may
also choose to test their instructions themselves as they write them.
Objectives/outcomes
This game illustrates that computers cannot ‘think’ for themselves but instead
operate by exactly following specific instructions (code). Creators
essentially invent their own programming language when writing their
instructions for the robot. They will learn the importance of being specific
and verbose — it can often be funny to see how instructions can be
misinterpreted when taken literally. In addition, they will naturally discover
the iterative process of testing their code, fixing it, and then testing it
again.
Rock, paper, scissors tournament
Players: Whole group
Resources
Be considerate of others using the venue space — this game can get noisy
Instructions
Everybody plays a game of rock, paper, scissors against a random opponent. The
winner becomes a ‘champion’, and the loser is out and becomes a ‘supporter’.
Each champion quickly finds another champion and plays another game, while the
supporters must cheer and chant the name of their champion. Defeated champions
become supporters. After 2 wins, a champion has 3 supporters. After the third
win, they have 7. You will quickly be left with 2 champions, each with roughly
half the club cheering them on.
Objectives/outcomes
This game is really about the supporters. As part of a team, you may not
always get your own way, but you will have to join in and work hard for the
team whether your idea gets chosen or not.
The low-tech social network
Players: Whole group
Resources
- Paper and pens or pencils
- ‘Social network profiles’: Sheets with a few fields for information and number of ‘shares’. Sample field ideas:
- Name
- Colour of socks
- Star sign
- Favourite subject
- Favourite coding language (e.g. Scratch, Python, HTML/CSS)
Instructions
- Part 1
- Participants fill out social network profile sheets
- Then, they find others who have the same answer for items 2 to 5 (the same name doesn’t count) and have them sign beside that item
- The winner is the first to get 4 signatures, or ‘friends’
- Part 2
- Find someone whose profile shares an item with yours, and swap sheets
- Find someone else (not the same person as before) whose profile shares an item with yours, and swap profile sheets again
- Repeat, and count your shares
Objectives/outcomes
Getting to know each other
Lingo bingo
Players: Whole group
Resources
- Pens and lingo bingo sheets
- Optional: Pack of sweets/stickers as a prize
For the lingo bingo sheets:
Paste common computing words below (or add your own) into a bingo sheet
generator to create a variety of bingo cards for your Code Club creators. A
good site to do this for free is the-cc.io/bingo-cards.
algorithm, app, binary, bit, block, browser, bug, byte, code, computer, cursor, data, debug, desktop, download, email, file, folder, game, hard drive, HTML (hypertext markup language), icon, internet, keyboard, laptop, link, mouse, network, password, pixel, program, Python, robot, Scratch, screen, server, smartphone, software, tablet, upload, website
Instructions
Each person gets a lingo bingo sheet. A mentor calls out buzzwords in a random
order, and the creators mark off each word they have on their sheet, just as
they usually would for bingo. The winners are those creators who get all 4
words in their sheet’s corners, then the first line of words, and then all the
words in their grid.
To add another layer to the game, you can ask the creators to explain each word (simply) as it is called out. After the game, you can encourage creators to research the phrases to improve their understanding of them.
Objectives/outcomes
Helping creators become familiar with computing and coding terms
Code Club is part of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, UK registered charity
1129409.
codeclub.org