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Micro:bit Robot Rally· Curriculum

Micro:bit Robot Rally

A modular grades 6-8 robotics and engineering course where students program the BBC Micro:bit, Cutebot, and Joystick:bit in MakeCode to build robots and compete in robot-rally games.

Welcome to Micro:bit Robot Rally — a hands-on robotics and engineering course where students build and program robots, then put them to work in competitive games. Students drive first, then learn to program the BBC Micro:bit in MakeCode to control motors, sensors, and a 2.4 GHz radio link — building toward races, tag, capture-the-flag, and robot soccer.

Start with the Foundation sequence below, then branch into the modular tracks. Instructors: see the Programs section for ready-made code and the Instructors section for standards alignment and reference curricula.

Modules

4 total

Foundation

Goal: get every student driving a robot, writing their first program, and running their first real engineering-iteration loop. Teleoperation is established here as the command layer the rest of the course builds on.

Who’s in the room: all new — no prior programming or robotics experience assumed.

Programming level: Level 0 (driving) → MakeCode blocks (modify a button, then raw servo angles).

Format: three 90-minute sessions, run in order, before the modular phase opens up.

  • Pair & Drive
    Students pair the joystick to the robot and drive — no code. First feel for the system, and the first engineering-notebook observations.
  • First Program: Author a Button
    Students open the robot’s receiver in MakeCode and give a button a new behavior by editing the dispatch skeleton — their first program.
  • Add a Servo
    Students design and build an attachment, add a servo, and discover they have to calibrate its angles — the first full Frame → Design → Build → Iterate loop.

3D Parts

Printable LEGO-Technic-compatible parts for the Cutebot, ready to download as STL and print — no design work needed. Each Parts Designer part also links back to the designer if you want to tweak it.

  • Cutebot Parts
    Printable Cutebot attachments and mounts — download the STL or edit in Parts Designer.

Instructors

Planning and reference material for instructors. How this course aligns to learning standards, and which outside curricula and resources you can draw on — with guidance on how to adapt them to the League hardware and the discover-the-constraint teaching style.

Programs

Ready-made MakeCode programs, the League extensions the course is built on, and supporting tools. The robots and joysticks ship pre-flashed; in class, students edit the receiver (see the Foundation lessons).

  • Device Programs
    The ready-to-flash MakeCode programs for the robot and joystick, plus bulk flashing.
  • Extensions & Tools
    The custom League MakeCode extensions and supporting design tools.