Axle Robot Kit for grades 6-8 seen from the side with its omni wheels

Implementing True Robotics in your school

Implementing True Robotics means fitting the K-8 Classroom Suite to the days your school actually has. We build a scope and sequence with your teachers. We show you how one set of robots can serve many classrooms, with 2 to 3 students on each robot. Most schools start with one grade band.

Request a QuoteSee the K-8 Classroom Suite

Planning around your days

A student crouches on the classroom floor with both hands out to guide a purple Pilot robot across the tile

Every program can be fitted to the time a school actually has. Taking Off with Pilot is a 25-day unit and Introduction to Robotics with Axle a 45-day unit, both with lessons of 45 to 60 minutes. If your school cannot give a unit every one of those days, we build a customized scope and sequence with your teachers.

Every custom plan starts from two questions:

  • How many days can you actually dedicate to this?
  • What are your goals? Is the program meant to raise math and science scores, or to be an engaging, hands-on tool that introduces kids to robotics?

From those answers we recommend which lessons matter most. The Axle map has a lot of math and science built in, so a school can keep most of those lessons, or skip some of them and move on to more complex coding.

Weaving in FlexForge

A student tightens a wheel onto a Pilot robot with a screwdriver beside the competition course

FlexForge pieces work on both the Pilot Robot Kit and the Axle Robot Kit and add about 15 days to a unit. They do not have to come after the regular curriculum. One eighth grade engineering course with only about 20 instructional days runs Axle with FlexForge in four moves:

  1. A couple of days on the base robot: building it and learning the basic programming.
  2. One engineering design challenge.
  3. Learning to program one of the sensors.
  4. Another engineering design challenge.

The priority there was the engineering design process. We work with each school to weave the pieces together so the unit makes sense for what it wants out of the course. See what comes with every lesson.

The numbers a plan is built around

  • 2 to 3 students per robot
  • 1 to 3 class periods to build Pilot
  • 3 ways to share one set of robots
  • 15 days FlexForge adds to a unit

Treads in the school day

Paving the Way with Treads works differently from the kit programs. It is less a standalone robotics unit and more a tool for core classrooms such as math centers and ELA small groups.

Its lessons run about 30 minutes and are grouped by purpose, so they do not have to be taught in order from day 1 to day 25. That suits small-group rotations, stations or targeted instruction, where you just need a different manipulative to mix up the learning.

The Paving the Way with Treads page has the full curriculum.

The Treads lessons, grouped by purpose

Days 1-7: Robotics and Coding
What a robot is, what coding means, what algorithms are, and how we code.
Days 8-15: Robotics for Math
Taught whenever those math concepts come up in the core classroom. A second grade teacher working on place value can use the Treads Robot as the manipulative for that standard.
Days 16-24: Robotics for ELA
Lessons that cover the ELA standards.
Day 25: Final Competition/Performance Day
The last day on the curriculum map.

Which grades use which robot

One robot per grade band, each with a curriculum written for those grades. Grade 3 appears in both Paving the Way with Treads (K-3) and Taking Off with Pilot (3-5), and that is intentional.

The full K-8 pipeline, grade by grade
GradesProgram and curriculumRobot
K, 1, 2Paving the Way with TreadsCoding with math and ELA built in, SEL in every lessonTreads Robot
3, 4, 5Taking Off with PilotBuild the kit, then program sensors, races and sciencePilot Robot Kit
6, 7, 8Introduction to Robotics with AxleEngineering design, sensors, game controllers, physics and mathAxle Robot Kit

The Treads Robot suits third graders who are new to robotics, because its coding environment is simpler and easier to grasp. The Pilot Robot Kit suits third graders who are mechanically inclined or have done robotics before. Keep Treads for kindergarten, first and second grade, then move third graders up to Pilot.

How many robots a school needs

Four students stand in a row with game controllers while their purple robot kits drive down the gym floor in a line

In a perfect world every class would have its own set. We can price a set of robots for every class, and we can also show you three ways to let one set serve many classrooms.

Sharing works because every robot and every piece of equipment we send is reusable.

Three ways to share one set of robots

Ways one set of robots serves many classrooms
ApproachHow it works
Stagger the unitsBest whenever the calendar allows it.Each grade runs its unit in a different term, on the same kits.
One grade builds, every grade usesWhen staggering is not possible.One grade level does the build. After that every grade uses the robots: a class just uploads its program to them.
Share Treads across classroomsPaving the Way with Treads (K-3).The Treads Robot comes ready to use. A kindergarten teacher can use it in the morning and a first grade teacher in the afternoon.

A staggered school year

  1. Fall

    Grade 6

    Builds the kits and runs its unit first.

  2. Winter

    Grade 7

    Builds the same kits again.

  3. Spring

    Grade 8

    Builds again, then the kits are stored for next year.

One set of Axle Robot Kits, three grades, one school year.

Staggering is the first choice whenever the calendar allows it. Each grade runs its unit at a different time of year and hands the same kits on, so a school buys one set instead of three. Every grade builds the kits, runs the unit and takes the robots apart at the end of it.

The Pilot Robot Kit follows the same exact kind of sequencing for grades 3-5, so fifth grade could use the robots first, and so on down the grades.

There's definitely some creative ways around making sure that all your students are able to access it.

Emily Hajko, Director of Education

Running the build

A student leans over a competition build table with FlexForge beams and a laptop beside him

Once the robots are built, they can be used anywhere in the school. The one exception is the build itself: keep the same group of students on the same robot for the couple of days it takes, so they get through the entire build process together.

Some numbers to plan the build around:

  • Pilot Robot Kit: about 150 pieces, put together with real-world tools in one to three class periods, right after the opening lessons on what robotics is.
  • Axle Robot Kit: about double the pieces of the Pilot Robot Kit, built with a screwdriver, a wrench and a ruler, then taken apart at the end of the unit so the next class can build it again.
  • Treads Robot: no build at all. Students turn it on and start learning with it right away.

We always recommend the teachers build the robot first before putting it in front of the students. The Learning Portal has a chapter on building the robot, with videos teachers can follow along with.

See teacher training
Three middle school students unpack a robot kit box together at a science lab table
A middle school student uses a screwdriver to assemble an Axle robot at a classroom table with the kit box open beside it
Two middle school students assemble a purple Axle Robot Kit chassis with a screwdriver at a science lab bench
Middle school students unpack an Axle Robot Kit and put the chassis together with a screwdriver.

Clubs after school

Two middle school students program on Chromebooks running True Robotics Playground next to an Axle Robot Kit box

Two parts of the K-8 Classroom Suite are built with clubs in mind.

The General curriculum for mixed grades

Taking Off with Pilot and Introduction to Robotics with Axle each include a General curriculum alongside the grade-level versions. It removes any required prior knowledge, so it suits a club where sixth graders and eighth graders sit together in the same room.

FlexForge alongside the class unit

A school can teach the base curriculum as a regular class unit and run FlexForge as an after-school club for the students who are really into robotics. An engineering class uses the robots in the morning for the base curriculum, and in the afternoon the most interested students work with the FlexForge pieces.

See FlexForge

Where to start

Six students line up at a True Robotics banner holding the robot they built for a competition

A school does not have to start with every program at once. Most schools pilot the program with one grade band and then expand from there. It is probably the most common way schools do it.

Which band to start with depends on the school. If a grant can be found for the middle school program, Introduction to Robotics with Axle is a strong place to begin: those middle schoolers become the best salespeople in the building, because the elementary students see them and want to play too.

See funding options

What to plan for

The questions schools ask most once the programs are chosen, with our standing recommendation for each.

Planning checklist
Planning questionWhat we recommend
How big should groups be?Two to three students per robot, and 2 students per Treads Robot.
What do we need to supply?A device for coding. We supply everything else.
Can we run a club?Yes. The General curriculum suits mixed grades, and FlexForge suits an afternoon club for the most interested students.
Rolling out to the whole school?The one-on-one sessions in every Classroom Package are held virtually. In-person sessions are available for an additional cost.

The school provides a device for coding, such as a Chromebook or an iPad. True Robotics provides the robots and robot kits with all required tools and pieces, the batteries and chargers, the curriculum and the professional development.

Implementation questions

How many students share a robot, and how long do the batteries last?

We recommend groups of two to three students per robot; that is your best bet for engagement. For the Treads Robot, which needs no assembly, the ideal is 2 students per robot and the battery lasts 60 to 90 minutes. For the Pilot Robot Kit, 2 to 3 students per robot and 4 to 5 hours of battery life. For the Axle Robot Kit, 2 to 3 students per robot and 2 to 3 hours. Batteries and chargers are included with every robot.

How many robots will we need?

We can price a set of robots for every class, and there are also creative ways to share one set. Stagger the units, the best way: sixth grade runs its robotics unit in the fall and takes the robots apart, seventh grade runs it in the winter and eighth grade in the spring, with the same materials passed from classroom to classroom. Or let one grade build: once the robots are built, every grade can use them, because students are just uploading programs. Grades 3 to 5 can follow the same pattern with Pilot. Treads is shared freely, kindergarten in the morning and first grade in the afternoon. Only the build itself needs fixed groups.

Can we run an after-school robotics club?

Yes. Once the robots are built, an engineering or science class can use them in the morning for the base curriculum, and in the afternoon the most interested students can use the FlexForge pieces to go deeper into the engineering design process. The General curriculum also suits clubs where students from different grades work together, because it removes any required prior knowledge. Clubs combine well with staggered units: a grade finishes its classroom unit, then joins the club later in the year.

Plan your rollout with us

Tell us your days and your goals. We build a customized scope and sequence, and we can weave FlexForge in. Tell us your grade levels and how many classes share a set of robots, and we put together a plan and a quote for your school.

Request a QuoteTalk to our team