Planning Sprint: Get Ready to Build 🧭
The rover assessment has already been introduced. Today is the planning sprint before building starts next lesson.
Your job is to organise your clear plastic folder, complete the key planning pages, choose useful rover inspiration, and create a first rough build direction.
Today’s goal
Be ready to build next lesson. You should know what your rover must do, who you are working with, and what your first design idea is.
Before you leave
Complete Engineering Entry 1, get teacher feedback/sign-off, and place the entry sheet in your clear plastic folder.
1. Set up your clear plastic folder
Put your task sheet at the very front so your name is visible through the clear plastic folder.
Task sheet with your name visible.
Engineering Portfolio Starter Pack.
Engineering entry sheets in number order.
2. Minimum Starter Pack pages to complete today
Complete enough planning to make building sensible next lesson. Keep answers clear and specific.
| Starter Pack page | Minimum work for today |
|---|---|
| Cover / student details | Write your name, class, partner name and teacher name. This helps identify your individual portfolio. |
| Engineering entry tracker | Leave room for 10 entries. Add Entry 1 after it is checked and signed off. |
| The engineering challenge | Write your first thoughts about the rover challenge. Include what the rover must physically do. |
| Group members and roles | Confirm your partner. Write the main responsibilities for each person. Maximum group size is two. |
| Rover research and inspiration | Choose at least two space robots from the options below. Record one useful feature from each and how it could help your VEX rover. |
| Design brief breakdown | Answer: What must our rover do? What will make this difficult? What do we need to test? |
| Prescribed criteria | Start the criteria from the task sheet. Focus on mobility, object interaction, durability and component protection first. |
| First rough design idea | Sketch or describe your first idea for the drivetrain and object mechanism. This can change later. |
3. Space robot inspiration
Choose ideas carefully. You are not copying a whole mission. You are borrowing one useful engineering idea and adapting it to your own rover.
Extension ideas if your group is ahead
Choose an extension that suits your own design. Record the idea in your own words.
- Research a third space robot and add it to your inspiration page.
- Create a clearer first design sketch with labels for drivetrain, object mechanism, brain, battery, motors and cables.
- Add one early self-determined criterion, such as stability, ease of control, turning accuracy or object interaction success rate.
- Write two possible build risks and how your group might reduce them.
Engineering Entry 1: what a detailed entry needs
Use the entry sheet properly. Your entry should explain how you prepared to build, not just say “planned rover”.
| Entry section | What to include today |
|---|---|
| What I/we did today | Write the folder setup, partner/responsibility decisions, planning pages completed and first rough rover idea. |
| Problem, test or checkpoint | Choose one planning checkpoint, such as choosing a drivetrain idea, object mechanism idea, or useful space robot feature. |
| What I noticed and thought | Explain what you think will be difficult and why. |
| What changed or was fixed | Record any planning change, such as changing the first mechanism idea after looking at a rover example. |
| Result and next step | Write what your group is ready to build next lesson. |
| Evidence space | Add a rough labelled sketch, planning note, criteria note or space robot feature note. |
Before you leave: ask for teacher feedback/sign-off, then put the entry sheet in your clear plastic folder.
Authenticity reminder
Your planning can be discussed with your partner, but your engineering entry must be handwritten in your own words. Do not copy another student’s entry.