For our first activity, we started out with a simple task and some simple materials (I used just pattern blocks - nothing super fancy!). I did not want to overwhelm them with many options as well as ask them to focus on a task. So, Function Robots it was for this group!
I remember seeing this from someone on Instagram and I cannot remember who, so I am sorry I don't know who to credit for the idea! The concept is simple though - build a robot that performs a task. Simple enough! One thing I did to help them was give them tasks that their robots would have to complete so they wouldn't have to spend time thinking, deciding, and then building together - all collaboratively. Starting small, I wanted them to focus on the building collaboratively as well as communicating so that they, as a group, could build ONE robot (not each group member building their own). I wanted to give them tasks that I thought they might already do at home, so they were familiar with them and could relate to the function that would need to take place.