ART BOTS ELA 6-8

ART BOTS

ART BOTS

Learning Description

Students take on the role of designer-engineers and artists by constructing “drawing robots” that demonstrate how energy transforms into motion. Using motors, batteries, and weighted components to intentionally create imbalance, students will explore concepts like kinetic energy, unbalanced forces, and vibration.

After testing and refining their bots, students will respond to the prompt: “Write an explanation of how your Art Bot transforms electrical energy into motion and artwork. Reflect on your design process and explain how art and engineering work together”.

This writing task reinforces content vocabulary and scientific reasoning while inviting students to make connections between disciplines. The lesson culminates with students presenting their bot’s visual output and reading their explanatory writing aloud in a collaborative critique session.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 6-8
CONTENT FOCUS: STEAM & ELA
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can build and test a simple circuit to power a motor.
  • I can explain how unbalanced forces influence motion.
  • I can describe how energy is transformed in my Art Bot.
  • I can use the engineering design process to test and improve my design.

Essential Questions

  • How do unbalanced forces affect the motion of an object?
  • How does a motor convert electrical energy into motion?
  • What design choices impact the movement and artistic output of an Art Bot?
  • How can the engineering design process help improve a design?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

SCIENCE

Grade 6:

S6P2: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between force, mass, and the motion of objects.

S6P3: Construct an explanation of the relationships among electric force, magnetic force, and motion.

Grade 7:

S7P2: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the effects of forces on the motion of an object.

Grade 8:

S8P2: Develop models to illustrate the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.

ELA

Grade 6:

6.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques to enhance writing, engage audiences, and achieve specific purposes.

Grade 7:

7.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques to enhance writing, engage audiences, and achieve specific purposes.

Grade 8:

8.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques to enhance writing, engage audiences, and achieve specific purposes.

Arts Standards

VA.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art.

VA.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

VA.CR.2.b Produce three-dimensional artworks using a variety of media/materials (e.g. clay, papier-mâché, cardboard, paper, plaster, wood, wire, found objects, fiber).

VA.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

SCIENCE

Grade 6:

6-PS3-4. Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.

Grade 7:

7-PS3-2. Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

7-PS3-5. Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.

Grade 8:

8-PS2-3. Analyze and interpret data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.

8-PS2-5. Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.

ELA

Grade 6:

ELA.6.C.2.1 Write informative texts to examine a topic and analyze information from one or more sources. When writing:a. introduce a topic clearly and organize information logically; b. develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, quotes, or other information and examples; c. use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts; d. use precise language and vocabulary to inform or to explain the topic; and e. provide a concluding statement or section.

Grade 7:

ELA.7.C.2.1 Write informative texts to examine a topic and analyze information from one or more sources. When writing:a. introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information using structures such as definition, compare and contrast, and/or cause and effect; b. develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, and/or quotes; c. use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships between ideas and concepts; d. use precise language and thoughtful elaboration to inform or to explain the topic; e. establish a tone appropriate to the task and audience; and f. provide a concluding statement or section that supports the information presented.

Grade 8:

ELA.8.C.2.1 Write informative texts to examine a topic and analyze information from multiple sources. When writing:a. introduce a topic clearly and organize ideas, concepts, and information, using a structure such as definition, compare and contrast, and/or cause and effect; b. develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, and/or quotes; c. use varied transitions to clarify the relationships between ideas and concepts; d. use precise language and thoughtful elaboration to inform or to explain the topic; e. establish a tone appropriate to the task and audience; and f. provide a concluding statement or section that supports the information presented.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Unbalanced force – A force that changes the motion of an object
  • Friction – A force that opposes motion
  • Circuit – A closed path through which electricity flows
  • Kinetic energy – Energy of motion
  • Potential energy – Stored energy that can be converted into motion
  • Energy transformation – The process of changing one form of energy into another

Arts Vocabulary

  • Movement – This principle of design is associated with rhythm and refers to the arrangement of parts in an artwork that creates a sense of motion to the viewer's eye through the work.
  • Balance – This is a sense of stability in the body of work. Balance can be created by repeating the same shapes and by creating a feeling of equal visual weight.
  • Form – An object that is three-dimensional and encloses volume (cubes, spheres, and cylinders are examples of various forms)
  • Kinetic art – Art that incorporates real motion
  • Contrast – The arrangement of opposite elements in a composition (light vs. dark, rough vs. smooth, etc.) Similar to variety, which refers to the differences in a work, achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors and values.
  • Mark-making – The lines, textures, and marks made by tools or gestures
  • Negative space – The space around and between subjects in an artwork
  • Engineering Design Process – A problem-solving approach that involves identifying a need, researching, brainstorming possible solutions, developing and testing prototypes, and improving the design until the optimal solution is achieved; the steps are Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve

 

Materials

  • Hobby motors
  • Battery packs (with AA batteries)
  • Pool noodles (cut into sections)
  • Thin markers
  • Electrical tape or masking tape
  • Small weights (washers, paperclips, clay, etc.)
  • Switches (optional for advanced circuits)
  • Scissors
  • Image of the Engineering Design Process

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Engage:
    • Hook: Show a short video of a scribble bot or demonstrate a pre-made Art Bot.
    • Discussion–Ask students:
      • What do you notice about how it moves?
      • What forces might be acting on it?
      • How does the energy from the battery turn into movement?

Work Session

Explore – Building the Art Bots

  • Ask:
    • How can we design an Art Bot that moves unpredictably?
    • How do we make sure our bot stays powered and balanced?
  • Imagine:
    • Students will brainstorm ideas and sketch potential designs for their bots.
  • Plan:
    • Show students a list of materials that they have available to them to build their bots.
    • Students will create a sketch of their bot with materials labeled before beginning to build their bots.
  • Create:
    • Show students how to create their bots.
      • Connect the battery pack to the motor, ensuring a working circuit.
      • Insert the motor into the pool noodle.
      • Attach markers as "legs" using tape.
      • Add weights off-center on the motor shaft to create an unbalanced force.
    • Have students place the bot on plain white paper and turn it on to observe its movement.
    • Improve: Elaborate – Improving the Design
      • Students will analyze their bot’s movement and adjust:
        • Marker placement for different drawing effects.
        • Weight distribution to change speed and wobbling direction.
        • Motor positioning to alter how much it vibrates.
      • Students will compare designs and discuss how small modifications affect motion.
      • Students will respond to the following writing prompt: Write an explanation of how your Art Bot transforms electrical energy into motion and artwork. Reflect on your design process and explain how art and engineering work together. Use specific vocabulary and examples from your experience.
        • Writing Criteria:
          • Introduce the topic clearly: “My Art Bot transforms energy into motion through a simple electric circuit”.
          • Use content-specific vocabulary, such as: circuit, energy transformation, kinetic energy, friction, unbalanced force, vibration.
          • Describe the sequence of events in the engineering design process: Ask → plan → create → test → improve.
          • Explain connections between scientific concepts and artistic outcomes.
          • Use transitions, such as first, next, as a result, finally, to clarify progression.
          • Conclude with insights about what was learned or how the design evolved.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Turn your classroom into a gallery!
    • Lay artworks on desks or hang them around the room.
    • Have students walk through the gallery, viewing each other’s bot collaborations.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Observations of student engagement and problem-solving
  • Questioning during discussions
  • Peer feedback on bot performance

Summative

  • Students’ written responses to the writing prompt.

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Introduce data collection by having students measure and compare drawing patterns.
  • Additional writing prompts:
    • Compare how the energy transformation in your Art Bot is like what happens in a real machine or natural system.
    • How would you redesign your Art Bot to make it draw letters or words? Justify your choices using science vocabulary.
  • Use Micro:bit or Arduino to program bots to change motion patterns.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide pre-made circuits.
  • Provide extended time for building and reflecting.
  • Offer verbal instructions paired with written guides.
  • Allow for alternative methods of documentation (photos, audio).
  • Additional writing prompts:
    • Draw and label how your Art Bot moves.
    • Write three to five sentences explaining how the battery made your Art Bot move.
    • List three problems you solved while building your bot.

 

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Shannon Green

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  May 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Lessons

ART BOTS GA FOUNDATIONAL 4-5

ART BOTS

ART BOTS

Learning Description

In this hands-on STEAM lesson, students will explore the relationship between electricity, motion, and unbalanced forces by designing and building their own wobbling art bots. Using hobby motors, battery packs, pool noodles, and markers, students will follow the engineering design process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve) to construct a bot that moves and draws in unpredictable patterns.

Through experimentation, students will discover how unbalanced forces affect motion, how simple circuits power their bots, and how small design changes can alter movement. They will analyze their bots' performance, make modifications, and reflect on their design choices. By combining science, engineering, and art, this lesson fosters creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking while reinforcing foundational physical science concepts.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 4-5
CONTENT FOCUS: STEAM
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can build a simple circuit to power a motor.
  • I can explain how unbalanced forces affect motion.
  • I can use the engineering design process to create and improve my Art Bot.
  • I can analyze how design choices impact the movement and artwork created by my bot.

Essential Questions

  • How do unbalanced forces affect motion?
  • How does a motor and battery work together to power movement?
  • How can I use the engineering design process to improve my art bot?
  • What design choices influence how my bot moves and draws?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4:

S4P3: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces and the motion of an object.

Grade 5:

S5P3: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about magnetism and electric circuits.

Arts Standards

VA.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

VA.CR.4 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of three-dimensional art.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4:

4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

4-PS3-4. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Circuit – A complete path through which electricity flows
  • Motor – A device that converts electrical energy into movement
  • Unbalanced force – A force that causes an object to start moving, stop moving, or change direction
  • Vibration – A rapid back-and-forth motion that can create movement

Arts Vocabulary

  • Line – A continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. It may be two dimensional, like a pencil mark on a paper or it may be three dimensional (wire) or implied (the edge of a shape or form) often it is an outline, contour or silhouette.
  • Shape – A flat, enclosed line that is always two-dimensional and can be either geometric or organic
  • Pattern – Repetition of specific visual elements such as a unit of shape or form
  • Texture (visual) – The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture.
  • Composition – How an artist arranges the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture) to create an artwork
  • Collaboration – Working together to create something new
  • Abstract art – Art that does not try to represent real life realistically; often made with shapes, colors, and lines

 

Materials

  • Hobby motors
  • Battery packs (with AA batteries)
  • Pool noodles (cut into smaller sections)
  • Thin markers
  • Tape (masking or electrical)
  • Small weights (paperclips, washers, etc.)
  • Scissors
  • Googly eyes
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Foam shapes
  • Image of the Engineering Design Process

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Engage:
    • Hook: Show a short video of a scribble bot or demonstrate a pre-made art bot.
    • Discussion–Ask students:
      • What do you notice about how it moves?
      • What might be making it move this way?
      • How could we create something similar?

Work Session

  • Introduce the Engineering Design Process and explain that students will follow these steps to create their own art bots.
  • Optional: Have students choose or assign a partner to create their bots and artwork.

 

Explore – Building the Art Bots

  • Ask: What materials and design choices will help us create a wobbling art bot?
  • Imagine: Have students brainstorm ideas for how to make an art bot using the provided materials.
  • Plan: Students sketch their design and label the parts and materials they will use.
  • Create: Show students how to create their bots.
    • Attach a motor to a small battery pack.
    • Insert the motor into the center of a pool noodle piece.
    • Tape thin markers as "legs" to hold the bot upright.
    • Add weights to one side of the motor shaft to create an unbalanced motion.
  • Have students place their bot on plain white paper. Turn on the motor and test the movement.

 

Explain – Connecting to Science Concepts

  • Discuss how the unbalanced forces created by the off-center motor make the bot wobble.
  • Relate the motion to concepts like vibration, force, and circuits.
  • Ask students to describe what happened when they turned their bot on.

 

 Improving the Design

  • Improve: Students analyze their bot’s movement and adjust its design to change the motion or artwork produced.
  • Encourage experimentation:
    • Change marker placement for different drawing effects.
    • Add or remove weights to alter movement.
    • Adjust motor positioning to control wobbling direction.
  • Ask your students to think of their art bot as an artistic partner! Ask students what they could add to this artwork to bring it to life. Could they turn the bot's movements into something meaningful or funny or beautiful?
    • Students will add their own hand-drawn designs, shapes, and/or details to enhance the bot’s scribbles.
    • Students will use crayons, colored pencils, or markers to transform the bot’s random motion drawings into imaginative creations (e.g., turning loops into flowers, zig-zags into roller coasters, spirals into galaxies).
    • Ask students to name their collaborative artwork.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Turn your classroom into a gallery!
    • Lay artworks on desks or hang them around the room.
    • Have students walk through the gallery, viewing each other’s bot collaborations.
  • Facilitate a discussion around the following reflection questions:
    • What made your art bot move in a fun or interesting way?
    • What was one thing you changed or improved?
    • What did your art bot draw that surprised you?
    • Have students complete a written or oral reflection of how they

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Teachers will assess student learning through:
    • Observation of student engagement and participation.
    • Questioning during discussions to check understanding.
    • Peer discussions about design choices.

Summative

  • Art bot demonstration: Each student will showcase their bot and explain how design choices impacted movement answering the following questions.
    • How did unbalanced forces affect your bot’s motion?
    • What design change improved your bot the most?

Reflection: Students’ will complete a written or oral discussion of how they followed the engineering design process and what they would do differently next time.

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Ask students to modify their bot to create a specific pattern or shape.
  • Introduce Scratch: Students can create digital “bot” animations or stories reflecting the movement of their physical bots.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide pre-wired circuits to simplify the process.
  • Provide extended time for building and reflecting.
  • Offer verbal instructions paired with written guides.
  • Allow for alternative methods of documentation (photos, audio).

 

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Shannon Green

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  May 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Lessons

ART BOTS GA FOUNDATIONAL 2-3

ART BOTS

ART BOTS

Learning Description

In this hands-on STEAM lesson, students will explore the relationship between electricity, motion, and unbalanced forces by designing and building their own wobbling art bots. Using hobby motors, battery packs, pool noodles, and markers, students will follow the engineering design process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve) to construct a bot that moves and draws in unpredictable patterns.

Through experimentation, students will discover how unbalanced forces affect motion, how simple circuits power their bots, and how small design changes can alter their bot’s movements and direction. They will analyze their bots' performance, make modifications, and reflect on their design choices. By combining science, engineering, and art, this lesson fosters creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking while reinforcing foundational physical science concepts.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 2-3
CONTENT FOCUS: STEAM
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can build a simple circuit to power a motor.
  • I can explain how unbalanced forces affect motion.
  • I can use the engineering design process to create and improve my Art Bot.
  • I can analyze how design choices impact the movement and artwork created by my bot.

Essential Questions

  • How do unbalanced forces affect the speed or direction of an object?
  • How do a motor and battery work together to power movement?
  • How can I use the engineering design process to improve my Art Bot?
  • What design choices influence how my bot moves and draws?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 2:

S2P2.b Design a device to change the speed or direction of an object.

S2P2.c Record and analyze data to decide if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a force (a push or a pull).

Arts Standards

VA2.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

VA2.CR.4 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of three-dimensional art.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3:

3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

3-PS2-3. Ask questions to determine cause-and-effect relationships of electric interactions and magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Circuit – A complete path through which electricity flows
  • Motor – A device that converts electrical energy into movement
  • Unbalanced force – A force that causes an object to start moving, stop moving, or change direction
  • Vibration – A rapid back-and-forth motion that can create movement

Arts Vocabulary

  • Line – A continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. It may be two dimensional, like a pencil mark on a paper or it may be three dimensional (wire) or implied (the edge of a shape or form) often it is an outline, contour or silhouette.
  • Shape – A flat, enclosed line that is always two-dimensional and can be either geometric or organic
  • Pattern – Repetition of specific visual elements such as a unit of shape or form
  • Texture (visual) – The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture.
  • Composition – How an artist arranges the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture) to create an artwork
  • Collaboration – Working together to create something new
  • Abstract art – Art that does not try to represent real life realistically; often made with shapes, colors, and lines

 

Materials

  • Hobby motors
  • Battery packs (with AA batteries)
  • Pool noodles (cut into smaller sections) or plastic cups
  • Thin markers
  • Tape (masking or electrical)
  • Small weights (paperclips, washers, etc.)
  • Scissors
  • Googly eyes
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Foam shapes
  • Image of the Engineering Design Process

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Engage:
    • Hook: Show a short video of a scribble bot or demonstrate an Art Bot in action.
    • Discussion–Ask students:
      • What do you notice about how it moves?
      • What might be making it move this way?
      • How could we create something similar?

Work Session

  • Introduce the Engineering Design Process and explain that students will follow these steps to create their own Art Bots.
  • Have students choose or assign a partner to create their bots and artwork.

 

Explore – Building the Art Bots

  • Ask: What materials and design choices will help us create a wobbling art bot?
  • Imagine: Have students brainstorm ideas for how to make an art bot using the provided materials.
  • Plan: Students sketch their design and label the parts and materials they will use.
  • Create: Show students how to create their bots.
    • Attach a motor to a small battery pack.
    • Insert the motor into the center of a pool noodle piece or attach to the top of the plastic cup.
    • Tape thin markers as "legs" to hold the bot upright.
    • Add weights to one side of the motor shaft to create an unbalanced motion.
  • Have students place their bot on plain white paper. Turn on the motor and test the movement.

 

Explain – Connecting to Science Concepts

  • Discuss how the unbalanced forces created by the off-center motor make the bot wobble.
  • Relate the motion to concepts like vibration, force, direction, and circuits.
  • Ask students to describe what happened when they turned their bot on.

 

 Improving the Design

  • Improve: Students analyze their bot’s movement and adjust its design to change the direction of the bot and the artwork produced.
  • Encourage experimentation:
    • Change marker placement for different drawing effects.
    • Add or remove weights to alter movement and direction.
    • Adjust motor positioning to control wobbling direction.
  • Ask your students to think of their art bot as an artistic partner! Ask students what they could add to this artwork to bring it to life. Could they turn the bot's movements into something meaningful or funny or beautiful?
    • Students will add their own hand-drawn designs, shapes, and/or details to enhance the bot’s scribbles.
    • Students will use crayons, colored pencils, or markers to transform the bot’s random motion drawings into imaginative creations (e.g., turning loops into flowers, zig-zags into roller coasters, spirals into galaxies).
    • Ask students to name their collaborative artwork.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Turn your classroom into a gallery!
    • Lay artworks on desks or hang them around the room.
    • Have students walk through the gallery, viewing each other’s bot collaborations.
  • Facilitate a discussion around the following reflection questions:
    • What made your art bot move in a fun or interesting way?
    • How did changing the weight change the direction and movement of the bot?
    • What was one thing you changed or improved? What was the result?
    • What did your art bot draw that surprised you?

Have students reflect on how they followed the engineering design process and what they would do differently next time.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Teachers will assess student learning through:
    • Observation of student engagement and participation.
    • Questioning during discussions to check understanding.
    • Peer discussions about design choices.

Summative

  • Art bot demonstration: Each student will showcase their bot and explain how design choices impacted movement answering the following questions.
    • How did unbalanced forces affect your bot’s motion?
    • What design change improved your bot the most?
    • How did changing the weight change the direction and movement of the bot?

Reflection: Students’ reflection on how they followed the engineering design process and what they would do differently next time.

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Ask students to modify their bot to create a specific pattern or shape.
  • Introduce Scratch: Students can create digital “bot” animations or stories reflecting the movement of their physical bots.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide pre-wired circuits to simplify the process.
  • Provide extended time for building and reflecting.
  • Offer verbal instructions paired with written guides.
  • Allow for alternative methods of documentation (photos, audio).

 

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Shannon Green

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  May 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Lessons

ART BOTS SC FOUNDATIONAL 4-5

ART BOTS

ART BOTS

Learning Description

In this integrated STEAM lesson, students explore motion and energy by designing and building simple “Art Bots” using battery packs, hobby motors, pool noodles, and markers. As they construct their bots, students observe how an electric circuit powers movement and how unbalanced design causes wobbling motion that produces abstract art.

After building and testing their robots, students will personify their bot in a creative writing prompt: “What do you think your Art Bot would say if it could talk?”.

They will write a narrative describing their bot’s personality, drawing style, and movement patterns. This encourages the use of descriptive language while reinforcing the science concepts of energy and motion. Students conclude with a gallery walk, where they display their robot-generated artwork.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 4-5
CONTENT FOCUS: STEAM & ELA
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can build a simple circuit to power a motor.
  • I can explain how unbalanced forces affect motion.
  • I can use the engineering design process to create and improve my Art Bot.
  • I can analyze how design choices impact the movement and artwork created by my bot.
  • I can create a character for my Art Bot.
  • I can write a fictional narrative inspired by my Art Bot.

Essential Questions

  • How do unbalanced forces affect motion?
  • How do a motor and battery work together to power movement?
  • How can I use the engineering design process to improve my Art Bot?
  • What design choices influence how my bot moves and draws?
  • How can creating an Art Bot character inspire narrative writing?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

SCIENCE

Grade 4:

S4P3: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces and the motion of an object.

Grade 5:

S5P3: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about magnetism and electric circuits.

ELA

Grade 4:

4.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques (e.g., character, setting, problem, resolution, and dialogue) to develop a real or imagined experience using descriptive details, clear event sequences, and a conclusion.

Grade 5:

5.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques (e.g., character, setting, conflict, climax, resolution, and dialogue) to develop a real or imagined experience using descriptive details, clear event sequences, and a conclusion.

Arts Standards

VA.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

VA.CR.4 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of three-dimensional art.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

SCIENCE

Grade 4:

4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

4-PS3-4. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.

ELA

Grade 4: ELA.C.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences using effective techniques.

ELA.4.C.3.1 Write narratives developing real or imagined experiences. When writing: a. establish a situation and setting; b. introduce a narrator and/or characters; c. organize a plot structure; d. use narrative techniques such as dialogue, descriptive language, and sensory details to develop events, setting, and characters; e. use a variety of transitional words and phrases to sequence events; and f. provide an ending that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Circuit – A complete path through which electricity flows
  • Motor – A device that converts electrical energy into movement
  • Unbalanced force – A force that causes an object to start moving, stop moving, or change direction
  • Vibration – A rapid back-and-forth motion that can create movement

Arts Vocabulary

  • Line – A continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. It may be two dimensional, like a pencil mark on a paper or it may be three dimensional (wire) or implied (the edge of a shape or form) often it is an outline, contour or silhouette.
  • Shape – A flat, enclosed line that is always two-dimensional and can be either geometric or organic
  • Pattern – Repetition of specific visual elements such as a unit of shape or form
  • Texture (visual) – The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture.
  • Composition – How an artist arranges the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture) to create an artwork
  • Collaboration – Working together to create something new
  • Abstract art – Art that does not try to represent real life realistically; often made with shapes, colors, and lines

 

Materials

  • Hobby motors
  • Battery packs (with AA batteries)
  • Pool noodles (cut into smaller sections)
  • Thin markers
  • Tape (masking or electrical)
  • Small weights (paperclips, washers, etc.)
  • Scissors
  • Googly eyes
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Foam shapes

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Engage:
    • Hook: Show a short video of a scribble bot or demonstrate an Art Bot in action.
    • Discussion–Ask students:
      • What do you notice about how it moves?
      • What might be making it move this way?
      • How could we create something similar?

Work Session

Explore – Building the Art Bots

  • Ask: What materials and design choices will help us create a wobbling Art Bot?
  • Imagine: Have students brainstorm ideas for how to make an artbot using the provided materials.
  • Plan: Students sketch their design and label the parts and materials they will use.
  • Create: Show students how to create their bots.
    • Attach a motor to a small battery pack.
    • Insert the motor into the center of a pool noodle piece.
    • Tape thin markers as "legs" to hold the bot upright.
    • Add weights to one side of the motor shaft to create an unbalanced motion.
  • Have students place their bot on plain white paper. Turn on the motor and test the movement.

Explain – Connecting to Science Concepts

  • Discuss how the unbalanced forces created by the off-center motor make the bot wobble.
  • Relate the motion to concepts like vibration, force, and circuits.
  • Ask students to describe what happened when they turned their bot on.

Improving the Design

  • Improve: Students analyze their bot’s movement and adjust its design to change the motion or artwork produced.
  • Encourage experimentation:
    • Change marker placement for different drawing effects.
    • Add or remove weights to alter movement.
    • Adjust motor positioning to control wobbling direction.
  • Ask your students to think of their Art Bot as an artistic partner! Ask students what they could add to this artwork to bring it to life. Could they turn the bot's movements into something meaningful or funny or beautiful?
    • Students will use crayons, colored pencils, or markers to transform the bot’s random motion drawings into imaginative creations (e.g., turning loops into flowers, zig-zags into roller coasters, spirals into galaxies).
  • Ask students to name their collaborative artwork.
  • Have students respond to the following writing prompt: What do you think your Art Bot would say if it could talk? Describe its personality, how it moves, and what kind of art it creates. Be creative and use descriptive details.
    • Encourage students to:
      • Give their bot a name and voice.
      • Use descriptive language to explain the movement (e.g., wiggle, spin, shake).
      • Describe the bot’s drawing style (e.g., messy, circular, zigzaggy).

Have students write a fictional narrative in which the art bot is the main character. Students’ writing should have a setting, plot structure, characters, descriptive words and phrases, and a clear ending.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Turn your classroom into a gallery!
    • Lay artworks on desks or hang them around the room.
    • Have students walk through the gallery, viewing each other’s bot collaborations.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Teachers will assess student learning through:
    • Observation of student engagement and participation.
    • Questioning during discussions to check understanding.
    • Peer discussions about design choices.

Summative

  • Art Bot demonstration: Each student will showcase their bot and explain how design choices impacted movement answering the following questions.
    • How did unbalanced forces affect your bot’s motion?
    • What design change improved your bot the most?
  • Students’ written response to the prompt and students’ narratives.
  • Reflection: Students’ will complete a written or oral discussion of how they followed the engineering design process and what they would do differently next time.

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Ask students to modify their bot to create a specific pattern or shape.
  • Challenge students to:
    • Write a first-person narrative from the Art Bot’s point of view.
    • Use figurative language (similes/metaphors).
    • Add a conflict or challenge: e.g., “My markers ran out of ink in the middle of my masterpiece!”.
    • Create a dialogue between their Art Bot and another Bot.
  • Introduce Scratch: Students can create digital “bot” animations or stories reflecting the movement of their physical bots.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide pre-wired circuits to simplify the process.
  • Provide extended time for building and reflecting.
  • Offer verbal instructions paired with written guides.
  • Allow for alternative methods of documentation (photos, audio).
  • Provide a sentence starter template: “My Art Bot’s name is ____. It moves like a ____. It draws with ____. If it could talk, it would say, ‘’”
  • Use a word bank with words like: Spin, shake, draw, color, happy, silly, messy, fast, slow
  • Allow oral storytelling
  • Use a partner storytelling activity where students build the story with peer support.

 

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Shannon Green

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  May 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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ART BOTS SC FOUNDATIONAL 2-3

ART BOTS

ART BOTS

Learning Description

In this integrated STEAM lesson, students explore motion and energy by designing and building simple “Art Bots” using battery packs, hobby motors, pool noodles, and markers. As they construct their bots, students observe how an electric circuit powers movement and how unbalanced design causes wobbling motion that produces abstract art.

After building and testing their robots, students will personify their bot in a creative writing prompt: “What do you think your Art Bot would say if it could talk?”.

They will write a narrative describing their bot’s personality, drawing style, and movement patterns. This encourages the use of descriptive language while reinforcing the science concepts of energy and motion. Students conclude with a gallery walk, where they display their robot-generated artwork.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 2-3
CONTENT FOCUS: STEAM & ELA
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can build a simple circuit to power a motor.
  • I can explain how unbalanced forces affect motion.
  • I can use the engineering design process to create and improve my Art Bot.
  • I can analyze how design choices impact the movement and artwork created by my bot.
  • I can create a character for my Art Bot.
  • I can write a fictional narrative inspired by my Art Bot.

Essential Questions

  • How do unbalanced forces affect motion?
  • How do a motor and battery work together to power movement?
  • How can I use the engineering design process to improve my Art Bot?
  • What design choices influence how my bot moves and draws?
  • How can creating an Art Bot character inspire narrative writing?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Science

Grade 2:

S2P2.b Design a device to change the speed or direction of an object.

S2P2.c Record and analyze data to decide if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a force (a push or a pull).

ELA

3.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques (e.g., character, setting, problem, resolution, dialogue) to develop a real or imagined experience using descriptive details, clear event sequences, and a sense of closure.

Arts Standards

VA.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

VA.CR.4 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of three-dimensional art.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Science

3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

3-PS2-3. Ask questions to determine cause-and-effect relationships of electric interactions and magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.

ELA

ELA.C.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences using effective techniques.

ELA.3.C.3.1 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences. When writing: a. establish a setting and introduce a narrator or characters; b. use temporal words and phrases to sequence a plot structure; c. use descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop characters; and d. provide an ending.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Circuit – A complete path through which electricity flows
  • Motor – A device that converts electrical energy into movement
  • Unbalanced force – A force that causes an object to start moving, stop moving, or change direction
  • Vibration – A rapid back-and-forth motion that can create movement

Arts Vocabulary

  • Line – A continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. It may be two dimensional, like a pencil mark on a paper or it may be three dimensional (wire) or implied (the edge of a shape or form) often it is an outline, contour or silhouette.
  • Shape – A flat, enclosed line that is always two-dimensional and can be either geometric or organic
  • Pattern – Repetition of specific visual elements such as a unit of shape or form
  • Texture (visual) – The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture.
  • Composition – How an artist arranges the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture) to create an artwork
  • Collaboration – Working together to create something new
  • Abstract art – Art that does not try to represent real life realistically; often made with shapes, colors, and lines

 

Materials

  • Hobby motors
  • Battery packs (with AA batteries)
  • Pool noodles (cut into smaller sections)
  • Thin markers
  • Tape (masking or electrical)
  • Small weights (paperclips, washers, etc.)
  • Scissors
  • Googly eyes
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Foam shapes

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Engage:
    • Hook: Show a short video of a scribble bot or demonstrate an Art Bot in action.
    • Discussion–Ask students:
      • What do you notice about how it moves?
      • What might be making it move this way?
      • How could we create something similar?

Work Session

Explore – Building the Art Bots

  • Ask: What materials and design choices will help us create a wobbling Art Bot?
  • Imagine: Have students brainstorm ideas for how to make an artbot using the provided materials.
  • Plan: Students sketch their design and label the parts and materials they will use.
  • Create: Show students how to create their bots.
    • Attach a motor to a small battery pack.
    • Insert the motor into the center of a pool noodle piece.
    • Tape thin markers as "legs" to hold the bot upright.
    • Add weights to one side of the motor shaft to create an unbalanced motion.
  • Have students place their bot on plain white paper. Turn on the motor and test the movement.

Explain – Connecting to Science Concepts

  • Discuss how the unbalanced forces created by the off-center motor make the bot wobble.
  • Relate the motion to concepts like vibration, force, and circuits.
  • Ask students to describe what happened when they turned their bot on.

Improving the Design

  • Improve: Students analyze their bot’s movement and adjust its design to change the motion or artwork produced.
  • Encourage experimentation:
    • Change marker placement for different drawing effects.
    • Add or remove weights to alter movement.
    • Adjust motor positioning to control wobbling direction.
  • Ask your students to think of their Art Bot as an artistic partner! Ask students what they could add to this artwork to bring it to life. Could they turn the bot's movements into something meaningful or funny or beautiful?
    • Students will use crayons, colored pencils, or markers to transform the bot’s random motion drawings into imaginative creations (e.g., turning loops into flowers, zig-zags into roller coasters, spirals into galaxies).
  • Ask students to name their collaborative artwork.
  • Have students respond to the following writing prompt: What do you think your Art Bot would say if it could talk? Describe its personality, how it moves, and what kind of art it creates. Be creative and use descriptive details.
    • Encourage students to:
      • Give their bot a name and voice.
      • Use descriptive language to explain the movement (e.g., wiggle, spin, shake).
      • Describe the bot’s drawing style (e.g., messy, circular, zigzaggy).

Have students write a fictional narrative in which the art bot is the main character. Students’ writing should have a setting, plot structure, characters, descriptive words and phrases, and a clear ending.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Turn your classroom into a gallery!
    • Lay artworks on desks or hang them around the room.
    • Have students walk through the gallery, viewing each other’s bot collaborations.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Teachers will assess student learning through:
    • Observation of student engagement and participation.
    • Questioning during discussions to check understanding.
    • Peer discussions about design choices.

Summative

  • Art Bot demonstration: Each student will showcase their bot and explain how design choices impacted movement answering the following questions.
    • How did unbalanced forces affect your bot’s motion?
    • What design change improved your bot the most?
  • Students’ written response to the prompt and students’ narratives.
  • Reflection: Students’ will complete a written or oral discussion of how they followed the engineering design process and what they would do differently next time.

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Ask students to modify their bot to create a specific pattern or shape.
  • Challenge students to:
    • Write a first-person narrative from the Art Bot’s point of view.
    • Use figurative language (similes/metaphors).
    • Add a conflict or challenge: e.g., “My markers ran out of ink in the middle of my masterpiece!”.
    • Create a dialogue between their Art Bot and another Bot.
  • Introduce Scratch: Students can create digital “bot” animations or stories reflecting the movement of their physical bots.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide pre-wired circuits to simplify the process.
  • Provide extended time for building and reflecting.
  • Offer verbal instructions paired with written guides.
  • Allow for alternative methods of documentation (photos, audio).
  • Provide a sentence starter template: “My Art Bot’s name is ____. It moves like a ____. It draws with ____. If it could talk, it would say, ‘’”
  • Use a word bank with words like: Spin, shake, draw, color, happy, silly, messy, fast, slow
  • Allow oral storytelling
  • Use a partner storytelling activity where students build the story with peer support.

 

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Shannon Green

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  May 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Lessons