Example · Computer Science · Grade 5 · United States

Winter Wait Warmth Project

Priya, Fargo, North Dakota

Built by ALF Studio from exactly what each teacher typed, then changed the way that teacher teaches.

What she typed · word for word

“Fifth graders program micro:bit temperature loggers and place them at bus stops and school entrances to find the coldest places kids wait on a January morning. They clean the data, chart it, and pitch wind blocks and warm-up spots to the district transportation office.”

On the form: United States (Common Core and NGSS) · Grade 5 · Computer Science · 4 weeks · 3 lessons a week, 50 minutes · Fargo, North Dakota

Why it is here

In Fargo, cold is not abstract; kids build their own instruments to find where it bites hardest.

What a school would ask first

Loggers at bus stops need district permission and weatherproof cases; placement in pairs with an adult, above the cold-weather cutoff.

Example teacher

Priya

Fargo, North Dakota

Teaches: Grade 5 Computer Science, United States (Common Core and NGSS).
Her lessons: 3 a week, 50 minutes.

Her own goals

Goal 1: Write a program that reads a sensor and stores readingsHer own goal
Goal 2: Clean and chart real dataHer own goal
Goal 3: Explain a data story to an adult decision-makerHer own goal

The unit as she left it

Drafted Oct 8 in 25 seconds · 4 changes since

Computer Science · Grade 5 · 4 weeks

Winter Wait Warmth Project

Driving question

Where do students freeze most while waiting outside in winter, and how can our school district fix it?

Goals

Goal 1

Write a program that reads a sensor and stores readings

TAUGHT IN Week 1, activity 1; Week 1, activity 2; Week 1, activity 3; Week 2, activity 2; Week 2, activity 3ASSESSED BY Sensor Programming and Logging

Goal 2

Clean and chart real data

TAUGHT IN Week 3, activity 1; Week 3, activity 2; Week 3, activity 3ASSESSED BY Data Cleaning and Charting

Goal 3

Explain a data story to an adult decision-maker

TAUGHT IN Week 3, activity 3; Week 4, activity 1; Week 4, activity 2; Week 4, activity 3ASSESSED BY Data Story Pitch

Overview

Fifth graders investigate winter cold exposure during arrival times around their school grounds and nearby bus stops. Working in teams, students code micro:bit devices to automatically log temperature readings over time, deploy them inside protective cases on cold January mornings, and upload the data. They clean messy raw files, plot comparison line graphs, and identify the coldest spots where students wait. The unit concludes with teams creating visual presentations and pitching targeted shelter solutions directly to the school district transportation coordinator.

Entry event

The teacher opens class by bringing students outside to the school bus loading zone for five minutes on a brisk morning with handheld thermometers and clipboards. Back inside, the teacher shows a map of student morning waiting areas and shares that bus riders reported shivering before the doors opened. Students discuss where the cold feels sharpest and decide to measure the spots scientifically.

Need to know

How does a micro:bit measure and save temperature numbers without a computer plugged in?
Where do students wait the longest outside our school building each morning?
How do we turn raw sensor numbers into charts that show which spot is coldest?
Who decides where bus shelters, wind blocks, or early indoor waiting areas go?

Week by week

Your lessons: 3 a week, 50 minutes.

Week 1

Code a micro:bit to read temperature and save data at set intervals.

Explore built-in temperature sensors on the micro:bit using block code to display live temperatures on the LED screen.
· 1 lesson
Code a timed logging loop that reads the sensor every minute and writes the value to internal memory.
· 1 lesson
Test the datalogger code using ice packs in the classroom, verify battery pack power, and check stored values.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Provide block-code starter frames and visual cheat sheets for multilingual students, offer peer pair-programming and step checklists for students with an IEP or 504, and challenge fast learners to add an LED alert icon that flashes when the temperature drops below freezing. Give students a starter program that already reads temperature every 60 seconds, and have them modify only the interval and the on-screen symbol.

Deliverable

A tested micro:bit logging code file that saves temperature readings to internal flash storage on battery power.

Week 2

Deploy dataloggers at outdoor waiting spots and collect sensor records.

Map school arrival zones, pick test locations like bus drop-offs and doorways, and assemble insulated weatherproof cases.
· 1 lesson
Deploy datalogger cases at chosen outdoor morning wait locations before arrival and retrieve them after homeroom bell.
· 1 lesson
Connect micro:bits to computers, download the CSV log files, and save team datasets into shared folders.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Use bilingual site maps with pictorial landmarks for multilingual students, assign structured physical roles with check-off steps for deployment for students with an IEP or 504, and guide advanced students to track wind speed with an anemometer alongside the temperature loggers.

Deliverable

A downloaded raw data table from each team's deployed micro:bit location.

Week 3

Clean the raw dataset, graph the temperatures, and spot cold zones.

Open a shared sheet with pre-loaded CSV data and labeled columns, then learn to sort and delete bad rows.
· 1 lesson
Build line graphs comparing temperature changes over morning arrival time across different outdoor waiting locations.
· 1 lesson
Draft slide presentations outlining which spots had the lowest temperatures and proposing a wind wall or earlier door opening. Place one logger at the stop on 25th Street South where the wind comes straight across the open field, and one in the sheltered doorway by the gym.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Provide spreadsheet formula word banks and color-coded table templates for multilingual students, supply pre-formatted graph axes and guided data highlight cards for students with an IEP or 504, and ask.

Deliverable

A cleaned spreadsheet and line graph comparing temperatures across morning waiting zones.

Week 4

Critique draft proposals, revise charts, and pitch solutions to the transportation department.

Conduct a peer gallery walk using sentence frames to critique graph labels, evidence clarity, and shelter recommendations.
· 1 lesson
Revise proposal slides and practice oral pitch delivery, focusing on clear data explanations for an adult visitor.
· 1 lesson
Present morning warmth proposals to the school district transportation coordinator and complete final personal reflections.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Provide bilingual presentation prompt cards and rehearsed speaking sentence stems for multilingual students, allow index-card speaker notes and shared partner speaking roles for students with an IEP or 504, and encourage advanced students to answer unscripted questions about sample sizes during the Q&A.

Deliverable

Final team presentation delivered to the district transportation visitor and written reflection forms.

Critique and revision

The first lesson of week 4.

Teams display draft presentation slides and printed graphs during a silent gallery walk. Classmates use sticky notes with two prompts: one clear data point noticed and one question about the proposed shelter fix. Teams review the feedback and spend the next lesson editing text, re-labeling graph axes, and refining recommendations.

Student reflection

After the final presentation, students write individual responses in their science notebooks reflecting on what the micro:bit sensors revealed about microclimates, how their data cleaning changed the charts, and how their communication helped adults understand student comfort.

Final product

What they make

Teams create a digital slide presentation featuring cleaned data charts, site photographs, and a concrete recommendation for wind blocks, temporary shelters, or adjusted morning entry doors.

Options

Teams choose how to communicate their solution: a digital slide deck, a physical poster board with printed graphs, or an architectural sketch paired with data callouts.

Who sees it

The district transportation coordinator visits the classroom during the third lesson of week 4 to hear the pitches and receive copies of the proposals.

Teams

Teams of three or four students formed by the teacher, balancing technical confidence and collaborative work skills.

Rubric3 rows · 4 levels

Criterion	beginning	developing	proficient	advanced
Sensor Programming and Logging Goal 1 · team	The program has errors that stop it from collecting or saving temperature data continuously.	The program records temperature readings, but the timing interval is uneven or some readings failed to save.	The program reliably reads the temperature sensor at regular set intervals and stores complete data to internal memory.	The program reliably logs sensor data with custom interval timing and uses an LED indicator to show successful storage.
Data Cleaning and Charting Goal 2 · team	The chart includes errors, missing units, or setup data that should have been removed.	The data table removes obvious errors, but the resulting chart is missing clear axis labels or key timestamps.	The raw data is cleaned of setup rows and converted into an accurate, clearly labeled chart that shows temperature over time.	The dataset is thoroughly cleaned and displayed in a polished comparative chart that clearly highlights specific temperature anomalies.
Data Story Pitch Goal 3 · individual	The explanation mentions cold weather but does not use specific numbers or charts to justify the proposed change.	The explanation references chart numbers, but the connection between the cold spots and the proposed solution is incomplete.	The explanation clearly interprets the chart evidence to show an adult decision-maker why a specific cold spot needs a shelter solution.	The explanation persuasively uses precise data points and trends to justify a realistic, well-reasoned solution to an adult decision-maker.

Sensor Programming and Logging

Goal 1 · team

beginning

The program has errors that stop it from collecting or saving temperature data continuously.

developing

The program records temperature readings, but the timing interval is uneven or some readings failed to save.

proficient

The program reliably reads the temperature sensor at regular set intervals and stores complete data to internal memory.

advanced

The program reliably logs sensor data with custom interval timing and uses an LED indicator to show successful storage.

Data Cleaning and Charting

Goal 2 · team

beginning

The chart includes errors, missing units, or setup data that should have been removed.

developing

The data table removes obvious errors, but the resulting chart is missing clear axis labels or key timestamps.

proficient

The raw data is cleaned of setup rows and converted into an accurate, clearly labeled chart that shows temperature over time.

advanced

The dataset is thoroughly cleaned and displayed in a polished comparative chart that clearly highlights specific temperature anomalies.

Data Story Pitch

Goal 3 · individual

beginning

The explanation mentions cold weather but does not use specific numbers or charts to justify the proposed change.

developing

The explanation references chart numbers, but the connection between the cold spots and the proposed solution is incomplete.

proficient

The explanation clearly interprets the chart evidence to show an adult decision-maker why a specific cold spot needs a shelter solution.

advanced

The explanation persuasively uses precise data points and trends to justify a realistic, well-reasoned solution to an adult decision-maker.

Materials

BBC micro:bit boards (version 2) with USB cables and battery packs
Weatherproof plastic sandwich boxes or sealable food containers
Computers with spreadsheet software and web browser access
Instant cold ice packs for indoor testing
Printed satellite map of the school grounds and bus loading area
Contact details for the school district transportation department coordinator
check before use

Week 4, ready to teach

3 lessons · Built Oct 8 in 69 seconds

The week card on her unit reads: "Started from your changes to weeks 1 and 3: Made it local, Added a scaffold, Trimmed it." Each lesson is a page for her, the task sheet is for the class, and ALF wrote the attachments the lessons hand out.

Week 4 · Lesson 1 of 3

Critique and Annotate Cold Charts

Minutes50

Prep10 minutes

Parts4

BuiltOct 8

Checkpoint

Each student writes peer critique notes and marks chart annotations with missing units and threshold lines, verified on the rubric sheet.

Objective

Students will: Clean and chart real data by evaluating peer visualizations, identifying missing units and axis labels, and annotating sensor anomalies to prepare evidence for district decision-makers.

Need to know

How do we make our temperature graphs clear enough for district leaders to see where students freeze?

Sequence, 50 minutes39 of 50 minutes planned. The rest is yours.

Hook · 5 min

Display the sample chart comparison slide from last week showing two sensor plots. Ask partners to decide which plot lets an adult immediately know how cold students got. Notice that without units and axis labels, numbers on a chart fail to tell a clear story.

Mini-lesson · 9 min

Explain that data visualisations require explicit axis labels, measurement units, and legends so non technical audiences interpret sensor values correctly without verbal explanation. Explain that outliers and measurement anomalies must be explained or filtered systematically to preserve data integrity when communicating findings to external decision makers. For example, on a plot where elapsed time t in minutes is the horizontal axis and recorded ambient temperature T in degrees Fahrenheit is the vertical axis, a sudden dip from 12 to -25 degrees caused by a dropped sensor is an anomaly to filter or annotate, while a flat line below the minimum threshold exposure temperature of 0 degrees Fahrenheit marks a genuine waiting danger.

Work time · 20 min

Teams open their draft slide presentation and display their graphs. Each student conducts a gallery walk to evaluate another team's slides using the peer critique feedback rubric. Everyone writes peer reviewed proposal critique notes recording missing labels, and creates revised chart annotations indicating sensor anomalies and the minimum threshold exposure temperature. Circulate to check that students justify anomaly notes rather than just erasing strange values.

Check and close · 5 min

Collect each student's peer critique feedback rubric containing their written notes and chart annotations. For students who missed key missing labels, pull them during the opening of the next lesson to review the axis checklist before slide revisions start. Next lesson, teams will apply these annotations to finalize their presentation slides.

Materials

havesample chart comparison slide

havedraft slide presentation

makepeer critique feedback rubric

makechart revision guidance frame

Watch for

Students may delete genuine cold spikes thinking they are sensor glitches; remind them to check whether t matches arrival door opening times.

Differentiation

Scaffold.Writing load: provide the chart revision guidance frame with sentence stems for critique notes, using vocabulary lists in home languages where the school has them, with pictures where it does not.

Extension.Have students identify whether a reading anomaly stems from hardware warm-up delay or an environmental draft, explaining their reasoning in their notes.

Next class

Teams use their peer critique notes and annotations to revise proposal slides and draft index cards in lesson 2.

Her three edits

Each labeled by ALF after the save

What Priya changed in the draft, in her own words, with the label ALF gave each change and the reason it suggested.

Made it localWeek 3 · Activity 3Probably: local context
Draft slide presentations outlining which spots had the lowest temperatures and proposing a wind wall or earlier door opening. Place one logger at the stop on 25th Street South where the wind comes straight across the open field, and one in the sheltered doorway by the gym.
Added a scaffoldWeek 1 · SupportsProbably: support
Provide block-code starter frames and visual cheat sheets for multilingual students, offer peer pair-programming and step checklists for students with an IEP or 504, and challenge fast learners to add an LED alert icon that flashes when the temperature drops below freezing. Give students a starter program that already reads temperature every 60 seconds, and have them modify only the interval and the on-screen symbol.
Trimmed itWeek 3 · SupportsMaybe: time
Provide spreadsheet formula word banks and color-coded table templates for multilingual students, supply pre-formatted graph axes and guided data highlight cards for students with an IEP or 504, and ask extension students to calculate the average temperature difference between sheltered and unsheltered spots.
Provide spreadsheet formula word banks and color-coded table templates for multilingual students, supply pre-formatted graph axes and guided data highlight cards for students with an IEP or 504, and ask.
The catalogue expected Cut; ALF read it as Trimmed it and that label stands.

Then she pressed Adapt this week

Week 3 · Needs more support

Her note, with Needs more support picked

“Spreadsheet cleaning was a wall. Pre-load the CSVs into a shared sheet with the first column already labeled, and teach only sort and delete.”

ALF suggested. Week 3 simplified spreadsheet cleaning with pre-loaded data.

Kept · ChangedAdded a scaffold
Inspect raw tables, remove setup and transit rows, check for missing numbers, and verify accurate timestamps.
Open a shared sheet with pre-loaded CSV data and labeled columns, then learn to sort and delete bad rows.
Pre-loaded sheets and limited tasks remove technical roadblocks for students.

She kept 1 of 1.

Then ALF built week 4. The week card reads “Started from your changes to weeks 1 and 3: Made it local, Added a scaffold, Trimmed it.” Read the lessons.

Build one from your own idea

Type what you want to teach the way Priya did. ALF drafts the unit, and you change whatever does not fit your class.

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