Coach Resources
Email: info@smgearbots.org
Overview
This page brings together resources from RTMA, FLLJr, FLL, FTC, and other online groups. Below are resources that are beneficial to both the Junior and Senior Gearbots Leagues. Check back for more information as the season progresses!
2019 Kit Sorting Resources
Very little has changed in kit sorting from last year. The following resources should aid you in sorting and inventorying your kits in preparation for turn in to Southern Maine Gearbots at the end of season.
2019 Jr League Kit Sorting
2019 Jr League Kit Sorting Instructions Sheet
45300 WeDo 2.0 Element Survey/Insert Card
9689 Simple Machines Insert Card
9689 Simple Machines Element Survey
45807 MISSION MOON Inspire Set Element Overview Bag 1
45807 MISSION MOON Inspire Set Element Overview Bag 2
9338 Serious Play Mini Kit Element Survey
Jr. Gearbots Inventory Sheet 1x&2x Assorted Bricks
SMGearbots Misc Technic Elements Survey
2019 Sr League Kit Sorting
2019 Sr League Kit Sorting Instructions Sheet
45544 EV3 Core Inventory sheet
45560 EV3 Expansion Set Inventory sheet
Assorted Component Inventory sheet
45544 EV3 Element Survey
45560 EV3 Expansion Set Element Survey
EV3 45544 & 45560 Insert Cards
Junior League Resources
Resources specific to the Junior League are outlined in blue. They may be of some interest to Senior League teams.
Junior League Coaches’ Guide
Jr League Binder Cover 2019
Southern Maine Gearbots Jr. League Contact
Southern Maine Gearbots Jr. League Kit Inventory Sheet
Section 1 – The MISSION MOON Challenge
Due to copyright restrictions parts of the MISSION MOON Challenge Materials cannot be provided in digital format. 2018-2019 FLLJr MISSION MOON Challenge
MISSION MOON Multimedia Connections
Southern Maine Gearbots Junior League Guide to Coaching
Southern Maine Gearbots Coaching a Team for New Coaches
FIRST LEGO League Coaches’ Honor Code
FLLJr Core Values
Section 2 – Season Schedule/Lesson Plan
2017-18 Jr. League Season Schedule
Section 3 – Resources/Instructional Materials
Jr. Gearbots Set & Brick Inventory Overview
Curriculum Sidebars on Simple Machines
Lego Brick terminology
Jr. Gearbots Inventory Sheet WeDo 2.0 Core Set 45300
Jr. Gearbots Inventory Sheet Simple Machines 9689
Jr. Gearbots Inventory Sheet MISSION MOON Inspire Set 45807
Jr. Gearbots Inventory Sheet Serious Play Mini-Kit 9338
Jr. Gearbots Inventory Sheet 1x&2x Assorted Bricks
Jr. Gearbots Inventory Sheet Misc Technic Elements
Section 4 – Team Building/Homework
Guide on the Side-Team Building
Guide on the Side-Session Warm-Ups
Guide on the Side-Homework
Section 5 – Challenge Inspire Instructions/WeDo 2.0 Software Guide
MISSION MOON Inspire Set Build Bag 1, 1up
OR
MISSION MOON Inspire Set Build Bag 1, 2up
MISSION MOON Inspire Set Element Overview Bag 1
MISSION MOON Inspire Set Element Overview Bag 2
LEGO Education WeDo 2.0 Toolbox
Section 6 – FIRST LEGO League FAQ
Troubleshooting WeDo 2.0 USB Connection
WeDo 2.0 Support on Windows 7
How to Connect to the WeDo 2.0 Smarthub
How to Re-Install the Bluetooth Low Energy Driver
Senior League Resources
Resources specific to the Senior League are outlined in red. They may be of some interest to Junior League teams.
Senior League Coaches’ Guide
Section 1 – Senior League Overview
Sr League Contact
Sr League Kit Inventory Sheet
Sr League Coaches’ Guide
Coach Promise and Values
Southern Maine Gearbots Policies and Procedures
Section 2 – Senior League Season Guide for Coaches
Senior League Season Guide for Coaches
Section 3 – Terminology, Set Inventory, and Elements
Lego Brick terminology
Sr. Gearbots Set & Brick Inventory Overview
45544 EV3 Core Inventory sheet
45560 EV3 Expansion Set Inventory sheet
9797 NXT Inventory sheet
Assorted Component Inventory sheet
45544 & 45560 EV3 Core & Expansion Set Element Surveys
45544 & 45560 EV3 Core & Expansion Set Insert Cards
NXT Base-Set_Parts-List
Section 4 – Programming & Robot Building
The LEGO Education 45544 EV3 MINDSTORMS Core Sets come with a booklet that provides an excellent set of building instructions for first time Teams to learn about building MINDSTORMS Robots while familiarizing them with all of the motors and sensors. These booklets are available in electronic form in the Mindstorms software on your computers, HOWEVER the in brick programming information is ONLY available in the booklet. We have provided the In Brick Programming information from the booklets in digital form here for you for your convenience.
EV3 Model Basic Robot Build Order and Programming Instructions
The following is the build order that your Teams should follow as is suggested by the booklets:
EV3 Model – 01 – Cuboid
EV3 Model – 02 – Driving Base
EV3 Model – 03 – Ultrasonic Sensor
EV3 Model – 04 – Gyro Sensor
EV3 Model – 05 – Medium Motor
EV3 Model – 06 – Color Sensor Down
EV3 Model – 07 – Color Sensor Forward
EV3 Model – 08 – Touch Sensor
The following two robots are used in the Robot Track Meet Association Speed Build competition and are provided as another example of a versatile utility robot for Teams to learn how to build. Instructions are provided in your Coaches’ Guides.
Simple EV3 Wheelbot
Simple NXT Robot Wheelbot
Section 5 – Programming for Coaches
2015-EV3-Programming
NXT-G Programming. Workshop for FLL Coaches. Developed by Tony Ayad Updated by LeRoy Nelson California – Los Angeles Region FLL September 2012
Senior League Online Resources
Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy
The Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy offers some amazing instructional resources for learning about Robotics Engineering. Some of the resources are available for a paid subscription, while others are free for not-for-profit and personal use.
The NXT Mindstorms information below provides a comprehensive primer on engineering robots using NXT LEGO Mindstorms. It is highly recommended for coaches using NXT Kits or if you have an NXT set at home.
Robotics Engineering: NXT Mindstorms – Instroduction to Mobile Robotics, Volume I
Online Resources (How Gears Work)
Videos
Wondering what to do with all those pieces in the Jr.FLL Base Kit?
Check out this video on building a motorized car.
Check out the “What is Jr.FLL?” video.
Product Tutorials
LEGO® Education produced these awesome tutorials just for Jr.FLL teams! Watch the videos to learn about the Jr.FLL Base Kit, Robotics Kit, BuildToExpress, Power Functions M Motor and Battery Box and Simple Machines Set.
Building
LDraw.org – LDraw™ is an open standard for LEGO®CAD programs that allow the user to create virtual LEGO models and scenes. LDraw is and always will be offered free of charge.
brickjournal.com – BrickJournal is a magazine that spotlights the many aspects of the LEGO Community. Events, people, and models are showcased in every issue, with a couple of surprises too! BrickJournal journalist Joe Meno is always found at the FLL® World Festival.
brickshelf.com – Cool LEGO building stuff.
peeron.com – More cool LEGO stuff, including a list of parts numbers and names; color chart, sets, building instructions (often old item no longer available on www.LEGO.com).
classic-castle.com – For LEGO castle aficionados.
bricklink.com – Premium venue for individuals and businesses from all around the world to buy and sell new, used and vintage LEGO® through fixed price and auction services.
brothers-brick.com – The Brothers Brick is a LEGO blog for adult fans of LEGO.
lugnet.com – International LEGO Users Group Network, a global community of LEGO enthusiasts. LUGNET unites LEGO fans worldwide through forums, web pages, and services.
Simple Machines
EdHeads – Learn about simple machines as you explore this house.
Chicago Science Museum – Help Twitch create simple machines to trade distance for force.
Fantastic Contraption– A fun physics puzzle game.
Power Play – An activity about capturing power with simple machines.
Curriculum
Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Academy – A great resource about robotics. Search for gears, gear types, LEGO gears.
How Stuff Works – This is a great site for explanations of how things work. It is not a curricula, and not specific to FIRST LEGO League, but has very good explanations of general engineering concepts. For example, How Gears Work, How Gear Ratios Work, and How Differentials Work.
Robot Track Meet Association (RTMA) & Maine Robotics
The Robot Track Meet Association & Maine Robotics are not-for-profits dedicated to providing Maine youth and teachers with mentored activities within the STEM fields, focusing primarily on robotics for its multidisciplinary coverage of science and its ability to provide timely and popular tie ins with today’s youth.
Southern Maine Gearbots follows the Robot Track Meet Association Track Meet Challenge Rules for our Senior League
Robot Track Meet Association (RTMA)
2019 Robot Track Meet Association Rules
Teams may select from the following challenges to compete in the District Meet:
- Slope Climber (Gold Standard, 60 degrees)
- Table Clearing Mission (Gold Standard, 8 cans in any trial)
Delivery Mission (New course for 2019) (Gold Standard, 25 seconds)- Fastest Robot (Gold Standard, 3.5 seconds)
- Strongest Robot (Gold Standard, 40 pounds)
- Ping Pong Shot Put (New rules for 2018) (Gold Standard, 20 points)
- Steeplechase (Gold Standard, 40 points)
- Walker (Gold Standard, 20 seconds)
NOTE: The following two events are not part of the Southern Maine Gearbots District Meet.
- Bridge Building – This event results in broken elements. Teams moving on to the State competition may participate in this event with their own elements/sets.
- Robot Speed Build – This event is for an individual team member. Members from Teams moving on to the State competition may want to practice for this event.
The RTMA has been lovingly created by Tom Bickford at Maine Robotics. Check them out for their Robotics Programs and Robotics Tutorials and Building guides for LEGO Mindstorms.
Maine Robotics Website
Maine Robotics Tutorials and Building Guides Page
2018 Kit Sorting Resources
The following resources should aid you in sorting and inventorying your kits in preparation for turn in to Southern Maine Gearbots at the end of season.
2018 Jr League Kit Sorting
2018 Jr League Kit Sorting Instructions Sheet
9580 WeDo Insert Card
9580 WeDo Element Survey
9689 Simple Machines Insert Card
9689 Simple Machines Element Survey
45805 Aqua Adventure Element Survey
9338 Serious Play Mini Kit Element Survey
Jr. Gearbots Inventory Sheet 1x&2x Assorted Bricks
SMGearbots Misc Technic Elements Survey
2018 Sr League Kit Sorting
2018 Sr League Kit Sorting Instructions Sheet
45544 EV3 Core Inventory sheet
45560 EV3 Expansion Set Inventory sheet
Assorted Component Inventory sheet
45544 EV3 Element Survey
45560 EV3 Expansion Set Element Survey
EV3 45544 & 45560 Insert Cards