This document discusses the First Lego League (FLL) program for developing STEM skills in students ages 4-16. It offers several programs - FLL Challenge for ages 9-16, FLL Explore for ages 6-9, and FLL Discover for ages 4-6. The programs encourage interest in real-world themes through building, coding, and engineering challenges using Lego materials. The author's school participated in the FLL City Shaper challenge in 2019-2020 and FLL Junior Playmaker challenge in 2021-2022. Students developed skills in sustainability, problem-solving, and teamwork while exploring themes related to cities and play spaces.

1. Learning for
Sustainability
with The First
Lego League

2. FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge
A global STEM challenge for 9-16 year olds
For teams of young people, to encourage an interest in real-world themes and develop key skills that are
crucial for their future careers.
FIRST® LEGO® League Explore
A STEM programme for 6-9 year olds
Encouraging children to investigate a real-world theme, develop teamwork, design and programming
skills – and have fun.
FIRST® LEGO® League Discover
A programme for 4-6 year olds
This programme develops STEM skills from an early age. Children explore a real-world theme and learn
through play.

3. First Lego League Challenge
• Piloted in 1998 and first season
ran in 1999/2000
• I came across it in 2019 through
an email that was sent out to
schools and asked for some PEF
money to buy a Lego
Mindstorms and enter the City
Shaper Mission with an
afterschool club
• What attracted me to using it?
• All the themes around the
competitions involve real world
challenges
• Uses problem solving
• Pupils learn technology skills,
learn engineering skills
• Pupils have to think about the
world around them

4. Previous themes
• All around sustainability.
• Arctic Impact (2001)
• study global climate changes and
the potential impact of global
warming on humanity.
• City Sights (2002)
• explored the challenges that
urban planners face in order to
provide basic services.
• No Limits (2004)
• The scientist Dr. Justin Case
presented a new area of robot
technology: how robots may help
people with disabilities in their
every-day life.
• Climate Connections (2008)
• The Climate Connections
challenge was all about the
correlations climate had, has and
will have on our lives

5. FLL Challenge 2019/2020 - City Shaper
• City Shaper
• Mission was to shape your growing city with more stable, beautiful, useful,
accessible and sustainable buildings and structures.
After school club of 10 x P5 & P6 pupils
Varying needs – 2 x ASD, 1 x ADHD
Won a trophy at regional final – Team who
displayed Lego League Core Values.
I knew I was onto something that could teach
sustainability that was engaging and could
enhance skills for the future.

6. I asked for more PEF!
I was interested in doing a whole class project. This would be achievable through the First
Lego League Junior programme – Boomtown Build which was to run in term 3.
• Teams were challenged to explore the growing needs and challenges of the people in our
community. Teams were to imagine and create a building that solves a problem and
makes life easier, happier, or more connected for the people that use it.
It used Lego WeDo 2.0 rather than Lego Mindstorms
I was given money for 6 x Lego WeDo 2.0s and 6 Lego Boomtown builds and entry for 2
teams to the regional festival
Lockdown came and stopped it all………………..

7. First Lego League Junior Playmaker challenge
• August – Lego kits for Boomtown Build had never been distributed so
the change to the new Playmakers challenge was easy.
• 6 Playmaker Lego kits
• Engineer notebooks
• Teacher guides
• Festival pack
• Medals/Certificates
And we locked down again……………………

8. First Lego League Junior Playmaker challenge
• Finally in May I got it up and running

9. Where does Playmaker sit within the 17 SDGs?
• Playmakers challenge took on the Missions of creating sustainable
play spaces from using derelict or underutilised spaces in the
community. The play spaces had to suit all people including those
with disabilities and include ways they could play together.
• I included an element of Climate Action.
• It also meshed well with thinking about HWB.

10. Playmaker programme also gave discussion
opportunities for children’s rights

11. First Lego League Core Values
Teach about each core value as you move through the sessions.

13. Heart Monitor Build

14. Treadmill joined to
heart monitor

16. Our journey…..

17. Learning to code with the glowing snail
The WeDo motor
connects by
Bluetooth to the
Ipad.
The coding blocks
are created on
the Ipad and then
the robot moves
or plays a sound
or changes colour

18. The WeDo motor connects
by Bluetooth to the Ipad.
The coding blocks are
created on the Ipad and
then the robot moves or
plays a sound or changes
colour

19. Engineering notebooks

20. Engineering was used to make the flag raise on the
heart monitor

21. The next project
created a cooling
fan

23. Building the treadmill,
attaching it to the
heart monitor and
making it work

24. The moving satellite project showed us how to code things
to move with a motor

25. Problem solving

26. We had to make the spy robot move by
thinking about how to use the motor and
attach wheels as well.

27. Finally we made the treadmill turn and raise the flag on the
heart monitor.

29. Prototype Builds

32. Final designs

35. Team posters

36. TEAM 4
Lewis
Finlay
Jacob
Leon

37. TEAM 6
Brooke
Daniel
Lucy
Norma

38. The Final Festival

39. Next years season is called Cargo Connect
Watch trailer here
https://youtu.be/zUJ84gO1Z7g
Information on packs and costs
https://education.theiet.org/first-lego-league-programmes/register/