Extension Activities for The Wild Robot

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The Wild Robot is a modern day tale of a robot that becomes stranded in the wild after an accident. This story is making it’s way across classrooms and into children’s lives, and with good reason.  It’s a captivating comparison of technology and the natural world.  As with all reading materials, they begin to take on more meaning when kids are able to apply what they’ve read in their lives and lessons.  That’s why I’ve created this cross curricular extension activity package.  It combines geometry and paragraph writing.  Keep reading to get a peak into how you can use extension activities for The Wild Robot.

2D Shapes

Fun cross-curricular extension activities for The Wild Robot (ties in geometry and paragraph writing).
This example robot is included in the package for kids to use as a reference.

The first part of this package asks kids to create their own robot made entirely of 2D shapes.  There is a creative aspect involved here, since students need to think about why certain shapes would be best.  For example: a circular head on a robot would mean greater ease to turn it in all directions.  This is meant to display both a student’s shape recognition as well as their critical thinking skills.  For example, a student may state that their robot has hexagon eyes because the hexagon has many sides, which gives the robot many angles of view.

3D Shapes

Fun cross-curricular extension activities for The Wild Robot (ties in geometry and paragraph writing).
This example is included in the package for student reference. It is the same as the 2D model, but includes 3D labels instead.

Teachers can either skip the 2D shapes, or begin with 2D shapes as a progression towards their 3D robot.  Students should be able to convert their 2D shapes into 3D shapes, and use similar logic as to why those are the best shapes to use.  This might also be the beginning of a fun play-dough assignment, in which kids can physically build their robots.

Descriptive Paragraphs

Fun cross-curricular extension activities for The Wild Robot (ties in geometry and paragraph writing).
Here is an example of a filled out paragraph planner.
(Please note: the planner IS included in the package. However, the *example* is not.)

The next step involves students writing a descriptive paragraph about their robot creation.  Students will receive both a paragraph planner and lined paper with a writing checklist.  The paragraph is designed to get students explaining the shapes they’ve chosen as well as the logic behind their choices.  It’s a great way for students to both explain their critical thinking as well as demonstrate their writing skills.

Persuasive Paragraph

Fun cross-curricular extension activities for The Wild Robot (ties in geometry and paragraph writing).
This is an example of a persuasive paragraph. The printable lined paper and checklist are included in the package (the example paragraph is not).

In this section, students are told that a company called Robo Works wants to send robots into the wild to learn about the animals.  Students are tasked with convincing Robo Works, that the robot they’ve created is perfect for the job.  Once again, students will display their critical thinking skills here, but will also need to feature their knowledge for the persuasive elements of writing.

These extension activities would be great as practice or as assessments.  The robot creations would also be a great bulletin board display for your classroom or hallways.  Try it out, and let me know what you and your students think.