Walk
Walk forward
walk_forward
- Studio
- Pad: L stick
Get to the pond
A first game of three by three squares: lay Walk and Turn cards in a row to get the duck to the pond, in as few steps as you can.
- Grades PreK to K
- Six challenges
- A 3 by 3 board
- Fewest steps wins
- Five cards in play
Cards in play.
Only these. The pack's own rows lay up to four of one card: four Walk forward cards in Corner pond. Print this pack's cut sheet once for each group, then untick every card but Walk forward and print it again until each group has four.
Walk
Turn left
turn_left
- Studio
- Pad: R stick
Walk
Turn right
turn_right
- Studio
- Pad: R stick
Control
Start
start
100Control
End
end
101
How it is scored.
Fewest steps wins. Every card the duck does is one step: each Walk card, each Turn card, and a card like Hello at the end.
Par is the fewest steps any row can take. It is worked out by trying every path on the board, so nobody can beat it.
A row solves a challenge when the duck ends on the goal, has walked through every tunnel the long way, and has not bumped into a wall or the edge of the board. When a challenge names a card to finish with, that card is last.
The board.
Every challenge card below draws its own board. Here is how big a square is.
The board rule
One Walk card moves the duck one square. One Turn card is a quarter turn, where it stands. That is the rule on paper and in Studio, and every par is counted by it.
A real duck
Walk and Turn cards on a duck are timed for now: two seconds each, and the duck does not land on board squares. Measured cards are being tested. So for now the board is played by people and in Studio, and a duck beside it is a trial.
Measured cards
Measured cards walk until the duck's own odometry says one 30 cm square and turn until it says a quarter turn. They are being validated, in Pollen's simulator and then on testers' ducks, before they are switched on.
Squares for people
Tape the board on the floor in 30 cm squares, so a student playing the duck can stand in one. Or draw it on squared paper and walk a finger.
The challenges.
Easiest first. Print this page and it prints these cards and nothing else, four to a sheet, ready to cut. Choose Actual size or 100%.
Get to the pond 1 of 6
First waddle
Par 2 steps
The pond is straight ahead. How many squares away is it?
Grades PreK to K. Duck Cards, CC BY 4.0, microduckstudio.com
Get to the pond 2 of 6
Turn to the bread
Par 2 steps
The bread is beside the duck, not in front. Which way does the duck turn to face it?
Grades PreK to K. Duck Cards, CC BY 4.0, microduckstudio.com
Get to the pond 3 of 6
Corner pond
Par 5 steps
Walk up the side first, then turn. Stand up and be the duck if you are not sure which way is right.
Grades PreK to K. Duck Cards, CC BY 4.0, microduckstudio.com
Get to the pond 4 of 6
Round the reeds
Par 7 steps
Reeds block the way up. Step to the side of them first.
Grades PreK to K. Duck Cards, CC BY 4.0, microduckstudio.com
Get to the pond 5 of 6
Nest behind the log
Par 7 steps
The log is across two squares. Find the gap and go around.
Grades PreK to K. Duck Cards, CC BY 4.0, microduckstudio.com
Get to the pond 6 of 6
Under the little bridge
Par 6 steps
The duck has to walk through the bridge, going across the board, before it gets home.
Grades PreK to K. Duck Cards, CC BY 4.0, microduckstudio.com
Lessons.
Each one fits a class period with paper only.
Sequences
Be the duck
Tape a three by three grid on the floor, 30 cm squares. One child is the duck and stands on the start square, facing the way the challenge says. The class lays the cards in a row and reads them aloud one at a time, and the duck does exactly what each card says, nothing more.
Ask: did the duck end up where we meant? Which card took it somewhere else?
Left and right
Which way is right?
Put a sticker on every child's right hand. Before a Turn card goes down, everyone turns their own body the way the duck would. A Turn card turns the duck where it stands; it does not move it to a new square.
Ask: when the duck is facing you, is its right the same as your right?
Counting
Count the squares
Before any card goes down, point and count the squares from the duck to the pond, out loud. Lay that many Walk forward cards. Then act it out to check the count.
Ask: how did you know how many Walk cards you needed?
Fewest steps
Fewest steps
Two groups solve Corner pond and count their cards. Par on the activity card is the fewest steps any row can take. Is either row longer than par? Find the extra cards.
Ask: why can two rows get to the same pond with a different number of steps?
Take the pack.
The whole pack is one file in the open duck-pack/0 format. Duck Cards, from microduckstudio.com, CC BY 4.0.