Lessons/Lab Safety Simulation

Lab Safety Simulation

ScienceCoding

Students design a laboratory entry simulation in which the READER finds required safety gear, sets a Boolean state, and receives success or corrective feedback at the locked lab.

Pacing
1 class · 60 min
Grade
Grade 9
Coding
Advanced
Students codePlayer ActionsOn Page StartConditionalsBoolean VariableNavigation
Opens a private practice project in the Studio — no account needed.
Teacher's Kit included — Lesson Plan · Student Kit · Answer Key · Rubric · See what's inside
Lab Safety Simulation

Lesson cover illustration

Standards-aligned
CCSS · ELACSTAISTEAASLDOK 3
Lesson at a glance
?
?Essential question

How do well-designed systems protect people from predictable human error?

Students will be able to
  • Design a science lab scene with a clickable safety item
  • Create a Boolean variable and set its value based on player actions
  • Use a Compare block to check if safety rules are followed
  • Add message feedback when the player forgets a safety item
  • Test, revise, and polish their game using peer review tools
Key vocabulary
gust lockhazardcheckliststall
Assessment
Formative
Use milestone checks, organizer responses, and daily test evidence to guide feedback.
Summative
The instructions name the lab context, required preparation, and reason accurately without implying that equipment removes all risk. Selecting the item changes the Boolean state, the gate blocks unprepared entry, and success/corrective feedback appears in the intended condition.
The student journey

From reading to an interactive project

Elementari is a browser-based tool for creating illustrated, interactive stories and projects. Students plan their writing in the Student Kit, then add it to a digital project in the editor, called Studio.

1
📖

Read

The reading provides background knowledge or a model of writing for students to draw on. The lesson plan explains its connection to the project.

📖The Crash That Invented the Checklist

October 30, 1935. Wright Field, Ohio. The most advanced airplane in the world — Boeing's gleaming Model 299, a four-engine giant the newspapers called a "flying fortress" — accelerates down the runway for a demonstration flight in front of …

Sourcesnewyorker.comairandspace.si.edu
Read the full passage
2
✏️

Write & plan

Students use the Student Kit's storyboard to plan and draft their project. Choose High Support, Guided Support, or Independent to adjust the writing scaffolds.

Student mission

Code a lab safety simulation that keeps the lab locked until players gear up.

2Student Kit · sneak peek
High Support
The ___ Lab: ___
Key Words from the Passagegust lockhazardcheckliststall
Glossary  a kid-friendly definition for every key term
3
🎨

Design & code

The main eventvaries by project

In the studio, students bring the project to life — adding art and following the exact writing and coding steps shown below. The Studio Compass walks them through it, one step at a time.

🧭Studio CompassStep 1 / 7
Plan Your Scene
Use your Lab Simulation Writing Organizer to help plan ( make a copy ): What is your lab setting? What safety item do players need before entering the lab? View the Example Project
Key words — tap to learncreate boolean variables
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 7 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1Plan Your Scene
2Title Page 🎬
3Lab Setting + Player Instructions 🧪
4Add Your Safety Item 🥽
5Locked Lab Logic ❌🔒
6Success Page 🎉
7Make it Look Awesome 🎨
4
🔁

Polish

ongoing

Teacher and peer feedback pin right onto the project — students revise until it's ready to share.

Feedback on the project2 pins
🍎
Add one more sentence here so readers get the full picture.
👍 2Teacher
A
The interaction is clear — it helps the reader follow the project!
⭐ 3Peer
One-tap repliesNice work!Add detail
5
🚀

Publish

The payoff

Students finish and test their projects. Work submitted through a class goes to the teacher for review; publishing a project makes it public with a shareable link.

🎉When a project is published
A project made by your student
PublishedPublic project link
The Teacher's Kit

The printables that power the build

Open these resources as web pages, then use Print to print them or save a PDF. The Student Kit supports the writing; Studio provides the on-screen build steps.

Open print-ready resources
Start hereTeacher-facing

Lesson Plan

Your teaching plan: learning goals, lesson timing, discussion questions, assessment and coaching notes. Students follow the build steps in Studio.

Web page - print or save as PDF
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Before you teach

Prep before class

A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.

What you need
  • One device per student or pair
  • Internet connection
  • Student Kit or printed organizer
  • Writing Organizer
  • Coding Cheat Sheet
  • Peer Debug
  • Single Point Rubric
  • A device per student or pair
Prep before class
  1. 1Preview the designated builder story.
  2. 2Review the ordered milestones and Student Kit.
  3. 3Decide whether students work independently or in pairs.
Teacher background

What you need to know

Key terms
gust lock
a latch that holds an airplane's control surfaces still while it is parked
hazard
something with the potential to cause harm
checklist
a fixed list of checks completed in order so no step relies on memory
stall
the moment a wing loses lift, making the airplane fall instead of fly
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
The project treats one item as universal protection for every lab. → Name the particular lab setting and hazard, then state that the teacher's procedure determines required equipment.
✕
The READER can enter without selecting the item or remains locked after selecting it. → Display the Boolean state during testing and trace the click assignment before the comparison.
Standards alignment

Aligned to the standards you teach

Every task maps to a specific standard, so planning and reporting are covered.

Tracking 7 frameworks: Common Core ELA, Common Core Math, NGSS +4
21st-century skillsCritical ThinkingCommunicationCreativityCoding
CCSS · ELA10CSTA8ISTE11AASL34 frameworks · 32 standards · DOK 3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core State Standards — English Language Arts
10 standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.5

With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.7

Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related questions when appropriate.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.8

Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, assess source credibility and accuracy, quote or paraphrase while avoiding plagiarism, and follow a standard citation format.

Also addressedCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.5 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.8 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.6 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.6
CSTA
CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards
8 standards
2-AP-17

Systematically test and refine programs using a range of student-created inputs.

3A-AP-16

Design and iteratively develop computational artifacts for practical intent, personal expression, or to address a societal issue.

2-AP-11

Create clearly named variables that represent different data types and perform operations on their values.

2-AP-13

Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs.

Also addressed3A-AP-19 · 2-AP-15 · 2-AP-19 · 3A-AP-23
ISTE
ISTE Standards for Students
11 standards
ISTE 1.4.a

Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts, or solving authentic problems.

ISTE 1.4.c

Students develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.

ISTE 1.6.d

Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

ISTE 1.5.d

Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.

Also addressedISTE 1.3.a · ISTE 1.3.b · ISTE 1.1.c · ISTE 1.6.b · ISTE 1.6.c · ISTE 1.5.c · ISTE 1.3.d
AASL
AASL National School Library Standards
3 standards
AASL I.A.1

Learners display curiosity and initiative by formulating questions about a personal interest or a curricular topic.

Also addressedAASL I.B.1 · AASL I.B.3

Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.

Differentiation & accessibility

Choose the writing support

These are the three support options in the Student Kit. Choose the scaffolds students need while keeping the same project.

High Support

More writing scaffolds
  • Sentence frames break the response into manageable parts
  • Supplied words and ideas help students get started
  • Students still have space to write their responses

Guided Support

A starting point for writing
  • Task prompts and selected sentence starters
  • Writing cues and word banks where supplied
  • Space to develop each response

Independent

Less scaffolding
  • The same project and required writing tasks
  • Open response space without the support frames
  • Students develop their own wording
Accessibility, built inPredictable step-by-step structureOne task at a time · Studio CompassHighlighted response areasLow-stimulation printMovement-friendly pacingDesigned so every student can design, write, and code — with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind.
Questions

Teacher FAQ

Do I — or my students — need to know how to code?

No prior coding knowledge is required to start. Students follow on-screen build steps in Studio. Coding difficulty describes the project's complexity; teachers may still need to help students test and revise. The lesson plan supports teaching, and the Answer Key provides sample writing responses.

How long does this lesson take?

About 90, paced into 45-minute class periods. You can spread it out or compress it — students pick up where they left off, so it doesn't have to finish in one sitting.

What devices does this lesson work on?

Use a Chromebook, laptop, desktop or tablet with a modern browser and an internet connection. The project editor does not support phones. Try the build on your class devices before teaching.

What is Studio Compass?

Studio Compass is the step-by-step guide inside the Studio. It shows students what to do next, identifies the exact coding blocks they need, and confirms completed milestones so they can keep moving independently.

How does this lesson support different learners?

The Student Kit has High Support, Guided Support and Independent writing profiles. They change the amount of scaffolding for the same project. Choose a profile in the kit before printing, and use the lesson plan's differentiation suggestions.

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Bring this lesson to your class

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Lab Safety Simulation
Grade 9 · 1 class · 60 min