Engage grades 3-8 to code a fun maze game using voice commands, blending storytelling and coding. Ideal for winter and perfect for sharing for others to play.
Pacing
1 class · 50 min
Grade
Grade 3
Opens a private practice project in the Studio — no account needed.
Design a narrative and maze for a character trapped in a winter wonderland.
Code character movement using voice commands and speech recognition events.
Code collision events to detect when the character reaches obstacles or goals.
Create a celebratory message upon completing the maze.
Key vocabulary
hedgedead endmystical
Assessment
Formative
Use milestone checks, organizer responses, and daily test evidence to guide feedback.
Summative
The opening, instructions, and ending form one cause-and-effect escape story with an explicit goal and satisfying result. Each spoken command moves in the promised direction, the maze has a valid route, and touching the object opens the ending.
The student journey
This is a build — not a worksheet packet
Every lesson runs like the story students are about to make: read it, write it, build it, polish it, publish it. The printables scaffold each stage — the published Elementari project is the destination.
1
📖
Read
Students read a short, high-interest passage — a real-world hook, not a dry textbook definition — to spark ideas for what they'll make.
📖Three Hundred Years of Getting Lost on Purpose
Around 1690, gardeners in England planted a trap. King William III wanted a puzzle in his gardens at Hampton Court Palace, so they grew one: walls of living hedge, taller than a grown-up, arranged into twisting paths full of dead ends. It i…
SourcesHistoric Royal Palaces — The Maze at Hampton Court Palace
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
Find the Mystical Object 🗝️
Choose a character who needs to find a mystical object hidden in a winter wonderland to escape. Don't forget to add the story intro!
Key words — tap to learnon pronounce block
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 7 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1Find the Mystical Object 🗝️~5 min
2Design Your Own Maze Adventure 🧩~10 min
3Coding Voice Commands ⬅️➡️~10 min
4Coding Voice Commands ⬆️⬇️~10 min
5Celebration of Escape 🎉~5 min
6Code the Escape Navigation 🔒~5 min
7Decorate & Test 🎨~5 min
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!
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
A device per student or pair
Internet connection
A microphone (for recording or speech-trigger activities)
Prep · about 10 min
1Print the student kits
2Assign this lesson to your students
3Skim the build steps
Teacher background
What you need to know
Students learn that a good puzzle designer wants the player lost but never hopeless: dead ends tease, but a true path always exists, the rules are clear, and the goal is worth reaching. Hampton Court's maze has run on that bargain for three centuries. Students apply it by building a maze with a real route, clear voice-command instructions, and a mystical object that ends the story.
Key terms
hedge
a wall made of bushes growing close together
dead end
a path that stops and goes nowhere
mystical
magical and mysterious
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
The written command and On Pronounce phrase do not match. →Make a four-row command table and test each exact word aloud.
✕
The object is unreachable or the collision does not open the ending. →Trace one valid route first, then test the goal contact separately from wall collisions.
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
CCSS · ELA4CSTA8ISTE73 frameworks · 19 standards · DOK 3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core State Standards — English Language Arts
4 standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
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.7.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
Also addressedCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.6 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.6
CSTA
CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards
8 standards
1B-AP-15
Test and debug a program or algorithm to ensure it runs as intended.
2-AP-17
Systematically test and refine programs using a range of student-created inputs.
2-AP-13
Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs.
Also addressed2-AP-15 · 1B-AP-13 · 2-AP-19 · 1B-AP-11 · 1B-AP-17
ISTE
ISTE Standards for Students
7 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 1.1.c · ISTE 1.6.b · ISTE 1.5.c
Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.
Differentiation & accessibility
Built to reach every learner
One lesson, three built-in paths — with accessibility baked into the materials, not bolted on afterward.
Extra support
Emerging readers & writers
Read-aloud and multilingual support in the Elementari build
Studio Compass highlights one task at a time — including the coding
Sentence frames and a word bank so it is never a blank page
On grade
The core lesson
The passage and storyboard exactly as written
Model answers and “look-fors” in the answer key
Self-check chips at every milestone
Ready for more
Extension & challenge
Challenge vocabulary and a real-world extension question
Deepen one existing page or interaction — without changing the required mechanics
A longer, evidence-based reflection prompt
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. Coding concepts are introduced in plain language exactly when students need them, and Studio Compass confirms each milestone so students keep moving without you troubleshooting. The teacher guide walks you through the whole build, answers included.
How long does this lesson take?
About 50, 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?
Students can read, write, code, and publish on Chromebooks, iPads, tablets, laptops, or desktops. All they need is a modern browser — nothing to download or install.
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?
This lesson includes read-to-me with synchronized highlighting, a built-in glossary, and picture-based storyboarding, with writing and coding scaffolds you can dial up or down. Students can work with guided support or more independently — and still finish the same project.
Ready when you are
Bring this lesson to your class
Import your class, assign in one click, and watch them build — the whole kit comes with it.
