Kick off the school year with an activity that gets students coding and flying the first week of school! In this activity, students will use Blockly for Robolink to program their CoDrone EDU to spell a word in the air while a partner tries to guess it. Along the way, students will practice planning algorithms, using foundational flight commands, and debugging their code.

Note: this activity is inspired by our Name Game activity, found in our free curriculum, Robolink Learn. These activities can be tailored to focus on piloting, similar to our Drone Charades activity as well. 

This activity is eligible for a drone giveaway! Share pictures and videos of your students participating in the Name Game activity on social media for a chance to win a CoDrone EDU to add to your fleet. Be sure to tag @robolinkinc in your post to be entered to win!

Classroom Set Up

Materials

• CoDrone EDU and controller (1 per pair)

• Student device (1 per pair)

• Engineering notebook or blank paper

• Pencil

Student Grouping

• Students work in pairs.

• One student programs while the other observes and guesses the mystery word.

• Students switch roles after each challenge.

Flight Area

Designate individual flight zones around the room with enough space between groups for safe operation.

Differentiation

Your students not ready to code? No problem! Have students complete the challenges while piloting.

Challenge 1: Spell Your Name

Students will program their drone to spell their first name (or nickname) one letter at a time.

Before students begin programming, have them sketch each letter on paper and map out their drone's flight path. Since students have not yet learned curved flight paths, they'll need to creatively build letters using only straight movements and turns. This planning process reinforces that engineers design before they build.

After completing each letter, the drone must land before beginning the next one. Their partner watches the entire flight and guesses the name.

These requirements mirror the lesson objectives and ensure students gain experience with each foundational flight command.

Challenge 2: Favorite Things

Now that students understand the process, have them choose a word that represents them.

Ideas include:

• Favorite animal

• Favorite food

• Favorite hobby

• Favorite sport

• Favorite school subject
  
  

Partners must guess the word before the programmer reveals the answer.

Encourage students to improve their code by making each letter more recognizable or reducing unnecessary movements.

Challenge 3: Mystery Teacher Challenge

Time for a class challenge!

Program a word that describes yourself, such as:

• Your favorite hobby

• Your favorite snack

• A place you've visited

• Your favorite movie

Students watch the flight together and vote on what they think the word is.

For an extra challenge, have small groups create words for another group to solve.

Extension

Once students complete the challenges, encourage them to think like engineers by improving their programs.

Try one (or more) of these extensions:

• Spell the word using fewer flight commands.

• Program the same word vertically instead of horizontally.

• Add additional hover pauses to make each letter easier to recognize.

• Challenge another team to recreate your program using only the completed flight path.

• Can your partner identify the word before the drone lands?

Real World

Autonomous drones don't simply fly from Point A to Point B—they follow carefully programmed flight paths made up of individual movements, turns, pauses, and landings.

Whether inspecting bridges, creating drone light shows, surveying farmland, or delivering medical supplies, engineers must carefully plan every movement before the drone ever leaves the ground.

This activity introduces students to that same engineering design process. They begin by planning their algorithm on paper, translate it into code, test their flight path, and refine it through debugging—just like real drone programmers do. The lesson emphasizes creating precise flight paths using foundational flight commands while encouraging students to predict, test, and refine their programs.

Wrap Up

The beginning of the school year is about building relationships, and the CoDrone EDU Name Game helps students build coding confidence at the same time.

By combining a familiar classroom icebreaker with programming, students practice sequencing, computational thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving in a way that feels more like a game than a lesson. As partners guess each other's mystery words, they're also learning how engineers plan, test, and improve autonomous flight paths.

It's a fun, memorable way to launch your STEM classroom - and your students' programming journey - from the start of the school year.

Remember to share pictures and videos of your students participating in the Name Game activity on social media for a chance to win a CoDrone EDU to add to your fleet. Be sure to tag @robolinkinc in your post to be entered to win!

If you’re looking for more fun ways to bring drones into your classroom to kick off the school year, check out our Back to School Activities blog, which contains activities outside of Robolink Learn and are meant to be a low-lift, accessible way to get students in the air.