Year 2 debugging uses longer programs on bigger grids, so children need to trace carefully, one step at a time, to find where the robot goes wrong.
What your child will learn
- Trace programs of four to six steps
- Find the step where a program goes wrong
- Name the arrow that would fix it
Trace, don’t guess
The best debugging strategy is to follow the program exactly, step by step, and compare where the robot is with where it should be. The first place they differ is where the bug is.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. The robot should reach the star, but one step has a bug. Which step is wrong?
- Step 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
Show answer
Answer: Step 2. Step 2 should be → instead of ↓. Fix that one arrow and the robot reaches the star!
2. The robot should reach the star, but one step has a bug. Which step is wrong?
- Step 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
- Step 4
Show answer
Answer: Step 1. Step 1 should be → instead of ←. Fix that one arrow and the robot reaches the star!
3. The robot should reach the star, but one step has a bug. Which step is wrong?
- Step 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
Show answer
Answer: Step 2. Step 2 should be ← instead of ↑. Fix that one arrow and the robot reaches the star!
Tips for grown-ups
- Encourage finger-tracing on the screen for every step.
- Praise careful checking more than speed.