--- title: "Teach a paper robot with instructions you can test" description: "Explore sequencing and debugging through an adult-led paper game with precise commands and a repeatable starting position." author: Power of AI date: 2026-09-07 url: https://powerofai.ca/playbooks/paper-instruction-game --- # Teach a paper robot with instructions you can test Explore sequencing and debugging through an adult-led paper game with precise commands and a repeatable starting position. Take the next useful step. You can explore the logic behind coding without opening a coding app. Draw a small grid, place a paper robot on it and give another person instructions to move it. AI can help an adult prepare a variation, but the family does the testing. The fun comes from discovering how a small change in an instruction changes what happens. ## Define the world before the commands Draw a three-by-three grid with columns A, B and C and rows 1, 2 and 3. Put a paper robot at A1 facing toward row 2. Put a paper star at C3. Use the commands “forward one square,” “turn left” and “turn right.” Stay on paper; this is not an activity involving a real machine. Agree that a turn changes direction but does not move the robot. Agree what happens if a command would leave the grid: stop and mark the problem. These rules make the game testable. Without them, two people may follow the same words differently. ## Write the whole short sequence first An authored route is: forward, forward, turn right, forward, forward. From A1 facing toward row 2, the robot reaches A3, faces toward column B and finishes at C3. Check each move on the drawn board rather than trusting the written answer. Let one person write the commands and another move the paper robot literally. The mover should not silently repair a mistake. A visible wrong turn is a useful clue about what the instructions actually say. ### A request you can adapt Help an adult prepare a paper-robot activity on a three-by-three labeled grid. State the starting square, facing direction, target and command meanings. Give one short route and one deliberately faulty route, clearly labeled. Include a step-by-step reference the adult can verify. Keep all actions on paper. ## Find the first place the plan goes wrong Try forward, turn right, forward, forward. The robot finishes at C2 rather than C3. Ask where the path first diverged from the intended route. Adding another forward at the end would leave the grid, so the repair belongs earlier in the sequence. An authored correction adds a second forward before the turn. Start again from A1 with the original facing direction and run the entire corrected sequence. Continuing from the failed position would test a different program. ## Name the idea without turning it into a lecture The order of commands is a sequence. Finding and fixing a mistake is debugging. The starting square and direction are part of the state. Use those words if they help the family describe what happened, but the paper test can carry the explanation. Ask the learner to predict the next square before moving the robot. If the prediction differs from the rule, pause and compare the two. Keep the feedback about the command, not about how clever or capable the person is. ## Change one rule at a time For a fresh challenge, start at A1 facing toward column B and keep the target at C3. The earlier command sequence no longer means the same route. Write and test a new one. Then try adding a blocked square and explain which route needs to change. Keep the board, command definitions and one corrected sequence as the finished activity. If the family later tries a coding tool, connect its instructions to this same habit: define the start, predict, run, inspect and revise. An adult handles any external account and product rules. ## Take this into your next task A good instruction is one another person can follow literally from a clearly defined start. [Build your learning roadmap](/for/families#roadmap). ## Questions people ask ### Do children need to type code? No. The entire exercise uses paper, commands and observation. ### What if someone repairs a command while playing? Reset and try following the written commands literally. The visible mistake is what helps you debug. ### How do we make it harder? Change the starting direction or add one blocked square. Change one condition at a time so you can explain the effect. ## Sources and editorial notes Reviewed 2026-09-07. Product capabilities depend on the app, plan, region and workspace settings. Workflows and prompts are authored teaching material, not recorded model results or measured time-saving claims. ## Keep going - [AI for Families and Kids: Adult-Led Activities and Learning](/for/families) - [Build a tabletop museum with labels that invite questions](/playbooks/mini-museum) - [AI Mission Control: From Idea to Verified Result](/mission-control)