Printable guide · ages 6–8

Piko’s Logic Lab

Ask for the rule before the answer. Each lesson has four explanations, three activities and a separate showing task. Every clue, table and command task has one accepted end state, so an idea that looks different may need talking through rather than marking wrong.

Materials: The screen is enough. Optional: paper cards with shapes and pictures, a paper 3 × 3 board and a small counter for Piko. No scissors, camera upload, account, timer or real-world completion claim is needed.

Open the lessons

What to notice

Notice whether the child names the rule or clue, checks every clue again at the end, and tests a command list one square at a time. Accept pointing, speaking or moving cards.

Ask “Which clue told you that?” or “What would you change?” A star records this lesson task on this device; it does not assess development, diagnose or certify mastery.

Lesson 1

Sort with two clues

Goal: Sort cards into boxes that need two features together, a shape and a colour.

Name the two clues before sorting, for example “shape” and “colour”. In this table every card belongs in exactly one box because both clues are fixed. Accept pointing or moving a card instead of a long explanation.

Starting point: Lay out four paper cards and name the shape and colour of one together.
A helpful phrase: “Does this box match the shape? Does it match the colour too?”
A common mix-up: A card with the right colour but the wrong shape feels almost right. Ask for both clues every time.
Notice the transfer: Offer new cards where size and picture are the two clues and ask the child to name them.

Show: New cards and boxes! Each box needs a size and a picture. Put every card in its box.

Lesson 2

A group that repeats

Goal: Continue a pattern whose repeating group has three cards: two the same and one different.

Always ask the child to say the repeating group before filling places. A short row can fit several rules, so every row here is long enough, and checked, so that only one group of three fits. The letters A and B are optional labels.

Starting point: Clap or say the group together, such as “star, star, leaf”, before looking at places.
A helpful phrase: “Where does the group start again?”
A common mix-up: Copying card by card can hide the group. Point to the whole group of three each time.
Notice the transfer: Use new pictures and ask the child to start the pattern with a different group of three.

Show: A new trail with shapes! Fill the two empty places, even the one at the start.

Lesson 3

Patterns that grow

Goal: Find how many blocks a growing pattern adds each step and use it to continue the pattern.

A growing pattern here adds the same number of blocks at every step. The pictures show up to seven blocks, so the counting stays small. Counting the blocks in each tower is a good first move; the key idea is the amount added, not the total.

Starting point: Stack paper cups or blocks to make steps of one, two and three.
A helpful phrase: “How many did we add to get the next tower?”
A common mix-up: Looking only at the last tower gives the total, not the step. Compare two towers side by side.
Notice the transfer: Ask the child to make a new tower row that grows by a different amount.

Show: A growing row with a gap inside! Fill both empty places.

Lesson 4

Order clues

Goal: Put three or four cards in order using clues such as first, last, right after and between.

Read each clue aloud and let the child place a card, then read all clues again. “Right after” means the very next place, while “before” means anywhere earlier. Each set of clues here leaves exactly one order. A different drawing order is not being judged.

Starting point: Line up three toys and say one clue about the first place.
A helpful phrase: “Which clue gives an exact place?”
A common mix-up: “After” may be heard as “right after”. Compare a line with a card in between.
Notice the transfer: Make up a new clue set for three of the child’s own toys and let them check every clue.

Show: New cards! Clues: the triangle is first. The star is right after the triangle. The square is right before the circle. Put the four cards in order.

Lesson 5

Rule things out

Goal: Use “it is not…” clues to rule out cards that cannot match, then name the card that is left.

Phrase each clue as “it is not…” and let the child say why a card is out, for example “it is a circle”. A card that fits every clue stays in. The final state is the set of cards ruled out; touching them in a different order is the same answer.

Starting point: Hide one of four paper cards and give one “it is not” clue.
A helpful phrase: “Which clue does this card break?”
A common mix-up: Crossing out a card because it looks different from a guess, not because it breaks a clue, is a common slip.
Notice the transfer: Hide a card in a new set and give three clues, one at a time.

Show: A new hidden card! Clues: it is not an apple. It is small. It is not a star. Touch every card that cannot be it.

Lesson 6

A table with one empty cell

Goal: Complete a 4 × 4 picture table with one empty cell so that every row and every column has each picture once.

The table follows one rule: each picture appears once in every row and once in every column. With one empty cell, the row alone is enough; checking the column is a second proof. Let the child point along the row, then down the column. The tables are checked so exactly one picture fits.

Starting point: Draw a small 4 × 4 grid on paper and fill one row together.
A helpful phrase: “Which picture is not in this row yet? Is it in the column?”
A common mix-up: Checking only the row can leave a repeated picture in the column. Always check both lines.
Notice the transfer: Change the pictures and the empty cell and ask which row and column you check first.

Show: A new table with leaves, apples, acorns and stars! Choose the picture that fits the empty cell, then touch place 1.

Lesson 7

Arrow commands

Goal: Follow a list of arrow commands one square at a time, and write the commands for a walk.

Directions belong to the screen: right means toward the right edge, not the character’s right hand. A command always starts from where Piko stands now. Several routes can reach one square, so the writing tasks give the squares in order and the number of moves. Counting moves aloud is welcome.

Starting point: Mark a paper 3 × 3 board 1 to 9 and move a counter one square for one spoken arrow.
A helpful phrase: “Where is Piko now? Which way is the next square?”
A common mix-up: Starting every arrow from the first square is a common slip. Move the counter after every arrow.
Notice the transfer: Give a new walk of squares and ask for the commands, then swap roles.

Show: A longer walk from the lower right: squares 9, 8, 5, 4, then 1. Write his four commands.

Lesson 8

Fix the wrong command

Goal: Find the one wrong arrow in a command list and replace it so that Piko reaches the star.

Debugging means testing a plan, finding where it first goes wrong and changing as little as possible. Here exactly one arrow can be changed to reach the star. Praise the checking, not only the fix. A star is for finishing this lesson, not for avoiding mistakes.

Starting point: Move a counter along a short plan on paper and stop when it first goes wrong.
A helpful phrase: “After which step did Piko stop getting closer?”
A common mix-up: Changing several arrows at once can hide the real mistake. Change one and test again.
Notice the transfer: Make a short plan with a deliberate mistake for the child to find and fix.

Show: New board! Piko starts on square 7. The star is on square 3 and square 5 is a rock. His plan is up, up, right, down. Choose the wrong step and the arrow that fixes it.

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