Third-grade students at Tyler ISD's Clarkston's Elementary perform coding for the first-time on Friday. The robotic coding activity was part of the technology lesson plan for the STEAM day celebration. 

Third-grade students at Clarkston Elementary School on Friday celebrated the school’s first STEAM Day with a variety of activities.

The theme of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) Day was “reduce, reuse and recycle.”

Students started the day with creating a superhero made out of recycled materials and incorporating different lesson plans in a variety of areas with the base of the created superhero.

Lesson plans touched on all aspects of STEAM, which gave students six rotation periods and allowed them to carry their superheroes, and incorporate math, science, and English language arts activities based on the classroom.

Carley Smith, media technology specialist at Clarkston Elementary, said the special day was in collaboration with different teachers.

Smith took over the technology aspect of activities, which was a favorite for student Jordan Rowell, who was eager to code using a robot for the first time.

“I’ve been coding the little robot so he can get his recycle bins and take it back so there’s no more trash around the houses and it won’t smell bad,” he said.

After a variety of successful and failed attempts to get the robot to move and pick up the recycling bins, Jordan said he enjoyed coding.

“It’s super fun. It’s kinda frustrating when (the robot) doesn’t turn around all the way because he’s right there,” he said.

Even though the robots were premade for the activity, students were introduced to the coding program using LEGO kits.

“In Clarkston, we really focus on students being career and future ready, so that’s very important in our day and age, especially with the engineering, technology and the coding,” she said.

Smith said coding is an important lesson to teach students and said students enjoy learning it.

“We realized, even with our robotics program, that students love doing this, so we’re trying to figure out ways to expand and get everyone involved in coding in some way shape or form,” she said.