How Where Will It Stop? teaches kids to read a plan before it runs

What Where Will It Stop? is for

Tomorrow Kid’s Where Will It Stop? world is Logic Lab’s predict-end puzzle (predict_end). Kids get a read-only robot plan—they cannot edit the blocks. They tap the board square where they think the robot will finish, then press ▶ so the plan runs and checks the guess. Wrong guess → “It stopped somewhere else.” That is mental simulation before execution.

Parent tip: say “read the plan before you tap” once before they play. The habit is reading someone else’s plan and predicting what it does—not building the steps themselves.

Where it lives

1. Confirm the child’s age band reaches 7+ so Logic Lab (and Where Will It Stop?) appear on Home
2. Open Logic Lab and tap the Where Will It Stop? world (subtitle: “Read the plan, then tap where the robot ends up”; kid chip: Read the plan)
3. Read the plan strip (not editable), tap a board square for the finish, then press ▶ to check
4. Finish copy celebrates (“You read the plan perfectly!” / “You worked out where it stops!”); the level never locks

For writing a plan instead of reading one, see the Robot Walk / Plan the steps guide. For the broader Logic Lab overview, see the Logic Lab ages 7+ guide. This article owns the Where Will It Stop? / Read the plan deep-dive only.

Read the plan → tap finish → ▶ check

Play runs in PredictEndGameView:

| Step | What kids do | | --- | --- | | Read the plan | The plan strip is locked—kids watch, they don’t edit | | Tap the end | Tap the board square where the robot will stop | | Press ▶ | The robot runs the plan so the guess can be checked | | Wrong guess | “It stopped somewhere else”—try another square | | Win | Finish copy celebrates reading the plan; stars still feed Sticker Book |

Opening copy / speech nudges: “Read my plan. Where will I stop?” / “Where will the robot stop? Tap the square, then press play.” The parent note behind the chip: “Reading someone else's plan and predicting what it does.” Wearable looks from Robot Workshop can show on this same robot—skins are separate from predict-end play.

Why reading a plan matters (no typed code)

Where Will It Stop? is the “read before you run” habit every robot-plan vertical needs: simulate the steps in your head, then commit to an end cell. Parents can name that habit—“reading a plan”—without saying “trace” or “dry-run.” Kids discover it when a wrong square shows the robot ending elsewhere.

That is distinct from:

• Robot Walk — kids write the plan, then ▶ run; see the Robot Path guide
• Again & Again (robot_repeat) — compress a plan with the orange repeat bracket; see the Again & Again guide
• Pass & Play Bug Hunt — two-player plan fixing; see the Pass & Play guide
• Make it shorter (shorten_plan) / If this, then that (robot_if) — later compression and branch modes; not this article’s scope
• Robot Workshop — unlockable skins, not predict-end; see the Robot Workshop guide
• Today’s puzzle — one shared Home board per day (Robot Walk or Pixel Painter); see the Today’s puzzle guide
• Pixel Painter — pictures ↔ numbers; see the Pixel Painter guide

A calm way to introduce it at home

1. Confirm age band 7+ and clear one Robot Walk board first so plan blocks feel familiar.
2. Open Where Will It Stop?, point at the locked plan strip, and narrate “we read—we don’t edit.”
3. Trace the steps with a finger on the board, tap one finish square together, and press ▶.
4. If it stopped somewhere else, ask what the next block does—then try again.
5. Let them finish one board—celebrate the stars even if the first guess was wrong.

What to try next

Keep Where Will It Stop? as the “read the plan” stretch when Robot Walk writing feels easy (7+). Use Robot Walk when you want kids to build the steps, Again & Again for repeat blocks, and Pass & Play for a Bug Hunt handoff. Ready to try it? Open Tomorrow Kid → Logic Lab → Where Will It Stop?.