MODULE 1

INTRODUCING CORE VALUES AND TEAMWORK SKILLS

MODULE OVERVIEW
MODULE NUMBER: 1 DURATION: 3 hours

Core Values to Focus on in This

SUMMARY
Module In Week 1, you will introduce the FIRST® LEGO® League Core Values to
We are a team. your team. FIRST LEGO League is more than robots!
We do the work to find The FIRST LEGO League Core Values are the cornerstones of the program.
solutions with guidance They are among the fundamental elements that
from our Coaches and distinguish FIRST LEGO League from other programs of its kind. By
Mentors. embracing the Core Values, participants learn that friendly competition and
We know our coaches mutual gain are not separate goals, and that helping one another is the
and mentors don't have foundation of teamwork.
all the answers; we
learn together.
We honor the spirit of
friendly competition.
What we discover is
more important than
what we win.
We share our
experiences with
others.
We display Gracious
Professionalism® and
Coopertition® in
everything we do.
We have FUN!
 OUTCOMES: MATERIALS
Educational standards alignments can be
found at 1. FIRST LEGO League Challenge Set (formerly known as
http://www.firstinspires.org/resource- the Field Setup Kit)
library/fll/standard-alignment-map 2. Paper
3. Pencil/Pens/whiteboard markers
4. Whiteboard or other writing surface
5. 2 Tokens per team member (pennies or any small item
will do)
6. Printed Field Research handouts

Note from An Experienced Coach:

Imagine ten excited kids ranging from 4th to 8th grade The Flaming Marshmallows are now entering their sixth
trying to agree on a team name. Suggested names season and have won multiple Core Value and technical
include technical, silly, super heroes, video games, pop awards at State Championships. They participate,
culture references, favorite foods, acronyms, military brainstorm, cooperate, compromise, and unite to
weapons, etc. The team scribe scrambles to write down strengthen the team and advance toward their goals.
the suggestions and after everyone has submitted at The naming of a team is an early opportunity to set the
least one suggestion the coach facilitates a vote. tone for the season and to reinforce Core Values which
are new to kids and coaches alike.
Kids are limited to voting only once per round. The
scribe reads out the names one at a time and the vote
is tallied. No winner. Lowest vote getters are eliminated
and another round of voting ensues. After four rounds
there are only two names left. A 5-5 deadlock.
Someone suggests taking part of one name and
combining it with part of the other. A vote is held and
the hybrid name receives 9 votes. The scribe is last to
vote and says, "I don't really like the name but if
everyone else is happy I'll vote for it to make it
unanimous."
INSPIRATION
Begin by showing your team the What is FIRST® LEGO® League? video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydLJKFi0vHA

Read over the eight Core Values with your team.

You might read them to the team, or take turns reading them aloud, depending on the ages of your members.
We are a team.
We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.
We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
What we discover is more important than what we win.
We share our experiences with others.
We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do.
We have FUN!
It is important that the team understands each of the Core Values. Talk about them briefly, and ask the kids what
they think it means. You will want your team to apply these Core Values throughout the season. In each module,
you will focus on a different Core Value and explore it in greater depth.

INSPIRATION SUGGESTED TIME: 25 minutes

Lost at Sea

Teamwork challenges are a great way to help your team members learn how to problem solve and work
together. They are also a lot of fun! This teamwork challenge will help you discuss the first Core Value in greater
depth, "We are a team."
Materials Needed
1. Paper
2. Pens or pencils

Activity
Your team is shipwrecked and stranded in a lifeboat. Write down five
items you want to have with you in order of importance. You have 10
minutes to complete the list. Go!
HINT:
You can adjust the difficulty of the activity by
increasing or decreasing the time limit and the
number of items they may choose. For more
advanced students, increase the time limit and
number of items.

Recap
After they have completed the task, talk about how it went. Ask the team questions like:

1. How did you narrow your list down to five items? Did you begin by brainstorming a list of
everyone's ideas?
2. How did you decide the ranking of each item?
3. Did you have disagreements? If so, how did you deal with them?

HINT:
When facilitating a discussion with kids, it can be helpful to have ground rules. You might:
Ask questions of the whole group and let them speak freely.
Call on individual students to answer.
Have students raise their hands before you call on them.
Use a "talking stick" or other item that gets passed around the circle. You can only speak
when you have the talking stick in your hand.
Whatever method you choose, make sure you set clear expectations for the students.

This is an opportunity to talk about brainstorming and decision-making as a group. Talk about how the team will
have to make many decisions in the coming weeks. They will be working together to build a robot, program it to
accomplish missions, conduct research, and come up with innovative solutions. Along the way, they will have to
make decisions about how all of this will be accomplished. How will they make group decisions? They might:

1. Take a vote.
2. Try multiple ideas to see which one works better.
3. Combine ideas, or take the best parts from each idea.
4. What other ways can your team think of?
You might come up with a formal decision-making process that your team will follow throughout the season. Or,
you might talk about different ways to make decisions based on each situation.
PROJECT
SUGGESTED TIME: 30 minutes

1. Read about the Project parameters in the Challenge as a team.

The most important thing you can do in the first week is to read the rules! Teams who read the rules have more
fun and know what to expect throughout the season. The rules can be found in the FIRST® LEGO® League
Challenge document.

2. Discuss the Project

Ask each team member:
1. What do you find most interesting about the project?
2. What do you already know about this topic?
3. Share a personal story you have had with the Project theme.

LEARNING RESOURCES
The FIRST website is your go-to resource for all things FIRST LEGO League. You will want to be sure everyone
knows where the Challenge and other important documents can be found. Project and Robot Game Updates will be
issued throughout the season. Questions are clarified, rules are explained, and new Challenge information is
distributed in the Updates. Be sure team members know where to check for Challenge Updates, so everyone can
stay up-to-the-minute on the latest season developments.

www.firstinspires.org/robotics/fll/challenge-and-season-info

HINT:
Assign a different team member each week to check for updates. Or, have one team member
responsible for checking Project Updates and another for checking Robot Game Updates, and report
back to the team each week. Coach, you will want to regularly check the updates, too!

Some other helpful resources:

The FIRST LEGO League Q&A Forum:
http://forums.usfirst.org/forumdisplay.php?24-FIRST-LEGO-League

Your state or regional FIRST LEGO League organization:

http://www.firstinspires.org/find-local-support
ROBOT
SUGGESTED TIME: 90 minutes

1. Build a basic robot from the directions.

The Challenge Set (formerly known as the Field Setup Kit) includes instructions to build a basic robot. Build a basic
robot, and that will give your team a good starting point for attempting missions.

2. Read the Robot Game Rules and Missions.

Again, it is very important to know the rules! Read the Robot Game Rules in the Challenge Guide and the Missions
in the Challenge document. You will want to read these more than once. Have the team read them at home again
with a parent, older sibling, or other caregiver. You can also watch the official game video, but explain that this is
NOT a substitution for reading the rules.

3. Evaluate the field and decide on

target missions.

Now you can begin to talk about the

missions!
Make sure each team member
understands what needs to be
accomplished for each mission.
Make a chart or list to show how
many points each mission can earn.
Begin to think about strategy and
choosing a few missions that the
team will attempt.
Ask the students questions to
stimulate their thinking about scoring
and strategy.
Which missions are located
near each other on the table?
Which missions could be grouped together for maximum points?
Which missions are located near the base?
Which missions have similar mechanisms?
What is the difficulty level of each mission? Do you want to aim for more missions
that are easier to accomplish, or attempt a harder mission that results in higher
points? Have the team calculate their score based on different scenarios.
Perform the Technic Beam test
(http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/ShowModels/ContentCentral/Lego_Technic_M_Beams/Lego_Tec
hnic_M_Beams.JPG). It is easy to over-engineer a solution to a mission, but often the solution is as
simple as using a Technic Beam to push, pull, or poke the necessary mission pieces.
Have the team gather around the game table.
Give one student a technic beam.
Ask them to choose a mission and see if it can be accomplished by hand simply by
using the technic beam.
Then hand the beam to another student and repeat with a different mission, until all
the missions have been tested.
Decide which missions you want to tackle. It's okay to choose one to three missions to begin. Be
sure to implement the decision-making process the team agreed upon earlier.
LEARNING RESOURCES
LEGO® EV3 Kit Building Instructions (included in Challenge Set)

EV3Lessons Basic Building Instructions - EV3Lessons contains instructions for building other robots if
you choose to build one different than the standard EV3 instructions.
http://ev3lessons.com/robots.html#en-us
DEBRIEF
SUGGESTED TIME: 15 mins

1. Make a timeline

Using a whiteboard or flip chart, have the team list all of the tasks the team needs to accomplish by
competition.
Then write the date of the team's first competition.
Have the team assign due dates for each task between now and competition.
Check the Season Benchmark Calendar in the Challenge document for important dates.

HINT:
Have the team reference the timeline at the end of every practice to make sure they stay on track.

2. Recap what the team accomplished in this practice. The team:

Learned to work together through the Shipwreck activity.

Read and discussed the Challenge.
Built a basic robot.
Created a season timeline.

3. Gather the team and ask each member to share something they learned.

4. Give the students the Field Research for this week.

Team members in FIRST® LEGO® League must solve complex, real world problems! Therefore, not everything can
be completed during practice. Students must go out into the world and explore the topics on their own. Each week
team members will be given a Field Research Handout to complete on their own and bring to the next practice.
Research may include talking to adults and recording their expertise on the Project topic, brainstorming ideas for
the Robot Game, and more.
FIELD RESEARCH
Before the next module, team members should:
Read the entire Challenge document again. Have team
members read the Challenge with a parent, older sibling, or other
caregiver, especially for younger teams. Everyone should read the
Challenge Document several times.
Complete the Field Research Handout (attached below) with
the following tasks on it:
Project
Write something they currently know about the
Challenge theme.
Write something they would like to know about the
Challenge theme.
Robot
Pick two missions the team has decided to attempt
and draw a picture or write a description of how the
missions can be accomplished.
 Field Research
Module 1

1. Be sure to read the Challenge document again! Read the Challenge with a parent, older sibling, or other
caregiver.
2. Answer the questions below.
Project
1. Write something you know about the Challenge theme.

2. Write something you would like to know about the Challenge theme.

Robot
1. Pick two missions the team has decided to attempt and draw a picture or write a description of
how the missions can be accomplished.
OTHER TASKS & TIPS
TASKS
Invite Students to Join Team in STIMS

1. Create an account in the Team

Registration System if you
haven't already done so.
2. From your team page, invite
team members to join.
3. Parents will receive an email
inviting their child to apply to
your team. They will need to
follow the directions in the
email and create an account in
STIMS. Parents will need to
know the team number to
apply.
4. If anyone cannot or chooses
not to register online, have
them fill out the paper consent form.
5. After they apply, you will need to go back into your account to confirm that all of your team
members are officially registered with FIRST®, and accept them:
1. Using
your FIRST® username and password, log into the Team Registration
System. This should bring you to your FIRST® LEGO® League Dashboard.
2. Click on the Team Summary button for your team. This will take you to the
Team Summary page.
3. Scroll down to the Team Roster section of the summary, then click on the
"Edit/View" button on the Youth Team Members row to see a list of team
members and their current status.
4. You must click on the Accept button to add the student to your team.
5. Be sure each team member's Consent Form Status is Complete.
6. If any of your team members are not listed, remind parentes to register their
child.
7. If any of your team members have not accepted the consent form, be sure
the parent goes back into their STIMS account and accepts the Consent
Form. If the parent cannot access STIMS or chooses not to register online,
you will need to obtain a completed and signed paper copy of the consent
form from the team member's parent, and bring that paper copy of the
consent form to all FIRST LEGO League events in which that team member
participates.
6. Does your school or organization have any additional consent or release forms that need to
be signed? Check this off your list in Week One.
TIPS
Consider making a team expectations contract.

It can be hard to anticipate everything that will come up during the FIRST LEGO League season. Some coaches
find that having a team contract helps to relay expectations up front and avoid difficult conflicts later in the
season. You might include things like exhibiting Gracious Professionalism® or attending a minimum number of
practices. Or, involve the kids! Ask the team what they think and make this a teamwork activity in one of your
early practices.

Be sure parents know what to expect, too.

Parents will appreciate knowing as much information as possible before they commit. Compose a parent letter
explaining how often you will meet, any associated costs (including possible travel), and what level of commitment
is required. Also, this is your chance to elicit help! Ask for specific tasks from parents and you will be more likely to
get volunteers. You might ask parents to take on certain tasks such as:
1. T-shirts: At competitions, some teams choose to wear team t-shirts, but it is NOT required. If
your team is attending an event, they may want to create t-shirts. You can make t-shirts with fabric
paints, design a t-shirt to be printed, or pick a team color for everyone to wear on tournament
day. If you decide to make t-shirts, you will be glad if you can get a parent or other helper to take
on this task from start to finish. Have the parent come to a meeting, help the kids design the shirt,
and figure out all of the logistics of collecting t-shirt sizes, ordering, printing, and collecting
payment. However, again, t-shirts are not required and many teams find other fun ways to
demonstrate their team spirit.
2. Tournament chaperone: Having an extra adult or two on tournament day will benefit
everyone. You can focus on the team's activities while the other adults worry about lunch, finding
judging rooms, and general team management.
3. Fundraising: Ask a parent to approach sponsors or plan a fundraiser with the team. Involve the
kids in all of the planning, from idea generation to implementation. This can also be a fun, team-
building experience.
NEXT TIME
In the next module, Researching and Programming Basics, the team will begin to think critically
about the Challenge topic and learn to make the robot perform basic functions.

Remember that instruction builds on itself. Everything you do and talk about in this module is
building context for the next module. And every module is building context for the competition
where students will compete and present what they've learned. In order to begin with the end in
mind in each module, you'll need to know what's happening next time and keep it in mind as you
move your team through each module -this helps you steer the learning in the right direction.
Make sure that before you come to the next meeting you have reviewed Module 2: Researching and
Programming Basics thoroughly.