Difference between revisions of "Lesson plan A"

Revision as of 00:17, 30 October 2018

Version A consists of thirty 90-minute lessons. It is designed for 90-minute classes that meet twice a week within one 15-week semester, or for 90-minute classes that meet once a week over two 15-week semesters.

Version A best matches the original Widgets syllabus. It allows for teachers to move through the book at a reasonable pace, with no need to hurry through or skip any tasks. It also allows for enough in-class time for students to prepare the main tasks. It works well for classes comprising 12 to 40 students, with 16 to 24 being the ideal. Since much of the course is in-class discussion and team presentations, be sure to plan your time accordingly if you have large classes.

STAGE 1

LESSON 1 - WELCOME ABOARD

Lesson 1: Overview

This is the introductory lesson to the course. Today, students will:

1) Learn about the course concept and objectives, and their own role

2) Learn about handshakes and making a good first impression

3) Meet and greet classmates (fellow interns) and have short conversations

4) Learn about Widgets Inc. (the company)

Materials: Student Book pages 2-5; Video 1 (available at Course Videos); nametag template (downloadable from the Course Extras page); paperclips (one per student)

Lesson 1: Lesson plan

You're hired! (page 2 >> 15 minutes)

Read the letter aloud or have students read by themselves. Also point out to students that a few words have been singled out for them; if these words are new, they should check the meaning and make notes. After this, it will be up to them to decide which words to highlight, make notes on, translate, etc. Depending on student level and motivation, elicit or explain some key points of the course:

Who is Jessica Sparks? Who are you going to role-play? Jessica Sparks is Chief Technology Officer at Widgets Incorporated. You are going to role-play interns.

What is the purpose of the letter? It explains that you have been accepted as an intern, tells you what kind of company Widgets is, and tell you the things you will do in the training program (work in teams, create, develop and market new product ideas, possibly interview for a permanent position).

Where will Jessica meet you? At the Widgets orientation.

What must you bring to the orientation? Enthusiasm, creativity, and an open mind.

It's your first day on the job (page 3 >> 15 minutes)

Have students read Jessica's message at the top of page 3. Explain that soon students will practice meeting and greeting each other using nametags, and also practice shaking hands.

A: Have students look at the example nametags.

B: Have students think of a good follow-up question they could ask Michael and Rachel (explain that when meeting people it's important to ask a follow-up question or make a comment in order to avoid awkward silences).

C: Have students prepare their own. While they do this, distribute the nametags you've downloaded, printed, and cut up. Note: make sure students understand that they should write an interesting fact about themselves, NOT write what they are interested in. Urge them to come up with something unexpected or surprising that could easily lead to interesting conversation. You could give a bad and good example e.g. "I have one brother" vs. "I am a triplet".

Shake on it (page 4 >> 30 minutes)

Have students read Jessica's message at the top of page 4.

A: Have students read the advice and look at the photos. Ask students to discuss the significance of the "don't" photos. (in the top picture, one man is looking away while the other is crossing his fingers behind his back (clearly both untrustworthy). In the middle picture, there is a fish; a 'wet fish handshake' is slang for a weak and noncommittal handshake. In the bottom picture, the cobwebs and skeleton are supposed to indicate that the hand had been held there for a ver long time.

B: Tell students it's now their turn. Ask them to stand up, mingle, and meet as many people as possible. Remind them to focus on giving a good handshake, and to ask at least one follow-up question before moving on. It's also a good time to remind students that all tasks are to be done in English only.

Welcome to Widgets! (page 5 >> 30 minutes)

Have students read the green box at the top. Explain that the students are new interns, so it is important for them to find out more about the company by watching the video.

A: Play the video one time and give students a chance to complete the sentences.

B: Give students a chance to share their answers with a partner (explain that sharing information and working together is very important in this course). Elicit answers from students.

1. Welcome to Widgets. Your future, today.

2. Widgets was started five years ago by three university students.

3. Widgets has offices in New York, Hong Kong, and Tokyo and London (and more).

4. Meet Miki May, the CEO of Widgets. A magazine called her a true marketing genius of our time.

5. Titus Pinsch. This superstar CFO has doubled Widgets' profits year after year.

6. Jessica Sparks. CTO and head of R&D, she is the creator of many of many of Widgets' best-selling products.

C: Play the video again and encourage students to make notes of any keywords or important information they catch.

D: Give students the time to discuss the questions. Elicit answers, ideas, and opinions from students.

Widgets is an inventions company, creating products to solve problems in your life. It is a big company (major international company). It was started by three university students.

Some existing products seen in the video are are: XXXXX Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

END OF LESSON 1

LESSON 2 - THE PRODUCT CATALOG

Lesson 2: Overview

Today, students will:

1) Look in more detail at the kinds of products Widgets makes and sells

2) Learn about and practice office small talk, including watching an example video.

Materials: Student Book pages 6-8; Video 2 (available at Course Videos); Water cooler cards pages 84-85

Lesson 2: Lesson plan

Order now! (pages 6-7 >> 45 minutes)

Remind students what they learned about Widgets Inc. in the previous class. Explain to them that they are going to look in more detail at Widgets products. Read aloud Jessica's message at the top of the page.

A: First, move students into small groups (3-4 students works well). Have the groups look at the pictures and the product names on pages 6-7, and then ask them to discuss if they think they can guess what each product is/how it works etc.

Next, give students time to read the product descriptions. You could just have them individually read each description, or you could have groups assign a product to group members, which they then have to explain to the rest of the group. This takes longer, but is a more communicative activity.

Give students time to write comments about each product and give 1-5 stars for each one.

B: Put students in pairs. The pairs could be from the same group they worked in for A, or for variety you could mix the class up once more (this might be better as they will likely have already shared their opinions while explaining the products in their previous groups). Give the pairs time to discuss all of the products; encourage them to give reasons why they like or dislike the products.

Elicit positives and negatives of each product from the class, and do a simple survey to see which ones the class as a whole thought were best/worst.

Water cooler chat (page 8 >> 45 minutes)

Read out Jessica's message at the top of page 8. Check they understand vocabulary such as "vending machine", "run into", and "get to know". Explain that they are going to learn about and practise office small talk.

A: Tell students they will first get some tips on how to have a short casual conversation.

1. Explain that a follow-up question is an extra question, linked to the previous answer, in order to keep a conversation going. Give students time to write in an answer and a follow-up question. Have them compare in pairs, then elicit one or two ideas from the class.

2. Explain that just answering "yes" or "no" can come across as defensive or even rude; it's better to provide more details if you can. Give students time to write in a possible answer. Have them compare in pairs, then elicit one or two ideas from the class.

3. Long pauses can be awkward, so politely asking questions to subtly change the topic is useful. As before, give students time to write their own ideas, share in pairs then elicit from the class.

B: Show Video 2 twice. The first time, just have students watch and get a sense of the flow of the conversation, the way the speakers engage in turn-taking etc. The second time, ask students if they find examples in 1-3 and, if so, write them down.

1. A follow-up question: "Where did you go?", "Are you gonna have a big family dinner?"

2. A detailed answer: "It was great. I just got back two days ago, actually.", "It was. It was my first time there, so really exciting." "It was, but you know, luckily I had some friends there, so they showed me around, they took me to some cool places, had some good food. Yeah, I had some avocado toast, 'cause that's really big there right now", "No, not really. This time it's just gonna be me, and a couple of friends of my mom."

3. A change of topic: "How about you? Are you gonna go anywhere for the long weekend?"

C: Have students turn to pages 84-85. Give them a few minutes to look through some of the situation cards. Make sure students understand that they are free to talk about their own actual experiences, or (perhaps more fun) they can make it all up - they are, after all, involved in a simulation as an intern at Widgets. Then put students into pairs or groups of three and have them chat freely with each other, using the situations as a basis for the conversation. Tell them that there is no 'end' to the conversation - they just keep going until the supervisor (you) tells them to stop. Explain to students that you will often use these cards for a warm-up water cooler chat at the beginning of future classes.

END OF LESSON 2

NB: In the next class, students will be put into teams. They will then stay in those teams for the rest of the internship at Widgets. Rather than wait until right before that activity, it is a good idea to prepare the teams in advance, taking into consideration what you may already know of the students (level, communicativeness, reliability etc.). As much as you can, aim for teams of 4. Teams of 3 and 5 will also work, but 4 is the optimal number.

LESSON 3 - THE DREAM TEAM

Lesson 3: Overview

This lesson is the last of Stage 1, and therefore the end of the company orientation. Today, students will:

1) Learn more about about how Widgets was founded, and by whom

2) Reflect on their own skills and qualities

3) Be placed in teams, meet their teammates, and do a team-building activity

4) Perform their first self-evaluation

Materials: Student Book pages 9-11; Video 3 (available at Course Videos); Copies of Intern Evaluation Form (download the form from the Downloadable Forms page).

Teacher advance preparation: prepare the teams in advance of the class. Some thought about the balance of each team is a good idea, as students will be working with the same people for the rest of the course.

Lesson 3: Lesson plan

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> 10 minutes)

Remind students of the water cooler chat from last class, especially the part about asking following-up questions, giving extra details, and politely changing the topic. Put students in pairs or groups of three and have them look at the water cooler chat cards on pages 84-85. Tell them to pick a different topic from last time (in fact, each time they use a topic cards they should put a tick next to it, and do a different one each time) and use it as a basis for a warm-up conversation. Tell them to keep going until you ask them to stop.

The dream team (page 9 >> 40 minutes)

Read aloud Jessica's message at the top of page 9. Ask students if they remember the three people's names and job titles:

Miki May (CEO or Chief Executive Officer), Jessica Sparks (CTO or Chief Technology Officer) and Titus Pinsch (CFO or Chief Financial Officer)

A: Play the video and ask students to just watch and catch the general gist. Give students time in small groups to share with each other what they were able to catch. Then play it again and have students take notes. In particular, have them focus on the question of how Widgets first got started. Give students a few minutes to discuss then elicit relevant information from the students.

In short, Miki first had the idea for the Shock Watch because she was falling asleep in her university classes and her grades were going down. Jessica, Miki's classmate, made the first prototype, then 20 more in the first year. They went to Titus, who eventually saw the potential and made a business plan (market research, finding investors, registering the company "all of the real work")

B: Give students time to look at the qualities and check the meaning (either asking a partner or asking the teacher). Then have them complete which co-founder best matches each quality, adding two more characteristics.

C: Have students discuss their answers in pairs. Elicit ideas from the class, especially about the team balance.

Answers will vary

D: Give students about 5 minutes to write down some of their own skills and qualities. They are welcome to include words that are not in the list above.

E: First, focus on the example dialogue by reading out the speech bubbles (or have two volunteers read them out). Then allow students time to discuss their answers with a partner. They are free to keep talking until the teacher tells them to stop.

Meet your team (page 10 >> 30 minutes)

Have students read Jessica's message at the top of page 4. Make sure they understand that they are about to put in team that they'll work with for the rest of their intern training at Widgets.

A: Tell the students which team they are in (as mentioned at the end of the lesson plan for LESSON 2, try as much as possible to have groups of 4, and try to strike a good balance within the group of motivation, level, reliability, communicativeness etc.) Then have students move and sit in their new teams. Give them time to introduce themselves, shake hands, talk about their characteristics etc.

B: Emphasise the importance of teamwork, team cooperation, and reliability. It will be very important that they keep good communication with each other, so tell them to share contact details. Leave it up to each group how they choose to do this (these days, phone numbers rarely seem to be used. Even email addresses are not as common as social media, LINE, etc.) Encourage them to set up a digital group where they can contact each other easily, as well as share their work.

C: Read out Jessica's message and then the instructions in C. Explain that they have to come up with the team name in the next 5 minutes, but the motto and logo are homework for the next class (this will be a good first test of their ability to collaborate outside of class hours). Have a member from each team call out their team name, and keep a record of it (it works well to set up an online document (e.g. Google Sheets) with all student names, teams, mottos, logos etc., and then share this with the whole class. This has the added benefit that you'll know their email address for future contact. Ask students to send you an email so you can register their address - be clear that they don't have to share a personal email address if they don't want to, but in that case they should create an address just for the class).

Paperwork! (page 11 >> 10 minutes)

Explain that self-evaluation is a key part of students' intern training. Give them time to read through the whole of the form and ask questions (to you or to their teammates) if they don't understand anything. Tell them to use the page in the book as a first draft. Then distribute the copies you've made and tell students to complete the formal version as homework, to be submitted at the start of next class. Explain that the "Comments" at the bottom is for comments from the supervisor, so they don't need to write anything there.

END OF LESSON 3

STAGE 2

LESSON 4 - THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

Lesson 4: Overview

This lesson is the first of Stage 2, and could therefore be presented to students as "the start of their 'real' work". Today, students will:

1) Choose the first team leader, or "project manager"

2) Learn and think about real life inventions that changed the world

3) Find out about their Stage 2 project

Materials: Student Book pages 12-15; Video 4 (available at Course Videos).

Lesson 4: Lesson plan

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> 10 minutes)

Put students in pairs or groups of three (if it's easy for students to move around the classroom, it is nice to have them work with people not from their own team) and have them look at the water cooler chat cards on pages 84-85. Tell them to pick a different topic from last time and use it as a basis for a warm-up conversation. Tell them to keep going until you ask them to stop.

Take charge (page 12 >> 20 minutes)

Read aloud Jessica's message at the top of page 12. Focus students' attention on the pictures, indicating that R&D is the place where cutting edge ideas are born. Then read out Jessica's message below the pictures, and make sure that students understand the concept of a project manager. Emphasise that every team member will eventually be project manager at least once. Today, they are only picking the project manager for Stage 2.

A: Give students time to discuss in teams, then elicit ideas from the class and write some of the qualities on the board.

B: Give students time to discuss. Students often use the qualities from A to compliment their other team members (with the ulterior motive of not wanting to be selected first).

C: Leave it up to each team how to decide. Make a record of all teams' Stage 2 project managers.

Creative inventions (page 13 >> 30 minutes)

Read out Jessica's message at the top of page 13. Then give students a minute to read the read the intro to the webpage "Business Innovations".

A: Let students try and answer in pairs, then elicit guesses (they may not know for sure, but they can make educated guesses based on deduction)

1. a

2. b

3. c

B: Again, students may not know for sure, but allow them make a guess

1. Cat's eye(s)

2. Velcro

3. Post-it Note

C: Tell students to turn to page 14 and give them time to read the three descriptions, and ask them to match them to the answers to A/B on page 13. Encourage them to ask their teammates if there is vocabulary they do not know. Make sure students know that all of these are true stories; the point being that inspiration for world-changing ideas can come from unlikely sources.

1st description: 2

2nd description: 3

3rd description: 1

D. Read out the rubric, then give students time to brainstorm as many ideas as they can. Elicit ideas from the class and write the more interesting/unique ones on the board.

Answers will vary

The project brief (page 15 >> 30 minutes)

Read aloud Jessica's message at the top of the page and then clearly go through each step of their Stage 2 project. Let students read the green box below that, then explain to them that they will now see a video message from Jessica.

A. Play the video once and tell the students to write down any keywords or important information they could catch.

B. Give students a chance to share the meaning with their team then answer the questions. Elicit some key points of Jessica's message.

Her main message is: R&D is where new products are created; without successful ideas the company wouldn't exist; everyone is creative, so everyone can do well in this stage; the main project has 3 parts: 1) brainstorm ideas, 2) write a product proposal, 3) write an elevator pitch.

Her advice is: Have fun!

C. Play the video again and give the students a few minutes to discuss the meaning in teams and ask you questions.

END OF LESSON 4

LESSON 5 - PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Lesson 5: Overview

Today, students will:

1) Brainstorm problems they have in their life

2) Brainstorm solutions to their problems

3) Prepare ideas for two possible Widgets products

Materials: Student Book pages 16-18.

Lesson 5: Lesson plan

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> 10 minutes)

Put students in pairs or groups of three (if it's easy for students to move around the classroom, it is nice to have them work with people not from their own team) and have them look at the water cooler chat cards on pages 84-85. Tell them to pick a different topic from last time and use it as a basis for a warm-up conversation. Tell them to keep going until you ask them to stop.

Brainstorm! (page 16 >> 20 minutes)

Start by asking students if they know what 'brainstorm' means. Most will know the words 'brain' and 'storm', though they may well not have put them together. Tell them it means "a group discussion designed for generating (creating) many ideas, proposals, solutions to problems, etc. Then read aloud Jessica's message at the top of page 16.

A: Give students time to read the story and check understanding with their team. Ask some questions to check understanding. For example:

What do you need to do first? Think of a problems

What is one problem in Jessica's life? Always losing her phone

What is her solution? A phone that sticks to the wall

Focus on the green box under the story. Emphasise to students that new product ideas should be useful, safe, original and possible. It's a good idea to really focus now on this 'possible' aspect, to avoid students later coming up with cute but fundamentally impossible ideas (e.g. a time machine, etc.)

B: Give students time to discuss. Elicit opinions from the class.

C: Give students time to discuss. Then ask for a show of hands of who would and wouldn't consider buying it. Elicit reasons.

Problems and solutions (page 17 >> 30 minutes)

Read out Jessica's message at the top of page 17. Stress the point that, for now, they are only brainstorming problems, not solutions.

A: Give students some time to work on their own to come up with problems. Point out the example problem of waking up late because of lack of sunlight. Tell students that they don't necessarily have to come up with a reason like in the example. i.e. just "I often wake up late" would be equally fine". Students may start slowly, but once they get going the problems should flow. If the class is moving slowly generally, consider eliciting a couple of ideas from students and sharing as a class, then telling the whole class to continue.

B: Tell students to share their problems with their team. Then, give them time to think of solutions to some of the problems. Have them look at the speech bubbles to give them an example of brainstorming a solution to the problem of not waking up. At this stage, tell students they should be starting to think in terms of a new product/invention that could help solve the problems.

C: Have students write down their best solutions. Then read aloud Jessica's message at the bottom of the page, and tell students to turn to page 18.

The good and the bad (page 18 >> 30 minutes)

Read aloud Jessica's message at the top of the page. Then have students focus on the sunlight alarm clock example and tell them that they must come up with 2 of their own original ideas. These can be from the solutions that have just been brainstormed, or they can keep brainstorming by themselves until they think of suitably good ideas. Be sure to highlight that the ideas will ideally tick all of the requirement boxes: useful, safe, original and possible. Tell them that a simple illustration may help with the explanation, though it's not completely necessary at this point.

A. Give students the rest of the class time to work alone and prepare 2 good ideas. This is a good time to stress to the class that they each student must come up with their own 2 ideas - it's not 2 ideas per team. Tell students to finish their two ideas from homework and bring them to the next class.

B. If students finish early, give them time to look at the phrases and start preparing how to explain their ideas to the team (which they'll do next class).

END OF LESSON 5

LESSON 6 - THE PRODUCT PROPOSAL

Lesson 6: Overview

Today, students will:

1) Share their ideas with their team

2) Work as a team to refine the ideas

3) Pick their one best idea and write a product proposal

Materials: Student Book pages 19-21; 1 copy per student of blank Product proposal form (available at the Downloadable Forms page)

Lesson 6: Lesson plan

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> 10 minutes)

Put students in pairs or groups of three (if it's easy for students to move around the classroom, it is nice to have them work with people not from their own team) and have them look at the water cooler chat cards on pages 84-85. Tell them to pick a different topic from last time and use it as a basis for a warm-up conversation. Tell them to keep going until you ask them to stop.

The best of the best! (page 19 >> 20 minutes)

Read aloud Jessica's message at the top of page 19. Tell students that they will be sharing with their team their 2 ideas from last class (that they finished for homework).

A: Tell the project managers to decide who will go first in each team. Whoever goes first shares their 2 ideas with the other team members, who write notes about the ideas in their own books. Make sure that students do explain and don't just show their books to the other team members (however, it is OK to show them other team members the illustration, if they drew one).

B: Tell students that the team now has an important responsibility; to give feedback and suggestions on the ideas to try to make them as good as possible. Tell students that their team will also be evaluated on the quality of all of the team members' ideas, so one weak one will affect the whole team evaluation. Therefore, if one idea is unoriginal, or impossible, or could be improved in any way, they should not hesitate to say so (but do it politely, with constructive advice).

Team members then each circle the idea they think is better, and all team members share their opinion with the products' creator. Be clear to students that the final decision for which one is chosen lies with the person who came up with the ideas. i.e. the creator should listen to the opinions, advice, and feedback or team members, but they are free to pick the one idea that they think is better.

C: Tell the project manager to pick the next person to explain, and repeat the process.

D: Repeat the process until all team members are finished.

At this point, every team member should have made a decision about which one idea they choose for writing the formal product proposal. Again, stress to the whole class that every team member will write their own original product proposal. Therefore, a team of 4 will have 4 different ideas for their product proposals (students occasionally misunderstand and think that one team writes 4 different proposals of the same product, but this is incorrect).

The product proposal (pages 20-21 >> 30 minutes)

Read out Jessica's message at the top of page 20. Then give students time to read the example product proposal for "The Guilt Jar" on page 20. Allow students to check the meaning with their team, and to ask you questions if necessary. Then go through the proposal with the students, paying particular attention to Jessica's handwritten comments.

Then tell students to use the rest of the class time to start drafting their product proposal on page 21.

Towards the end of the class, distribute the copies of the Product Proposal form. Make sure students understand that they are to write this formal document and submit it at the beginning of the following class. Some points to make to students:

Do not forget to complete all sections.

It must look professional.

They are free to illustrate the product by themselves, or they could source and (digitally) modify an existing image.

They are welcome to use a computer to create their own product proposal form, as long as all of the relevant information is included.

Even if they are absent from the next class, they are still expected to submit the form. They must find some way to ensure you receive it (give to their project manager in advance, email it as an attachment, leave it in your mailbox in advance, etc.) Tell them that late submissions will be penalised (it's up to you to decide the penalty. Taking 10% off the final evaluation score is one way, though some teachers may choose to be stricter).

END OF LESSON 6

LESSON 7 - THE ELEVATOR PITCH

Lesson 7: Overview

Today, students will:

1) Submit their product proposals

2) Learn what an elevator pitch is

3) Plan and prepare their own elevator pitch

4) Evaluate their own Stage 2 performance

Materials: Student Book pages 22-25; Video 5 (available at Course Videos); example student videos (available at Other Videos); Copies of the Stage 2 "Paperwork!" form (available at Downloadable Forms).

Lesson 7: Lesson plan

Ask the project manager to gather the product proposals from the team members, then collect them from each project manger. As you collect them, ask the project manager if all proposals are there. If not, ask when you can expect to receive them, and remind them of the penalties for late submission.

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> 10 minutes)

Put students in pairs or groups of three (if it's easy for students to move around the classroom, it is nice to have them work with people not from their own team) and have them look at the water cooler chat cards on pages 84-85. Tell them to pick a different topic from last time and use it as a basis for a warm-up conversation. Tell them to keep going until you ask them to stop.

The elevator pitch (page 22 >> 30 minutes)

Read aloud Jessica's message at the top of page 22.

A: Give students time to read the provided Widgepedia entry for "Elevator pitch". For lower level classes, consider asking some simple comprehension questions. e.g.

Is an elevator pitch usually long or short? Short - one minute or less

In what kinds of places do they happen? Not necessarily in an elevator: also in a taxi, walking down a hallway, waiting in line. Basically, situations when time is tight

Who are they usually pitched to? People who are busy and don't have much time

B: Give students time to share their ideas in teams.

Answers will vary. They should be short (less than a minute), clear, exciting.

C: Tell students they are about to see a Widgets intern, Lily Kaye, pitch the Guilt Jar (remind them of the example product proposal from the previous class) to Titus Pinsch (remind students who he is: the CFO of Widgets, or Chief Financial Officer). Tell them to just watch the video the first time. Play Video 5.

D: Give students time to discuss. Elicit ideas from the class about how she makes it exciting, and any other techniques she uses to make the pitch effective.

She starts politely by saying "I'm really sorry to take up your time".

She engages Titus with phrases like "a new product idea that I think you will love".

She assures him it will be quick, and uses persuasive language: "It will just be a minute, I swear".

Her pitch is concise and well-structured, and she keeps it to under a minute.

She uses enthusiastic language and superlatives: "I really think it could be a best-seller for us. It could change the diet industry".

Planning your pitch (page 23 >> 20 minutes)

Read out Jessica's message at the top of page 23. Make sure students understand that between now and the next class they are going to prepare an elevator pitch, and that they are going to film themselves delivering it. They are to submit their pitches by the next class. Now is a good time to show students some of the example student videos from the Widgepedia site: Other Videos.

A: Have students read the instructions, and also give them time to look at the tips in the yellow box. Be clear that students have a choice in the style of elevator pitch: they can do it as a kind of acted out role-play, such as the example of Titus and Lily, or they can just speak straight to camera, such as in the example student videos. But, everyone must film it.

Let students discuss in teams how they are going to do it, and give them time to complete the elevator pitch preparation info on page 23.

Writing your script (page 24 >> 30 minutes)

Read aloud Jessica's message at the top of the page and then give students the rest of the class to start writing their script. Encourage team members to help each other, and also encourage them to ask you for help.

Paperwork! (page 25 >> homework)

Distribute copies of the Stage 2 "Paperwork!" form. Tell students that they can use the form in their textbook as a rough draft, but they will submit the final printed copy to you in the next class.

END OF LESSON 7

STAGE 3

LESSON 8 - CALL THE SHOTS

Lesson 8: Overview

Today, students will:

1) Select the Stage 3 project manager

2) Learn what a SWOT analysis is

3) Learn about their Stage 3 project

Materials: Student Book pages 26-29; Videos 6 and 7 (available at Course Videos).

Lesson 8: Lesson plan

Start by collecting the elevator pitches. As these are videos, the method of submission will depend on how the students have recorded the media. The easiest way is probably for them to share the video with you online. However, students many also have brought it on their USB drive, so make sure you are set up to transfer the files digitally to your own computer, tablet, phone, or USB drive.

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> 10 minutes)

Put students in pairs or groups of three (if it's easy for students to move around the classroom, it is nice to have them work with people not from their own team) and have them look at the water cooler chat cards on pages 84-85. Tell them to pick a different topic from last time and use it as a basis for a warm-up conversation. Tell them to keep going until you ask them to stop.

Take charge! (page 26 >> 10 minutes)

Start by focusing on the title. Ask students if they know what "Call the shots" means. Invite them to guess. If no one guesses, explain that the person who calls the shots is the person in charge of making all of the decisions, especially big decisions. Direct attention to the photos of someone presenting to a small group, and two people earnestly discussing, and explain that this stage is all about decision-making.

Direct students' attention to the picture of Titus. Ask if they remember his full name and position within the company (Titus Pinsch, CFO - Chief Financial Officer). You could also ask if they remember their first impressions of him (personal traits, qualities, etc.)

Give students time to read the two green boxes, then tell them they are to select the next project manager (who must be different form the Stage 2 project manager). Give time to read and remind themselves of the roles and responsibilities of the project manager.

A: Give students a few minutes to prepare their reasons. They could also refer back to page 12 when they last discussed this.

B: Give students time to discuss.

C: Have teams vote, and then be sure to make a note of the new project managers.

New product analysis (page 27 >> 15 minutes)

Read out Titus' message at the top of page 27. Reiterate the point about this being a decision-making stage, and highlight the fact that Titus says he likes "decisive" people. Ask if any students have heard of a SWOT analysis before. If they have, can they tell you what SWOT stands for (if not, don't worry, as they'll find out soon enough)?

Give students time to read the Widgepedia entry on page 27, and encourage them to work as a team to understand it fully.

A: Ask students if they remember the Guilt Jar. If necessary, they can turn back to page 20 to refresh their memories. Using the information n the Widgepedia page for reference, they should work alone and answer questions 1-4

1. W (it is a bad point of the product being judged)

2. T (it is a (negative) characteristic of the world outside the product)

3. S (it is a good point of the product being judged)

4. O (it is a (positive) characteristic of the world outside the product)

B: Let students work as a team to check and/or correct their answers. Elicit answers from the class.

SWOT's up! (page 28 >> 30 minutes)

Read aloud Titus' message at the top of the page and tell students they will now see a video of Widgets interns doing a SWOT analysis on the Guilt Jar.

A:Ask them to watch, make notes, and then fill in as much of the chart as they can. Play Video 6.

Strengths: funny; easy to understand; easy to advertise.

Weaknesses: not very effective for dieting; needs to be cheaply made, so would break easily; funny -- not serious enough.

Opportunities: people care about being healthy these days; 'gag' gifts are popular at office and club Christmas parties.

Threats: people are getting tired of talking devices in their home; a lot of phone apps do the same kind of thing; easy to copy by other companies.

B: Play Video 6 again if necessary. Give students time to check as a team, then elicit answers from the class.

The project brief! (page 29 >> 25 minutes)

Read aloud Titus' message, and then go through the Stage 3 steps one by one. Then tell them that they will hear the message directly from Titus in a video call.

A: Play Video 7 and tell students to make notes.

B: Give students time to discuss their notes in teams.

C: Play the video again, give more time for teams to check the meaning together, then elicit some key points of the message.

Titus will help interns make smart and informed business decisions; Widgets IS a business; a team of interns will get 4 ideas from another team; they will consider the ideas carefully; they will make a decision about which one will go into production; they will prepare a business report; they will prepare a poster presentation to explain the decision to other interns; this is interns' chance to impress Titus.

END OF LESSON 8

LESSON 9 - A TEAM DECISION

Lesson 9: Overview

Today, students will:

1) Perform a SWOT analysis on another team's product proposals

2) Make a team decision about which product will go into production

Materials: Student Book pages 30-32; the product proposals and elevator pitches submitted at the end of Stage 2

Note: In this lesson, one team will do a SWOT analysis of the proposals (product proposal forms and elevator pitches) of another team. That is to say, pass the 4 proposals from one team to the team next to them, and so on. Do not just redistribute the product proposals randomly.

Make a copy of all of the product proposals before distributing, in case students lose them. If for whatever reason a student didn't submit a proposal, it is a good idea to prepare some extra product proposals -- consider making a copy of the ideas from the back of the student book (pages 87, 89, 91, 93).

How you distribute the elevator pitches will depend on the way they were submitted to you in the first place, and the tech set-up in your class. If students have shared the videos with you online, one simple way is to then share the videos with the relevant project managers. Alternatively, you could create an online community page with all videos uploaded, and tell students to only look at the videos they are evaluating.

Lesson 9: Lesson plan

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> 10 minutes)

Put students in pairs or groups of three (if it's easy for students to move around the classroom, it is nice to have them work with people not from their own team) and have them look at the water cooler chat cards on pages 84-85. Tell them to pick a different topic from last time and use it as a basis for a warm-up conversation. Tell them to keep going until you ask them to stop.

Step 1: The SWOT analysis (pages 30-31 >> 50 minutes)

Start by asking students to read Titus' message at the top of page 30. While they read, distribute one team's product proposals and elevator pitches to another team.

A: Read out the instructions and then give students time to go through each proposal carefully until they understand the contents well. Another way of doing this is to ask project managers to assign a product to a team member, who must then get familiar with the contents and report that proposal idea to the rest of the team.

B: Read out the instructions. Tell the project managers that it is their job to lead and manage this discussion (including making sure each product has been discussed within the time limit you give them). Circulate and check each team knows what they are expected to do.

Step 2: A team decision (page 32 >> 30 minutes)

Read out Titus' message at the top of page 32. Remind students that what they are now doing is using the previous SWOT analysis to help them come to a business decision: which product will be chosen to go into production. The other products are to be 'rejected' at this stage. Remind them that this is an important decision.

A: Read out the instructions, then go through each evaluation item on the left of the table, explaining in more detail if necessary. Then give students time to work alone and write in their scores and calculate the totals. Rw

B: Read out the instructions. Stress the point that the numbers are just a guide - they don't necessarily have to pick the product with the highest score, and deeper discussion is important. Focus students' attention on the example conversation (in speech bubbles). Again, highlight the point that, in that example, they aren't necessarily going to pick product A, even though it had the most points. Tell students to begin, with project managers leading the discussion. Allow plenty of time for discussion.

C: Tell the class that the last thing they need to do today is decide which product will go into production. Tell them to decide as a team, by vote or otherwise. Have project managers inform you of the decision. The project managers can keep hold of the product proposals they reviewed today (if they lose them, or are absent next class, you still have the copies of each product proposal that you made before this class).

END OF LESSON 9

LESSON 10 - THE PRODUCT REVIEW MEMO

Lesson 10: Overview

Today, students will:

1) Look at an example product review memo

2) Prepare a product review memo regarding their recent business decision

Materials: Student Book pages 33-34

Lesson 10: Lesson plan

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> 10 minutes)

Put students in pairs or groups of three (if it's easy for students to move around the classroom, it is nice to have them work with people not from their own team) and have them look at the water cooler chat cards on pages 84-85. Tell them to pick a different topic from last time and use it as a basis for a warm-up conversation. Tell them to keep going until you ask them to stop.

Step 3: The product review memo (page 33 >> 10 minutes)

Read out Titus' message at the top of page 33. Then give students time to read the memo itself, working as a team to help each other understand. Be clear that:

each team will write and submit one memo similar to the example

they can/should use the example memo for reference and for language help

the example on page 33 is incomplete, as shown by the ripped paper effect at the bottom. They are to include all products that were evaluated by their team.

it is a professional memo and the tone is formal

Point out the green boxes at the bottom: it should be 1-2 pages and it should be done on a computer and printed out.

First draft (page 34 >> 70 minutes, finish for homework)

Read out Titus' message at the top of page 34. Tell students that they have the rest of the class to work together as a team and prepare the product review memo. Tell them:

project managers are responsible for deciding the division of labour

project managers are also responsible for ensuring it is submitted on time

the deadline is the next class

they can use page 34 for drafting notes, but the final document must be typed up and printed out. Images are preferable

the project manager is to decide how they will share the different sections that they work on (e.g. a collaborative shared file, such as in Google Docs, or just emailing individual files to each other - or any other suitable way).

END OF LESSON 10

LESSON 11 - THE POSTER PRESENTATION: READY...

Lesson 11: Overview

Today, students will:

1) Learn about poster presentations

2) Consider different types of poster design

3) Start preparing for their own poster presentation

Materials: Student Book pages 35-37; Video 8 (available at Course Videos).

Lesson 11: Lesson plan

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> 10 minutes)

Put students in pairs or groups of three (if it's easy for students to move around the classroom, it is nice to have them work with people not from their own team) and have them look at the water cooler chat cards on pages 84-85. Tell them to pick a different topic from last time and use it as a basis for a warm-up conversation. Tell them to keep going until you ask them to stop.

Step 4: The poster presentation (page 35 >> 20 minutes)

Read out Titus' message at the top of page 35. Then let students read the explanation of a poster presentation below. Depending on the level, you could ask some simple comprehension questions:

Is it more formal or less formal than other presentation styles? Less formal; more relaxed

How many people stand by the poster? One or two

What do members of the audience do? Walk around the room

A: Tell students they will now watch a video of a part of a poster presentation. Tell them to watch and take notes. PLay Video 8.

B: Let teams discuss the video and answer the questions.

2 people

They are talking about the Backpack Umbrella. It's good because it's simple. It's battery powered, but still works as an umbrella without the battery. There is a solar power cell for charging the battery. It may be bad because you can't charge the battery while using it in the sunshine.

It's battery powered?; What happens if the battery runs out? Can you still use the umbrella?; If I wanna use it in the sun to protect my skin...in that case, we can't charge the battery, right?

The presenters give straight answers to the questions. A good model for the students, however, is when the presenters don't know the answer, so they say: "That's a good point, thank you! We'll add it to our report and have R&D think about that some more!"

give students time to read the memo itself, working as a team to help each other understand. Be clear that:

each team will write and submit one memo similar to the example

they can/should use the example memo for reference and for language help

the example on page 33 is incomplete, as shown by the ripped paper effect at the bottom. They are to include all products that were evaluated by their team.

it is a professional memo and the tone is formal

Point out the green boxes at the bottom: it should be 1-2 pages and it should be done on a computer and printed out.

First draft (page 34 >> 70 minutes, finish for homework)

Read out Titus' message at the top of page 34. Tell students that they have the rest of the class to work together as a team and prepare the product review memo. Tell them:

project managers are responsible for deciding the division of labour

project managers are also responsible for ensuring it is submitted on time

the deadline is the next class

they can use page 34 for drafting notes, but the final document must be typed up and printed out. Images are preferable

the project manager is to decide how they will share the different sections that they work on (e.g. a collaborative shared file, such as in Google Docs, or just emailing individual files to each other - or any other suitable way).

END OF LESSON 11

@@ Line 720: / Line 720: @@
 '''B:''' Let teams discuss the video and answer the questions.
-''2 people''
+*''2 people''
-''They are talking about the Backpack Umbrella. It's good because it's simple. It's battery powered, but still works as an umbrella without the battery. There is a solar power cell for charging the battery. It may be bad because you can't charge the battery while using it in the sunshine.''
+*''They are talking about the Backpack Umbrella. It's good because it's simple. It's battery powered, but still works as an umbrella without the battery. There is a solar power cell for charging the battery. It may be bad because you can't charge the battery while using it in the sunshine.''
-''It's battery powered?; What happens if the battery runs out? Can you still use the umbrella?; If I wanna use it in the sun to protect my skin...in that case, we can't charge the battery, right?''
+*''It's battery powered?; What happens if the battery runs out? Can you still use the umbrella?; If I wanna use it in the sun to protect my skin...in that case, we can't charge the battery, right?''
-The presenters give straight answers to the questions. A good model for the students, however, is when the presenters don't know the answer, so they say: "That's a good point, thank you! We'll add it to our report and have R&D think about that some more!"''
+*''The presenters give straight answers to the questions. A good model for the students, however, is when the presenters don't know the answer, so they say: "That's a good point, thank you! We'll add it to our report and have R&D think about that some more!"''