Difference between revisions of "Lesson plan B"

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Version B consists of fifteen 90-minute lessons. Version B is designed for 90-minute classes that meet once a week within one 15-week semester.

This version is a reduced syllabus. Completing the book in 15 lessons necessarily requires moving over some tasks quickly, and possibly omitting other tasks altogether. In order to move through the tasks efficiently, it also requires more homework from students, both to complete the tasks and also to prepare for upcoming lessons. Instructions for homework will be included at the end of the lessons.

This version presented here is our suggested 15-week course plan. However, as you become more familiar with Widgets and comfortable using the book, we're sure you'll find other paths through it that match your and your students' needs. If you do have other ideas, please feel free to share them on our Other Resources page.

As this version requires a faster pace, smaller classes are better; 12-16 students being ideal. However, we have effectively used it with larger classes (up to 36).

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)

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

Materials: Student Book pages 2-8; 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 >> __ 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? What is her role in the company? What is your role in the company? Jessica Sparks is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) 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 tells 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 >> __ 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; it's also an easy way to remember new people).

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 is memorable and could perhaps 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 >> __ 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 very 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 >> __ 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: Backpack Umbrella, Doggy BFF, The Selfie Umbrella, The Heavy Handbag, Kitty Floats, The Surfboard X-treme, The Skytent, The Tummy-nator, The Spray-OK, The Desktop Park, Shock Watch, iShave phone case shaver (NOTE: it doesn't matter at this stage if students are unsure what the products actually are, as they will learn more later).

Answers will vary.

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

Explain to students 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.

END OF LESSON 1

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 2 - THE DREAM TEAM

Lesson 2: Overview

Today, students will:

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

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

3) Reflect on their own skills and qualities

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

5) Perform their first self-evaluation

Materials: Student Book pages 8-11; Videos 2 and 3 (available at Course Videos, together with other example water cooler chat videos); Water cooler cards pages 84-85; 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 2: Lesson plan

Water cooler chat (page 8 >> __ 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.

The dream team (page 9 >> __ 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 >> __ 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).

END OF LESSON 2

Homework

Creative inventions (pages 13-14 >> Homework)

For homework, tell students to read Jessica's message at the top of page 13 and read the intro to the webpage "Business Innovations". They must also answer the questions in A and B on page 13. Also, they should read the descriptions on page 14 and match them to the answers to A/B on page 13. Finally, they should think of some other simple world-changing ideas in activity D on page 14.

Paperwork! (page 11 >> Homework)

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.

See the TBL Assessment page for more detailed information about assessment within Widgets.

STAGE 2

LESSON 3 - THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

Lesson 3: 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) Watch a video and learn about their Stage 2 project

4) Brainstorm problems they have in their life

5) Brainstorm solutions to their problems

Materials: Student Book pages 12-17; Video 4 (available at Course Videos).

Lesson 3: Lesson plan

Start by collecting the completed "Paperwork!" self-evaluation forms from each student.

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

Start by focussing on the title. Ask students if they've ever heard the expression "Think outside the box". Elicit ideas of what it could mean, then tell them that it means to think creatively and in an original or unique way. Stress that Widgets is a creative, innovative tech startup company, so thinking outside the box is critical for the interns.

Then 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. 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 >> __ minutes)

Students have already done this for homework. Therefore, you can just provide the answers for A-C, and then give them time to share their answers for D.

A:

1. a

2. b

3. c

B:

1. Cat's eye(s)

2. Velcro

3. Post-it Note

C:

1st description: 2

2nd description: 3

3rd description: 1

D. Elicit ideas from the class and write the more interesting/unique ones on the board.

Answers will vary

The project brief (page 15 >> __ 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.

Brainstorm! (page 16 >> __ 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.

END OF LESSON 3

Homework

Problems and solutions (page 17 >> Homework)

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 >> Homework)

Tell students that they must come up with 2 of their own original ideas. These can be from the solutions that have just been brainstormed on page 17. 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. Tell students that it is important they bring two ideas to the next class.

LESSON 4 - THE PRODUCT PROPOSAL

Lesson 4: 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

4) Learn what an elevator pitch is

5) Plan and prepare their own elevator pitch

6) Evaluate their Stage 2 performance

Materials: Student Book pages 19-25; 1 copy per student of blank Product proposal form (available at the Downloadable Forms page); 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 4: Lesson plan

Water cooler chat (pages 84-85 >> __ 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 >> __ 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 prepared 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 >> __ 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).

The elevator pitch (page 22 >> __ 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 >> __ 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 >> __ 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.

END OF LESSON 4

Homework

Finish product proposal and elevator pitch.

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.

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