1. S.T.E.M. & F.I.R.S.T LEGO League Karre Nevarez

2. Why Me? Coached 12 F.I.R.S.T LEGO League teams over the last three years. Also coached Jr. FLL. 4 teams have gone to the State Championship. In the 2012 season, the Beat Bots won the Inspiration Award. –Now the Electro-cuties: 2013 season won 2 nd place overall. In the 2013 season, the Hydro-lix won the Gracious Professional Award.

3. Why Us? Why I’m Raising My Son to be a Nerd. We are not going to convince kids that nerds are cool…The vast majority of 12 year olds will disagree with you. Encourage children by rewarding their efforts and passions in all areas. Demonstrate that intellectual pursuits are rewarding. Result? They’ll see that being a geek is cool later in life, when they’ve grown up to be one, and they’re happy, all because they were rewarded for doing good things when they were younger.

4. FIRST LEGO League & Your School FIRST LEGO League… Promotes student engagement Allows for differentiation Promotes self-directed learning Encourages hands-on learning Has real-life connections

5. 21 st Century Skills Students will… Identify relevant sources of information using a range of resources Use language and communication skills Understand the scientific method of formulating hypotheses Work as part of a team

6. STEM Skills Students will… Develop evaluate, and modify their design ideas. Learn about the concepts of input, process, and output and the importance of feedback systems See how complex systems break down into subsystems Apply their existing math knowledge Engage in mathematical discussions of results.

7. Which one is for my students? F.I.R.S.T. = For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology Jr. FIRST LEGO League (ages 6-9) FIRST LEGO League (ages 9-14) FIRST Tech Challenge (Grades 7-12) FIRST Robotic Competition (Grades 9-12)

8. Project-based Learning The challenge consists of three parts: “The Project” – students research and come up with innovative ideas for solving a defined, real-world challenge. A “Robot Game” – Students design and program a LEGO Mindstorms robot to solve missions on a special obstacle course. “Core Values” – the work process the students go through to obtain important life skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and team-work.

9. How does it work? A team is formed comprising up to 10 students and at least one adult coach or teacher. The team registers with their FIRST LEGO league partner. The challenge is announced live on the internet between late August and early September. Teams have 8 to 10 weeks to conduct research, come up with an innovative solution to the problem they have identified, prepare a make their presentations. Teams compete at tournaments and present their work to a panel of judges consisting of experts and volunteers.

10. Organization You can register multiple teams or set up FLL as an optional class. It can also be planned as an after- school activity. Teams: Try allowing everyone to work together to start with. Then hold a “job fair” and get each student to apply for the job they want to do. Cooperation is integral to FLL. If a team is split into smaller work groups, make sure there are regular status meetings. I do provide extra encouragement to girls to apply for robot-related tasks. Without it, they tend to choose

11. Time Requirements Teams will have 8-10 weeks between the release of the challenge and tournaments. Scheduling is flexible: Spend one full week and then a couple of lessons a week for the remainder of the time. Spend one or two lessons a week for the duration of the whole project. Cooperation is integral to FLL. If a team is split into smaller work groups, make sure there are regular status meetings. I do provide extra encouragement to girls to apply for robot-related tasks. Without it, they tend to choose project-related tasks.

12. Getting Started Register team – finding funding Learn more – Team Resources Research the challenge Cooperation is integral to FLL. If a team is split into smaller work groups, make sure there are regular status meetings. I do provide extra encouragement to girls to apply for robot-related tasks. Without it, they tend to choose project-related tasks.

13. Getting Started Register team – finding funding Learn more – Team Resources Research the challenge Cooperation is integral to FLL. If a team is split into smaller work groups, make sure there are regular status meetings. I do provide extra encouragement to girls to apply for robot-related tasks. Without it, they tend to choose project-related tasks.