Getting started on the main challenge

There are a few things the team needs to do before the work begins:

• Choose a challenge
• Read the challenge thoroughly so that everyone understands it. I always read it out loud to them while sitting in a circle. We would discuss what each paragraph meant but not what they should do. For example: Challenge B – “The Circular Story may be set in any location, real or imaginary, and in any time period.”
• NO – That means something like in California during the gold rush in…..
• YES –
• What would be a location you could use?
• They’ll answer California, the moon, school………
• What would be a real or imaginary location?
• They’ll answer a fairytale castle would be imaginary (the boys will groan), a courtroom would be real…….
• Let them brainstorm solutions to the challenge and write down the general theme.
• If they have a favorite, let them brainstorm on the next layer of decisions in the challenge. Keep them going until they’ve got a plan for each detail. They tend to make decisions quickly so this doesn’t take very long once they understand the challenge.
• If it’s a split decision, let the groups brainstorm the details of their favorite and then present to the whole group and vote.
• Side trips: These are two things that are incorporated into the main challenge that aren’t required by the challenge. They’re scored separately. Your group will need to decide what their strengths are. Let them brainstorm and write them down: playing the guitar, sewing costumes, poetry, gymnastics……