Core values, while it's wonderful to work on with special practices that
can bring a team together, many teams don't practice this skill. If you
have a few practices between now and your tournament, start each session
off or end it in a fun way that helps them work together.  If you choose to
try it out, just to give them a taste of it, google "instant challenge".
But you can certainly throw caution to the wind and just let them be
themselves in the core value room.

We did not have a board the year we got grand Champion, so you don't need
one to advance. Again, this is for the kids' benefit, but if they feel
confident speaking then they don't need one in the judging room for robot
design.  I would still print out a few of their robot missions so they can
show the judges and talk to them.  They don't have to be mounted to a
board. We put ours in a notebook that the kids walked into the room with
the book and opened while they talked about programming.

I do not know if you can advance to state if you are missing a component of
the tournament?  I feel there is so much to be gained from FLL, if this
year your team doesn't get the research, definitely try to start earlier
next year with your team and spend the summer starting the research
project.  They will have the advantage of focusing on what is working well
this year and will have a positive association with the experience and be
more likely to come back. The one thing I hate to see is kids driven out by
pressure. FLL is great, and everyone can find their niche in the FIRST
family.   LOL, we did the opposite the first year; we were overwhelmed by
the robot game and programming and put all our effort into the research
project. My team was excited at the end of the season, and we had 95%
return the following year where we got better at the robot game. Maybe your
team is on the other path :)
Brandy



On Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 10:08 PM, Jessica Chittum <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> I am a total newbie coach here!  Our 10 kids are really working very hard
> to learn NXT programing, figure out these missions, complete the build for
> the attachments and complete a project.  I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by
> adding 3 additional tasks of completing project boards for the project,
> robot and core values.  Are these project boards absolutely crucial or are
> they optional for teams to show their work?  Thanks very much for your help
> with this.
>
> Jessica
>
> On Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 8:07 PM, Amy Nichols <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Faith,
>>
>> When our kids got ready to create their presentation this year, I gave
>> them a list of things that needed to go in it...which I took from the
>> rubrics.  So they do cover everything in the rubrics but it's in the form
>> of a skit. The list I gave them looked something like:
>>
>> *Clearly say what your problem is
>> *Talk about your sources
>> *Talk about your research and what you learned
>> *Explain your solution clearly
>> *Tell how your solution makes learning _____ better for kids.
>> *How much will your project cost?
>> *More imagination the better
>>
>> So because they only have 5 minutes, some of these things are covered
>> pretty briefly in their skit, but the judges will ask questions and let
>> them expand on it during the question and answer.
>>
>> And I agree with Brandy...our kids used their boards to remember the
>> points they want to make sure to talk about.  Really, the judges can't look
>> at everything on the board in the time they have (other than when they're
>> walking around), so it's more a tool for your kids, I think.  We did make a
>> board for each of the judging sessions, but they only ended up using two of
>> them.  Having them was very helpful.
>>
>> Good luck,
>> Amy Nichols
>>
>>
>>   On Monday, October 20, 2014 9:55 AM, B Bergenstock <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>
>> The research often comes in the form of a skit. I have seen projects from
>> World research winners that looked like board presentation, with the kids
>> in a line each speaking about their idea and a backboard for more info.
>>  The most important thing, no matter what format they use, is that they
>> be able to get out of all the information they wish to share in the time
>> allotment- 5 minutes.  I coached a team one year and all the info and
>> solution was at the end of the presentation, but because the kids went
>> long, or very lowly in one case, they spent all their time on presenting
>> the issue and never got to their solution. It wasn't a great plan and while
>> I had stressed to them about time and we had done the skit many times, I
>> now just tell the teams, "Nope, you can't back load your solution."
>>
>> The function of the presentation board can be varied. It often serves to
>> make sure kids hit important markers that they carefully thought about in
>> group, but might forget in their nervousness during or after the
>> presentation. It also serves to tell teams in the pit area what your team
>> did for their presentation; Sharing ideas and allowing other adults to ask
>> question and celebrate their work.  I have seen several very successful
>> boards that have 1 flap dedicated to each of the area of judging; robot
>> design, presentation and core values. The teams will bring the board into
>> each judging room and use it as a prop, sometimes talking about it,
>> sometimes not- but always having it there as a backup :)
>> To me, the main purpose of the boards is to help the kids and act as
>> review of the process when they need it.  Using that as your guide will
>> help decide what goes on the board.
>> Good luck,
>> Brandy
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 9:23 AM, Faith Mcgarrity <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Looking for some tips on the Project and presentation. Is the skit
>> supposed to be informational designed to hit all the elements in the
>> rubric? Like a school presentation. Or should it be a story type of skit
>> showing our solution?  If the latter will the team have opportunity to fill
>> in the rest of the elements ( ie the sharing or implementation) after the
>> skit?
>>
>> And what is the function of the presentation board?  To document the
>> solution?  Or can it incorporate core values experiences and/or robot game
>> progress?
>>
>> Thanks for your thoughts!
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
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