Overview

This is the phase where you start firming up your topic and getting into the nitty-gritty. You will be developing a plan for your teacher including what you will produce, what you need to know, who can help you, what resources you need, and what your goals are.

Your Tasks

Project Management on Trello

Create a Trello board. The name should be the title of your Passion Project with a dash, then your first name. Example: App for the blind - Patty

Click on "Show Menu" then click on "Invite". Type in your teacher's email address and then click on their name to invite the to your board.

On your board, create the following lists: "To do & learn", "What did I learn?", "What action did I take?" You may have additional lists if you want, but you must have those three.

As you think of things to do or research for your passion project, create them as cards in your "To do & learn" list. As you finish them, move them over to the "What did I learn?" or "What action did I take?" lists. Keep adding follow up items to your "To do & learn" list.

Passion Project Plan

Complete this plan in Google Docs. Share it with your teacher and paste the link in the Passion Project Check-in form. Be ready to discuss it during your next interview.

Resources

Finding an Outside Expert

One challenging part of this project is finding an outside expert to help you on your project. This is a person that you will be interviewing, either in person or using the Internet, to get information and/or advice about your project. This person can't be a family member or friend of the family, it has to be someone you don't know. But, if you don't know them, how can you find them? Here are some ideas about where to look for your outside expert.

1. Go higher - We have lots of colleges and universities around us and higher education is a good place to look for experts. Look for departments in the field you are interested in and read about the professors in that department. Many times they list their research interests in their bio.
2. Think local - Are there business in our area that specialize in what you are researching? Look in the white pages or Yelp to find out what's around.
3. Get the word out - Let people know what you're doing and ask if they have any ideas. Ask your parents and friends to ask around. If your parents have social media accounts like Facebook or Twitter, ask if you can post a request for help on their account. (Make sure they approve it first!)
4. Recurring theme - As you're doing your research, do you keep seeing the same name over and over? That may be a good person to approach to be an outside expert. Your teacher can help you draft and send an email to them.
5. Go virtual - Look for organizations that offer virtual field trips on your subject. Google can help with this. These people are already prepped to do virtual discussions about their topic. Your teacher can help you draft and send an email to the organization or individual offering the virtual field trip.

Materials

You will need to think about sources and budget for your project. Below are some of the locations that we can get materials.

• Lowe's
• Walmart
• Amazon

Remember that every student will be creating their own Passion Project, so we aren't able to fully fund every idea. Think about recycled materials and local sources that may be willing to donate materials. If you have a big project idea that requires lots of materials, talk to your teacher about listing your project on DonorsChoose.org.

Timeline

When a teacher plans out a project for you, they set the deadlines and check-in points. For your Passion Project, YOU have to keep yourself on track and that means setting and meeting goals for getting tasks done. There are six stages in the Passion Project. When do you need to have each of them done? The Project and Product stages may have several steps in them that are specific to your project. Start mapping out how long you have for each phase. You want to list your deadlines all in one place, like on your Passion Project Plan, but you also need to put them on a calendar, like your planner. Here are some other resources for organizing your deadlines.

Gantt Charts in Google docs - Gantt charts are great visuals to help you see how long you have to work on each phase of a project. They are often used in businesses as a project management tool.

How to make a calendar in Google docs - If you want a month-by-month calendar in Google docs, you can create a table for each month or use a template. This site walks you through both processes.

HCPS School Calendar - This can help you plan your time.

Done with this phase?

When you have completed the tasks in this phase, complete the check-in form. Be sure to have your Passion Project Plan available for your meeting with your teacher.