FINALE · The Forge

FINALE

Tab 08 / 11 · Weeks 26–30

FINAL
FORGE

Draft → revise → rehearse → present → the Final Gift.

11 Tabs

START WHY MENTORS WEEKS CYCLE UNITS WORKSHOPS FINALE PROTOCOLS FADE DICT

FINALE · opener

Final Forge

THE FORGE · MENTOR GUIDE

After U8 and Spring Break, three sessions take students from record to presentation. No new reading. No debate. The Forge Coach holds deadlines; the Weaver runs the room.

WK 26 · APR 13, FINAL FORGE 1: DRAFT COMPLETION

Goal: every student has a complete Anvil draft by end of session, thesis + evidence drawn from their Forge Journal.

Run: open with the FW2 thesis question. Students mine their own Reflections and Story Layers for the through-line. Mentors circulate; do not write for them.

Failure → fix: a student has no thesis because they never kept their journal. Reconstruct from the Forge Record, the safety net the record exists for. Note it for the 1:1, not as punishment.

WK 27 · APR 20, FINAL FORGE 2: FINAL REVISION

Goal: revision against the Argument Quality Gauge (Milestone-5 rubric), a gauge, not a grade.

Tier	Claim	Evidence	Impact	Story Layer
Unformed	Vague / personal	Missing / fake	Absent / repeats	None
Assembled	Debatable but broad	Thin / one quote	Restates claim	Names trait
Forged	Precise, text-rooted	Layered, cited	Extends beyond	Names cost
Tempered	Original, knows limits	Strategic, counter-aware	Re-frames question	Connects arc

Run: peer review in pairs using the Anvil rehearsal checklist. Each student revises one section live. Text Coach teaches one final skill: cutting to the strongest evidence.

Failure → fix: padding to fill time. Hold the thresholds, “at least 6 units referenced” vs. “all 8”, and cut anything that isn't proof.

WK 28 · APR 27, FINAL FORGE 3: PRESENTATION REHEARSAL

Goal: every student rehearses the 8–10 minute Anvil out loud, on the clock.

Run: timed run-throughs with a peer jury. Forge Coach times; Weaver notes who needs a 1:1 before May 4. Practice the open and the close hardest.

Failure → fix: reading a script. They present from their record, not a manuscript, the Synthesis Essay (optional) is the written companion, never the speech.

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THE FORGE · MENTOR GUIDE

Final Forge

The Anvil & the Final Gift

The Anvil is where each student's record becomes their argument. An 8–10 minute presentation to the room: a thesis about who they are becoming, drawn from the full year's Forge Record. Session: the full 2-hour LIFT block (10:00 AM–12:00 PM). 8 students × 8–10 min runs 64–80 min: fits inside 120 with room for framing, a break, questions, and a close.

Minute by minute (9 min/presentation + 2-min question + 1-min transition; slack absorbs runover)

0:00–0:05	Arrival + framing: no grading, peers are jury not editors, one question after each.
0:05–0:53	Presentations 1–4 (12 min each).
0:53–0:58	Break
0:58–1:46	Presentations 5–8 (12 min each).
1:46–2:00	Close: thank the room; brief framing for next week's Reveal/Final Gift.

Policy, not schedule

1Students present in turn, 8–10 min each. Peers act as jury, not editors, they ask one specific question after each.

2Mentors attend as audience. No grading. Just proof. The Argument Quality Gauge is a gauge the student already knows; it is not scored here.

3The Weaver keeps a private note on each presentation for the Reveal / Final Gift the following week.

Mentor disciplineDo not coach mid-presentation. Do not rescue a nervous student by finishing their sentence. The room they built holds them now. Step in only for genuine distress.

Portfolio behind each presentation: Debate Record (required) + Story Layer Portfolio (required) + Synthesis Essay (optional). The presentation is the synthesis: the essay is a written companion only.

Weeks 29–30 · May 4 & May 11, The Final Gift

The Weaver gives each student one true sentence about who they became across the year: drawn from the Forge Record, specific, never generic. Then the year's Reveal: name the arc of the room: the shifts, the minds changed, the moments it ran itself. No new work. No grades. Names and proof. End on a Celebration that includes every student.

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