Genius Hour – Plan to Let Go

It’s a cool thing when new students have heard what has gone on in the past in my classroom and ask if they’ll be doing the same thing. As great as whatever it may have been previously, I have to give an honest, unspecific answer of, “Oh, great things are ahead! You’ll have to wait and see!” The reality is, each year is unique and special. If every year played out the same, it would lose its individuality and specialness. I need to read each year as the pages turn and look for any opportunity that presents itself for amazing learning – myself included!

Genius Hour

There are only a couple of things that are exactly the same about Genius Hour from my first year implementing it to the next one. One, it’s got a place carved into our weekly schedule, and two, the initial brainstorming and planning were the starting places for both years. After that point, those student minds take off with creativity and exploration each to their own. That is actually one of the places I’m still learning to “let go” because it’s not any plan of mine for my students. I’ve mentioned to my teammates that it’s a bit uncomfortable because this is a time when the reins are not in my hands, as has by and large been traditional teaching. It’s completely confirming though when I see what the kids are choosing to learn on their own and the excitement that surfaces with this free choice. How cool is that? Excited students, excited learning, excited sharing!

Here are some pics of the year so far: the planning sticky note wall charts, just a few shots of GH in process in class time, and pictures of our first presentation (still in progress!).

The Brainstorming Wall

“I would like to learn…”

“To Do, To Create…”

“To learn more about…”

Kaci – What makes bouncy balls bounce?

Peyton – Learning to Code

Kate’s Keynote presentation

Presenting AND Sharing!

Yum! Thanks, Kate!

Where will this learning take Kate next?

My goal at this point in the year is to take students where they are learning, what they are discovering, and help them to extend with it as an outreach of some sort. While this may happen in baby steps with 9 and 10-year-olds, I know there are possibilities….

I’d love for Lauren’s blanket and pillow making become a pet donation to Operation Kindness, a local pet shelter. It would be great for Kyle’s information that he’s gathering on bully-words to become posters in our school hallway. Maybe Kate’s learning to make cookies will expand if she can make her own cookie recipe and share with grandparents and families at Grandparents Day or as package as Christmas gifts and give at stops on the school choir tour. Peyton is learning and developing his coding skills on Scratch. I don’t know where that could go… but I’ll keep watching and reading him to tap in to his talents.

Genius Hour, genius dreams. Keep on learning, teachers. There’s much more to be discovered in our students!

The Classroom Suitcase (Worldwide Learning)

I know school is on my mind because I’ve hit one of those points in the year when it’s wise for me to keep pen and paper on my nightstand. If I don’t write the thoughts down that wake me up, then I’m up.

A few nights ago I awoke with “suitcase” on the brain. This picture in my mind was for the classroom “traveling” that we do. I love connecting and learning from and with others around the world. My classroom destination checked list is still small, but it continues to grow!

I considered the next day where to find the suitcase pictured in my mind…. a teacher’s natural dilemma…. imagining something and then figuring out how to make it happen. I’m surprised that no one in Hobby Lobby came to see if everything was ok in ‘aisle 10’ because my breathing had to be audible as I dug through shelving holding suitcase-type boxes. What I found there was IT! Next, stickers of course. (What do you expect? I’m a teacher after all!) State stickers, world traveler, printed duct tape, you get the idea. It’s now stickered-up with the places my classes have “been” the last two years by way of Skypes for Mystery, Author, and class sharing, Edmodo Pen Pals, Global Read Aloud, and Kidblog: Mexico, Australia, Tasmania, Canada, England, Rhode Island, Illinois, Nebraska, Georgia, California, and Michigan.

This suitcase is the perfect depth to hold the treasures that have come in the mail thanks to Global Read Aloud and Edmodo Global Pen Pals. A book, lapel pins, postcards, and coins from Canada (so cool, Mr. H!), postcards, trading cards, a book, and money from Tasmania (Mr. Fitzpatrick, awesome!), a book, Vegemite, candy, and stuffed emu from Australia (shout out to my first world connection, Mr. Dunn!) and a book share from Illinois & Mrs. Hurckes’ class (special wrap-up!).

So now I have a suitcase “hook” (#tlap lingo…) with world learning lessons and experiences to share. Time will tell what this year will add to this growing treasure. I’m looking forward to connecting with others, expanding knowledge and relationships, and opening a window of possibility to my students. The world awaits!

http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/16911

If you want to connect with my classroom, that’d be great. Just let me know! I especially enjoy continuing a connection to learn and share over multiple occasions.

Choose Your Words

I’m stumped, at a loss for the flow of words. …but what will I write?

I could share a joke, pass along a favorite recipe, pen the words to a poem.

I could send a Tweet, create a blog post, find the words to include in a card to someone special.

I could compose my thoughts for an opinion column, complete my lesson plans, help a student with a book report.

I could make my grocery list, fill out an application, sign up to volunteer.

Whether it’s emotion, fact, or need, the power of words gives value to the write.

Write on!

Burn, Baby, Burn – Writing Leads to More Writing

What a coincidence. Woke up this morning way earlier than necessary with an early thought to write. First time this has happened. The writing that’s coming is about writing! Maybe this is what happens with lack of sleep or better yet – that Rafe Esquith’s book, Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire, has me thinking again.

Writing Rules. Writing rules!

There’s so much I agree with in the writing chapter and many ways to give writing and Grammar some extra needed attention for students. Beginning a day with a grammar exercise gets the brain moving, the flow of head to hand, and starts the day without a moment to spare, a purpose in place for the first minutes. Grammar is a thing you just can’t avoid in life, so… learn it, dig in daily, and use it. It’s everywhere.

I especially like his “Dreaded Rewrite” process. All students are expected to have a 90% on grammar assignments. If not, the “dreaded rewrite” happens which simply means keep at it until you have it. I can just hear the students playing up the “dreaded rewrite” with dramatically emphasized tones and perhaps a hand opened, begging for mercy! Lighten the mood a bit, maintaining purpose understood, no shortcuts allowed. Students who have earned their 90 or higher then help those who haven’t yet.

Peer teaching is wonderful. It boosts the student teacher, it encourages the classmate, it builds relationships. I keep my eyes open for ways to use every student as peer teacher. I don’t want to develop the “smart group” in the classroom as a hierarchy with those students that need more frequent help. I’ll seek and find where the strengths are for each student. I grabbed an opportunity for a student to teach math as he was learning amazing techniques for a math competition. I grabbed an opportunity when 2nd graders were trying Aurasma. Some of mine that caught on so quickly became some of their teachers. And when our art teacher had to leave partway through the year, I taught a few art classes which weren’t nearly as amazing as hers. Needed something. I knew I had art talent among me – perfect! A handful of students took the opportunity to teach their specialty to the class. It was wonderful. Win (student teacher), win (learners), win (me out-of-the-way!) situation!

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More Writing

In order to get it right, you’ve got to write. Same as anything. Training, practice, rehearsal, drills, all bring the consistent attention for improvement in anything. Same for writing.

Rafe suggests assigning a weekly write from Friday to the next Thursday. Love this plan. He points out that he has more time throughout a weekend to read and comment on his students’ work.

The second part I love of this weekly writing is that on Monday morning, students are given a few classmates’ essays to read (names removed). It would be made clear that the point is to have writing in front of them and to read and consider the comments written. Everyone is reading everyone’s. I could also see how to change this up – give them only one paragraph and have them continue the writing, have students do the proofing and actually have that as a grade for themselves, or underline certain sentences for them to develop further. They could also have a “brag about” moment and share a best thing of their classmate’s writing.

Become an Author

All of our writing which leads to more and improved writing throughout the year, culminates in 4th grade with students becoming an author. Our students are Book Buddies with Kindergarten. Each student is paired with another for the school year. Our weekly time together builds a special relationship through reading, helping reinforce or teach Kinder skills, art projects, attending Book Fair together, etc. In the spring, the 4th graders fill out a questionnaire with their Book Buddy. These ideas are the springboard for their story writing. The K and 4th grader are main characters with an emphasis that the K student gets the spotlight. Other than that, the project becomes their own.

Rafe’s names his the Young Authors Project. They work on their books for the whole year and write 30-45 minutes two or three afternoons a week. He holds writing conferences with 5-6 students during that time.

Writing takes time! It takes time for ideas, for rough drafts, for many changes and editing, for development in uses of grammar, and for discussing and sharing along the way to the finished product. He says, “It’s a project after all, not an assignment….Writing these books might be the only thing the children get to do with complete control – from the characters to the language to the plot twists.”

For a student to have a project well-done goes a long way. They feel proud of their efforts, they owned it, stuck with it and created a project worth giving away. It’s a blood, sweat, and tears kind of success!

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I know for a fact that these projects are a keepsake. You know you’ve got a good thing going when you see and hear stories years after of the Book Buddy books. Writing is special. It’s a lasting gift of you on paper and a memory which goes beyond the printed word.

 

 

The College Student

Keeping up with college night life was becoming a financial strain.

“I’m not sure I can swing the concert, ” I admitted to my friend.

“You just HAVE to go, but you need cash. What are you going to do?”

“I’ve seen signs to donate at the plasma center downtown. If I do that I’ll walk out with $50.”

“I don’t know…I’ve heard bad things can happen…”

“Nah, I got this! See you tonight!”

My blood is drawn; I’m just waiting for the process to be over. The cool sensation in my arm as the blood is returned makes me nervous.

I show the bruising on my arm to my friend later and start to feel faint. Was it worth it?

 

Hair (still) On Fire

Are you thinking that I’m a hot-head by now, post #2 referencing hair on fire? Haha, not the case! But I’ll continue my writing reflection of Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire by Rafe Esquith, this time from Part 2: The Method – Reading for Life.

Seems like there’s a pretty good division of reader types – those that love to read and those that really don’t. For the readers, it may be hard to understand how some don’t enjoy reading. It’s a skill that some pick up more easily than others, and I believe this brings the division, as in other areas. This happens in math – those that have natural “math brains” vs those who keep to the basics and know where to find help, in the arts – those often considered ‘gifted’ because of a skill set that comes naturally vs those who wish they could draw a circle or sing a song without sideways glances, and of course don’t forget about the athletes – all of those coordinated, physically capable people out there some at the high demand to even be scouted for these God-given talents.

Reading is a skill absolutely necessary for life, for success, and is needed everywhere. What to do? Start early! This could even pose a challenge for adult ‘non-readers’ that now have young children. Take the challenge and read to and along with them. It may turn in to a favorite activity because it brings you close, figuratively and literally, especially at the youngest of ages.

Next step – classrooms! There’s print everywhere and where there isn’t, place it. Word walls, labels, signs, directions – saturate your classroom with print. As students age, continue with read-aloud and make personal choice reading a priority. And a bonus…readers make the best writers because they are developing print saturated brains. Then the writing comes from a word bank that continues to grow through more reading. Reading in, writing out!

Something I love about the fourth grade age is that many levels of readers are still being developed quite often by example and encouragement. At my school, we open up the genre choices through book reports – fiction, biography, fantasy, mystery, theme books (such as Texas), which all give students a purposed opportunity to try something new. (The biography genre is most often a new discovery and a favorite.) Sharing is important, too. Once one person accepts a  recommendation, it brings the readers together for an experience. Action steps to share reading? Kidblog and Edmodo groups have been incredible. I’ve used Kidblog for reading responses and Global Read Aloud through Edmodo. I also started a classroom account on Biblionasium.com but didn’t do much with that last year. It’s on my list this year. I have higher hopes for success now that my grade has 1 to 1 iPads.

Back to my author reference from the beginning, Rafe Esquith, for a rich quote to close.

“Young people who read for pleasure are able to make connections with the world around them and eventually grow to understand themselves on levels they never thought possible. They make associations between characters and situations that can shape their own decisions.” (p. 42)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/katerha/8435321969

What’s something that encouraged you as a young reader? What’s something you do in your classroom to strengthen a love for reading?

 

Genius Hour – It’s a Wrap!

Genius Hour was quite a learning curve for me this past year. What started out with these posts, Summer Passion Project and Genius Hour, Take 1, brought me to something other than I’ve ever done before. My teammates and I were able to flex our weekly schedules just enough for all 3 of us to give this hot topic a try. We entered the unknown and came out the other side unscathed and will carry this experience for next year’s adventure. I’m renaming this time to “Passion Projects” because I personally find that more fitting.

We actually have a handful of teachers on my campus that used the Genius Hour platform for students’ extended learning. A fifth grade teacher (shout out to Kimberly!) and a high school teacher (shout out to Ashley!) referred to their’s as Passion Projects which I liked from the get-go. Just that difference in name grants flexibility and allows freedom for students to pursue a topic beyond the “hour.” Small yet significant difference to me.

All of my students were excited from Day 1 about having a choice of learning. Go figure….school can be a place to implement choice to learn, discover, and share! :p Something I won’t forget as we were taking the advice from a Genius Hour parent-share “relax so you can imagine”, a student words, “How long do we have to relax?” What a strong message! We are often overscheduled! Think about how this squashes creativity. And so the challenge lies ahead for classroom teachers – how to free up time in a rigorous school schedule? Start thinking. Get creative to make it happen!

My take-aways from year 1:

• Genius Hour will look and morph into something different every time. Individuals, partners, a variety of supplies, and byod days, for example.
• Starting and stopping for an exact hour each week was hard for me. It’s hard to tell creativity “start” and “stop.” Flexibility and understanding from students (and yourself) will be needed!
• Time for reflecting, whether in a pair-share, journaling, or blog writing is important for a plan moving forward. I need to do a better, more consistent job with my students here.
• Find at least one other classroom in your school ready to take this adventure of learning with you. Partnership, brainstorming, discussion, encouragment, and celebrations are key in the journey.
• Parent support needed! Inform at parent night, share a short video about Genius Hour, the student agreement form, and explain why it’s work that won’t be graded. Consider eventually having an evening of Passion Project Presentations (think Science Fair).
• Be a part of the Twittersphere action, plus check out some awesome resources:                            #geniushour                                                                                                                                     @joykirr Livebinder Resource                                                                                                 @paulsolarz Passion Time Resource                                                                                  @cybraryman1 Genius Hour / 20%Time Page                                                                @ashleyashcraft Passion Projects
• Consider when to have mini lessons of scaffolding skills for citing resources, safe internet searching, app smashing, use of Google Docs, and some presentation possibilities. Some of your students will probably break the mold and come up with their own original, unique plan for presenting!
• Instead of shutting out a student idea with a “no”, offer a suggestion or solicit peer advice. Float around the room, check in regularly for progress, and aim for an end date which will vary according to student and project.

I didn’t know much about some of the topics my students had in mind. So, I learned right along with them! Learning with and from your students sends a big message of validation and definitely enriches the student – teacher relationship.

This personal choice learning was met with excitement and energy every week. Every week. The whole year. Even this summer, a parent stopped in my room to let me know that her daughter wanted to drop off a copy of her Genius Hour poetry work. She hadn’t been ready to share at the end of May but continued on to finish it up at home. That says to me – real learning.

I would like to see my students take their learning further next year with involving others and extending some project ideas to the community. But for a first year, this was a good start!

Would love to hear of your experience and advice if you’ve walked this road. Please share!