Passion Projects, Genius Hour, 20 Time - Whatever You Call It - Part 1

Whoa - I can't say I have ever had a lesson go as beautifully as it did today. Today was one of those Holy Grail of teaching days. The class is a beautiful hub of learning, excitement, and engagement. My 8th graders, after days and days of state testing, were no longer brain dead maniacs - they were participating and ready to learn! If you haven't tried Genius Hour (or whichever name you want to give it), it's high time you get started!

What is Genius Hour? 20 Time? Passion Projects? This is the video I showed my students to introduce the unit:

This unit, as explained in this video, is giving students 20% (hence the name 20 Time) of their class time to research something they are passionate (hence the name Passion Projects) about and become geniuses (hence the name Genius Hour) on that topic.

For the sake of our classes (I'm working with a fellow 8th grade ELA teacher on this unit) we're calling is Genius Hour. Instead of giving my students 20% of our class time, I'm giving them a little under 20% of the school year at one time. We've learned how to write, read, analyze, paraphrase, summarize, cite, infer, discuss, collaborate, and so on and so forth - but did they really get it? Can they really do all of those things at once without my guidance? We are about to find out! These last few weeks of school my classroom will be completely flipped! The students pick their topics, their research methods, their collaboration techniques, and their end product. It's their turn to teach me! We are oh-so excited about it too!

My goal is to post blogs each week from now through the end of the unit. We're going to fail. We're going to mess up. 

We're going to learn!

We kicked off the unit today by going over the basic requirements and the general rubric. I introduced deadlines and gave very specific consequences for not being activity involved in Genius Hour (independent book studies of the nonfiction books of my choice). Then we got to the fun part!

To help students get their creative juicing flowing, I set up 

s!

I had 11 different stations set up around the room where students could get a small peak of hands on experience in different areas. Examples:

1. Bubbles: What types of soaps make the best bubbles? Use the water and soaps at this station (foaming hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, and shampoo) to create your own bubble formula. What worked? What didn't work?
2. Cooking: Taste the two types of chocolate at this station (one was unsweetened baker's chocolate and the other was semisweet morsels - this station was so funny!). Use many, varied, unusual words to describe the taste of each chocolate. How do you think each chocolate it used in cooking? What could you cook with each chocolate?
3. Calligraphy: Watch the instructional video on calligraphy and practice writing your name following the instructions using the calligraphy pens at this station. Was it as easy as the video showed it to be? What proved to be most difficult for you?

Using their sense to decide what type of plant this was (mint).

Practicing origami.

Analyzing different types of rocks and deciding what natural events could have shaped them.

Practicing drawing.

Working on photography and changes in F-Stop and ISO.

Comparing/Contrasting a fleece blanket with a crochet blanket. Could you crochet?

Make your own bubbles!

They were moving. They were talking. They were working. They were thinking! We debriefed at the end of class, and I was blown away at project ideas these students already have.

Tomorrow we have a wonderful Guest Speaker coming to teach the students how to write their own Essential/Guiding questions as they begin narrowing down their project topic.

In my next post, I will include the rubric, full list of Inspiration Stations (I left that file on my school computer desktop and not dropbox), and the parent letter.

Disney Youth Education Series

Last week I took twenty-one eighth graders to Disney World!

     Yes, that is correct. Disney World. It was the best field trip ever! It was also the most exhausting thing I have ever accomplished, but it was definitely worth every second. 

      I love taking field trips. I love planning field trips. I love the idea of field trips. It is definitely the best way to show students learning in the real world - to make education authentic - and to demonstration that yes what we are doing in here is also important out there. Give me a group of students that will behave, and we will travel the world! Unfortunately, funding does not cover the world. Thankfully, Disney World contains small pieces from around the world and is close enough to visit!

    We are about nine hours from Disney World. We loaded the bus on Wednesday night and arrive at Hollywood Studios Thursday morning! We spent three days in Disney parks, two nights in a Disney hotel, and two night traveling on a charter bus. Twenty-one students, four chaperones, and two teachers. 

      Disney offers a wide variety of Disney Youth Education Series Programs. We had the opportunity to attend two: Imagineering: Gravity at Hollywood Studios and Global Citizenship at Epcot. My students enjoyed both programs, but unanimously agreed that Imagineering: Gravity was their favorite. They felt Global Citizenship was too long.

     We arrived at Hollywood Studios around 7:30am. Our program began at 8:30am (before the park opened! I love Disney, and getting to see Disney before it opened was magical!). Our Cast Member for the program met us outside and introduced the students to the program. He put the students into pairs and gave each pair an iPad. Students watched a short video on the iPad of a roller coaster ride. Various vocabulary terms popped up on the video when the vocabulary word was being demonstration (inertia, gravity, centripetal force, ETC). He then asked students to define each term using background knowledge and what they had just seen. This program was perfect for my eighth grade students - they had these words in science last week! It was the perfect tie in, and their faces lit up when they knew the answers. 

    As we discussed more and more, our Cast Member guide slowly moved us closer and closer to roller coasters in the park (Tower of Terror and Rock'n'Roller Coaster). He used different props and iPad videos to demonstrate the terms and guided students into thinking about these things impact the world around them and designing things like roller coasters. Students were able to ride both Tower of Terror and Rock'n'Roller Coaster. The rides were followed by discussions and science experiment examples of how gravity and imagineering are used to create the rides. 

     On our second day at Disney, we attended the Global Citizenship program at Epcot. While the first program was more hands on and interactive, this program was more discussion based. It aimed to show students how technology impacts communication, what it means to be a global citizenship, and how they can be globally responsive. In a world where communication makes connections with other countries and cultures so easy, it is extremely important that our students understand these things. 

     This program began with discussions regarding types of communication. The Cast Member used various games/ice breakers to get the day started. She also gave students translators and asked them to say a phrase in a specific language. Our school provides each student with a Rosetta Stone account, and many students were thrilled to show off how they could speak a few words without the use of the translator. 

     Soon we began to tour around the "worlds" or Epcot. In each "country," the Cast Member discussed the culture of the area, how it is reflected in the scenery at Epcot, and how bits of that culture can be seen in students' lives. She also discussed ways to be culturally responsive: being respectful of time differences when trying to communicate, trying to learning another language to 'meet in the middle' when communicating with others, understanding cultural/religious beliefs when interacting with others, ETC. 

    Students were also treated to a guest speaker from China that discussed how life in the US is different from life in China and answered questions from the students. One part of the program had student create their own symbol for a culture they invented. They then explained to the group how their culture was unique and how it represented everyone in the group. The program ended in the United States with the American Adventure show. 

     Even though I have never been as exhausted as I was returning from this field trip, I am so very happy we had the opportunity to take this field trip. These are memories and experiences we could not have gotten anywhere else!

    Have you ever taken a field trip to Disney World? Please do share!

Do you Close Read?

I'm pretty sure I've never been apprehensive about any pedagogy. Being a new(er) teacher, I usually embrace new ideas. I'll try anything once!

This was far from the case with Close Reading. I attended a workshop last summer on NMSI and AP English. A good part of the workshop focused on close reading. It seemed cumbersome and confusing. If I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around it, what was going to happen to my eighth graders? YIKES!

Listen carefully - this does not get said often - I was so very wrong.

My kids loved it! My advanced students and my inclusion students were on a roll. They had so many ideas. Synapses were firing. Communication and collaboration were on happening without prompting! Education on steroids! If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend it!

That is the best summary of close reading I have found. There are many different 'steps' or 'approaches' to close reading. The key is finding/creating steps that fit your students' understanding and standards. Below are our steps:

1. Read the passage silently.
2. Listen to the passage read aloud.
3. Circle details in the text that make an impact (on your understanding, your views, your imagination). Make a note next to the circle that tells why this stands out to you.
4. Underline words with connotative diction (positive or negative meaning to you). Place a plus (+) or minus (-) sign about the word to illustrate the meaning.
5. Block off imagery (words appealing to senses). Make a note next to the block on what imagery is brought to mind - what image appears in your mind? what emotion does it make you feel?
6. Highlight comparisons (similes, metaphors, personification). Make a note to explain what is being compared and what information is gained from the comparison. 
7. Put an asterisk next to word(s) that illustrate the point of view.

Writing these steps out remind me why I tried to hide from close reading. It can be a lot to take. It can have several large words that may require a bit of reteaching, but it is worth it! 

The typical student response to "read this piece of literature and tell me what you think" is to read it quickly and say it was "nice." Close reading removes the ability to do this. It requires the student to think deeply on several levels. The end result is a deeper understanding from analyzation and creating your own opinions. Many parts of close reading cannot be copied from a friend because your emotions and understanding is not the same as someone else's emotions and understanding. 

Yesterday my students close read "Masks" independently. Today we reviewed as a class. This is what they came up with:

In previous years, my students have read the poem and replied "she doesn't show people the real her, and she wants someone to try to see the real her." Well … this is a general summary, but you are missing SO MUCH when you only read the surface. 

This year my students came up with the theme that is written in black on the sheet. "Every person you meet is facing problems you can't see. Love and encouragement from you will help others feel better and overcome their problems." I'm so proud!

Through close reading they had a good ten minute conversation on the power that "love is stronger than strong walls" brings into the poem. Their ideas brought me to tears! They also noted that you can't say "he" or "she" because the author is unknown and the last stanza blatantly states that the poem is about everyone. 

Earlier I noted that it is hard to copy someone else's close read. This was definitely brought to light with the term "masks" in this poem. Some students thought of Mardi Gras masks (fun, playful, party). Others thought of Halloween masks (scary, hiding things, monsters). Another group thought of masks as covering something. Your history shapes what you bring to the conversation. 

If you close read or you try close reading, please comment below and let me know how it goes! 

Currently

A friend introduced my to Serial yesterday. I haven't stopped listening to it! If you haven't heard it yet, get a podcast app and start listening! 

I'm in my second (of four) semester of grad school. I'm working towards my MA in Gifted/Talented Education. It's always been my dream to teach Gifted, but grad school is a lot of work! Reading, analyzing, writing, preparing - oh my! Thankfully, I do enjoy the material. The program I'm completing is a hybrid program - both online and in the classroom. I travel five hours once or twice a month on a Saturday for a full day of classes. It works out great because I can still teach! 

I'm taking twenty-one eighth graders to Disney in ten days! We are completing two Disney YES (Youth Education Series) programs: Global Citizenship at Epcot and Disney Imagineering: Gravity at Hollywood Studios. I can't wait! Check back in about two weeks for a full report on this field trip. 

Newspaper & Yearbook Field Trip

I have a newspaper staff of nine students and a yearbook staff of twelve students. These kids are ah-mazing! I really can not brag enough on these students. Both staffs are student center and student led. The all have wonderful attitudes and motivation. They work extremely hard and produce amazing work!

My newspaper staff writes weekly articles about the school and community. Their work is published in a blog on the school website and submitted to local newspapers and news stations. They are publicly published each month! Each month they put together an interactive e-newsletter of the articles they have written. My newspaper editor (eighth grade student) keeps track of each staff member's progress and edits articles before they get to me. 

My yearbook staff runs without me. The editor (eighth grade student) was on the staff last year. Last year (as a seventh grader) she designed the theme, cover, colors, and fonts for this year's yearbook. She also sat with our yearbook rep and ordered the yearbooks. The staff splits up the one hundred full color yearbook, so everyone is responsible for specific pages. They have been rocking out deadlines this year! Meeting them weeks before they are due! I am so proud!

To reward all of their hard work, we recently took a field trip! We toured a local news station. My students were able to speak with reporters, photographers, and producers. They were given a tour of the station with many behind the scene looks. It was a blast! It was a wonderful way to put into perspective how what they do in the classroom is relevant in the real world. 

We finished our trip with a lunch at Steak and Shake. Everyone was happy!

My newspaper staff has the idea of creating video articles with written articles. They hope to display photos, interviews, and footage from events. I can't wait to see how these turn out this semester! 

Bad Blogger

     I can not believe half the school year is gone. The first half flew and kept me on my toes daily. On top of teaching eighth grade Language Arts, I teach and produce the school yearbook, I teach and produce the school newspaper, I am the school PR pro handling all website, news source, and social media, I am the STC (School Technology Coach) helping teachers with technology issues (we are a 1:1 school, so we have technology everywhere), I am the PTSO teacher rep, I am the Den Leader for my son's Cub Scout den, I am a 'soccer mom,' I work part time running the online end of my mom's business, and I am working on my MA in Gifted/Talented Education through a hybrid program that requires me to travel four hours away between one and two Saturdays each month plus a good chunk of online work. As you can tell, it's run-run-run! Thankfully, I enjoy every second of every thing I have the opportunity to do. 

      Blogging will be my New Years Resolution! Let's see how well this goes. 

Busy Beginning

The school year is in full swing! We have officially completed three weeks of school, and I survived picture day (I'm in charge of picture day - it goes with yearbook territory). These weeks have been a HUGE success! I am unbelievably proud of my students and their hard work. 

We started off the first week with the general 'getting to know you' activities, but by the end of the week, we had jumped straight into the deep end!

My students deconstructed their standards. We worked through the Common Core/College and Career Readiness Standards to make them understandable for everyone. Now we are all on the same page about what needs to be accomplished this school year!

By the end of the first week, we began Close Reading. I was VERY hesitant about attempting this with my eighth graders, but I was also VERY wrong. They rocked it! Completely took over and ran with their thoughts! We barely scratched the surface on day one, and day two was even more incredible. I teach a regular ed class and an inclusion class. Both classes were remarkable. They really took the texts and made relevant, interesting connections. Many that never occurred to me!

During the second week of school, we began our first PBL unit: "How can we use history to solve a current issue?" Students will end the unit by creating a proposal to solve a current issue in society. 

We kicked it off with QFT (Question Formulation Technique)). My students ran with this activity too! They got so much out of it. Their ideas and creativity were more than I could have ever hoped for. 
They worked in groups to narrow down their questions to their best open ended questions. Then they worked as a class using "Keep it, Junk it, or Cloud it" to narrow down their final questions. 
Their final questions go into the "Want to Know" column of our unit K-W-L. (They were so enthralled and ON TASK with the QFT, we never made it to the K-W-L that day - and our class period is one hour forty-five minutes long.)

This year has so much to hold! It's fantastic!

As a part of our first unit, we are reading The Diary of Anne Frank. Prior to reading the story, my students used a virtual tour of Anne Frank's Secret Annex to complete a virtual quest. They enjoyed seeing everything first hand and hearing how everyone lived. It was eye-opening for my students to see, travel through, and hear the living situation and conditions that surrounded the Holocaust. It was a great opening activity!

We are only three weeks into this school year, and it is already incredible. It will be a fantastic experience to see my students grow this year. I look forward to continuing our student-center classroom using project based learning!