Jumping in to Genius Hour/20 Time with High School Students

I had been reading about Genius Hour over the summer and thought it would be a great idea to implement, but I wasn't sure how it could be applicable in my high school English classroom. I have finally decided on a plan that I hope will fulfill my students' required writings AND inspire them to enjoy learning, creating, and doing something this semester.The idea is that students first decide what they would like to do, make, or learn in 18 weeks. Then, for the summary, critique, and essays required for these dual-credit English 101 students to earn credit, students can find information, articles, and studies related to their chosen topic. In this way, students will be in charge of WHAT they write about--I'll just help them with HOW they write it.

I'm excited about the possibilities! I cannot wait to see what these kids can do when I put them in charge of their own learning. I don't have to worry about their recycling past students' essays on "why we should legalize marijuana" or "why the drinking age should be lowered" or others of the typical argument essays. I'm anticipating individualized essays reflective of the passion kids have for their chosen areas of study. I think the most difficult portion of the project will be deciding on a topic for some students, so I am looking for ways (maybe interest inventories or surveys) to help kids discover what they would really love to do or know. At the end of the semester, the students will present their products and what they learned in a TED Talk-style format, so deciding how they will demonstrate their learning will also be an issue. However, I intend to let the kids help me work out these issues and develop a truly student-centered, individualized learning experience for these students!

Blog Project

Students,
For your blog project, you need to choose a topic that you care about and add videos, articles, images, stories, interviews, graphics, and/or your own commentary on that subject throughout the semester. The culminating activity will be a synthesis essay that incorporates some of the resources you have posted to your blog.

Consider purpose and audience. Who would want to read/view/listen to your information and why?

LOVE my summers!

Owensboro Public Schools Summer Learning Academy (1 day)
Gates Literacy Design Collaborative Training (1 day)
WKU National Writing Project Presentation (1 day)
College Board AP English Language Essay Reading (8 days)
Kentucky Council of Teachers of English Board Meeting (1 day)
National Council of Teachers of English Affiliate Leader Conference (3 days)
National AP Convention (4 days)
Technology Integration Training (4 days)
CREATE Framework Presentation (1 day)

Fun--EVERY DAY :)

Overwhelmed--but the good kind of overwhelmed

Three days ago I finished my fourth AP Summer Institute and I have spent all free moments of the past days reading, planning, plotting, and revamping my course syllabus. I have an incredible amount of resource material that I am enjoying going through. My husband went fishing and playing golf on this holiday weekend--hobbies he loves. And rather than shopping or knitting or playing tennis, I love to read and plan. The challenge of attempting to ensure ALL students will learn everything they need to know about reading and writing and speaking and listening is one I love to take on. I want all of my students to love to read as I do and to embrace the challenge of analyzing texts with confidence. Not much to ask, right?

Finally Finished My Dissertation!

Well, it has been a long process, but I've finally finished my doctoral dissertation! Since teaching reading (and writing) to high school students is my passion, I can say it was a labor of love! Click on the link below to view my dissertation: 

MOTIVATION FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO READ:

DIFFERENCES AMONG STUDENT PERCEPTIONS AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STUDENT AND TEACHER PERCEPTIONS

Students learn from students: Teachers learn from teachers

I have just returned from one of the best learning experiences I've had in a while. The Kentucky Council of Teachers of English is an excellent venue for teachers to learn from other teachers.

The many lessons and the practical advice available at conference such as this one are what keep me on my toes. I have a million ideas floating around in my head thanks to the conference. I CANNOT WAIT to put them into practice! Through experiences such as this conference, I am reminded how valuable students learning from other students can be.

A Digital Immigrant Teaching Digital Natives

Once again it was a great day in English class. Today I introduced a new presentation program to the students. I showed them an example and told them to Google the name. They jumped right in! They created presentations in which they embedded text, pictures, and video, and then they embedded those presentations into the class Wiki. This whole process took less than 90 minutes. The presentations are admittedly brief, but I can say that it took me WAY more than 90 minutes to create a comparable presentation the first time I used the program.

These kids are immersed in technology and familiar with the apps and processes—a definite advantage! All I do is tell the students what I’d like for them to create, and they just find a way to do it. Quite an amount of critical thinking is involved.

So, I’m attempting to leave my immigrant status behind. Wish me luck!