Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Chapter 4: My take-away from this chapter was, structure is very important. I need to make sure that a time for Genius Hour is built right into the schedule from the start. This will enable my students, as well as myself time to prepare and be more productive.  
    I really like the reflection piece idea. I think this might be a place where I could possibly give a grade, in addition to feedback and encouragement for each student. I think sharing ideas is also a very important aspect. Students often have great suggestions on how to improve or help with a problem. I think this needs to be built in every couple weeks, or maybe monthly, depending on how long the particular project lasts.

Chapter 5: This chapter has me thinking, "How best can I introduce Genius Hour to my class?"
I like the idea of creating a list of, "What I would rather be doing." It seems that when I ask a class to create a list, there is always at least one student who is at a roadblock, and can't think of anything. Possibly starting one, and having the class brainstorm together is where I will begin, and ask that everyone write a minimum of 10.....but see how far they can go. I will probably ask them to fold a piece of paper into 3 sections. On the top I would have them list, Things I love to do, Things I am good at, Things I wonder about. 
    Probably the thing that stood out the most in chapter 5 is that it is important that kids are going to fail, and I need to help them understand that this is part of the process. Together we will learn to perservere.

Chapter 6:  I think it is very important that when I introduce the Genius Hour, that I do a very thorough job. It will take several sessions to compile our lists.  I liked the March Madness idea of organizing our lists to narrow topics down. As I have flipped the calendar to August, many ideas are running through my head, and I am feeling a sense of panic. I need to check out the websites many of you have shared in order for me to get ready for my students. I am excited, and nervous about getting the ball rolling.

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