My students need books like Recycled Robots, Unbored: The Esssential Field Guide to Serious Fun, and The Art of Tinkering to help them choose their Genius Hour projects.
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." --Howard Thurman, African-American educator and author.
My students need Genius Hour to help them find what makes them come alive.
The Writing 101 course is open to 9th through 12th graders.
Students are drawn to the course for two reasons: the desire to be a better writer and the need for the personal freedom the class affords.
Our school is a large, diverse urban school that houses the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA). My class is for students who are not enrolled in SCAPA courses, but have a desire to write and think creatively.
Students who take the Writing 101 course are looking to have a different writing experience than what they might have in a traditional English class. Our class focuses on blogging, podcasting, and creative forms of writing. In order to cultivate the discipline and thinking for writing, students participate once a week in Genius Hour.
During their Genius Hour experiences students learn how to manage a project, collaborate with other students, research , present to audiences other than the teacher, and manage their time.
My Project
Throughout the year, students will participate in Genius Hour a time where students can be creative and focus on their own passions. Genius Hour allows students to use 20% of our school year to work on projects of their own choosing.
Students will use the library of books to gain inspiration to choose their Genius Hour projects.
Often students struggle at the beginning of Genius Hour because they have so much freedom. For many, this will be the first time they are able to choose what they want to learn and how they want to learn it. For this reason, I need to provide resources that will help the students pick a project to pursue. Sometimes they become overwhelmed sifting through Internet search engine results, and the classroom library will help students narrow their project ideas quickly so they can begin their work.
In my experience students who have choice in their learning and participate in inquiry-driven learning are more engaged in school.
This engagement leads to gains in student achievement.
The donations for the books will help students find their passion and provide choices for their Genius Hour projects. My hope is that when students find their passion they will also find their purpose.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. McPherson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
