Weekly chat for excited 1st grade teachers who love to learn and share ideas. Participants are interested in a variety of topics including literacy, math, technology, play, inquiry, and being the best educators they can be!
For the next hour, my tweets will be about #geniushour / #20time - during #1stchat! Joy from IL here, 7th grade ELA, ready to chat about personalized learning!
Hello! I'm a student from Chapman University. I am studying to become a first grade teacher! Very excited to be participating in my very first twitter chat on education. #1stchat
A1: I think this is a great idea, I would love to see what my students are passionate about. It gives them more motivation to participate and learn! #1stchat
A1 I think about student empowerment. So much of the day is made up of what I have to teach it’s so important to allow kids to find their passion and with that their voice #1stchat
A1. I usually think "Oh wow-how do they integrate that with everything else" coupled with "I would have really loved that as a student" and "Would my students get into it too?" #1stchat
I'm not sure my first graders know what it means to be passionate about something. I would love to find out more about what motivates and inspires them. #1stchat
My philosophy as a future educator and as a lifetime learner is to allow passion and imagination to guide me in all my endeavors. Genius hour and passion projects, enable students to explore their individual desire to learn more about something that interests them. #1stchat
#1stchat A1 to be honest, I've seen lots of anything goes . . . students not looking inspired or engaged . . . Ss appearing to be occupying themselves so Ts can check papers in the corner. Probably not the intention.
True! Yes! We need to dive in to these projects with younger students, not only because they CAN do it, but they SHOULD do it. It's disheartening to see the older Ss say they can't! #1stchat
I believe that developing a passion for learning is crucial in order for student's to excel.
i also believe that taking time out of the day to discuss what passion is in the classroom may allow for better understanding of why students are interested in certain subject #1stchat
Yes! By the time they’re asked about their passions at the 12th grade level, can be very difficult for them to think outside the box- but so rewarding when they do! #1stchat
We started with "I wonder" statements. Ss placed post-it notes on a bulletin board paper which eventually turned into passion projects as they learned more to answer their questions! #1stchat
I think that it's important to allow them the time to discover what motivates them and inspires them. As teachers I think we act as facilitators in guiding them in finding that passion. #1stchat
I've seen this, too, @RCSLitCoach - I think the teacher has to believe in it, provide TONS of time for students to find their passions, and then confer with ind. students each week. #1stchat
#1stchat A1 to be honest, I've seen lots of anything goes . . . students not looking inspired or engaged . . . Ss appearing to be occupying themselves so Ts can check papers in the corner. Probably not the intention.
We started with "I wonder" statements. Ss placed post-it notes on a bulletin board paper which eventually turned into passion projects as they learned more to answer their questions! #1stchat
I try to listen to their conversations and add to my lessons things they are interested in, during Christmas around the world a Ss said you’ve inspired me to go to China! #1stchat
And at that level, they'll be asked it so much MORE when they're out! Yikes! Even when it's tough for a handful of my students, it tells me we need to do MORE of it, not less. #1stchat
In reply to
@RuthKidwell, @FirstAtBat, @Woods1stgrade
I try to listen to their conversations and add to my lessons things they are interested in, during Christmas around the world a Ss said you’ve inspired me to go to China! #1stchat
We started with "I wonder" statements. Ss placed post-it notes on a bulletin board paper which eventually turned into passion projects as they learned more to answer their questions! #1stchat
I think that having an open discussion would be a great way to help define for the students what it means to be passionate. That's a wonderful idea! In schools today we hardly ever focus on what the children are motivated by; we merely force a curriculum upon them. #1stchat
A2- aside from projects themselves, just getting to know your sts that much more is enough; those relationships will translate to everything else you do in the classroom #1stchat
I want to get into. Students seem to be really engaged during the time. I'm nervous I'm going to mess it up. Going to start small with "I wonders" #1stchat
A2: I love it when a teacher lets #geniushour ideas "leak" into the rest of their week... letting students decide more, provide more choices, lead the learning... #1stchat
In my personal experience, talking about what interested me helped me define goals and focus on what steps I needed to take to achieve this goal. This notion also helped me redirect my goals in a classroom setting #1stchat
A2: Inspiring Ss to learn more about what they love, to ask more questions, and to be more creative in the classroom. Helping them realize that they have a voice when it comes to their own learning. #1stchat
I think one of the maybe unforseen benefits of #geniushour would be the bond created amongst children with similar interests. Yes, it is indeed important for them to create individual passions, but working in a group will allow for the creativity to continue to build! #1stchat
Awesome way to start. Inquiry! Then let students find the answers and share with the group. Don't need to dive in - dip your toes in. Share w/students your excitement and concerns. #1stchat
A2- aside from projects themselves, just getting to know your sts that much more is enough; those relationships will translate to everything else you do in the classroom #1stchat
Yes! This is exactly what I think. I feel like a lot of Ss think that they are limited to what they are being taught from the textbook, when they could really speak up and learn so much more! #1stchat
Oh my goodness YES!!! Passion projects are SO GREAT for strengthening relationships with your students! You learn so much about them in the process! #1stchat
A2: Watching your Ss discover their passions! This was probably the hardest thing for my students to do. Ss are used to being told what to learn about #geniushour#1stchat
A3: Do what we would do any other time they struggle. Come along side them, support, encourage and scaffold their learning. Partner them up maybe. #1stchat Help them with that first success.
Perfect plan! You don't have to go "all out" to make it a success. Discover their interests, their questions and let that guide the inquiry. Great start! #1stchat
Plus, you've just got to ask. Bring your passion, tell them all the reasons WHY, and they should buy in. ;) Whys on these subtabs here: https://t.co/JgpJckUtCl#1stchat
I think that dedicating time to a #geniushour, would in turn definitely flow into the following lessons and projects. In fact, I believe that is the whole point of the #geniushour. We want their passion to know no bounds and to inhabit every aspect of their lives #1stchat
A3: Talking with your students and letting them know that they have your support to discover new interests and learn more about the things they like. Open discussion is a crucial part of any classroom, I think! #1stchat
Thanks! I'm still anxious about it. But these kids deserve it. I want to give them the time to explore all the wonder things they wonder! Is there a different option then having a dedicated board? #1stchat
Q3 Sometimes students need a starting point and a few suggestions/options. Having an alternative project they can start with can help to get creative juices flowing. #1stchat
A3: Let the struggle continue productively. I had a couple of Ss that really wanted me to just tell them what to do. Be a resource, provide guidance, not answers #geniushour#1stchat
A3: I think that it is very probable that we will find children who are stumped. So I believe that the best way to rectify this problem is to communicate with them and allow them to talk about anything in their life that excites them. This will inevitably lead to results #1stchat
A3: provide more support, I try to get extra adults in my room during our GH time to assist, use more pictures than words if it is hard for them to write, help them find resources on their topic(videos, books,etc) #1stchat
You can also tag-team with an older class of Ss and let them help with resources! Older Ss can use @Flipgrid or @Seesaw to read/share info for younger Ss - great collaboration! #1stchat
This is a good idea too, sometimes it's important to take a step back and let them figure it out on their own. "be a resource" like you said and just talk things through without telling them what to do. #1stchat
A4: @EpicKidsBooks can be a wonderful digital resource for students. Ts can create collections for Ss as well- great for Ss that need a bit more guidance #1stchat
I'm so excited to be starting homework Wonder Bags for my Ss starting this week. They include a wonder book with lots of Q and A and Journal to record what they are learning about, I hope it will help when picking 1 this to do a project on #1stchat
A3 I wonder if partnering some students up at the start could be beneficial in this instance. Wonder walls and opportunity to explore YouTube and other examples could give inspiration. #1stchat
I think you are absolutely right, having more adult figures present is definitely underrated. However, when this is not possible, what would be your follow-up solution? #1stchat
A3: Place them with a buddy or provide additional support in small groups. Ask questions to get them thinking of things they like to do or want to learn more about! #1stchat
Gathering some materials for Ss before their work time and meeting with those Ss first that need more help or possible partnering Ss w the same GH project(if there are any) #1stchat
The sky is the limit with options! Have them draw pictures in their journal, create a @Seesaw post, record their thoughts on a @Flipgrid topic - whatever works best for you and your students! #1stchat
A5: I think that if a student is passionate about a subject, it makes it relevant. As long as it inspires them to work and educate themselves, it is relevant enough for me #1stchat
A5 A project is relevant when students learn something new and become part of what they know. Sometimes ss just learn what they've already known:) lol #1stchat
If a student is invested in politics and makes that the center of their #geniushour, how would you go about incorporating that into the classroom and still allowing it to be an open forum for discussion? #1stchat
A5- Relevance for me, especially at 2ndary level, is about connection to student, ideally connection to larger community which can mean many diff things, and potential for demonstrating new learning #1stchat
A5 reflection at the end of a project is important for me to know what ss thought about their learning. It will help with goal setting for the next project. #1stchat
I've had that before... I'd let him/her research, and share out - with caveats. No "absolutes" such as "always, never, all, none," and speak with care and concern, not judgement. Tough one. Easier for older Ss. #1stchat
I was able to do a @DonorsChoose project to get 20 bags. Each Ss will have their own Journal that will go with them for the bag that they get for the week. I found a great book series called "I Wonder Why" and there's easily 20 diff books. #1stchat
A5 reflection at the end of a project is important for me to know what ss thought about their learning. It will help with goal setting for the next project. #1stchat
I think that it is indeed important for students to learn from these #passionprojects; however, who are we to define the relevancy to our students lives? This may be a journey that is necessary for their own self-discovery outside of our classroom objective #1stchat
A5 reflection at the end of a project is important for me to know what ss thought about their learning. It will help with goal setting for the next project. #1stchat
I was able to do a @DonorsChoose project to get 20 bags. Each Ss will have their own Journal that will go with them for the bag that they get for the week. I found a great book series called "I Wonder Why" and there's easily 20 diff books. #1stchat
Here is a rubric to help think about student independence. Helpful to think about what students need more support and how to help them move towards independence. #1stchat
I printed their Wonder Journal off with just basic things like a page for ?s, important words, drawing/thinking about their drawing. But I bought books to go in each bag that are called I Wonder Why series. #1stchat
Yes! I worked with a student and was not sure the project was a good idea. The learning that resulted for him (and me!) was pretty amazing! Just because we can’t immediately see the relevance, doesn’t make it a bad idea. #1stchat#geniushour
Always great to have a rubric for reflection of #geniushour project. Always hoping it is only used for reflection and goal-setting for next time, and not for a grade. #1stchat
The passion or interest drives learning! Inevitably research, reading, speaking, writing will happen as a result of the desire to learn and share. Genius hour is true authentic learning. #1stchat
Amen! Our Ss learned about the fastest roller coasters, why the heart pumps blood, and why cats hate baths. These could be future engineers, doctors, and vets! Their questions matter! #1stchat#tlap#geniushour
Yes!! Really great books. I'm leaving it pretty open ended but yes that's the plan is that they will have a diff bag each week and will explore some Q that come up in hopes that they find 1 that they may want to develop into a full blown GH project at school #1stchat
I think helping teachers (and students) understand what creativity is and how creativity actually happens is one of the most important conversations we can be having. This rubric was designed to foster that conversation. #1stchat
A6: I like to start around this time introducing it, fits w our information unit and I feel Ss are more ready for this type of indp project but just my opinion. #1stchat
As a multi-aged classroom teacher I don't run an official "genius" hour, but time is provided to follow passions. A lot of learning happens at home and is supported in the classroom. #1stchat
One of the most popular, for sure!! Love it! Here is an editable list of picture books for #geniushour: https://t.co/hHC8TnkMLL#1stchat teachers can add more as they find them!
I will definitely tell you how it goes!! I will send you what I created but it is very basic;) hoping the Ss and families will be excited about this as I am! #1stchat
A5 I think the most important things for any student are interest, curiosity. If the student’s project had these support them so they can explore and maybe even soar. Humans are terrible at judging relevancy especially if ideas are new or different. Don’t judge, support #1stchat
A7: Mostly it is observation. I have had some students do a different one every two weeks and others spend months. But during that time, all are engaged. #1stchat But I use a blog at the end for reflection of the process.
I hear there is an awesome book coming out TOMORROW called The Wild Card that talks all about creativity! I'm looking forward to diving in to learn more! @WadeKing7@hopekingteach#tlap#1stchat
In reply to
@trevorabryan, @JoyKirr, @WadeKing7, @hopekingteach
Designated student Check in time to share and reflect with a teacher or accountability partner. I can also see progress points where students create videos of what they’ve learn or done so far and what their next step or goal is. #1stchat
Here is a link to the #4ocf blog post that the Creativity Rubric is from. You should be able to get a PDF from this post. Reach out if it doesn’t work. #1stchat
A7: Our Ss wrote what they learned in their journals and designed their video backgrounds using the Pixie Program. Now I would use @Seesaw and @Flipgrid to capture verbal insights. #1stchat
It is difficult even for some of my older students. They need guidance and practice. Sometimes I think we are always giving them the questions rather than letting them think on their own. #1stchat
A7: I would like to be able to check out what they have been working on every few days, to make sure they are staying on task. If they need to leave the classroom to explore their #geniushour more, I would request some type of note. #1stchat
What I have learned over and over again is that when we listen to our students, and we ask a lot of questions, more wonders come and they become determined to find answers. #1stchat
Well if they were going to visit another room on campus or a particular educator, I would like a note verifying where they would be during the time allotted. Just to ensure that they are remaining productive. #1stchat
A7: I have Ss record their learning in a journal or on @Seesaw, I try to have the@ use the engineering design process for their final product/presentation to the class #1stchat
Thanks for letting me jump into #1stchat tonight. I always learn so much about what our young learners are capable of from this group. Have a wonderful week!
When students can contribute to even a small piece of their learning process, they engage even more. Even just choosing the order in which they do things motivates them. #1stchat#tchat#KidsDeserveIt
We don't structure and run our classrooms for our gain, we do what we do to help inspire and support our learners. It's not about us and everything about them. Choice matters. #1stchat
A9: This was my very first chat and I learned more than I can process in one night! Thank you all so much for the valuable ideas and resources! I think I can do this! #1stchat
A9: This was my very first chat and I learned more than I can process in one night! Thank you all so much for the valuable ideas and resources! I think I can do this! #1stchat
That was super fun and engaging! I feel like I took away so much information, that I haven't even fully processed yet. Thank you all for being so welcoming! #1stchat
A9 - the similar discussions that are taking place at the 1st and 12th grade levels, and everywhere in between! Thanks for letting a 7-12 educator jump into your #1stchat
#GeniusHour can be tough EVERY year - for students and teachers. That's another reason it's so valuable. We'll keep failing, but we'll also find success! You've GOT this! #1stchat
