Road Blocks??? (Thoughts appreciated!)

Just taking a second to update on the whole project-planning process...

Feeling slightly frustrated and overwhelmed with the project as a whole, though this stage in planning is always the most frustrating. I tend to get stuck in the minutia of all the details, and I think that's contributing to my feeling of being under water. Thoughts anyone???

Kate and I really hashed out the week-by-week analysis of what needs to get done when, and how long we plan to draw the process out. It seems as though we are in agreement that this project needs to start right as school begins again in January after the winter break. We see the students once every 6 days, which leaves us with about 20 sessions to work with and guide students towards this final goal.

I spent a good chunk of time gathering information for our initial "hook" activity to create a "need to know" attitude in our students. That was something I really enjoyed getting to delve into. I also spent a good chunk of time (more than I would like to admit to) trying to assemble a "Project Asset Map" on the computer. I had drawn out my own map using "fun" shapes, however I could not find a way to reproduce what I had drawn on the computer! Nothing looked "just right" so I may just draw it myself...

New Beginnings

So today Kate (a.k.a. Miss Monahan/Mrs. Kenyon) and I began working on a collaborative project involving 5th graders composing a piece for their end-of-the-year graduation ceremony. This concept was not an original idea, however (although all the steps and ideas within this project are the product of both Kate's and my collaboration). In the words of Dr. Joshua Oppenheim, "Good teachers are good stealers." However, I'd like to take this statement a step further with the statement that "Great teachers are great adapters." I'd like to think Kate and I adapted the idea of having our students write a piece for their graduation in ways that fits both our demographic and our assets best.

We began by making an outline of things we could include as far as technology (right now we've got video conferencing with experts on the brain), what past experiences the students already have (as far as writing lyrics, the feelings they are having about graduating, etc.), and who we can collaborate with to allow for interdisciplinary opportunities (such as working with classroom teachers, the librarian, the art teacher, etc.). I am very much anticipating what kinds of possibilities are available (right now they are endless!) and what kinds of ideas the students will have.

This past school year I had done a very open-ended project with my fifth graders where they were able to choose their own project to do for the end of the year. Some researched musical artists and bands they liked, some researched a favorite instrument, some wrote songs (I have a fabulous rap a student wrote about placing his order at a KFC restaurant), and some created their own musical instruments. I was so impressed with the outcomes of the projects and it really revealed to me the true abilities of students and what possibilities there are, even with such young students.

My goal with this project is to bring all the abilities of my students together into one common, collaborative goal so that each student feels a part of not only the process, but has a sense of pride in the final product.

A Nostalgic Reflection and a New Beginning

As I clicked on the "Start Blogging!" button, I had flashbacks of the year 2004, my first experience in delving into the world of "blogging". I had heard of this thing called "blogging" through my friend who religiously updated her LiveJournal account. "Why not?" I asked myself. "Why can't I do that?"

With that attitude, I wrote (and wrote, and wrote), and I noticed a few unexpected outcomes of my (what I considered to be) leisure activity: I actually enjoyed writing. (Who knew?)

With this blog, however, my intentions are a bit more education-focused. As I embark on this journey of creating meaningful experiences for my students, I hope to discover aspects of myself that currently lie dormant. I hope to discover possibilities I didn't know existed. I hope to collaborate with whomever wants to give feedback. I hope to document my discoveries, pitfalls, learning experiences, good and bad ideas (of course learning from those bad ideas), and whatever other experiences and unexpected outcomes await!