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"Quiet on the Set! We're ready to record! 3, 2 1 Action!" shouts the director.  The long wait was over...finally, the students were in front of the Green Screen, behind the camera and handling the teleprompter. Last year a colleague and I wrote a grant for the "Green Screen Chroma Key Project"   The idea was to work with the kids to create a movie as a way to share something related to their learning.  Using a Green Screen background allows you to add whatever background you like in the editing process. It took quite a while just to order the "Green Screen," camera, and software.  When it finally arrived we were on our Winter break.    The weeks passed and still I hadn't started the process with the students.   On Thursday of this week I decided to take the last hour of the day and have my own GENIUS HOUR.   I needed to take a chance, take a risk to figure out the whole "Green Screen" idea.  While students worked at their desks I began s...

For several weeks the topic of conversation in our classroom surrounded our trial of Genius Hour .   Students were excited about being given the time and opportunity to pursue topics of interest to them.  They LOVED the term - Student Driven Learning ! Most students had an idea right away - while others needed time to think and plan .  Some students decided to work together while others chose to work independently.  Some students would use the computer, while others would use different tools. Our 'hour' began at 1:45 p.m . Students excitedly collected their supplies and went straight to work. The level of engagement was something at which to marvel.  For over an hour students were completely engrossed in their learning while they created comic strips on the computer, sewed a pillow, researched hedgehogs, experimented with volcanoes, created mazes from wood, researched a Brazilian Gospel singer, and so many other topics. Experimenting with a Volcano There w...

The Genius of Stonehenge In honor of of the New Year I decided to try something that many colleagues around the nation are talking about.  Perhaps you have heard the term "Genius Hour" from your someone in your PLN!  Genius Hour is something I have wanted to try since November 2011 when I read this blog post from a member of my PLN, Denise Krebs .  In it she describes her first attempt at this type of activity with her 7th grade class.  To this day, I follow posts and tweets about this 'Genius Hour' in the hopes of one day trying it with my fourth grade students.  What is Genius Hour ?  Click on the link to read in depth how one teacher, Gallit Zvi describes it and it's origin.  In a nutshell, it is letting students follow their passion using inquiry to "work on new designs or master new skills". Genius hard at work! So this is it - this is the year! As I discussed with my students, sometime in January, they will have the opportunity to explore/learn...