Creative Chaos

My classroom is an utter disaster area. So bad, it's giving me the heebie-jeebies. With our showcase two short weeks away, my kids are in full creation mode.

It doesn't help that two of my fifth graders have chosen to study Rube Goldberg machines for their Genius Hour projects, and have been constructing a roller-coaster like device that incorporates marble runs, dominoes, K'nex, LEGOs, Snap Circuits and cocktail umbrellas -- among other materials. I believe its purpose is to ring a bell.

I have, strewn around my room right now, a miniature physics museum for kids, a student-invented air cannon and more robots than the entire Transformer movie franchise.

Posters and tri-folds are tucked away in a corner; LEGO movie sets are hiding on high shelves (to keep kindergarten fingers away).

I have had kids begging to work on their projects at lunch, at recess, before school and after school. I promised my second-graders, who have lunch bunch tomorrow (a time set aside only once every two weeks for stories and bonding), that we'd make it a "working lunch" so they could keep typing up their research.

They are so engaged because of choice. I've already written about the LEGO robot dinosaurs. With my third through fifth graders, I've jumped on the Genius Hour bandwagon. Basically, they got to choose any topic or skill they were passionate about, then researched it to present at our GT showcase. 

I created a rubric to ensure quality projects (we've talked a lot about quality this year), and they are definitely rising to the challenge.  Will every kid finish an amazing project? Probably not -- I wish I had the key to motivating 100 percent of my kids, but I'm still learning what makes some of them tick.

Still, this year's showcase products are amazing me right now -- and we still have two more weeks to see what they come up with.

I just need to look at all that chaos, take deep breaths, and keep reminding myself of that.

Growing Storytellers

"I wrote a chapter book!"

This pronouncement, unexpected from the lips of a first-grader, made me smile. She had taken to our latest project with gusto, and had been writing on Storybird for hours.

This fantastic website was shared by a friend last year, but has really taken off with my storytelling group this semester. (For more great tech ideas, check out Cristina Popescu's blog "Think Appy Thoughts!")

Basically, the website provides the artwork, and your students pick the picture that inspires them. They can write poems, chapter books or picture books, and can even "publish" their stories to share.

The basic level of the website is free, and teachers can sign up 30 students (after that they have to pay for subscriptions). It's also safe: Teachers can moderate all stories and comments that their students make, and any stories published in the public realm are moderated by the website's team for family-friendliness.

I shared Storybird with the teachers on our campus, and the first grade teachers decided to sign their classes up. One of their students enjoyed writing so much, she authored the picture book "How to Write a Book on Storybird."

Although I'm using it in class with younger elementary students, I can see this working with kids through high school -- or even adults. 

I'm personally working on a children's chapter book right now -- it's pretty rough, but I promised my students that if they're writing, then I would, too. They love being able to see my writing take shape, and giving me suggestions on it.

Enjoy!