Egads! I drafted this post two months ago, but I forgot to post it. Better late than never!This year (2015) I jumped into Genius Hour. I didn't have everything completely planned ahead of time, which normally isn't how I operate. I thought I would get started and see where the kids took the project.See this … Continue reading Genius Hour – A Reflection of Sorts
Lessons Learned: Genius Hour 2015
After launching into a modified Genius Hour without having all of my metaphorical ducks in a row, I've learned a few lessons.1. Think about how you will keep track of everything.Problem: I asked that all of my students have their Essential Questions for research approved by me. As I approved their questions, I typed something … Continue reading Lessons Learned: Genius Hour 2015
First Days? Begin With the End In Mind.
I am in limbo. For 7 of the past 10 years I have taught 8th grade language arts (three years in the middle I was an academic interventionist). There is a possibility I will be moving to 6th grade for this school year.This year. The one that starts in 14 days - 7 of which … Continue reading First Days? Begin With the End In Mind.
EdCamp Leadership in Sketchnote
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about women in in Ed Leadership, combining some thoughts I had about women in ed tech leadership with thoughts about educational leadership in general..I promised myself (and the Internet I suppose) that I was going to show up. I was going to do what I could to get … Continue reading EdCamp Leadership in Sketchnote
I’m going to show up.
This is a little rambling, but it's my first post in a while. Forgive me!So, this year I was #notatiste. I was fortunate to be sent to ISTE in 2011 in what was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thankfully, there's a great and very active community of people who engage in ISTE style learning from their … Continue reading I’m going to show up.
My Epic Nonfiction Project
One of my goals this summer was to completely align my lessons and activities with the Common Core Standards. It's been quite an undertaking, and I don't think I'll get everything done I wanted to.As part of that, I made the orgnizational tool I posted about earlier.I've been busy adding in lessons and activities and slowly … Continue reading My Epic Nonfiction Project
8th Grade ELA Common Core Planning
So, one of my major undertakings this summer has been to prepare myself to teach the Common Core standards. I don't want to completely re-invent the wheel, but I also want to make sure that I'm teaching everything I'm supposed to.As a result, I've created this planning document!One of my goals for the upcoming year … Continue reading 8th Grade ELA Common Core Planning
Finally!
After about a year and ten different blog names, I think I've finally settled on Pensive Chatter! In this blog I'm just planning to share whatever moves me at that moment. I think it'll be heavily focused on education ideas geared towards 8th grade language arts and plant-based recipes and thoughts. We'll see where this … Continue reading Finally!