Genius Hour has commenced!

I am so excited about this Genius Hour stuff. So. Excited.

Though I've had a few glitches to work out in communicating my expectations to kids and exactly how much paperwork they really need to do the project, it's starting off well.

The kids pitched all their ideas a few weeks ago, and we're setting up blogs today. I think a lot of the kids are truly excited for what they're doing. Some of them have lofty goals... some of them don't. Some of them have very interesting topics but struggled to come up with a project to go with it. They all seemed to have something they wanted to study or learn or focus on quickly, but finding a project to go with it was a challenge for some.

I think, though, that so far, my goal for the project is being met - the kids are engaged in learning and doing something of their choosing. The kids I have, by and large, are all high-achievers. They have to be, to qualify for College Prep English. And because of that, they are also some of the busiest, most involved students we have. I think they appreciate having a chance to pursue a hobby or an interest of theirs built in to the school week.

Some of our projects are:

• making blankets for the needy
• testing computer virus software
• making model cars
• making soap
• creating painting tutorials
• raising money to build a house in Haiti
• creating a lending library
• writing an a cappella song to perform at a Christmas concert
• learning photography techniques

Overall, I'm pumped to see where these kids go with this opportunity. You can check my Genius Hour page for links to all their blogs, which are supposed to explain their projects and their progress. They're still in the initial stages, though, so some of them don't have much up yet. They will!

Product Update: Writer's Mini-lessons

One of my favorite assignments I give to my seniors is the writer's mini-lesson. By the time they are seniors, there is very little actual new information for them to learn regarding grammar. Most of what they are doing in their writing is improving, maturing, and simply adding sophistication. So, for our grammar and writing review, I have the students teach most of the lessons.

The best part about student-led instruction is how much better they retain what they taught. And I've been really surprised by the different ways they have come up with to practice the information or skill! Some of them have gotten really creative!

The down side of all of this, which I learned the hard way the first few years, was the organization of it all. I have one group present each Wednesday, and they all have due dates based on when they present, so it can get really difficult to keep everyone on schedule and organized. I made myself a chart for each of my hours to try and stay on top of it, but I mostly relied on the kids to be aware of deadlines and get things to me. They are seniors, after all. I tried my best to remind them, and they did get points deducted if they missed a deadline. I just let them know up front that they were in charge, and it seemed to work well enough.

I have certainly learned a lot through trial and error with this assignment, but I think I've streamlined and organized the process now (mostly). So, to reflect that, I've updated this product to include some more documents and helpful tips and tricks. Click here to check it out!

DIY Ruler Growth Chart [Tutorial]

I LOVE getting to be crafty in the summer! And as my kids are growing like WEEDS, I decided I needed to make this project a priority: a ruler growth chart!

Here's what I used for my project:

• a 2" x 6" x 6' board
• a hand sander
• 50-, 100- and 150-grit sandpaper
• a light stain
• some clean cloths or a brush to apply the stain and finish
• a tape measure or a yardstick
• printouts of the numbers 1-6 in your font of choice (mine are HERE and they were 288 pt.)
• a Sharpie (you could paint the lines and numbers, but I'm not that steady!)
• a clear polyurethane finish

First, I sanded the board using a hand sander, starting with the 50 and working up to the 150. I didn't need it to be too smooth - just enough so that it didn't scratch. I wanted a little bit of a rough look. I also slightly rounded the corners with the sander.

Then, I applied two coats of stain using a cloth. I used Minwax Colonial maple. I would not suggest going too dark, because you want to be able to see your numbers easily and your marks for the kids' heights.

After the stain dried a full 24 hours, I went to work on the numbers and marks. I decided I wanted a mark every inch, and I made the 1/2 and 1/4 marks (at 3", 6", and 9") longer. I laid out a tape measure beside my board and marked at 6", because that is how high I was going to hang it off the ground. My family is fairly tall, and I wanted to make sure this baby could accommodate tall boys, so I started my numbering at 6" and it goes up to 6' 6"!

Using my tape measure, I marked off at 6", 1' 6", 2' 6", etc. all the way up to the top. I used a square tool (like the one pictured to the left) to mark lines in pencil that were 3" long for each foot. However, if you wanted your 1/2 marks to be longer than your 1/4 marks, you'll want to make these 4". Then, I marked every three inches with lines that were 2" long (make your lines at each foot 3" if you want your 1/2 lines longer), and finally I marked every inch 1" long. This part took a little bit of time, but it was super easy. After I did it all in pencil, I went over it in a new black Sharpie.

For the numbers, I put the paper on top of the board where I wanted them to go (I centered it off the foot marks) and traced over it, pressing down hard, with a mechanical pencil with the lead retracted. It left an impression in the wood, since I used a pretty soft wood, that I then simply traced with Sharpie and colored in! You can sort of see the impression here, and in this closeup pic, you can see the coloring lines a bit, so if that would bother you, I'd fill in the numbers with paint.

I gave the Sharpie a good 24 hours to set because I wasn't sure if it'd bleed or not, and then I put two coats of satin-finish clear polyurethane to seal it.

To hang my ruler growth chart, I scoured the Internet but didn't really find the suggestions I was looking for, so I went to the hardware store to browse and ended up coming home with these flush mount hangers. I screwed the hanger to the board and screwed the other one to the wall (making sure to use a level), but it still was a little wobbly hanging, so I added three Velcro 3M strips to stabilize it, and I feel much better about that. The best way I found to attach those was to put the strips on the board, then attach the other strips with the Velcro, then peel off the backing and hang it on the wall. Then I pressed really hard where the strips were, removed the board, and pressed them in some more. I don't want this baby going anywhere!


I'm so happy with how this turned out! Labor-wise, it probably took me only a few hours to sand, stain, draw the numbers and finish. There was some wait time in between, but it made a really good naptime project for me! To mark their heights, I used three different colors of Sharpie. And the kids LOVED getting measured, especially baby girl, who modeled for me without me even asking. :)

Making my Masterpiece

... OK, I'm not sure this one is my "masterpiece", but I do think it's a really fun unit!

This week's challenge for the Teachers Pay Teachers Sellers Challenge (hosted by Amber at PreppyZestyTeacherista, Ashley at Teach Create Motivate, Emily at Third in Hollywood, and Jen at Sparkling in Second) is to create a new product. I had been meaning to get my "Surprise Endings" unit ready to sell basically since I taught it. I loved teaching it, and at the end of the year, several students told me it was their favorite thing we did all year.

Basically, I recap plot, characterization, and tone/mood by using Pixar shorts, and then we read three short stories with twist endings ("The Black Cat", "Lather and Nothing Else", and "The Open Window") to practice analyzing those skills. Finally, the kids get to write their own short stories (this was the part they loved) with their choice of four surprise endings. Then, they write a paragraph analyzing their stories and explaining how they used elements of plot and characterization and how they created the tone/mood.

The best part of this challenge is that they told us to find a partner to evaluate it and give us tips on how to make it better. It was awesome because that is something I have never done before. Based on that feedback, I reorganized some things, I made some things more noticeable and clearer, and I took out some things that were in my personal plan that aren't included in the product.

I'm so excited for this one, and I'm working on putting up the individual lesson plans as well.

If you think this unit sounds like something you'd enjoy, you can find it in my store here!

It IS a business!

I really didn't know what to expect when I joined the Teachers Pay Teachers Sellers Challenge (hosted by Amber at PreppyZestyTeacherista, Ashley at Teach Create Motivate, Emily at Third in Hollywood, and Jen at Sparkling in Second), but it has certainly provided a kick in the pants to get my store close to where it should be.

Up until very recently, I didn't really think of it as a business. I know it's called a "store", but in my head, it was more of a hobby. I think that was mistake number 1. I just posted my "products" (still didn't think of it as a business) hoping that they were useful and user-friendly. Sale-ability, marketing, branding... none of that occurred to me.

And because of that, when someone started a post discussing Terms of Use pages on the TpT Seller Challenge Facebook page, it got me thinking. Why didn't I have one of those? If I want others to take me seriously and respect my products, I think I need those things that say I take myself seriously. Like a Terms of Use page.

So, here it is! I even figured out how to add hyperlinks to it.

Now for the somewhat arduous task of inserting it into all my existing products... I guess I can do that as I work on updating all my covers too. :)

So what about you? If you sell, did you have trouble taking yourself seriously?

Daring to Dream

I suppose to start out with, reviving this blog is daring to dream itself.

However, the last time I tried this, I had thought, "What a great way to remember my FIRST year of teaching... I'll keep a blog!" Then I actually started teaching and realized how much work - so, so much work - is involved in teaching, especially when it's your first year and you're starting from scratch.

Now, as an older and wiser teacher with five full years under my belt (ha!), I'm hoping maybe I can do this. I've got the incentive of all those other Teachers Pay Teachers sellers out there who all seem to be saying, "YES, you need a blog!"

So, this blog will also be my Genius Hour project that I'll work on while my dual credit English 12/College Composition seniors work on their Genius Hour projects (more on that later).

What I'm hoping to gain from my TpT store

When I started my Teachers Pay Teachers sellers account, I had a basic account for probably six months. I wasn't really sure what I expected out of it. In fact, I think I mostly planned to download free items, but I figured that if the seller's account was free too, I might as well post some of those middle school units I wouldn't be needing as I changed jobs to a high school teacher. It took a while, but I still remember how exciting that first sale was. It was as if someone out there was saying, "Hey, it looks like you know what you're doing. I'm going to PAY MONEY for your work!"

That feeling was incredible. Validation.

The first part of my dream was simply taking pride in my work. I mean, I had always been proud of what I was doing in the classroom, but it is so hard to share with non-teachers (and even other teachers - I hated feeling like I was bragging, especially as a young teacher). So my store allowed me to really have a concrete reason to feel pride in my work, and I had people that I could share it with who might even pay some of their own hard-earned money to purchase my work.

When I finally did the math and realized that I actually could be making a lot more money, even with spending the money for the premium account, my dreams started to materialize. This money, for us, is not in the budget. Some of it goes on our Starbucks card. I used some to buy a second pair of glasses. I bought a skirt from JC Penney's. You know, fun stuff! Guilt-free, non-budgeted fun stuff!

Finally, after completing my first year as a premium seller, my husband and I decided that we would save as much as we could (minus some Starbucks money still) to take a vacation. I'm not sure when or where just yet, because we've got big J and the twins to think about, but we are thinking maybe Vegas. I'd kind of like to make it coincide with the TpT conference, but we'll see what he thinks about that. :)

This TpT Seller's Challenge has been great motivation so far. I'd already revamped several product covers, as well as some products themselves, and now, I'm getting re-committed to this blog. There's no time like the present!

Busy, busy, busy!

Today was one of those days that felt like a week. We started with VB practice for the varsity this morning at 6:30 since their was a HS quad after school at home. Then I stayed after school and finally got my file folders for each kid organized. Luckily Brandon helped me with that. We left and then went straight to Brandon's parents' house to have hamburgers and okra with them and Meghan while she's home. I'm glad I'm finally sitting down! I feel like the first few weeks of school have both flown by and gone incredibly slow. I'm always busy and feel like I haven't had a moment to stop and think since we started, but yet I feel like we've done so much already that we've had to have been in school for weeks.

I wanted to share today some of the things my kids came up with for their quickwrite today. Basically, I start each class with a quickwrite: a 5-minute, write-as-fast-as-you-can journal entry. For the 8th graders, today, the topic was based off a photo of two bicyclists who were stopped on a road and looking straight at the camera. Their quest was to describe what it was that made the bicyclists stop and look. One kid decided it was because they could see right into our classroom, and they stopped when he announced that today's lunch was Salisbury steak. They were trying to figure out how to get into the classroom to eat with us. Another kid told in detail of the unicorn farm, where the unicorns were playing chess and the goats were singing. I can't remember all of them, but man, the imagination these kids have! Love it!

The 7th graders had a similar creative topic. Theirs was to imagine that they received an official-looking, white, business-size envelope in the mail from a company called Peerless with the words "You May Have Already Won" stamped on the outside in red. They were to then come up with the next part of the story. One kid told the story from a 3 year old's perspective, and she won a lifetime supply of Spaghetti-O's. Another kid wrote the letter that was actually in the envelope: it started out saying you had won a trip to outer space, but then said "just kidding" and was actually a letter asking for money to support research for kids afraid of the colors red, yellow and blue. Another kid told it from the perspective of the oldest man alive, who is 1,979 years old. And still walking (the kids got a kick out of that part).

They just amaze me with their varied ideas! I'm excited to hear what they have to say about Where the Red Fern Grows in 7th grade, and I know the 8th grade will come up with some good tall tales/myths/legends/folk tales/etc. in their unit this week and next.

I love being a teacher so far, but man, I feel so busy!!