A few months ago, I was talking with several teachers in my building about providing opportunities for students to engage in their passions. We wanted to give students the chance to engage and learn something that they were really interested in. We wanted to show them the possibility of learning.
This past week, our students engaged in the #HourOfPossibility.
Each staff member facilitated an activity based on their interests and expertise, and every 2nd and 3rd grade student got to choose which activities they wanted to take part in.
We started by asking students what type of activities they would be interested in. The responses ran the gamut, although there were quite a few requests for Legos and Minecraft. After coming up with a list of activities for students (18 in all!), we asked parents to review the list to help students decide what would be the best fit. Students then listed their top three choices for activities.
Each of the more than 200 students was able to take part in one of their top three choices.
Some students wanted to learn about cake decorating. They were able to learn several techniques for decorating, and some students found a passion for something they had never done before.
Some students worked to program Dash & Dot. These robots can do some pretty cool things when students put their mind to it.
Some students created their own video games. They then challenged each other to play the games.
Some students learned about the animation process and created their own flip books.
Other activities included:
- Designing and completing an obstacle course
- Programming and coding
- Jewelry making
- Lego creations
- Preschool reading buddies
- Breakout EDU
- Cursive writing
As I walked from room to room during the #HourOfPossibility, what I noticed most was the pure joy of each of the students. Each student was engaged in whatever activity they were doing. There was definite learning taking place, but most importantly, students barely realized they were learning.
We will plan another #HourOfPossibility soon, and I hope that students will engage and learn again. I hope that we have set a spark that will lead to our students becoming cake decorating artists, video game creators, and programmers, amongst other roles. My biggest hope is that students will continue their most important role, that of learners.
Anything is possible, and if we give students opportunities that they don’t normally have, they will surprise us with their abilities and passions.
It is our job to show students what is possible.
Rich (@RACzyz)
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