In the last few weeks I have made a lot of progress. I have finished writing the book, started choosing the pictures and cutting them out. I plan to have the book almost completely done by the end of this week. I still have to print the book and glue the pictures. I plan to start the final genius hour reflection a soon as the book is done. I am ensuring I meet my deadlines by completing the book this week, and starting the reflection after.
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With only six Fridays left, we plan to use our time very wisely. We have started writing our book for Mrs. Francis’ sixth hour class. We plan to be done with the book within the next week or two and then would start the illustrating process. After we read the book to the children, we will be able to show the book as proof. We will also be able to show a video of us reading the book to the kids as proof.
The article that I chose to read was “After School Programs Foster STEM Skills”. This article talks about how after school programs may be able to help students out with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. After school programs are more centered around letting kids expresses themselves without having to keep grades up. Students who are passionate in any part of STEM will be able to do any kind of project they want without worries.
STEM is an important part of student learning because it requires problem solving and critical thinking skills. It can incorporate big ideas with projects that kids actually want to do for fun. Having after school programs available for children can really broaden the way that they learn and complete projects. It also makes many more opportunities for children who come from low income homes. The programs after school will be more student driven learning and not classroom work. STEM learning is a very important part of student education, but the studies show that after school learning may be more helpful in achieving the level that is needed to succeed. The after school learning is much less pressure because there are no grades that students will be worried about. This can relate to my project because what the students are doing is somewhat related to genius hour in that they have the freedom to do whatever project they want. Clouds purpose in writing the article was to inform people about what it takes to be a genius and how it can come about. He wants to tell the readers if it is possible that genius can come about or if it has more to do with genetics. He wants the readers to know the difference between nature and nurture. Cloud lists many different theories and ideas of people who have studied geniuses. He tells about the 10 year rule, IQ tests, and the intelligence, enthusiasm and endurance formulation. Cloud talks about how it doesn't always matter how many stories you get published or how high one IQ test makes you look. He says that genius is something that requires a lot of different aspects.
This can pertain to my academic life because it shows what it can truly take to be a “genius”. It shows how hard it may be to become a genius and what different things have to be taken into account to be considered one. Cloud talks about many different theories and beliefs that other people think make you a genius. This can apply to my genius hour project because I know how hard it will be to be considered a successful genius. Mr. Cowen presented his information in a very smooth and easy to understand way. When he was presenting I learned that the more comfortable you are with your topic the better the presentation will be. Mr. Cowen knew a lot about his topic which made it easier for me to understand this also made him feel more comfortable. This can help me present my information because it makes me want to practice my speech to make it flow smoothly. Mr. Cowen used many tools to make his presentation better. He used a slideshow, websites, models, and a demonstration of the printer. He did a very good job with his presentation and used different elements to make it effective.
The author of this article interprets the word genius as not just intelligence but creativity. He thinks that expressing creativity and looking at something in a different way is extremely important. He also believes it is important to find a perspective that no one has already found. The author thinks that taking the creativity you have and applying it to everyday life will improve the quality of your personal life. The shared strategies of geniuses are, looking at problems in different ways, making thoughts visible, producing ideas, making novel connections, forcing relationships, thinking in opposites, thinking metaphorically, and preparing for a chance. All of those elements are very important strategies for creative thinking. This makes me want to use my own creativity to make my genius hour project better.
This article has many good points about the opportunities of genius hour and what can be done with the projects. It tells about how it is okay to fail and move on sometimes. Learning to deal with failure is an important life lesson that the children are learning early on in their projects. In the article, the kids in the middle school were upset because they wouldn't be able to go to school to do their genius hour projects. The article also talks about how important it is for kids to have freedom with their learning. I think that this is very important because kids will have the desire to learn. This article applies to me because I know now that it's okay to take bigger risks because failure is acceptable. I know that if I don't take risks I may never be able to accomplish what I want to with my project.
After forming the idea for my genius hour project, I know that I need a plan to make it happen. For the project I have many tasks that I need to accomplish. My first task is raising money for the blankets so that they can start being made as soon as possible. I hope to finish the fundraising by the end of October towards early November. After that is completely finished, Kylah Olson and I, will start making as many blankets as the money will allow. We plan to do this over the course of two or three weeks. Depending on how much money we can raise we will see how long the blanket making will take. Also we have to consider our schedules and what days we will be able to work on the blankets. When all the blankets are made we plan to donate them as soon as possible to a children's hospital near us.
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