What About You Shines

Yesterday, I launched a new Building Outside the Blocks (BOB) project in my 5/6 Literacy class called What About You Shines (WAYS). All BOBs are ways to bring student identities, live experiences, and interests into the classroom while developing a variety of skills in and beyond the curriculum. I love to name things, especially my projects because they become endearing pieces of my classroom dynamic and because I created them for my learners. Immediately after launching the WAYS project, I wish I had recorded the banter in the classroom as data that justifies why I do these projects throughout the year and year after year. Since I am teaching many of the same students the same subject (Literacy), I have switched up the BOB projects that I am planning for this year, and I was inspired to create a new one just for them.

All Building Outside the Blocks projects help students build curricular skills, learning skills, class community, and a connection to themselves. Ever since I first captured the common thread between my projects, I have been better-able to explain why they were so purposeful and high yielding. All of my BOB projects are work-at-home- projects where students get some start time at school, but most of the work is done on their own time. It’s not the same as homework, because each student has a different self selected due date within the teacher-provided options, so they have to backwards their work in view of their individual deadlines.

WAYS (What About You Shines) is exactly what it sounds like; it's about the different ways that students can shine and the many avenues through which they can share things they are good at. These are things many teachers discover as answers to questions. This project is a catalyst for self-inquiry into something that lights them up. After launching the project yesterday, there was a buzz in the room, with many students asking if they could get started right away and work on it at home. The immediate ideas I heard students writing about include playing piano, becoming a soccer goalie, being a top-ranker gamer on Fortnite, nailing a dance move, baking, becoming an animator, and so much more. Another amazing part is what happens during the creative conversations with students who are unsure or don’t think anything about them shines. I was exploring ideas with a despondent student. I proposed investigating how she became such a great big sister and all the things she does to care for her siblings. She thought that was a bad idea as that reality only depressed her, so we started popcorning other ideas. When I asked about her dog, she lit up. She has decided to share what it’s like to be a great dog owner. Another student who was having difficulty deciding what to do his project on settled on his developments in Jujitsu. He asked if he could incorporate videos his parents took at his competitions, and I answered with a resounding, “Yes!” Even if two students write about the same aspect of their lives, no two stories or journeys are the same, and each student can deliver the project through whatever medium they choose.

As educators, we are called to opportunities for students to be seen and heard. WAYS is one of the many projects that are invitations for students to be and see themselves in school by bringing who they are and what makes them shine beyond the building. Projects like these compel students to own and tell their stories and celebrate pieces of themselves in front of their  peers. They can do it in their first language, with translation tools available so that class can understand them, and they can be their whole selves. They can do it in the ways that suit them best- some pre-recording a presentation so they don’t have to do it live, and some presenting only to me over lunch until they work up their ability to present to the class. Luckily, I do many BOB projects so that students have that gradual release and are able to present to the whole class by the end of the school year.

If we want students to have joy in learning then projects like these are what we need in addition to other culturally responsive and meaningful ways we invite students to be a part of the classroom and build the room around who is in the room. Before I taught a split class, I always began the school year with my What’s in a Name project. The WIN has students exploring their name stories and sharing the etymology, why their parents chose their names, how they feel about their names and more. Even with name work becoming more ubiquitous, the depth of this project continues to compel me, but I am glad that reteaching half of the class has catalyzed me to find different ways for students to reach in and out of themselves while building curriculum and learning skills. You can read more about my BOB projects on my website, and I’d be happy to share any outline. The WAYS isn’t on there yet, but I will look forward to writing about it once presentations end in mid-November. These projects have become essential to my practice and to getting to know my learners in really deep and meaningful ways. I have been blogging about my projects for a decade, and I never tire of the impact they have on my students.  Here is a graphic of the BOB projects I have planned for this year and the ones my students did last year.