20% Time, Genius Hour or Student Choice. I call it "My interests." Part I

This past school year I decided to flip my regular U.S. class and incorporate more student choice. I have always tried to make this happen, but to be honest, the technology was not there yet. Once my school developed a strong enough WiFi system and students were allowed to use their cell phones in school I was able to implement what I called "My Interests."

As a teacher of 14 years I have always tried to find ways to push my students to want to go beyond the text and learn more on their own about anything in the chapter that interests them. Like anything else in teaching or life, when you are truly interested in what you are working on, it feel less like work and is more fun! To begin this process I thought about what I wanted to see happen in our classroom. 1. I wanted students to still read the chapter for core content. 2. I wanted my students to explore beyond the text in a topic that interested them. 3. I wanted the students to share their ideas with their classmates in a time-friendly format. Flipping our class and "my interests" projects made it happen.

Here is a typical week breakdown using the text and "My Interests."
-We start out with chapter five that has four sections to it: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4

Monday:
I introduce chapter 5 sections one and two on Monday and take about 15 minutes covering the sections introducing key ideas, terms and people. I purposefully leave information gaps on topics to make students interested in finding out more. Students then read for 25 minutes or so reading as much of each section as they can in that time. Students take their own notes, being sure to include the key ideas, terms and people I spoke of at the beginning of the hour.  Students love that they can move through the reading at their own pace on their own schedule. Near the of the hour I have the students "huddle up" with classmates and discuss what they learned. I enjoy the huddle time as I am able to walk around the room and listen/participate in their discussions. My interactions with my students are unique to where each person/group is at that day, that hour.

Students may continue on with the reading of the two sections that night, or if they feel they are far enough, finish off section two the next day in class.

Tuesday: 
I begin class by gauging where the students are at in their reading. Next, students are given 25 minutes to again read and taken notes on their own. After this time, we have a five minute huddle and then a large group discussion of those two sections. I have found that the students are more prepared and more comfortable with class discussion due to the fact that they had class time designated to reading and they had time to bounce ideas off of classmates before large group discussion.

If students want to work ahead at any time and read the other sections, they may. Students love the ability to move at their own pace.

*Please check back soon for Part II and III in the near future.