The very first presentation was my own! I demonstrated for the class as an example so that they knew what my expectations were. I shared what the goals were at the beginning of the project, where I found my research, what I learned, and demonstrated my new skills with three versions of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer": an acoustic, a rock preset, and a setting of my own.
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| Demonstrating a "rock" preset on my amp. |
I had students recording presentations, so for future years I have both my own and student samples to share at the beginning of our project. This will help students to see the expectations for their presentations from the beginning.
Students had very positive comments about the project overall; many wished we could have continued throughout the winter break. I also had a few parents and even a community member compliment this research presentation.
The three favorite performances were:
- Baking Holiday Treats (because they all had the opportunity to taste test)
- Learning Unique Hair Braiding (they appreciated the presenters use of videos that were well edited)
- Learning to be a Comedian (this student performed a short set within their project)
As a teaching staff, we plan to make a few improvements to the unit next year. Now we have videos to share, and we plan to have students create a works cited page (this year they created a list that sorted them by the source type).
Our blogs will continue to share our learning and progress throughout the rest of the year with other projects. We are especially excited to share Literature Circles with our students this spring.
Overall, Genius Projects have been deemed successful in developing student research skills, presentations abilities, and increasing their confidence! We plan to continue this project in 7th grade English for the foreseeable future.
