Monday, November 11, 2013

Give Them Each Other, Time, Resources, and the Freedom To Create

One of my favorite things to do as a teacher is to watch what can happen when we give our young people time to be with each other, the resources and space that they need, and the freedom to create.  
Not only do I get to see all kinds of these moments during the school day, I also get to see them every Wednesday when our library group gets together.  

Two weeks ago, we kicked off another year of our Technical Difficulties Library Club.  You can read about our first meeting here.  I love what this time brings....and what this amazing group brings to the library, school, and to each other.  
It was fun to watch as the kids split into two groups to work on things they wanted to create. One group created a Smore newsletter to encourage others in the school to join our group.  
                             
The other group told me they were going to the secondary library to write a reading song.  They want to send this out through our school and library Facebook, Twitter, and in an email to promote reading, technology, and their group.  Also, they want to inspire everyone to read....and what a great way!  
The girls wrote their reading song to the tune of Roar by Katy Perry.
About half way through our time together that day, they pulled up the song on YouTube, next to the other computer with the Google Doc containing the lyrics, and just started singing this awesome song they had created.  It was awesome what they had created!  We all loved it.

The next day, after working on their reading song one more time during their lunch, the girls sang their song to our kindergarteners and their 4th grade classes in the library and art room.

I can't wait to see how they perfect their song this week and all of the fun things they will add to their performance.

So remember.....with a little time, a place to connect and create, access to resources, and most important each other, our students can have any voice they want.

We just need to give them this freedom and see where it takes them.

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