Week 3 - Savanna 20 Time

Week 3

Today I shared with my students on how to write a project proposal (see resources below).  I want students to think about what they are going to do, how they will accomplish it, and how they are going to use their time.  Initially I made a handout on Google Docs that have the requirements, but I later added a document to my shared Google Drive folder for the 20 Percent Project called, "Proposal Template."

Now students can go click on the document, make a copy, and fill in the sections for their proposal.  I gave the students a naming convention, Period #-Proposal-Name, Name, Name.  Some of the students are familiar with Google Docs,  so once they rename the document, they can begin to work collaboratively on the proposal.

While some students began their proposals, others were still wrestling with what they were going to do for their projects.  I would classify the area of Anaheim in which Savanna is located as a working class neighborhood.  In our initial brainstorming sessions, many students wanted to do something related to sports like developing a training for soccer, baseball, or basketball since that is something they do, but now other more interesting and original ideas are surfacing.

One group, a Latino girl and a Caucasian boy, are going to take on teaching the Caucasian boy to learn Latin Dance routines by learning how to dance Batchata, Merengue, etc.

Another group is going to tackle learning and teaching Arabic.  Yet another will make bracelets for sick children for nearby CHOC.  One student was interesting in being a pen pal with a military serviceman, but I suggested she start a club on campus to recruit Savanna students to become pen pals as well.

One group is going to create a blog about color guard, giving advice, collecting memes, and a place for visitors to the blog to vent or share their experiences.  One girl in this group was so fired up that she was literally jumping up and down with some passionate fist pumps.

I don't know if I've seen this type of zeal in my students over regular projects.  So excited to see how Savanna students shine as they work towards beginning, fixing, improving, and finishing their projects.

Resources

20 Percent Project Requirements (Google Doc)
Project Proposal Template (Google Doc)