Now what?: Supporting students through the ILP process

The school year is well underway and students are at the point where they are still excited to be learning and have grown comfortable with their teachers and classes. My seniors in Honors Imaginative Process are learning about the creative process by reading nonfiction texts by authors such as Stephen King and Elizabeth Gilbert. They’re also writing daily and working with each other to provide feedback and do mini-presentations on aspects of creativity. Because this is our first unit, students began by developing essential and guiding questions together as well as practicing the same standards as their peers. They were excited about the possibilities, but as an experienced inquiry teacher, I knew what was coming next: the point where they’ve laid all the groundwork for the unit and they ask, Now what? (more…)