Kate Messner discusses letting kids lead and empowering student creativity and problem solving. She suggests giving students opportunities to be brave by taking risks, failing, and learning from mistakes. Messner advocates for kid-sourcing ideas by allowing students to generate story ideas and suggests activities like deconstructing dystopian futures or mystery writing. The overall message is that students need courage, creativity, and mentors to help change the world.

1. LETTING KIDS LEAD
Kate Messner
Maine Reading Round Up 2013
http://www.katemessner.com

2. A, B, C, or D?
Mastering the Standardized Test

4. www.katemessner.com/maine-reading-
round-up

11. Lesson #1
Be brave.
But it’s also okay to be
afraid.

12. If you weren’t nervous, it wouldn’t be worth doing.

15. Lesson #2
Never underestimate
the power of failure.

16. What would you do if you knew that
failure was impossible?

17. What if...?

18. Photo by Duncan Davidson, TED 2012

19. What if...?

21. What if...?

23. World Building

26. World Building

27. World Building

29. What if...?
Image courtesy of ShutterStock

30. What if...?
Image courtesy of ShutterStock

37. Kid-Sourcing
Image courtesy of ShutterStock

38. What if...?

39. www.kid-sourcing.com

40. www.kid-sourcing.com

47. Mystery Writing
• CRIME
• SUSPECTS
• MOTIVES
• INVESTIGATORS
• MOTIVES
• CLUES
• FALSE CLUES

51. Deconstruct a
Dystopia

52. World Building
• MODERN-DAY PROBLEM/ISSUE
• BEST GUESS – 2050
• WORST CASE SCENARIO – 2050
• TIMELINE 2012-2050
• WHAT WOULD CREATE A BEST
CASE SCENARIO?

53. What do students
need to change the
world?

54. Courage
…and opportunities
to
be brave.

55. Creativity
…plus permission to
fail and try again.

56. Stories

57. Mentors

60. Mentors

62. “Revolution for
the Tested”

63. LETTING KIDS LEAD
Kate Messner
Maine Reading Round Up 2013
http://www.katemessner.com

65. www.katemessner.com/maine-reading-
round-up