Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Genius Hour




Welcome back! I have been so excited for students to return to the classroom. During spring break I researched Google's 80/20 Principle. Learn more by clicking here.   
Google's practices are trickling down to students in classrooms. Educators call it 20 percent time or genius hour. As I read about this genius hour my thoughts turned to my students! How exciting!  Just what could students come up with if given a chance to work on a project that interested them?


So on Tuesday, our first day back from spring break, I introduced genius hour. Genius hour is a time given during the school day to allow students to follow their interests and learn about topics that peek their curiosity.
I showed students the following videos, got them thinking about their interests and curiosities, and finally helped them set up portfolios to store their thoughts and ideas for genius hour.  
It was such a thrill to watch students. They were buzzing. They were excited. They were curious about it, with lots of questions. Room 102 will continue to find their way through this genius hour experiment in learning.  Please take the time to ask your student questions and offer input. Check our blog often as I anticipate many clever projects are about to go viral.








Update 5.15.13     Our projects are completed. Click the lightbulb to view our slideshow.

5 comments:

  1. Do you have a place you have shared the handouts you gave the kids??? Jana.miller@desertsands.us

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  2. I would love the handouts as well, if you are sharing them. I'm trying genius hour this year, and am desperate for resources. Thanks!

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  3. I'd like the handouts too please!!

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  4. I've been doing Genius Hour this year. I've looked on Pinterest and found a few handouts I am going to use. My third graders are finishing up this coming week and we are preparing presentations to be viewed on May 28/29 when parents come in for conferences.

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  5. If you are willing to share the documents I would love to have access to them as well.

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