I did Genius Hour for the first time last year, and my
students loved it! I decided to do it on my Horizons day, as my students in
Horizons were doing their own version of Genius Hour. It was such a meaningful
activity to do on a day of the week when I couldn’t teach any new content. I
have been planning to start it again this year, but I hadn’t started it before
we were given this assignment.
For this particular assignment, I decided to do a modified
Genius Hour and do it with my entire class. I had originally been planning to spend a few
days (the Monday and Tuesday leading to our Barrier Island trip) doing a
Barrier Island Boot Camp to get my kids primed for their experiences at Barrier
Island. I decided instead to let my students spend a portion of those two days
working on an ecosystems genius project.
I began by leading a class discussion about ecosystems.
Then, I showed students pictures from previous Barrier Island trips (focusing
on wildlife, nature, etc.) and asked them to write down questions that came to
mind. We discussed questions that students wrote and differentiated between
simple research questions and questions that would work better for a genius
project.
Students then got the opportunity to spend time researching.
We talked about various resources that students could use for their research,
but since this was a shorter project, students focused mainly on online
resources (websites, Big Universe).
After discussing possibilities for how students could share
their new learning, students chose presentation formats. I have students
working on brochures, prezis, powtoons, powerpoints, and dioramas. We did not
get to finish before our Barrier Island trip, but students are getting the
opportunity to finish them this week.
This has really given them the opportunity to dive deeper into a topic
that interest them. I love seeing how students have gone in so many different
directions under one main umbrella topic. They are more motivated to learn, and
they cheer whenever I give them time to work on their projects… and that makes
me a happy teacher!
Hi Brittany,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you were able to integrate Genius Hour as an entry event to the experiential education opportunities that comprise the 5th Grade Barrier Island trip. I appreciate the way you provided students with choice over their ecosystem topic using pictures from previous Barrier Island trips to spur their thinking. In reviewing your evidence of application in your Genius Hour folder in google drive I was able to view your Genius Hour flipchart (loved the pictures and the student friendly format that provided a seamless process for them.) The only thing left is to add evidence of student application of the project. This can be pictures of their work in action such as interactive science notebooks and pictures/examples of student products.
I love that you were able to integrate Genius Hour into the curriculum. I want to do that next. My genius hour experience was fun and after testing. The kids were able to research anything the wanted and it was a fun way to wind down after the long period of tested.
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