“Children are the most learning-hungry beings in the world.” – Ashley Montagu
This year we will be getting our elementary students (2nd to 5th) to explore their passions and interests with Genius Hour Projects. Genius Hour Projects, also known as 20% Time, involve setting aside class time each week for students to independently work on a project related to their interests or passions. Genius Hour is motivating for middle school and high school students, too!
I collaborated with the amazing Buncee team to create this Genius Hour Project template, which is free to copy, edit, and share. The template makes Genius Hour easier to manage and implement for both students and teachers. All you need to do is create your Buncee account (free for 30 days), create a classroom (this takes minutes if you upload your roster), make a copy of the template in Buncee’s Idea Lab, make any edits, and assign the template to your students. Students complete the template and submit it when they finish. The template is inspired by writings from A.J. Juliani who has several inspiring books to explore.
The template is 13 pages long and helps students narrow down a topic and determine the project details. I recommend including John Spencer’s video, You Get to Have Your Own Genius Hour, in the introduction slide so that students understand what Genius Hour is about. Feel free to share this template with other teachers. Trust me it’ll make the process so much smoother and easier so that more teachers would try Genius Hour with their students.
Challenge: Try a Genius Hour Project with your students this year!
cross posted at teacherrebootcamp.com
Shelly Terrell is a Technology and Computer teacher, education consultant, and author of books including Hacking Digital Learning Strategies: 10 Ways to Launch EdTech Missions in Your Classroom. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com.
