Genius Hour may be the craziest and best thing you'll do all year

Have you ever done something with your students and halfway through, you wondered what in the world you were thinking?  Honest truth.  Genius Hour will make you feel like that.  

But, I did it for many years.  Because it is so worth it.

There are many good reasons to jump into Genius Hour with your students.  Before I get into them, let's talk about what Genius Hour is. 

What is Genius Hour?

Watch this short video where I explain what it is.

Getting Started with Student Choice:

Decide if you want to do it one or two days a week over several months or each day for 6 weeks or so.

I always stretched it out.  

Genius Hour is student-led research.  I quickly learned that students needed time to think about what they were most curious to explore.  We had several conversations about what made us curious, mad, or excited.  Kids discussed and helped refine each others' ideas.  This whole "coming up with the idea" took my students about two-three weeks till everyone was comfortable with where to start.

If your students need exposure to informational writing, Genius Hour is perfect.  It's a good idea to insert mini-lessons about writing when your students get to that point.

The disorganized part:

Each student chooses what they want to study.  That means you will have 25-30 different research projects going on at the same time.  In one class.  And if you teach more than one...now you understand why this part can be a bit chaotic.  Unless you're extremely organized (not my strongest suit!)

I've had students 

• research color schemes for office buildings
• craft a bow out of wood
• wonder about crime rates in major U.S. cities
• make a stop-action film with Legos
• learn about dreams
• study the impact of growing up in a home with one parent
• learn how to be a good photographer.

The really inspiring part:

I encouraged my students to reach out to experts in their field.  We identified who they might be, they crafted a lesson, and then, after we'd gone over it together, they got to sit at my computer and send it.  In my school, sixth graders didn't have their own emails, and besides, I wanted every emailed conversation to come through me.  Just to be safe.

We heard from national sports organizations, photographers, businesses, psychologists, and people who grew up in single-parent homes.  The kids were blown away that someone would respond to them.  They got lots of good information and even some swag!

Presenting their research:

This part is the best!  When the kids stand up to present and teach their classmates, other teachers, parents, and administrators, they're terrified!  But they know their research well because they've lived in this world for a while.  They can handle the questions that come their way because they are the experts!  

Sometimes, they've learned that there's a lot more to their topic than what they imagined.  Many times, the power of learning about something they are intrigued by, well, that's life-changing.

One of my favorite presentations was from a child who struggled with reading and writing. I was surprised when she told me that she wanted to learn about the stock market.  She didn't know what it was but she had heard about it and she wanted to know.  

So we explored together, with me explaining a lot. And I'm no expert, either. 

The look in her eyes when she presented her research, in a way that made it possible for her peers to understand, too? 

That was priceless.  And empowering!

• Grab this resource on TeachersPayTeachers if you're interested in giving Genius Hour a try.  It has everything you need to get started.