Genius hour is a movement that allows students the opportunity to explore their passions and create something for a real audience. Why not create something to share with your family or with a global audience by publishing your work online?

HOW GENIUS HOUR WORKS:

• Students choose a topic to research and something to create. It's ok to not know what to create just yet!
• Students discuss their ideas with another person (sibling, parent, guardian, etc) for feedback.
• Research begins by exploring online resources, watching videos, reaching out to experts, and collecting information on the topic of one's choice.
• While researching, students decide what they'll create to demonstrate their learning. They can also share what they are learning with others through daily check-ins and progress reports.
• Once all information is gathered, students can create "something" to demonstrate their learning. This could be a book, poster, experiment, diorama, presentation, video, film, sculpture, stop motion animation, and more!
• Students should prepare to present their learning to others.
• Reflecting on the process is an important part of genius hour: Did the topic stay the same or change? Was anything surprising learned? Are you motivated to learn more? What was the most challenging part of the project? What would you do differently?

BIG QUESTION:

Work together to explore someone who has made a difference in your life (unique, awesome, interesting, extraordinary, etc)

SOME RESEARCH IDEAS:

• Discuss with someone in your family important role models and people in your life
• Call relatives and discuss who has had an impact on them and on you and life has changed as a result
• Use online databases and search engines to learn about the time when this person grew up and what life was like for him or her
• Look up on a map all the places this person has lived

ACTIVITIES/PRESENTATION OPTIONS:

• Draw a portrait of this person
• Create a poster
• Create a map (online or on paper) of this person and his or her journey
• Use Google Slides to teach us about this person
• Write the story about this person
• Write an essay introducing us to this person
• Create a video that highlights this person
• Write (and perform!) a song about this person
• Dress up as this person and take a picture
• Make a playlist that represents each member of your family

Help us understand what makes this person special in any other way you think fits!

Why not create a film or movie to share with your classmates?

*Thank you to the Worcester Public Schools for this great idea!

Hogwarts Escape Room

You will need more than just ELA skills to escape this room! Calling all Harry Potter enthusiasts, can you escape the room??