Genius hour middle school

Genius Hour in Middle School English / Language Arts Class or what to do with an exploratory class when you’re told to “just do whatever” This topic comes up from time to time in our Face Book group for Middle School ELA Teachers. The concept of Genius Hour or some other unstructured “exploratory time”

Last week I was scouring the internet for some more inquiry ideas for my classroom when I came across Genius Hour. One word ... hooked. And inspired. And motivated. (I was never good at limiting my words). ;) Sufficed to say, I KNEW it was going to happen in my classroom. In a nutshell, Genius Hour is something that happens in your classroom for one hour a week. During this time, students research and complete an inquiry project based on their passions - really digging deep into what…

We hear the charge for more student-directed, inquiry-based learning, but it can seem like a load of pie-in-the-sky hooey without instructions for how to do it.

Get ready to get your students excited about genius hour! These printable and digital resources will help your students make genius hour a success. Join creative teacher Melissa Moser here to talk about one of her favorite electives to teach – Genius Hour, and exactly how she sets students up for success – even the ones who just don’t know what passion to pursue when it comes to a passion project. You'll even get access to resources to help you get started today. #middleschoolELA…

Self-directed learning builds skills and confidence. And it's just plain fun!

Update: I have had NUMEROUS request for my rubric and information on the inspiration stations. I very nervously took a step outside my comf...

FREE download - GENIUS HOUR project proposal

In today’s blog post, I’ll be sharing step-by-step directions and strategies for implementing Genius Hour in your elementary classroom. If you teach older grades, I also share more broa…

Ideas for genius hour. Other kids have done this.

This week at Genius Hour, 3B students showed their understanding of Genius Hour by completing the sentences "Genius Hour is.." and "Genius Hour isn't…" These will be our guidelines for Genius...

What is Genius Hour? Genius Hour began with a strategy used by Google. Tips for Genius Hour

Denise and Gallit have developed a Creativity Rubric that they use in Step 3 of their Genius Hour cycle with students. It’s a work in progress, but you’re welcome to use, tweak and/or s…

Browse educational resources created by Middle School Mama in the official Teachers Pay Teachers store.

How do I hold my students accountable when I'm not grading them? I see myriad blog posts about pitch proposals, planning sheets, deadlines, reflections... the list goes on. I have had certain parts in the year when I'm as open as any teacher as to what students can learn or create for Genius Hour. And yet, I find that some students need a scaffold to see how the process works. So I put many ideas together, added a quote for each (I love quality quotes!), used a magnet sheet and had students…

Will your students complete passion projects this year? Do you know how to set up your class to make passion projects successful? Genius Hour is the original passion project - and it can totally be done in 2nd and 3rd grades!

How do you individualize instruction in your classroom and allow students to pursue their interests? Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed the types of individualized learning they use in their classroom: project based learning, Genius Hour, and 20% time, and how they got started and introduced it to students. Teachers also shared past PBL units, final products, successes and obstacles. Read through the chat for ideas to implement in your own classroom.

Genius hour is becomig widely used in schools. Here are seven resources and ideas to help you get started or level up genius hour in your school.

How would you like access to my English Resource Library? This library has 13 FREE resources for middle school English teachers to enjoy.

Here's a good brainstorming tool that can help teachers introduce students to the Genius Hour concept. Download a blank version that you are free to reproduce.

Genius hour may not have started in the classroom, but it is becoming a popular movement toward building engagement & independent learning skills. Find out some of the challenges I encountered my