Genius Hour

Q&A

When is the genius hour?  The genius hour isone afternoon a week.

What is genius hour? Genius hour is a time when you can research, discover and learn about what YOU want. Watch the video below

Time Frame: You will be working onone projects this year. You will be given between 10 hours in class (1hour/week)  to work on your  project

What can you work on? Anything! As long as it is something you have time to learn about, achieve , research and present on the given time frame. This means that you have to choose your topic efficiently. You will be expected to be on task every Friday. Your project can’t be too short and easy to do either.

I have two totally different personal projects that I have done when I was in grade 7 if it can give you an idea. I have built a small race car with my dad. For this project, I had to research how to build a race car. I was also very picky about it’s design so I have research many types of car (year, size, colour, shape).  I had to sketch my car using the proper measurements and I had to make a list of the material I needed (wood, glue, wheels, nails, varnish, etc). It’s only after all these steps that I have begun to build my engine. When it was built, I had to test my car. Let me tell you, it didn’t work right from the get go. I had to make many changes to fix it’s speed and to make it drive straight. At the very end, I had to write an essay/presentation about my entire process, my researches and my journey.

My other project was when I begun to be interested in abstract art. I had decided I was going to try to do an abstract painting. It did take me about the same amount of time to achieve this project as it took to build my race car. I had to research artists that I like and that were school appropriate. I had to test my painting skills (and trust me, they were very weak at the time), try different kinds of brushes, canvases, etc. I did many paintings to find one that I could really relate to. A painting that told a story that I wanted to share. When my project was completed, I had to write an essay about the artists that I got inspired from; their lives, their famous paintings, etc. I wrote about the material I have used. Then I finished my essay writing about what my painting represents; it’s colours ( yes, there is a lot of psychology behind the choice of colours), it’s shapes, what it means to me, etc. This activity led me to complete a degree in Fine Arts, a couple years later. 🙂

So, can I start a project without getting the approval of my teacher? No. Sorry! I have to say yes or no. It has to be school appropriate and I have to make sure your project is realistic and that is can be completed within the time frame.

Why are we doing this? For the love of learning.

How are my classmates going to find out about my project? How is the world going to find out about my project?  You will create a webpage on your class blog about your discoveries.

Is this project going in our report card? Yes and No. As you can learn about anything you want or realize a project of your choice, I can’t grade your discoveries. Although, your weekly Genius Hour journal will be marked in English in Term 1 and Term 2 and your final project will be marked as your final Elementary School English Project for the third term.

Timeline

What do I have to hand in?

Journal

  1. What you have been working on
  2. What you have learned – discoveries (At the early stage of the process, this section should be long as most of the information found here will be used in your final project draft. Towards the end of the term, this section should include more things about your discoveries while realizing the project, unless you have decided to do a research, of course)
  3. What went well, what went wrong
  4. Your goals for next week
  5. If need be, an updated version of the time frame for your project

Your journal can be written as a blog entry on your webpage or as a journal entry.

 

Final project

Introduction:

– Opening: Why did i choose this topic?

– Explain Briefly the lessons learned –  e.g. i have made researches online.

– What are you going to tell us about

Paragraph 1:

– Explain the concepts. Add sources

paragraph 2:

– Explain what you have made. Add details

Paragraph 3

– Ups and downs of the process.

Conclusion

– Significance of this project. Where can you take this in your life?

Oral Presentation:

Your presentation must have the following order:

Introduction:

– Interesting fact – Did you know?

– What is your topic

Opening: Why did i choose this topic?

– Roadmap of the presentation

During:

– Teach us about this topic/subject first

– Presentation on the topic through your project or what you have made.

Conclusion

– Significance of this project. Where can you take this in your life?

– Ups and downs during the process.

 

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