Building a Library of Books and Ideas!

Building a Library of Books and Ideas...for Genius Hour!!!

Before diving into a Genius Hour project, we spent some time discussing a growth mindset, practicing brainstorming, problem-solving, and collaborating. We had students practice peer feedback, make their learning visible in different ways, and reflect in a variety of ways. 

Our book discussions and activities with have helped us practice these skills and expose us to new ideas!

                         

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(and more!) 

Picking A Topic for Genius Hour

In one of our previous posts, we had students complete an A Lot, Some, Little chart after picking a topic. This year, we spent some more time playing around with different ideas before getting to that lesson. 

Students Considered Their Passions...

We had students list out their favorite activities and their passions. We had students use each other as resources when brainstorming different topics. This was a good way to build community within the classroom.

Students Considered Their Heartaches...

And...this was an even better way to build community within the classroom. Students can easily make connections when they hear that someone else plays soccer or another person likes to play Minecraft. But when you hear another student is afraid of talking in front of the class or another person gets worried about making a mistake...that...that is how you build community. Often, it's the things that cause us sadness, heartache, or anger that cause us to take action and do something differently. We had students think more about problems in their schools and communities that they wanted to tackle. We also had students follow their hearts and consider what makes their hearts swell, as well as what makes their hearts ache. Check them all out here! Not only did we find that our classroom became a little closer, but it also sparked some new topics for Genius Hour that may not have come about without these activities!

We want to send a big SHOUT OUT to the monthly Genius Hour Chat for introducing us to this idea! It meets on Twitter (#geniushour) the first Thursday of every month at 8pm central time. Find us there! #20percentgenius