power of genius hour gaetc 2015

The Power of Genius Hour:

Honoring Student VoiceDr. Karen A. KraegerChalker Elementary, Cobb County Schools

It all began with a simple question...

“How come nobody ever

asks us what we want to learn

about?”~Fifth Grader at Chalker Elementary

And then I saw this at aGaETC Presentation...

I thought about this...

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So...Genius Hour came to Chalker

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Getting StartedOverview: – 5th Grade– 9 Weeks– 1 Hour per week– Closed with Presentation Day

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Getting StartedUnit Kickoff: • Kid President Video- “Be Awesome”• Intro Video about Genius Hour• Mt. Kilimanjaro Video • Brainstorm “Passions”• Brief Discussion of Project• HW- Discuss Project Ideas w/ Parents• Blog about Idea

Jumping In...

• Ideas on Genius Hour Board• Create Driving Question• Review w/ teacher• Topics on GH Board

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Working the Genius...• Weekly Project Time (1 Hour)• Weekly Project Blogging on Edmodo• Weekly Check-in w/ Teacher • Peer Coaching at Week 4• Final Teacher Conference

Resources

Project Ideas

InspirationHow-To

GuidelinesRubric

Project Topics

Resources:

PresentationChoices

Presentation Time

Reflections on Genius Hour

• Project Walk (Informal Project Sharing)

• Exit Slip

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Student Voices...

It meant that I

would

be creative and I

would

show that.

It was fun, exciting,hard, and I had a

great time doing it!

It meant have fun,unleash your

creativity,and hard work!

More Student Voices...It meant learning

new things.It meant a lot becauseI had stage fright,

but while presentingI got over it!

It meant that ifyou can make a

website,a book, or a business;

then you can do pretty much anything.

It also meant that this might become more than just a

School Project!

Gifted Standards Included...

Outcomes of Genius Hour...• Successful Cupcake Business

• Two Novellas published on Amazon

• Video Games published on Gamestar Mechanic

• Inspired 4th Graders to Publish a Book and Create a Video Game Company (Registered as a GA LLC)

• Endless creativity, inspiration, and self-confidence!

Finished ProjectsBlog-See presentation photos and also links to some of the student created websites.Genius Hour Finale

ResourcesCheck Concurrent Session Schedule for a complete unit plan including exit slips, student contract, weekly overview of activities, links to helpful websites, videos, and blogs.Contact me for more information:Karen.kraeger@cobbk12.org

We hope you enjoyed this GaETC session.

Please give your feedback at

www.gaetc.org/evaluate