After much research and planning, I am thrilled to introduce my 5th grade reading group to GENIUS HOUR! Genius Hour is a project-based learning activity that allows students to explore their own passions; it encourages creativity in the classroom and promotes inquiry, perseverance, problem solving, and innovation, among other lifelong skills. It provides students a choice in what they learn during a set period of time during school.

Genius Hour has many roots, but is based on a business practice used by Google with its employees. Google allows their developers to spend up to 20% of their work week to pursue projects of personal interest. The rationale is that happy, inspired, engaged employees are more motivated, innovative, and productive. Google’s 20% projects have worked so well that some of their most popular ideas, such as g-mail and Google News were created during this time. To learn more about Genius Hour, check out the short video below:

How will it work?
Over the next semester, my students will pursue a project of personal interest. It can be on whatever topic they are passionate about, but it must include the following project guidelines:

1. Projects are inquiry based; an essential question drives the project. Students need to communicate what they want to learn about and why. If a question can be answered with a quick “Google search,” then we will develop the question or topic to include greater depth.

2. Projects are research based. For example, if a student wants to learn how to design an App or how to speak Italian, research on the topic must be involved.

3. Projects are shared! Every student will present their final project within and outside our class. Students may share on a small scale, like with another class, or they may elect to go big and share the information they've learned in a global way.



What Common Core State Standards does Genius Hour support and develop?
Genius Hour nurtures the vast majority of the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading. (You can read more about the Common Core Anchor Standards here: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/5 The standards our 5th grade ELA group will address with intensity include:

• RI.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• RI.5.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
• RI.5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
• SL.5.2 Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• SL.5.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

I introduced Genius Hour over the course of a week with some inspirational videos from Kid President, a young boy named Cain from East L.A., and group of elementary-aged school students who tried to save the world in 5 minutes a day. We talked about how these videos could inspire, drive, and relate to our own passions. I also wanted students to realize that they could think BIG! Genius Hour projects have no boundaries, so I want students to think outside of the box (or the classroom!) to pursue areas of genuine, authentic interest and inquiry.

We also read about and discussed the difference between an interest and a PASSION. A.J. Juliani's Blog post, "6 Simple Strategies to Help You Find your Passion," has some wonderful insights, which I used to prepare for the lesson. Based on our initial brainstorming session, my 5th graders established that we have thousands of (if not more!) interests! Using Juliani's idea of a "March Madness" bracket, we organized our favorite topics and teased out our interests from our Passions.


Once an area of interest was selected, each student generated "I wonder" questions, which we used to create a WONDER WALL. Questions were then analyzed and sorted. Questions that could be answered with a quick Google search were eliminated. Open-ended, inquiry based questions were identified and improved. On Friday (the 4th day of Genius Hour), students submitted a project proposal, which included three of their best inquiry-based questions.


I have brought the students' proposals home to pour over this weekend. Once projects are approved, I plan to solicit the knowledge, skills, and expertise or our parents and community to help students achieve their goals. (I'm working on an volunteer survey now, which I will post for free once complete.) Stay tuned!

If you are interested in learning more about or starting a Genius Hour with your own class, the following three web sites are a TERRIFIC place to start!

• Genius Hour LiveBinders
• Genius Hour Wiki
• Genius Hour - Where Passions Come Alive

Thanks for checking in!

I love the Teaching Channel! Last year, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to watch one short video a night before bed. Well, the every night-thing didn't happen (ha :-), but I did watch a whole bunch of terrific, inspiring videos in 2013! One of my favorites was called, "My Favorite No." I was originally intrigued by the title, but it was the content that got me hooked! (You can watch the 5 minute video here.)

In "My Favorite No," the teacher provides a brief pre-assessment in the form of an entrance card. The students work the problem to demonstrate what they learned the day before. The teacher then collects responses and sorts them into two piles: yes and no. "Yes" represents a correct answer and "No" is an inaccurate response. She then works with the class to analyze her "favorite no." She calls it her "favorite no" because it reflects strong thinking and problem solving and, as she says in the video, "A mistake is an opportunity to show how much you know." (LOVE this!) The activity provides reflection, analysis, and higher order thinking. Furthermore, it is quick and effective!

What I love most about this strategy is that in NO WAY penalizes students for being wrong. In fact, the whole process is designed to validate students and their thinking! I have been using this strategy - in various ways - with my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in both reading and math. Like the teacher in the video, I've seen improvement in student accuracy, understanding, accountability, and metacognition. I have been so in love with this strategy that I created a series of task cards for my 4th and 5th graders to use as we explore, review, and extend the concept of fractions. Each card presents students with an error in problem solving, arithmetic, and./or reasoning. Using a problem solving mat, students rework the problem, show the correct answer, and explain the error.

My kiddos love this! They feel empowered analyzing mistakes, while developing a meaningful depth of understanding from analyzing and explaining the error.



Thanks for checking in! Happy teaching!

Is it possible? Could any reading lesson be as fun as Math Quest? If you ask my 4th graders, the answer is NO! On no planet, big or small, could anything ever be as much fun as the much loved Math Quest!

Hmmmm - almost sounds like a dare?? Never one to shy away from challenge, I made it my New Year's resolution for 2014 to make reading lessons as much fun, if not, (yes, hold your breath - more fun!), than our beloved Math Quest.

I explained my goal, but not how it would be accomplished, to my 4th graders prior to my 2 week stint of standardized testing. They were intrigued! (Doubtful, but intrigued.) The new ELA unit will utilize one of my favorite resources, Jacob's Ladder, designed by The Center for Gifted Education at William and Mary. Jacob's Ladder targets reading comprehension skills and written response to advanced text for high ability learners. In the form of three skill ladders, students move from lower order, concrete thinking skills to higher order, critical thinking skills. Each ladder serves to scaffold student understanding, thinking, and written response.

One of my favorite aspects of the Common Core State Standards are the Elementary Math Practice Standards. The Math Practice Standards focus on a combination of mathematical understanding and process. While many teachers have been doing this for years, I love that the thinking behind the problem solving process is finally being articulated and emphasized for students! A while back, I created some Elementary Math Practice Standard posters for my classroom; my students and I used them to build anchor charts and focus our learning. While the posters were a wonderful learning tool, they were not all that great to look at :-) Today I redid the posters - and added "think marks," student cards, and math journal "cheat sheets." I believe so strongly in the EMPS and their power to build not only proficient, but passionate mathematicians, that they are FREE to download.