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Does every Genius Hour project need to include "research"?

1/24/2019

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Picture4th grade student working on building different structures with kiva blocks. He is using his creative thinking and documenting the process
I have been thinking about this question a lot. And not just recently, I have actually been thinking about this question for years now.  When I first started doing Genius Hour with my students during the 2011-2012 school year, I didn't even think about this question. It was just a given to me that students could work on any type of project that they were passionate about.

However, the more popular Genius Hour gets, the more how-to videos and lists appear online--which is awesome!! This means more and more kids around the world are getting a chance to learn more about their own interests, wonders and passions. But here is my wonder: does every Genius Hour project need to include research? Because I think that is sometimes the assumption out there--that kids pick a topic and/or question and then research (on the internet or using books/magazines from the library) and then present in some sort of way (a speech, a poster, a display for the school, a post online, etc). This is what a lot of sites/posts online seem to be saying anyway.

PictureA K student doing traditional research for his Genius Hour project

​And yes, that is what many, many of my students have done in the past. But not all of them. Some don't do any "research" during their Genius Hour time. Some have used their time to create unique art projects where they explore using a variety of mediums and then share about that. Some have used their time to invent new sports and then shared an infomercial that taught the rest of the class how to play that new sport. And some have spent their time thinking up random acts of kindness initiatives because their passion was making people happy. All of these were fantastic Genius Hour projects in my eyes--but they didn't contain any traditional research--and I am totally OK with that!  But after reading other people's descriptions of Genius Hour, I began to second guess what I was doing. Should I force my students to do "research" as well?  I don't feel like that necessarily needs to be a part of a good Genius Hour project (because that doesn't leave room for the cool art projects, or the kid writing a book, etc, etc.)


​And what is research anyway? Does research have to be done with a computer or a book? What about surveying people? That is a type of research too, so would that count for people? I guess ultimately we all create our own parameters for our students. But I am really curious about what others are doing...I am happy continuing Genius Hour the way I do it now. For me, it is important that the students truly be able to do what they are passionate about, and if that is a compassion-based project that has no research then I am super thrilled! No need for traditional research in every project, in my opinion. But if as student wants to do a research project then that is great too! I am happy with all projects.

What do you think? Does every Genius Hour project need to include traditional research? 

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Helping two young students chose a Genius Hour topic that is a good fit for them
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Identity Day at Brookside!

1/4/2019

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"Identity day is a day where you bring in a few items to school that showcase your passion. Then the school splits up into 2 groups. The 1st group stays while the second group walks around and learns about your passion! It is really, really fun!"
-Addison, Grade 6
November 21, 2018 was my first experience with Identity Day. I have read about versions of this sort of special sharing day online and I have always wanted to see it in action, so I was thrilled when I got to Brookside Elementary (I just started as a grade 4-7 classroom STEAM teacher in the SAIL program and vice principal there in September, 2018) and learned that Identity Day was an annual event at my new school.

In the quote above, Addison has summarized nicely how we do Identity Day at Brookside Elementary.  Basically we divide up the school into an A group and a B group and then group B gets to explore group A's identity day projects in a gallery walk format and then after an hour we switched and group A got to explore group B's projects*.  What your Identity Day project looked like was primarily up to each student. We asked them to bring in an artifact or two that represented who they are/what they were passionate about. Some students also created posters to go along with their artifacts, some created special displays, some rehearsed mini-speeches to go along with their artifacts, etc. 



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I really enjoyed learning about all of the students at Brookside. It was a wonderful way for me, as a new staff member, to learn all about the many interesting and varied passions that makes Brookside students who they are.

One project that really stood out was by a grade 7 student. Her passion was self-love and helping others develop a positive self-image, and as her artifact she brought a mirror attached to a poster and a pile of positive mantra statements on little pieces of paper. As students visited her station, she had them pick a mantra and then read it to themselves while looking at their reflection in the mirror. The caption above the mirror reads: "Look into the mirror. Think about a feature you appreciate about yourself." Are you feeling what I was feeling?  So.  Amazing.

There were so many great projects that I cannot list them all, but I did learn that we sure do have a talented bunch of students at our school: artists, musicians, athletes, scientists, book enthusiasts, lego enthusiasts, singers, engineers, and more!

I am so thrilled that I was able to join a school that values each and every student and allows them the space and the time to share who they are with all of their schoolmate. It was such a special day.

I would love to hear about how other schools roll out Identity Day. Or do you something similar to celebrate your students? Please comment! I would love to learn from you.

*It was a little more structured than that, of course. Classes explored other classes on a timed rotation. We rang the bell every 10 minutes so your class knew that it was time to go to the next class and explore another set of projects. Teachers had the rotation schedule and map ahead of time so everyone knew where they were going. Parents were given the schedule ahead of time so that they could join us during the exploration times as well.
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Spelling: To Teach or Not to Teach?

1/3/2019

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I wrote a blog post about my thoughts on spelling many years ago. It was 2013 and I was teaching a grade 5/6 class. I never published the blog because I felt like it was too short and wasn't quite finished. And so it sat in my drafts for 5 years. I think it is time to push publish. I didn't add anything. I left it the way it was, so it is still short and maybe not quite finished...but as I tell my students, sometimes done is better than perfect. So, here it is. What do you think about spelling programs? 
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From 2013:
​Spelling.  I am getting tired of teaching spelling…I have tried it the old fashioned Steck Vaughn way with lists of words and worksheets, I have also tried the newer Words Their Way program where words are sorted by patterns and students make lists and organize words by patterns…I am bored by both.  And If I am bored I can only imagine that my students are bored too…like really bored.  So the other day I said that if you don’t want to do spelling sentences for homework this week, then you don’t have to, they look at me wide-eyed and hopeful. Instead, I said, you can cook.  Cook something for your family and show my some evidence of it by Friday…you can journal about it and have your parent sign it or you can take pictures of yourself cooking...make a movie…whatever you want.  And if you don’t want to cook, then thats ok too, you can still do spelling sentences.  The next day I was surprised by how many students brought their cameras and tablets into school to show my their photo and video evidence, as well as a few written paragraphs about  what they cooked.  My heart warmed.  They were spending time with their families, having a good time in the kitchen, learning how to cook and using their oral language skills to have real conversations. I can't help but think this is more authentic and more meaningful learning than the spelling we were doing before. I love it.  And I am going to have figure out another way to teach spelling/vocabulary. Perhaps. Or maybe not. Maybe it doesn't need to be a separate program. Do you teach spelling? If so, how do you do it?  I would love to hear from other elementary teachers about this!
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    My name is Gallit Zvi and I am an Elementary School Teacher and Vice Principal in Surrey, BC. I am also a blogger and co-author of The Genius Hour Guidebook.
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