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Many of the Genius Hour resources that I and others have made assume a basic level of reading and research skills. Of course, with Kindergarten and 1st grades, many students may not have those foundational skills. I wanted to round up a few suggestions for primary teachers, so I went in search of resources that I could summarize and/or link to in case you want to save yourself a bit of time.

Of course, Joy Kirr's Livebinder for Genius Hour is always my first stop because I definitely don't want to reinvent the wheel. There are many examples of Genius Hour projects from every grade level, as well as links to teacher blog posts that are very helpful. This post is not comprehensive, but might be a good place to begin for some suggestions. As I say when I speak with other teachers, Genius Hour can look dramatically different from room to room while still maintaining the goal of student-directed learning, and its structure should vary based on student needs. It is not a free-for-all time, but it's also not an "I'm going to tell you what you need to learn, how to learn it, and how to show you learned it" time.

There are three basic steps to Genius Hour: Wondering, Finding and Noting Information, Presenting. With younger students, I would take a very gradual release approach for each of those steps. Begin with whole group modeling, and slowly transition to giving more freedom of choice as students grasp the concept.

How does one begin Genius Hour with the youngest of our students? It's actually quite easy because they naturally wonder about the world, and haven't had this curiosity stifled as it often is in later grades. Another Genius Hour expert, Denise Krebs, wrote about transitioning her students from large groups with common interests to smaller, more focused groups in this post. You could also try these suggestions for a "Think, Wonder, Explore" time. Or, try a Wonder Wall, like this teacher. Of course, a favorite way to start is with a picture book. Here are some great recommendations from Gallit Zvi, who wrote The Genius Hour Guide Book with Denise Krebs.

But, wait! What if my students can't write? You, as the teacher, could write for them, of course. To make this less overwhelming, you could have small groups settle on Wonders. Or, you can do what many of the articles I read seemed to recommend - link your students with Buddies. Whether they are students from another grade level or parent volunteers, Buddies can foster a great sense of community while helping with some of the challenging tasks during Genius Hour time. Another idea is to partner with your librarian. You can also try a rotation process, like this teacher does.

Can students this age really come up with research questions? Sure! Again, modeling with the whole group a few times is key before starting to let students work independently or in small groups. Since these students are new to research, you don't need to insist on "thick" research questions with complex vocabulary from all of them, but certainly differentiate for advanced students with higher Bloom's questions. Here are some question stems you could use.

And then they're going to research? But they can't even read! This is another phase where rotations, Buddies, and/or your librarian can be essential. One tip that I like from teacher Renee Dooly is to use QR codes to help students find digital information. I used to introduce different types of resources to my students one at a time. For example, I checked out a bunch of books by the same publishing group about different countries, and showed them how to find the information in those books. They had a choice of country, but we stuck to the same type of resource and presentation. As they learned about other resource types, those choices were added in on other projects later in the year. Also, don't forget about free tools like Immersive Reader, which are getting built in to many online educational resources.

What about methods for presenting what they learned? Some teachers have one way for all students to present, such as using Book Creator. Others give a limited number of choices, as you can see in this blog post. Once the whole class has learned how to do something, make that a new option. Or, get together all of the students who want to do the same type of presentation, such as a video, and give a mini-lesson. (Buddies are good for this, too!) Got a classroom iPad? Record your mini-lessons, upload them to Google Drive, and give students QR codes to scan when they are ready to watch.

Genius Hour can be done with younger students, but a lot of scaffolding is needed. The good news is that students who get this exposure in younger grades will really be able to take the skills for self-directed learning and blossom with them in later grades.

Terri is a curriculum and tech integration specialist, speaker, and author with a passion for engaging and empowering learners. She delivers engaging professional learning, consultations on a variety of educational needs, and professional articles for various outlets . Find out more about Terri on the About page in the site menu. View all posts by Terri Eichholz

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One-Pager for Genius Hour in Kindergarten and First Grades

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Many of the Genius Hour resources that I and others have made assume a basic level of reading and research skills. Of course, with Kindergarten and 1st grades, many students may not have those foundational skills.

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Have you heard about genius hour? Have you thought about trying it in the primary grade classroom? It was originally a Google thing that the company did to encourage creativity in their employees. Well, I decided to give it a try this year, with first graders. And you know what? It worked, and they loved it!

Genius Hour in the Primary Classroom

I will be the first to admit that the first time I did genius hour it was messy and often I thought, What was I thinking? But, I learned a lot and I will definitely be doing it again! Four different parents emailed telling me how excited their kid was. One of my students made their parents take them to the public library to find books about their subject.

Here is an overview of our plan.

How Did We begin?

We began talking about what we wonder about. If they could choose to learn about anything, what would it be? They came up with so many ideas...way more than I was expecting. At our library time, I suggested they look at books for more ideas. They had a week to mull their ideas over.

Next, we wrote down our wonderings on sticky notes.

Finding the Question

We spent some time brainstorming ideas. We narrowed down what we wanted to learn about. This was the hardest part. Some of my students thought of very broad topics, so we had to learn how to narrow down our topic. We used question starters to help guide this part of the process.

Some of the topics included:

The Titanic

Animals (various: penguins, weasels, service dogs, and a few more)

The Poison Cave (I had never heard of this!)

Justin Timberlake

How to Make a Video Game

Stop Motion Animation

We used a planning sheet to help keep us on track.

The Research

Researching our topic was the next step. This was an area that I needed help with. I had a parent come in and recruited some 5th graders to help. We used Chromebooks and iPads for the research. On the iPads, the app Epic was our favorite to use. On the Chromebooks, they scanned QR cards with kid-friendly websites.

I had gathered kid-friendly websites and attached them to QR codes. My students were able to scan them and search their topic.

One major issue I came across with this part of the process was that my students didn't know what to research. We talked about what information was important or interesting. We used research helpers to guide students who needed a little help what to research.

Let's Create!

The third step in the process was creating something with our new knowledge. As a class, I had modeled various things we could create.

My students chose a wide range of things to create; models, movies, books, timelines, life-sized animals, Haiku Deck slideshows, and more. It was so fun to see their excitement about this process.

The last step for us was to share our genius hour projects. We invited various classes into our room and parents. Their job was to share the information they learned about their topic and what they created. They were amazing presenters and really had a great time with this.

After we finished our sharing of the process, I asked my students if they enjoyed it. Every one of them loved it! We talked about what was hard, and most agreed that the research was the hardest. For most of them, it was a new experience to research a topic. Some of them were ready to pick a new topic and do their own genius hour in the summer. I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Would I do this again? Yes! Each student kept a checklist, which helped them stay on track and guide them through the process.

If you are interested in the tools that I used to help organize and guide my students through the genius hour process, you can find them in my TPT store or The Teacher Bag Store.

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Genius Hour in the Primary Classroom - The Teacher Bag

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Have you heard about genius hour? Have you thought about trying it in the primary grade classroom? It was originally a Google thing that the company did to encourage creativity in their employees. Well, I decided to give it a try this year, with first graders. And you know what?

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It's finally here! Time to start thinking about our Genius Hour projects in my classroom and I could not be more excited. My students have waited all summer to share their new ideas and I have waited all summer to hear them.

As we began to discuss Genius Hour and we what wanted it to look like in our classroom this year, I wanted to have a clear process for my students. Last year we did one project each semester. The problem with that plan was that some students were stretching their projects out just to satisfy the time requirement and others didn't have enough time to finish. So, this year we have decided on no time requirements. In other words, some students may finish in three weeks, others in six weeks, others in a semester, and some projects might take all year.

However, in order to make this work, I needed to have a specific process students were to follow so they would know where to start, steps to take, and how to wrap it up. As I thought about that, I realized that Genius Hour could be summed up with 6 P's.

Passion - Every Genius Hour project starts here. What are you passionate about? What do you WANT to learn about? Passion is what drives the project, makes it meaningful, and makes it theirs. Passion comes from a desire to know more. Merriam-Webster defines passion as "a strong feeling or enthusiasm for something or about doing something". I want my students to be enthusiastic about their projects. I want them to have strong feelings about why their project is important and why they should carry it out.

Pitch - This year, we are really making a big deal out of our pitches. We watched some short clips of Shark Tank today and will be doing our pitches "Shark Tank" style next week. I have read several blog posts about this approach and love it. This was one of the examples we watched today and we talked about the props, persuasion, statistics, and technology that group used to persuade the sharks that their idea was worth the investment. I then gave (4th and 5th grade) students Mariana Garcia's Pitch Planning Sheet that I found in Joy Kirr's Livebinder and asked them to blog their responses. I also asked them to include additional ideas such as props, technology, and statistics/facts that they want to share during their pitch.

Plan - After their pitch, it's time to really plan their project. While they present an overview in their pitch, the planning stage requires more details. This is when we begin to set up our Trello boards. We use Trello to track our learning as we work on our projects. Students will set up lists such as KWHLAQ, Math, ELA, Technology, Links, Resources, and Science/Social Studies. They will document their KWH now, document the standards they are using as they work, and will document their LAQ at the end of the project. This is also when students will decide on an outside expert. This is someone that they feel can offer them the information that they need to learn how their topic relates to the real world. Outside experts are my absolute favorite part of Genius Hour. You can read more about outside experts here.

Project - This is the "doing" part of the project. Students make, design, create whatever it is that they have decided for their project. This is when the learning and the passion become very evident. As students work on their projects, I like to use questioning to weave in the standards. For example, last year two students were using the sewing machine to make pillowcases. They noticed that the markings on the machine were 3/8, 1/2, and 5/8. I used that opportunity to ask what else could be in the place of the 1/2 marking which allowed us to discuss equivalent fractions.

Product - The product is what is produced and can be shared out with the world. This may be a YouTube video, a tangible prototype of their idea, or a digital book that they have written about their topic. Sharing with an authentic audience is an important part of the Genius Hour process as students like to know they are sharing beyond the four walls of the classroom. It makes it real, relevant, and brings even more meaning to the learning.

Presentation - Finally, students present their projects to the class. They can do this in a variety of ways. Some will share images with Google Slides, others will share videos documenting their entire journey, and many will use other technology such as Powtoon and Keynote to share their learning. However it is done, this is simply a time for students to reflect on their learning and share their project with their peers. Reflection is so important and helps students realize what went well, what didn't, and what they learned in the process.

In closing, if you are considering introducing Genius Hour into your classroom, consider using the 6 P's as a map for students to use. It will make the steps clear and help them stay on track as they go through the process. As students experience this process, they will begin to realize the importance of each step. Remember to give opportunities for students to make mistakes and be patient. Genius Hour is not easy and does not always run smoothly. But when you see the connections that are made and the learning that takes place, you will be so glad that you gave your students the opportunity to experience Genius Hour!

Want to learn more about the 6 Ps of Genius Hour? Check out the ONLINE COURSE!

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It's finally here! Time to start thinking about our Genius Hour projects in my classroom and I could not be more excited. My students have waited all summer to share their new ideas and I have waited all summer to hear them.

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I have finally created a comprehensive package that will provide everything that you need to make Genius Hour make sense. Below are the resources that you can access through my website...

Genius Hour Skills Enhancement Suite: A collection of learning experiences designed to address specific skills throughout the Genius Hour process.

Genius Hour Learning Guides: A guidebook for learners designed for them to document their learning and Genius Hour experience as they work on their project.

Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry: The book that started it all. This book will help you understand the process and why this type of learning is so important for today's students.

Learn More

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Education Author, Consultant, Speaker that shares practical ways to meet the needs of gifted learners and manageable ways to implement Genius Hour or passion-based learning

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http://angelamaiers.com/blog/

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Angela Maiers - Virtual Keynote Speaker - #YouMatter

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Blog - Angela Maiers - Virtual Keynote Speaker - #YouMatter

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Photo by Randy Tarampi on Unsplash This is a guest post from Jana Scott Lindsay, an educator and learner in Saskatoon, Canada. This is a cross-post from her blog, Driving Me to Think. Why is it that we are often our own greatest obstacle to overcome? I love being a...

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https://www.trevormackenzie.com/elevate-resource

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Trevor MacKenzie is an author, educator, and speaker from Victoria, BC, Canada focused on inquiry and collaboration in the classroom.

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RNROASDcm1RqR7jgSkF99JeKMN_vTFTuJVi5Mky-HbE/edit#slide=id.p