Seventh graders have a three-hour block where they will participate in Genius Hour and share their creative productions. We will start after lunch and finish by dismissal time.

The rules are simple:

1. Be a genius! That is, be creative and productive.
2. Record your learning in a way that it can be shared digitally (video, photos, blog post, or something else)
3. Check the rubric, for you will be asked to honestly evaluate your own work.
4. Be ready at 2:10 p.m. to present to the class what you have created and produced.

Students, as you prepare, consider these possibilities for Genius Hour:

1. Ask a question you care about and find the answer.
2. Check out what’s been happening in current affairs and how can you add to the conversation.
3. Have you been learning anything in some class that sparked an interest?
4. Continue what you were learning for genius hour last time. Step it up a notch.
5. Keep your ideas small enough for a two-hour time slot. (For instance, don’t think of World War II for your topic, but perhaps you want to learn about the KA-BAR knife adopted by the Marines in November 1942.)

Here are some websites that you may consider for presenting:

• Popplet – share your learning in a graphic way
• TimeToast – timeline
• Animoto – video or slide show
• Glogster – digital poster
• Prezi – presentation
• Storybird – book maker
• Tagxedo – word clouds with pizzazz

Good luck, everyone!