Genius Hour - Monday, October 27th

Happy Genius Hour!

Today you have genius hour the whole block.  You do have a couple of blog posts to complete -- one is due tomorrow (details here) and the other is due on friday (details here).  Make sure you are setting aside time either today or at home to complete those posts.  Some of you will be going down to explore and brainstorm ideas with Mrs. Fitzsimmons; I hope this helps find some direction.

If you aren't blogging, you should, of course, use the time to read your book, explore a new genius hour idea, or continue working on an idea in progress.  There is not group work today, so if you are part of a "group," you can work separately today and then share what you learned later (on your own time). Have a great day and see you tomorrow.

Blog Post Ideas: Complete one by Friday

Complete one of the following blog posts by Friday, October 31st.  If you already completed one of these posts last week, you don't have to do another one.  But you still might want to just to stay ahead.

• Watch and respond to a TED talk (click here for previous post with links and more details).
• Recommend a book you have recently read (details here)
• If you are one of the many interested in cooking, watch at least three short videos here and reflect on them and share what you learned.
• Writing Prompt (be complete and specific):  The world would be a better place if...
• Explain (share) an idea or topic you are interested in pursuing for genius hour.   Explain what you want to do (or learn) and most importantly WHY you want to do it.  What will you or others gain by you doing this?

What would you want to change or make better?

This will post is required and is due by next Tuesday, 28th.

Write a well developed, thoughtful blog post describing something you want to change or make better.  You might start by identifying a problem you notice or something that bothers you.  For example, I might write about things that I would want to see changed about our lunchroom here at school. I might focus on overall atmosphere of the lunchroom or the food (or maybe even both).

You might also write about something you want to change about yourself.  If you do this, be specific about why you want to change that and how you might go about making the change.

Remember, just because you write about something does not mean that you will be required to actually make the change, but maybe it could.  And that could end up being a great genius hour project.

Example of great posts on books

Every time you finish a book, you should write a post of some sort about it.  This is a great way to get a blog post done and share what you are doing for genius hour.  It also shows me that you are actually reading at home.  If you are not posting about books you have read, I assume that you aren't actually reading, which is, after all, your homework every night.


Many of you have been writing posts about books you have read and want to recommend, but many of you are struggling with producing great posts.  Check out Rachel's blog for two great examples of posts about books.  Notice that there are great details and specifics about the books, but she doesn't give away the whole story.  Instead, she ends with lots of questions to get you to want to read the book to find out.

Once you read these examples, try to write your own post recommending a book that you have read.

Ted Talks

Ted Talks are called talks to stir your curiosity.  There are talks on all different topics of all different lengths.  Check out some talks made by kids here or search by topic here.  Here is another list of some great Ted Talks

Watch one or more ted talks and reflect on it in a new blog post.  Then, if you want, you can read the first chapter of the book, How to Deliver a Ted Talk.  See me if you are interested.  Maybe you can make up your own Ted Talk as your genius hour project.