Name: _____________________

Course: __________

What is
Genius Hour?
You will have 6 weeks to learn
about whatever you would
like. Yes, anything.

Genius Hour is an opportunity

for you to take control of your
learning. If youre bored- you
only have yourself to blame

There are 4 simple guidelines:

1. Your essential question
cannot be Google-able
2. You will get your project
approved by Mrs. B
3. You will conduct research
4. You will share your findings
with your class.

Along the way you will:

Create a project pitch
Do plenty of research:
books, internet, news
articles
Develop a TED-style talk
to share your research

How I will be graded:

Stage
Pitch

Points
15

Planning
&
research
TED Talk:
Final

35

Total

100

150

Looking Ahead Due

Dates:
January 18/19: Project
Pitch
February 8/9: Project
Presentations &
Reflection

Brainstorming: My passions
What are some of your current loves? Likes?

How do you spend your time when you are not in school?

If you could read/learn about anything in the world, what would it

be? What do you wonder about?

How can you turn that into a passion project to show you are a
genius? You can build something, design something, make
something, write something, collect something its all up to you.

NEXT STEP: Narrow down your project to 2 different ideas.

(You will need to get my approval for the final project.)
1.

2.

Brainstorming Continued

Idea #1

Idea #2

Designing Essential Questions

The purpose of the genius hour is not just to
summarize all that you can on your topic, instead
you need to build on your understanding of the
topic. To become an expert.
Topic:
What do I know?

<< HINT >>

Essential Questions (EQs) do
not have easy answers. EQs
usually start with these
phrases:

What questions do I have?

How does this effect?

Why does it matter
that?
How could things be
different if?
What is more
important?
What is the best design
for?
What is the difference?

____________________________
Some student examples:
How did the Ice age start and what
happened to the people and the
animals?

Your research will answer an Essential Question (EQ).

An EQ asks that you move beyond just studying
something to move into action, to make change, to form
an opinion, or make something. An EQ cannot be
answered by simple facts, or a "yes" or "no" answer (see
sidebar for more examples).
Enter your essential question(s) here:

Who created the internet and why?

How does this affect our culture
today?
Who are the most famous artist
throughout history. I plan to make
a website about famous artists,
and re-draw their most famous
pieces?
How are Solar Systems formed and
what is the purpose of them? What
other solar systems exist?
With help from writing techniques
could an eighth grader learn more
about writing to make a book?
How has architecture changed over
the years with regard to materials

6
Congrats! Now be sure to email Mrs. B to get approval on
your topic/question.

Step 1:

15

Develop a Project Pitch

pts

Slide 1. Describe
your motivation for
pursuring your
chosen activity

Slide 2. Lays out

your proposed
timeline and goals,
lists your resources
(CITE)

Slide 3. States and

explains your
essential question
and end goal
(create, develop,
build, learn... )

1. Using Google Slides, create a 3 slide pitch of your project.

Your pitch should be 2-3 minutes long.
2.Must be saved as follows: "Last name, First name:
Project Pitch"
3. Requires an effective and planned delivery (not reading).
***Be prepared for Q & A.
NOTES:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
7

Planning and Research

Step
2

What do I know?
What do I want to know?
How will I find out?

You will need various resources for your

project; at least 5 credible sources:
1 interview (OPTIONAL: email or inperson)
2-3 articles
2-3 websites

Citing Sources: EasyBib.com (Create an

account). Use this website to cite your
sources and save your works cited page.

Is This Source Legit?

C
A
R
S

Credibility
Is the author listed?
Are the authors credentials listed?
How do you know they are an authority on the
subject?
Are there spelling or grammatical errors?

Accuracy
Is there a date for publication?
Is the information up-to-date?
Does the information agree with other sources?
Is the information complete?
Does the author acknowledge all viewpoints?
Is the information factual or opinion?

Reasonableness
Is the author fair?
Is the author concerned with telling the truth?
Is it clear why the source was created?
What is the quality of the images?

Support
Are all sources listed?
Can you contact the author for clarification?

RESEARCH - What type of source? (Circle appropriate source below)

Newspaper Article - Magazine Article - Website - Interview - Book - Other:

_______________
Title: _________________________________________
URL: _________________________________________
Author: ______________________________________
Date Published: _______________________________
Facts, notes, statistics, quotes, etc:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Need more room? Feel free to add paper to this research packet.

10

How would you rate this source?

How do you know? Circle the strongest reason:

Credibility

Accuracy

Reasonableness

Support

RESEARCH - What type of source? (Circle appropriate source below)

Newspaper Article - Magazine Article - Website - Interview - Book - Other:

_______________
Title: _________________________________________
URL: _________________________________________
Author: ______________________________________
Date Published: _______________________________
Facts, notes, statistics, quotes, etc:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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11

____________________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Need more room? Feel free to add paper to this research packet.

How would you rate this source?

How do you know? Circle the strongest reason:

Credibility

Accuracy

Reasonableness

Support

RESEARCH - What type of source? (Circle appropriate source below)

Newspaper Article - Magazine Article - Website - Interview - Book - Other:

_______________
Title: _________________________________________
URL: _________________________________________
Author: ______________________________________
Date Published: _______________________________
Facts, notes, statistics, quotes, etc:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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12

____________________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Need more room? Feel free to add paper to this research packet.

How would you rate this source?

How do you know? Circle the strongest reason:

Credibility

Accuracy

Reasonableness

Support

RESEARCH - What type of source? (Circle appropriate source below)

Newspaper Article - Magazine Article - Website - Interview - Book - Other:

_______________
Title: _________________________________________
URL: _________________________________________
Author: ______________________________________
Date Published: _______________________________
Facts, notes, statistics, quotes, etc:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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13

____________________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Need more room? Feel free to add paper to this research packet.

How would you rate this source?

How do you know? Circle the strongest reason:

Credibility

Accuracy

Reasonableness

Support

RESEARCH - What type of source? (Circle appropriate source below)

Newspaper Article - Magazine Article - Website - Interview - Book - Other:

_______________
Title: _________________________________________
URL: _________________________________________
Author: ______________________________________
Date Published: _______________________________
Facts, notes, statistics, quotes, etc:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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14

____________________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Need more room? Feel free to add paper to this research packet.

How would you rate this source?

How do you know? Circle the strongest reason:

Credibility

Accuracy

Reasonableness

Support

RESEARCH - What type of source? (Circle appropriate source below)

Newspaper Article - Magazine Article - Website - Interview - Book - Other:

_______________
Title: _________________________________________
URL: _________________________________________
Author: ______________________________________
Date Published: _______________________________
Facts, notes, statistics, quotes, etc:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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15

____________________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Need more room? Feel free to add paper to this research packet.

How would you rate this source?

How do you know? Circle the strongest reason:

Credibility

Accuracy

Reasonableness

Support

RESEARCH - What type of source? (Circle appropriate source below)

Newspaper Article - Magazine Article - Website - Interview - Book - Other:

_______________
Title: _________________________________________
URL: _________________________________________
Author: ______________________________________
Date Published: _______________________________
Facts, notes, statistics, quotes, etc:

16

____________________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Need more room? Feel free to add paper to this research packet.

How would you rate this source?

How do you know? Circle the strongest reason:

Credibility

Accuracy

Reasonableness

Support

17

Step 3:

Write, design, and perform a meaningful

100

Talk

pts

SUGGESTED ORGANIZATION:

Hook
Transition
A logical order to your main points
And an effective conclusion

SUGGESTED CONTENT:
Inspire the audience with your passion
for your pursued activity
Explain the process & show the products
of your project
Talk about your purpose, or what the
audience should learn from your project
MUST INCLUDE a creative &
supplemental visual presentation (YOU,
not the visuals, should drive the TALK)

Follow the TED Commandments:

Show us the real you
Be vulnerable
Dont flaunt your ego
Dont boast
No selling from the stage
Dont read your talk
Notes are fine
End your talk on time

The delivery must be refined, poised, and enthusiastic

Dream big Strive to create the best talk youve ever given.
Connect with audience emotions: make us laugh, make us cry!
Controversy energizes
Rehearse your talk for timing, clarity, for impact

Only 3-4
minutes long

18

Qualities of a TED Talk:

My talk brainstorming:

19

Step 4

Reflection
Complete the following self-assessment. I know the
work youve done, so be honest.
(Scale: 1= completely disagree 5= completely agree)
I worked hard every day
I asked questions when I needed to in
order to stay on track
What grade do I deserve on my project
based on how focused I was and what I
produced.

1
1

2 3 4 5
2 3 4 5

B C D F

Now, in your opinion

I wish I had more time to work on my
1 2 3 4 5
project.
I would want to do a project like this again.

2 3 4 5

What I would change about this project:

What I enjoyed about this project:

Other suggestions for Mrs. B regarding Genius Hour

20

Genius Hour Log: To be completed every Genius Hour Work Day

Date
Today I used my hour to

Next steps?
Now I need to

Jan
7/8

Jan
14/15

Jan
21/22

Jan
28/29

21

Feb
4/5

22