Mme B's Classroom

Genius hour is the amazing idea that was introduced to me a few years ago for my Grade 6 literacy class. It is 100% self-directed learning and allows the students to focus on whatever they want to learn and teach the class about. This is great for classes with a lot of different interests, as well as different abilities.

There are some classes, regardless of grade, that just want nothing to do with the lesson or projects being given by the teacher. Shy of allowing them to dictate what the lessons will look like – which is 100% possible in Core French with extra planning and consideration – that allowing this amount of freedom and self-directed education is a great way to bring them back on your side and allow them to be in charge of their learning. With some guidance, of course.

For Genius Hour to work, student will decide how they want to showcase their learning. The expectations are loose enough that it can be adapted for any subject or language. 

For French core, I have reviewed the basic French expectations; Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. Students know that they have to research something on the theme of our unit and present it to the class. I gave them a handful of suggestions, like reading a book, watching a TV show, writing a story for the kinder class, etc. If their given project doesn’t cover all 4 strands, I have an activity specifically designed to cover that strand. Therefore, at the end of the month when we are done this unit, we have assessed all 4 strands.

At the end of Grade 7 Science on Interactions in the Environment, a student watched the documentary “There’s Something in the Water” by Elliot Page. They then wrote up an essay connecting the various themes of the film to themes that were present in the unit like pollution, Indigienous rights, and water conservation.

In Grade 6 Literacy, a student learned to sew a jumper. She started by watching tutorials and then cut her pattern in the back of the class. She took it home to sew over the weekend, but her final presentation was a step-by-step instruction of how she learned to sew, like a journal entry.

For each lesson that I dedicate to Genius hour, I will pull 5 students to conference with me in the back. I will be looking at project progress. For Core French classes, we will also be practicing listening and speaking skills that can be difficult to accomplish with a large group. Everyone will conference with me at least once before the project is due. This is also the time to ask questions about their project and check-in how they are feeling about the presentation.

To complete the project, all students will have 2 days per week, for the month, or longer if needed. Participation and effort during class time are worth marks. This project can not be completed at home. 

For the other 3 days per week that we have lessons, I review vocabulary, verb conjugation, sentence creation and pronounciation in order to “practice for your project”. I found that framing it as “lessons to accomplish the task” help make it more meaningful for the students, especially when they are already disengaged from the content.

You can find this Genius Hour assignment and many more on my TPT