IMPORTANT UPDATE – The previous Genius Hour Bookmark QR Codes stopped working, as the host site does not appear to be online any longer. I have updated the bookmarks as of 1/1/14. Please let me know if you have any problems!
2nd IMPORTANT UPDATE: *As of 1/2/14, you can now download all of my current Genius Hour resources in a bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers for $5. Or, you can still download them separately (for free) by clicking on the links below.
One of the things that is difficult about getting kids started on a Genius Hour project is getting them started on a Genius Hour project! Giving them the freedom to choose anything under the sun to study seems to be a little overwhelming. Even when you try to start with brainstorming their interests, they tend to be stymied by the concept of developing their own projects and not being assigned particular topics.
I’ve tasked myself this summer with my own Genius Hour project, in a way – to freshen up my resources for Genius Hour. Yesterday, I spent awhile collecting the “go to” websites I’ve been offering my students in the last year for jumpstarting their engines. Rather than give them a list, however, I decided to make the bookmarks that I have linked below. The bookmarks have QR codes to each of the sites.
My vision is to print them out in color, laminate them, and cut them out. (I will need to do a test run to make sure the codes still scan once laminated.) I might have the students choose one based on the title (Investigate, Create, Test, Make), or just put them all in a cup and have them select blindly the first time. Then they can scan each code and look at the sites for ideas.
This is, by no means, an exhaustive list of resources. And, if a student has an idea that is not on one of the websites, I will probably jump for joy, but it will hopefully show them some of the possibilities.
I am sharing links to the QR code page as well as one that has the links printed on it so you can see the website addresses (just in case scanning does not work).
By the way, my daughter just asked me for the distinction between “Create” and “Make.” I got the idea for the titles from this excellent post on how to introduce Genius Hour (H/T to Donna L. for the link!), though I modified them a bit, and my answer to her was that “Create” means to make something original such as artwork, and “Make” means to construct something according to directions.
Genius Hour Bookmarks With Links
Need more Genius Hour ideas? Check out my Genius Hour Resources page or the other posts from this week.
Reblogged this on Teach.Connect.Curate.
Thanks for your blog posts. I’ve enjoyed reading your series on Genius Hour, and am looking to try some of this with my class next year. Keep the information coming!
Thanks so much! I have more ideas to share soon!
Terri, I’ve put your Genius Hour posts onto the LiveBinder (grade 5, right?) here: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/829279?tabid=553f548b-7f4b-e62a-2d92-e4fc9afa9f36 . When you’re tweeting about your Genius Hour great ideas (!!!), please use the hash tag before the word (#geniushour), so the community of teachers trying it can see it. You’ll get more conversation that way about your ideas. That way people who don’t follow you can see your ideas, too! Thanks so much for sharing these great ideas and tagging your posts, as well.
Thanks, Joy! It might be better to link to my Genius Hour Resources page at http://engagetheirminds.wordpress.com/genius-hour-resources/, but either one works. Unfortunately, my blog is set up to automatically tweet posts, and I’m not sure how to get the hashtag in there unless I put it in the title. Any ideas?
What a wonderful idea with the bookmarks! Your links are great, and I love how you built the ideas of Create, Make, Investigate and Test. Your daughter is right – create and make may be similar – and I like how you differentiated. Thanks for the link-back too. I look forward to seeing more of what you are doing!
Kirsten
Thanks a lot for your very kind comment!