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.
As I mentioned last week, I have been toying with the idea of having the students choose Challenge Cards during Genius Hour in order to throw some unpredictable problem solving in their paths. I listed some of my ideas for challenges, and got a couple of new ones from Nancy (thanks, Nancy!) on the Padlet wall (which is still open to your suggestions). I worked last night on creating some printable challenge cards for Levels 1 and 2. I hope to present you with Levels 3 and 4 tomorrow.
For those of you interested in creating your own, I used Flaming Text to create the Harry Potter-ish text on the cards. In the interest of time, I went with simple QR codes from QR Code Generator. I had already created a Weebly site for my Genius Hour resources, so I created a page for each card’s directions, and hid the pages in the navigation menu.
My students will be using Level 1 and Level 2 cards to get a challenge each Genius Hour OR they will choose from Level 3 or Level 4, which will be longer challenges designed to be used for an entire Genius Hour project. They will earn points toward leveling up in my classroom if they satisfactorily complete the challenges – or lose points if they do not.
Because I know that many of you do not have devices for scanning QR codes, I included a set of cards that have the actual directions on them for each Level. I also included a blank version in MS Word for each level – in case you want to make your own.
UPDATE: Challenge Cards for Levels 3-5 have been posted here. Also, you can view all Genius Hour Resources here.
I like the idea of earning points to advance a level. How do they earn points?
I use Class Dojo in my classroom, which enables me to keep track of points.