Tag: Academy of Achievement

5-8, 6-12, Careers, Education, Independent Study, Research, Social Studies, Teaching Tools, Videos, Websites

My Role Model

Terri Eichholz
from: Academy of Achievement
from: Academy of Achievement

If you have students who are working on Genius Hour or any kind of biographical research, you may want to have them check out “My Role Model” from the Academy of Achievement.

This tool allows the user to choose from three different categories: what you want to achieve, what kind of personality you have, and what challenges you have faced.  If you choose an item to reflect yourself from each category, then the tool will give you a list of people in the Academy who have those attributes in common with you.

Of course, you don’t have to use the tool to find someone who is similar to you; you can use the categories to find people who have particular admirable traits, instead, for example.

I have posted about the Academy of Achievement before, but did not focus on the Role Model tool.  Also, I did not specifically mention it as a good Genius Hour resource.  There are many biographies, podcasts, and videos on the site that could make good reference materials for students in grades 5 and up.  You can also find Academy members based on their careers here.

You can find this site, along with a few other recommendations for Genius Hour project ideas, on my Genius Hour Resources page, as well as my Genius Hour Bookmarks post.

3-12, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Education, Motivation, Philosophy, Research, Social Studies, Teaching Tools, Videos, Websites

Academy of Achievement

Terri Eichholz
The Academy of Achievement aims to “to bring aspiring young people together with real-life heroes.”  One way they are accomplishing this is by posting audio and video of interviews with leaders in different fields.  The videos include such eminent people as Steve Jobs and Maya Angelou, and many more.  In addition to the videos, the Academy of Achievement has curriculum resources for teachers.  Most of those resources are for grades 7-12, but there are a few, such as The Olympic curriculum, for as low as 4th grade as well.
On the “Keys to Success” page, the featured individuals are grouped by character traits such as “Passion” and “Vision.”  A fun tool for students is located on the “My Role Model” page, where you can find role models who are featured on the site based on some of your own individual traits.
Because some of the materials are designed for older students, I would advise that teachers preview all videos and materials before using them with their classes.