Passion Projects (aka Genius Hour)

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What are Passion Projects?

Passion Projects, also called Genius Hour, is a concept for the classroom based on Google's business practice of giving their employees 20% of their work day to research ideas or develop new products that they are passionate about. To no one's surprise, productivity increased when employees worked on things that interested them. (Google News and Gmail are two components of Google that were created using this time.)

In the classroom, teachers are using Passion Projects/Genius Hour as a time to have students follow their passions and spend time learning and creating about topics that are significant to them.

Why are Passion Projects important?

Students are more engaged when they are in charge of their own learning. Passion Projects spark curiosity, and students have the opportunity to become an expert on their topic. This activity encourage life-long learning, imagination, perseverance, self-awareness, adaptability, as well as other life lessons.

What Common Core standards and practices do Passion Projects support?

RI.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
RI.5.9: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
W.5.7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
W.5.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
SL.5.4: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
S&E Practice 1: Asking questions & defining problems
S&E Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

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