This is a lesson plan to introduce research and writing informational text based on this research.Example of openly licensed Citation: "Animals - Cute Zoo" by Lesya Skripack from Russia is licensed under FreePik. Image Created by: Lesya Skripack 

Video created through Adobe Spark introducing third graders to Genius Hour.

Genius Hour Elevator Pitch © 2019 by A. Nielson is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

 These lessons are intended as an introduction to Genius Hour for younger students in the elementary grades.  It focuses on students' interests and/or hobbies they wish to explore, developing research questions appropriate for their topic, and an introduction to teaching research using digital databases and other resources.

This lesson plan teaches students about the habitats found around the world and encourages digital fluency by requiring them to explore digital resourses and create an Adobe Photo Page.  First, students will question, discuss, view, explore, read, and research to build their knowledge.  Then they will demonstrate this knowlege by choosing a habitiat, selecting appropriate photos, adding descriptive informational text, and providing correct citations to their projects.  They will then publish and share their projects with their peers.  Intro Image Citation:Nambia Desert Sand, By FuN_Lucky,  PixaBay License https://pixabay.com/photos/namibia-desert-sand-dune-dust-2049203/

This unit walks students through the research process from pre-writing to publishing using cars as the topic, but it could be adapted for any basic research subject. The final project allows them to publish to the world creating an Adobe Express web page.Diagram of an Internal Combustion Piston Engine, By User:Wapcaplet - Own work, made with Blender, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=182044A modern assembly-line, By Marek Slusarczyk, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116381370

What plagiarism looks like and the rules to avoid it. A note taking strategy to prevent coping directly from the text.

This lesson plan was designed to aid in teaching second grade students science standard 2.2.2.Standard: Plan and carry out an investigation of the structure and function of plant and animal parts in different habitats. Emphasize how different plants and animals have different structures to survive in their habitat. Examples could include the shallow roots of a cactus in the desert or the seasonal changes in the fur coat of a wolf. (LS1.A, LS4.A, LS4.D)Students will demonstrate their knowledge of this standard by creating a Keynote presentation about a specific species using the Apple Keynote app. Photo by Becca on Unsplash