Your Guide to Passion Projects in Busy Middle School Classrooms
My students were staring at me again, wondering what the heck I was up to this time. I wrung my hands and smeared sticky sweat onto my pants.
“Is this going to be worth all the time? What if they can’t come up with something worthwhile? Will my classroom implode??”
I forced all of those intrusive thoughts aside, took a deep, steadying breath… and assigned my very first Passion Project.
Months later, one by one as my students each revealed their creations, my jaw dropped.
And I never looked back.
What’s in the Blog?
And I Never Looked Back.
That nerve-wracking moment in 2017 was a lifetime ago. And let me tell you. Every year, my jaw drops as my students stand with backs straight and heads held high in front of their classmates, proudly sharing their Passion Project masterpieces like refined TedTalks.
“I painted this in honor of the Venerable Van Gogh.”
“I started this business mowing lawns to make money, and this website is where I’ll find my clients.”
“This is the final film of my original self-produced, self-directed TRILOGY: Who Killed the Handler??”
One after another.
Hydro Dipping.
Mental health research.
Ecosystem in a jar.
Celebrity biographies.
Rube Goldberg machines.
My head spins every time from the endless innovation from these kids.
Look, I get it. Passion Projects can feel IMPOSSIBLE to do in a busy middle school classroom with 30+ antsy kids who seem to barely be interested in anything. Not to mention all of the standards and ministry expectations we need to hit with so little time.
Trust me, when I first heard about Passion Projects, I wanted to try assigning them so badly, but my head spun with what ifs.
Now? I wish I knew what I know now so that I wouldn’t have been practically peeing myself all those years ago. I’m so grateful I took that leap of faith and tried it!
What is a Passion Project?
A passion project is an assignment where kids have time to learn, practice, or build anything they want.
I know. Scary right? Sounds like we have no control.
But I promise you it’s not as overwhelming or scary as it seems.
Passion Projects are such an open-ended project, so I build structure by emphasizing 3 basic rules for students as they choose their topics. I include these points in my Passion Project Quick Tips Teaching Guide and my ready-made introductory presentation:
The project has to be researched, so it has to be a meaty topic that is appropriate for school
They have to complete a proposal for me to approve
Showtime: they have to share what they’ve learned
So there’s a lot of guidance and accountability built in!
Here are some sample student projects that resulted from this guided chaos:
As long as they’re learning, students truly do have a lot of flexibility within the parameters we set for them. Then they get to give their classmates the best presentation they’ve ever done, because it’s a project they were willing to work hard for, and are proud to share.
It’s beyond anything I could have imagined when I first started!
The BIGGEST challenges for us as teachers of course are guiding kids who are brain-mushed by social media AND carving out time for students to do this among all the million piles of things that need to be done in a busy middle school classroom.
So how can we make passion projects work?
How do I run Passion Projects in a Busy Classroom?
So how do I make Passion Projects work? Let’s get into it.
1) Moving Past Student Brain-Mush: Introducing Passion Projects
The key here? Intrigue your kids.
For a sweet end-of-the-week treat, I introduce our Passion Project time on a Friday, dropping hints the Monday just before that something is coming.
I smirk. I give them no details. When they bug me, my eyes sparkle with glee and I cackle, “wait and see!”
Then, that Friday, my students are greeted with this first slide on the projector as they walk into the room:
They can barely stand it at this point and are practically yelling at me to just tell them! So I go through the next few slides:
Boom!
After the frenzied questions of “Really? Anything we want??” I then run through the rest of the introductory presentation, outlining what a Passion Project is, what is expected of them, and show them some past student samples.
I don’t quite model the planning templates just yet, but I do model the brainstorming one so that they know what to do if they feel stuck. Here’s a freebie if you wanted to test it out!
I also take that time to float around the room, sit with kids who have never had the luxury of thinking about what they enjoy, and guide everyone through the process.
At this point, the students are veritably buzzing with chatter as they brainstorm project ideas with their peers. For the first time, they get a chance to dig deep, figure out what questions they want answers to, and take time to dream a little.
It’s always a great day!
2) Carving Out Time: 3 intentional strategies for our busy classrooms
Genius Hour is meant to be incorporated seamlessly into your regular, busy classroom routines. It’s not meant to be a tedious add-on - otherwise, you’ll dread it.
Here are 3 ways I’ve tried incorporating Genius Hour into my Language blocks for my students to work on their Passion Projects:
Literacy Stations - as you set up your learning stations for small group instruction, one of the independent activities can be to work on their Passion Project. This guarantees that they will get some class time to work on it, as it is a no-prep, ongoing project that you can include for weeks.
Weekly Genius Hour - once a week, provide students with an hour-long long block of time to just WORK. I’ve done this on Fridays during Language class, just before they go into the weekend, and it’s a nice way to round out the week.
One Long Block of Genius Time - you may wish to assign this project for 2 weeks and have it as the sole focus for your Language block. I don’t recommend this, as the concept of “Genius Hour” is to spark creativity in your students throughout the year. You may also find it a challenge to incorporate it into your Language program this way. But! It may work for you! So if you prefer this, go for it!
EARLY FINISHER BONUS: you know your early finishers who complete their work 2 minutes after you’ve assigned them, and then start throwing paper airplanes at their friends?
No more of that. Drive their restless energy to their passion projects, and they’ll be out of your hair in no time.
No more extra prep. No more redirecting. No more extra worksheets that not everyone will get to. Just send them to their passion projects. The end!
3) Holding Kids Accountable: assessment, assessment, assessment
While learning about whatever they want is a GREAT time for kids, as professionals, we still need to ensure that we are holding students accountable for all of that class time. So, for me, that comes in the form of student-teacher conferences and oral presentations.
When the kids propose their projects to you, they’ll need to have set a number of short-term goals for themselves in this Goals Timeline planner:
When you conference with them, this is what you will use to help keep them on track. If they’re meeting their goals, awesome! If they’re struggling and need some follow-up, they’ll have the space to reevaluate their goals and set new ones. I’ve done this many times; some kids even choose different projects in between as they discover something isn’t working.
It’s all a part of the process.
Then once their projects are done, they present what they learned and their process in an oral presentation.
Protip: I don’t assess the TOPIC they chose per say! So don’t go creating a separate grading guide for every single topic your students cover!
I assess student Learning Skills and the effectiveness of their presentation. That’s it. Just in case an administrator questions how you’re justifying all that time the kids are taking to work on their Passion Projects.
Here’s the rubric I use to assess. My resource includes an editable version, in case you wanted to tweak it to suit your needs!
4) Was It Worthwhile? Using Student Reflections
How do I know my students love doing passion projects?
Because I ask them!
Once presentations are done, students reflect on their progress and experience. Here’s the reflection sheet that I use. I’ve got this printable AND Google Forms version in the full resource.
Most appreciate class time to explore their own interests. Inevitably, some also discover that what they thought was a passion of theirs wasn’t something they enjoyed at all!
And that’s all a part of the process of figuring out who they are and what they are willing to work hard for.
They won’t know until they try.
Speaking of which, something else I know a lot of teachers these days are worried about…
What if My Students Don’t Have Passions??
Examples of Passion Project Ideas for Middle School Students
Middle school kids have spent a lifetime being told what to do and how to do it. No wonder it’s tough for them to introspect and figure out what it is that really matters to them.
But every single kid has something they’re curious about, even if they’re brain-mushed by social media.
What is it that captures their attention?
What intrigues them?
Even if what they like makes us want to bang our heads against the wall??
Here’s an example: one of my students loves Minecraft.
But he’s never really thought of designing a farmhouse before, complete with basement sauna, functioning kitchen, and a basketball court.
So he went and created a whole elaborate estate on Minecraft! Here are 2 screenshots from his video presentation. Don’t mind how pixelated the images are:
Even the most silly and mundane things can turn into an opportunity to develop a skill.
This Minecraft-loving kid spent months stretching his architectural design skills, developing his spatial sense, and creating screen captures of his work.
He was so proud of himself.
As teachers, we have to get out of our own heads and guide our students to notice how their interests can be leveraged - if not for productivity, than for real joy.
We have to give them time to think and explore.
We have to give them permission to try, and fail, and try again… ESPECIALLY if it’s hard. Because productive struggle is where learning happens.
I LITERALLY show them this as part of the introductory presentation:
From designing mansions on Roblox to learning how to style hair, I get crazy unique ideas coming out year after year because I give kids the space to take risks.
As of 2024, it’s now my 8th year assigning Passion Projects for middle schoolers, and my students still continue to amaze me.
Not to overwhelm you, but here are just a few more projects that the kids really enjoyed!
Will there be kids who simply won’t know what to choose?
Yes. I’m not going to sugar coat it and say ALL my students come up with something that will knock my socks off. And I’m not going to mince words: I always have a handful at least who really struggle to pick a topic for their passion project.
That’s where our mentorship comes in.
That’s where we guide them.
Push them.
Make them really think about what it is that catches their attention.
What sparks joy for them? What makes them laugh? What makes them stop and think, “whoa… that’s cool?”
Every kid has something, even if we as the older generation think it’s silly. Our opinion here, quite frankly, doesn’t matter. What matters is that, as long as the topic is appropriate for school - YES, EVEN FORTNITE - the topic has them engaged and excited to work and learn something new.
Are you ready to be impressed by your students too?
Let me help: resources to make Passion Projects easy!
I don’t want our kids to grow up having been pushed through the hamster wheel of school, never getting permission to learn what they are truly interested in.
Like you, I want our students to THRIVE.
That’s why I assign passion projects every year. I remember how hard it was to get started, so I also want to support YOU in making Passion Projects a reality for your classroom.
It can be a real challenge - I won’t mince words. But it can be a lot of fun too.
Here are some resources to help you get started!
The Full Resource: this is the project I created and use every year with my students. The introductory presentation, the planners and templates, the rubric, the student reflection - all of it. I keep adding to it too as I continue to learn, so it’s a growing resource.
FREE Teacher Guide: I’ve also recently created a Passion Project Quick Tips Teaching Guide that answers questions by teachers who have wanted to try passion projects, but were a bit nervous about doing something so open-ended:
What if my students get stuck and struggle to choose a topic?
What if my students finish their projects early? What do they do with their passion project time?
How do I assess my students?
FREE Brainstorming Template: Here’s the Student Brainstorming organizer that supports students as they come up with project ideas! This will be helpful if you’re still struggling to wrap your head around how to get started and aren’t ready to dive into the resource yet. Just so you know, if you do go ahead and use the full project, this brainstorming organizer is included in the resource.
I’m here to help. If you have any questions or if you’re struggling with where to get started, please please reach out and let me know how I can support you!
The benefits of this project are so wide-reaching, and I want to make sure every educator who wants to try this will feel confident enough to jump in with both feet.
Send us a message at info@edcoachnetwork.com. I read every email. Let’s chat! 🙂
Cheering you on, every step of the way,
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