March 2007

Greetings Educators Guild Members! 

As you know, the interests of gifted students are often intense and multifaceted.  While having a continuum of gifted services for these students is ideal, we recognize many gifted students remain in regular classrooms for a majority of the time.  It can be difficult to provide the in-depth exploration gifted students crave.  As such, we have included activities that can enhance their regular curriculum by fostering deep meaning and significant learning.  Below are some ideas you can use with your students to ensure creative and challenging lessons.

Activities

Projects and Independent Study – Meaningful projects and independent study opportunities promote autonomous learning and are frequently recommended for gifted students.

• NAGC – Educators can gain access to many online teaching resources, including project ideas, for highly capable students. 

• Special Ed “You Need Project Based Learning” – an article for educators explaining the importance of project based learning and a guide to assist teachers in creating project based learning activities.  

Research Skills- Research skills are extremely important and can help students learn what they might want to do later in life.  

• How to do Research – From the Kentucky Virtual Library with a step by step guide for students explaining how to do research. 

• A Research Guide for Students – Informational tools for students to conduct research and to present their findings. 

Virtual Field Trips- You may not have the time or funding to take field trips with your class.  Therefore, virtual field trips are a fun and creative way for students to learn about places they may wish to visit.

• Renzulli Virtual Field Trips- Students virtually visit exciting places such as historical sites, castles, Egypt, and the White House.   

• Education World – Students travel to outer space, Antarctica, or a simple farm.  Educators can also receive tips for creating their own virtual field trip!

• Tramline Virtual Field Trips– take an exciting trip to the Dark Ages, the Wonders of the World, or learn about dinosaurs!

WebQuests

A WebQuest is an inquiry-orientated activity in which all or most of the information used by learners is drawn from the Internet.  They are designed to utilize the learner’s time well, to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support the learner’s thinking at levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

• A Rubric for Evaluating WebQuests, San Diego State University
  Here you'll find a ready-made template for scoring or evaluating student WebQuest projects, complete with scoring categories. Checklists with additional scoring criteria to evaluate project fine points are also provided. (Ed Guild Post April 26, 2006)
  

• CSI: Lord of the Flies (Language Arts: grades 9-12)
  A forensics team studies the events in the book LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding. Their goal is the production of a report to be presented to an investigative committee (the remaining students in the classroom). They will be prepared to explain what happened on the island and why?

• Break the Code (Math: grades 6-12)
  This WebQuest is about how to use inverse matrices in real life.  Cryptograms will be introduced and students will learn how to convert, encode and decode a message.

• I Will Survive! (Science: grades 3-6)
  This is an animal adaptation WebQuest designed for middle and upper elementary aged students. The students will compare three animal species and identify similar adaptations.

We hope you find this information helpful.  Remember, members have access to our team of professionals for consultation.  Therefore, if you are looking for assistance, ideas or resources, please feel free to contact us: edguild@ditd.org.