[eMINTS] Idea for gifted students

[Terri Hart]

Leslie,
Something I did this year for my gifted students was to have them complete
an orbital.  This is an idea from the differentiation guru, CarolAnn
Tomlinson.  I took the idea a bit further and had students create "I can"
statements that derived from the Missouri GLE's to prove how they were
tieing their research and topic into our curriculum, and create their own
rubric based on their "I can" statements and finished product.  I even set
up a workshop type atmosphere during the last week of school for students
to hold break-out sessions to present their projects.  I teamed up with a
few other teachers and invited their students to sign up for topics of
interest and come in to watch the presentations.  These kids really got
into this and took it well beyond I ever imagined, even creating surveys
with Survey Monkey to get data they needed!  We had topics ranging from
the Mars space rovers and the Bermuda Triangle, to photosynthesis and
animal abuse.  There are lots of links out there to give you a better idea
of what an orbital is, but in a nutshell it's a self-selected topic to
explore with guidance from the teacher.  You will need to specifically
mention Tomlinson in your search or you will get a return that pertain to
science orbitals.  

Terri Hart
Memorial Middle School
6th Grade Block/eMINTS
(417) 625-5250
thart at joplin.k12.mo.us
www.joplinschools.org/people/thart


"Those who say it can't be done, shouldn't interrupt those who are doing
it."
  -unknown