Challenge Your Gifted Middle School Students Karen L. Parker, Ed.D. Liberty University

Gifted-Talented Challenges - Gifted-talented students - Gifted-talented teachers For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48

Smart or Gifted ? Know the answers Are interested Pay attention Work hard Answer questions Enjoy same-age peers Good at memorizing Learn easily Listen well Are self-satisfied Ask the questions Are very curious Involved Play/still good grades Question answers Prefer adults/older Good at guessing Bored/know answers Strong feelings/opinions Perfectionists

Don’t overlook: Females [middle/secondary] Energetic males Students with disabilities Students with behavior problems Minority cultures Lower SES Poor test-takers

Inquiry-based Instruction Students actively pursue answers to curiosity-based questions Explicit teaching Student-identified problems Honest evaluation and praise Biographies of creative people Multiple ways to excel Reward inquiry and reflection vs. memorization and drill Respond reflectively and less judgmentally

Compacting the Curriculum Eliminate 50% of general curriculum for high-ability students with no difference in achievement test scores Pre-testing Accelerated rate Replacement activities - free reading, alternative reading - projects, puzzles Teacher support

Flexible Grouping Grouping for different purposes Ability grouping to enhance achievement Advanced opportunities – more participate Within-class grouping Cross-graded grouping Pull-out programs for GT Cooperative learning –caution: - student perceptions of unfairness - free-rider effects - individual response differences

Instructional Technology Benefits limited unless meaningfully related to the curriculum Adjust goals for success and keep raising Gifted students are drawn to technology Use technology - communication - inquiry

Webquests WebQuests are a wonderful means of differentiating instruction based on interest. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet.

Sample Webquests The Webquest Portal http://webquest.org/ Top Webquests for Middle Years http://webquest.org/matrix3.php Tailing the Samurai’s Tale (Japan - Humanities) http://edtech.suhsd.k12.ca.us/inprogress/act/dfickett/japan/samuraistale.htm Bones and the Badge (Science 6 ) http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/forensic/ Too Hot Too Handle (Science & Health) http://imet.csus.edu/imet2/nicher/toohotwebquest/index.html Units of Measure (Math) http://phillips.chccs.k12.nc.us/~rfrescoln/unitofmeasure.htm

Subject Applications History exploring primary sources - Provide complex, open-ended problems - Teach how to detect bias and how to integrate conflicting opinions Science in the classroom - Emphasize experiential, hands-on, problem-solving aspects of science - Prepare teachers with strong content and skills for exploratory curriculum - Assess through observation, problem-solving techniques, and product assessments

Respiratory System Students given 5 key questions (objectives to be met by end of section) Students choose question they would most like to answer Group students accordingly Students prepare lesson(s) for and evaluation of peers according to their own interests and abilities Subject is taught through various strategies using a variety of evaluation tools

Subject Applications Reading/Language Arts instruction - Integrate language arts - Complex topics - Abundant time and incentive - Literary groups - Process-based, real context - Writing variety, journals - Debate, acting

Characterization Simple Write a full description of a character and draw a portrait to accompany your description Write a complaint letter to the main character of the book about one specific action in the story you did not agree with More complex Create life-sized model of two characters; prepare a dialogue and act it out Read the classifieds and find something the main character would like; write a paragraph explaining why he/she needs the item

For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48