Getting to know my 3rd graders this past week has been so much fun! I absolutely love my kids! I do need some help though with one of them:
One of my students is above grade level in everything. He finishes his work in record time and gets just about everything correct. He is very knowledgeable and likes to read our class encyclopedia or make origami when he is finished with his work. I want to give him something challenging to do. Making origami and reading the encyclopedia are great things, but this is school after all and I want this year to be a year that he is really challenged in school so that he can keep growing in his academic gifts.
Do you have any suggestions on how I can help him do this? I don't want to just give him complicated worksheets or what not. Those are great, but I want to do more than that. I thought about putting him to work on a big research project for him to work on for a couple of weeks. He likes learning new things and loves reading books. I'm thinking I could get him started on a research project. He chooses the topic from a list of topics I give him and then he could learn to find books in the library and how to research a topic. After researching I could then help guide him through the writing process and he could make a little "book" on his topic. Hmmm....what do you think? Any other ideas?? Please help! I really am at a loss right now.
What about letting him choose a topic and create a "glog" about it to present to the class?
ReplyDeleteGlogster
You can also print them out and hang them up in the room. :)
Abby, I have never seen a "glog" before! How neat!! However...I do not have any computers in my classroom.....So this wouldn't work out too easily...I hope one day I have a computer in my room so students can do this!
ReplyDeleteIf he likes to read, you could create challenges that would challenge everyone but have some "level" of the challenge for him. If he likes to read, write, and present, he could read a book ahead of the class and present the book "ad" of the week. If he's a math wiz, (figure out if he's a literal guy or a abstract guy) you could change up the curriculum to play with the other side. I.e. If your curriculum is really direct and literal, find him some work with more abstract things about the same concept. I know in Port Alsworth, they used a curriculum for 4th grade that asked more abstract questions about common math topics. For some of the ahead students, it was great. For the behind students, we had to change to Saxon(more direct).
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts, Kristen! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteTry asking the student for ideas. It sounds like he has some unique interests that he might like to delve into. You two can work together to create any sort of contract for a project or independent study. The contract, which he would write, and you would approve/make additions to, should include specifics like what he is trying to learn, what resources he will use, when he will work on it, a timeline, and an end product that he will produce to share with others. I've had two kids that I've done this with before, and they were both so high and so motivated that what they came up with was way better than anything I could have thought of. Good luck! He's lucky to have a teacher like you who recognizes that just reading after finishing your assignments is not enough for him!
ReplyDeleteSome topics I think that are interesting for upper level students to explore: other math systems (base-5 or symbols), language roots, etc.
ReplyDeleteBlackboard and Beyond
These kinds of kids love helping others! I would let him help some of the lower kids in the class who may be struggling.
ReplyDeletegingersnapstreatsforteachers.blogspot.com
Just found this post and thought you might find it helpful. What a great way to challenge students and provide extensions.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cooperativelearning365.com/2011/08/choice-board.html