Thursday, October 22, 2015

Using Blogs for Reading and Writing Workshop

This week the ASPIRE 5 scholars read "All Summer in a Day," by Ray Bradbury.  During the pre-writing phase on Monday, the scholars had three writing prompts to choose from for a blog post.  These prompts dealt with themes from the story that set the scene for the first reading.  In typical Great Books fashion, Mrs. Fullhart then read the story aloud to them.  During this reading, the scholars wrote down questions they had about the story, and identified examples of figurative language.

The next day, scholars read the story a second time on their own using directed notes, as they wrote down examples of when the passage told something about character.  Next, they wrote an SOS (Statement-Opinion-Support) blog post on a given statement about the main character.  On Wednesday, the students participated in a Socratic Seminar, using three Inquiry Discussion topics as driving questions.  This activity included self and peer evaluations of their performance.  Finally, the scholars were asked to write a continuation of the story, as it contained an abrupt ending that leaves the reader wanting more.  The scholars were charged with the task of staying true to the characters and the themes of the original story.

This is one example of how we usually treat reading and writing workshop in ASPIRE 5.  Multiple readings are used, along with learning opportunities for vocabulary, literary elements, and written response.  Recently, we have used blog posts so that scholars can share their ideas with their GCISD peers and teachers, and receive valuable feedback from both.  We believe this approach is beneficial for gifted students because of the choices provided, the endless opportunities to integrate depth and complexity, and the level of rigor that can be appropriately adjusted for individual needs.  As a result of the extended time used to cover one story, the scholars have a deeper appreciation of selected literature, and are able to develop their writing skills for a variety of audiences and purposes.  For a detailed look at the process, feel free to check out Mrs. Fullhart's Wiki page here!

Friday, October 9, 2015

The 10 Kilogram Workout

Today the ASPIRE 5 math scholars participated in the 10 Kilogram Workout Challenge.  The objective of the lesson was to multiply decimals that use the thousandths place.  Inspired by a link to an infographic from Ian Byrd's math data page, the scholars first converted grams of energy from projectiles in ten different athletic tasks to kilograms.  Next, I presented the students with a table to help them plan a workout that required 10 kilograms of energy from the various projectiles.  After designing their workout plan, the scholars went outside and participated in baseball, tennis, soccer, hockey, and football activities.  When time was called, students calculated the projectile energy by multiplying the kilogram rates by their repetitions.  If they reached their goal of ten kilograms, they received an award.  (If they didn't, they were allowed to complete the ten kilograms at recess or over the weekend.)

I thought this was a successful activity for several reasons.  First, the lesson covered multiple standards, including estimation, metric conversion, and decimal multiplication and addition.  Everyone was engaged, and it allowed the scholars to solve real-world problems.  Next, it reinforced the concept of goal-setting, which is an important campus and district initiative the scholars have been working on all year.  In addition, the open-ended nature of the workout design increased student choice and differentiation, as workouts with more variety resulted in more complex calculations.  Overall, I believe the students enjoyed the activity, and they demonstrated the ability to multiply decimals using the thousandths place.  A special thank you goes out to Coach Maupin for helping me gather the necessary equipment during a busy pep rally morning.  We couldn't have pulled it off without you!