Modification for Gifted Student: K.S.A.s #5 and #9
On the first day of my PSII round, I met one of my students in the hall. (I will refer to him as "Mike", a pseudonym to protect his identity.) He had been asked to leave the classroom because of his disruptive behaviour. When I inquired as to why he was disruptive, he replied that school was boring and he was not challenged enough. I informed him that in my classroom, he would not have that problem and I would ensure that he was sufficiently challenged. "That's what they all say", was his reply.
I spent some time getting to know Mike and determining what his interests were. Once I knew him better, I began to alter his assignments. During our conversations, I learned that he had completed a class in "Photoshop" and had enjoyed it. Therefore, I began by rewriting an assignment that required him to not only use Photoshop, but also to think more critically about the novel we were studying than I had asked the rest of the class to do.
Here is the assignment I gave the rest of the classes:
On the first day of my PSII round, I met one of my students in the hall. (I will refer to him as "Mike", a pseudonym to protect his identity.) He had been asked to leave the classroom because of his disruptive behaviour. When I inquired as to why he was disruptive, he replied that school was boring and he was not challenged enough. I informed him that in my classroom, he would not have that problem and I would ensure that he was sufficiently challenged. "That's what they all say", was his reply.
I spent some time getting to know Mike and determining what his interests were. Once I knew him better, I began to alter his assignments. During our conversations, I learned that he had completed a class in "Photoshop" and had enjoyed it. Therefore, I began by rewriting an assignment that required him to not only use Photoshop, but also to think more critically about the novel we were studying than I had asked the rest of the class to do.
Here is the assignment I gave the rest of the classes:
Photoshop Presentation of The Giver
Look at this photo taken of a community in San Fransisco. The idea of sameness and precision in identical housing may strongly suggest the Community Value of “sameness” found in The Giver
You have been “Selected” as the one to accurately portray the real community values found in The Giver. You may look through the internet and find images that you can then photoshop into one that accurately portrays some of those community values, or you may use pictures you have taken with a camera of your own and then edit them for this assignment.
Please note:
1. Your challenge is to think about the community values presented in the novel, and not necessarily those found in your own community, or ones that you, yourself would follow.
2. The images that you present, while true to the book, must be appropriate for the classroom. Therefore, scenes that are too violent, or sexually explicit cannot be used.
3. You are responsible for at least three slides for your presentation.
4. Once you have chosen and completed your image, save it in a Power Point presentation. You will be presenting your images to the class.
5. In each slide, ensure that you have included only one word that sums up the intention of the picture, such as “Sameness” as a possible word for the picture onthis page.
6. Each slide you create will be accompanied by a paragraph to be handed in to the teacher on a separate piece of paper for marking. Please ensure that your paragraphs have justified why you created each image the way you did, as well as what the image stands for in The Giver.
If you have any questions, please ask either Mrs. Ambrose or Miss Meeks!
You have been “Selected” as the one to accurately portray the real community values found in The Giver. You may look through the internet and find images that you can then photoshop into one that accurately portrays some of those community values, or you may use pictures you have taken with a camera of your own and then edit them for this assignment.
Please note:
1. Your challenge is to think about the community values presented in the novel, and not necessarily those found in your own community, or ones that you, yourself would follow.
2. The images that you present, while true to the book, must be appropriate for the classroom. Therefore, scenes that are too violent, or sexually explicit cannot be used.
3. You are responsible for at least three slides for your presentation.
4. Once you have chosen and completed your image, save it in a Power Point presentation. You will be presenting your images to the class.
5. In each slide, ensure that you have included only one word that sums up the intention of the picture, such as “Sameness” as a possible word for the picture onthis page.
6. Each slide you create will be accompanied by a paragraph to be handed in to the teacher on a separate piece of paper for marking. Please ensure that your paragraphs have justified why you created each image the way you did, as well as what the image stands for in The Giver.
If you have any questions, please ask either Mrs. Ambrose or Miss Meeks!
While the assignment was not a huge stretch from the original, it did inform Mike that I was willing to modify the tasks I gave him. Mike did an amazing job of his Photoshop presntation and the responses from his classmates were very enthusiastic as well.
Once we had completed our novel study, we began to write a persuasive essay. While the rest of the class was given a selection of topics that they could choose from (such as "What would you do to improve your school and why?") Mike was given a very different challenge. I had him read an article written by Schopenhauer and analyze it. I was blown away by the depth of insight this young man exhibited. This was his completed assessment of the paper:
Once we had completed our novel study, we began to write a persuasive essay. While the rest of the class was given a selection of topics that they could choose from (such as "What would you do to improve your school and why?") Mike was given a very different challenge. I had him read an article written by Schopenhauer and analyze it. I was blown away by the depth of insight this young man exhibited. This was his completed assessment of the paper:
After this assignment, I wrote a letter to his parents to share his accomplishments with them. The following is an email that my Teacher Associate, Neana Meeks sent me on May 16, 2010 as a follow-up on Mike.
Hi Gwen,
How are you doing? I sent your letter to Mike's dad and step-mom and also his mom. I think they were thrilled, as was Mike. He wrote the most amazing story for his PAT and I just had to give him a 100%. Again I think he was stunned. The punctuation wasn't the best, but I just couldn't pull it down to the 4. Anyway, I know you had a big impact on this boy and as a result, I am seeing a different kid. Thanks for all you did for him.
Neana
Hi Gwen,
How are you doing? I sent your letter to Mike's dad and step-mom and also his mom. I think they were thrilled, as was Mike. He wrote the most amazing story for his PAT and I just had to give him a 100%. Again I think he was stunned. The punctuation wasn't the best, but I just couldn't pull it down to the 4. Anyway, I know you had a big impact on this boy and as a result, I am seeing a different kid. Thanks for all you did for him.
Neana