Classroom Ideas for Grade 12 Teachers Who Are Teaching Gifted Children
Teaching gifted teenagers is an exciting and dynamic process. To provide sufficient creative and intellectual challenge, it is important to go beyond standard lectures to introduce your students to fields they have not yet blazed. Help them examine their own minds as well as those of their peers to gain further understanding of the world around them.
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Create a Constitution
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Have the students work together to create their own constitution. Tell the students to choose one of their classmates to be a speaker. The speaker's duty is to lead the class in debate, selecting who may speak and calling the class to order when necessary. Have the speaker open the floor to debate by allowing any student to present her ideas for the class constitution. Allow the students to form their constitution as they wish. Their discussions may become heated and their topics may stray, but allowing them to complete this assignment on their own is a great learning experience. If necessary, prompt the students with ideas such as how their new nation will handle issues like citizenship, voting requirements, types of government and human rights.
Poetry
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Have your students express themselves through the use of poetry. Poetry allows gifted students to elaborate their inner thoughts in a manner that is unique from other writing forms. Give students the time they need to search within their minds and let it all out. As poetry is an act of expression, utilizing paper and pencil to communicate with the world is key to understanding their developing minds.
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Informal Debates
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Giving your gifted students the opportunity to regularly debate one another is a great learning experience. Debating allows students to pit their minds against one another and push their thinking farther than before. Informal debates allow students to simply stand up and speak their minds among their peers, allowing students to express themselves in a natural manner. Start each debate by having the class select a student moderator who will limit speaking time, call the class to order and keep the class on track. Allow the students to choose the issue that they wish to debate.
Writing Prompts
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Utilize writing prompts so your gifted students may practice a wide array of writing forms. Give the students a simple prompt such as "what if" situations, quotes and situational stories to build their stories upon. Choose prompts that push the boundaries of your gifted student's minds. Afterward, have the students share their stories with the rest of the class. Hearing the different stories that can come from a single prompt encourages students to see things from different points of view.
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