Differentiated Projects for Gifted Students: 150 Ready-to-Use Independent Studies (Grades 3-5)

Kids love exploring complex topics, and the more than 150 ready-to-use projects in this book will get their minds working and their hands investigating as they complete fun tasks like "Can You See Sound?" and "It's All in the Advertising". The research-oriented activities in this book will help teachers provide differentiated learning experiences for advanced and gifted learners based on grade-level content. Each project is written for learners in grades 3–5 to use independently, and the teacher-friendly projects require few additional materials and very little guidance. The projects are fully integrated, with many employing skills from several content areas. Learners will use 21st-century skills as they explore grade-level content more deeply through specific, intensive online research.

Differentiated Projects for Gifted Students was written to help teachers in third, fourth and fifth grades differentiate instruction for advanced and gifted learners. The activities are hands-on, discovery-based, research-oriented and cross-curricular.

Activities in Differentiated Projects for Gifted Students are grouped into chapters according to social studies and science standards. These activities can be assigned as independent study projects or can be completed by groups of students.

The activities in this book were written to support and extend instruction in upper elementary classrooms. When teachers are implementing units in social studies or science, they can choose extension activities to help students delve more deeply into subject matter.

About the authors

Brenda McGee is an experienced, award-winning teacher and published writer. She has taught in public and private schools in kindergarten through eighth grade. She was the cofounder of former publishing house, McGee-Keiser Academic Enrichment Programs, based in Plano, TX. She is the author of several previous books, two of which have won awards for outstanding curricula for gifted and talented students from the National Association for Gifted Children.

Debbie Keiser is author or coauthor of more than two dozen books, including Solving the Research Puzzle, Earth Central, Ph.D.: Doctor of Sciences, and several titles in the popular Differentiated Curriculum series. She was the cofounder of former publishing house, McGee-Keiser Academic Enrichment Programs, based in Plano, TX.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Energy Projects
• Chapter 2 Economics Projects
• Chapter 3 Science Careers Projects
• Chapter 4 Planet Earth Projects
• Chapter 5 Interdependence Projects
• Chapter 6 Environment Projects
• Chapter 7 Myths Projects
• Chapter 8 Organisms Projects
• Chapter 9 Maps Projects
• Chapter 10 Matter Projects
• Chapter 11 History and Tall Tales Projects
• Chapter 12 Force, Energy, and Motion Projects
• Chapter 13 Government Officials Projects
• Chapter 14 Electric Energy Projects
• Chapter 15 Cultures Projects
• Chapter 16 Create a New State Projects
• Chapter 17 Adaptations Projects
• Chapter 18 U.S. History Projects
• Chapter 19 Conducting Investigations Projects
• Chapter 20 Cultural Borrowing Projects
• Chapter 21 Advertisements and Labels Projects
• Chapter 22 Geography Utopia Projects
• Chapter 23 Alternate Energy Forms Projects
• Chapter 24 Immigration Projects
• Chapter 25 Westward Expansion Projects
• Chapter 26 Rocks and Earth Projects
• Chapter 27 Forms of Government Projects
• Chapter 28 Earth and Space Projects
• Chapter 29 Five Themes of Geography Projects
• Chapter 30 Economic Systems Projects
• Chapter 31 Energy Debate Projects
• Chapter 32 Geography Road Trip Projects
• Answer Keys
• About the Authors
• Common Core State Standards Alignment