Source: http://www.vickiwright.com/wq/t-index.htm
What Makes Someone Great?
A WebQuest for 6th Grade Gifted and Talented
Designed by Vicki L. Wright
vickiw1071@aol.com
Introduction
This lesson was developed to be used in the West Des Moines Community School District elementary Extended Learning Program. The gifted education program utilizes the Autonomous Learner Model by Dr. George Betts, of the University of Northern Colorado, and Jolene K. Kercher.
The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the concept of giftedness and what it means to themselves and others. By examining the lives and personalities of eminent individuals, students will develop their own theories about what causes someone to achieve greatness.
Learners
"What Makes Someone Great?" is designed for use with academically and intellectually gifted and talented sixth grade students.
It was specifically created to be used with the Autonomous Learner Model, but may be modified to be used with other models of gifted education. It may also be modified for use with other groups of students at varying ages.
Learners will need basic Internet skills, note taking skills, and the ability to read diverse written materials. They will need to have some background experience in drawing conclusions based upon evidence.
In order to complete the lesson, students will need to know how to effectively speak to an appropriate audience and how to create a PowerPoint presentation.
Curriculum Standards
National Curriculum Standards that are addressed through this lesson include the following Life Skills Standards:
Self Regulation Standard
- Demonstrates perseverance.
Thinking and Reasoning Standards
- Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument.
- Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences (compares, contrasts, classifies).
Working With Others Standards
- Contributes to the overall effort of a group.
- Works well with diverse individuals and in diverse situations.
- Displays effective interpersonal communication skills.
In the process of addressing these National Standards, students will learn about individuals who are widely considered to be exceptional in their fields, thus learning about the characteristics of gifted people. The students will then be able to compare these characteristics to themselves and others, and learn more about giftedness and how to deal with it.
Process
What makes someone great?
The student's task is to find answers to this question by learning about the lives of people who are famous or well-known in their particular field. To do this, each member of a group of four will assume the role of an expert in one field. One will be a Science and Technology expert, one will be an expert in Leadership, one on Sports, and one will focus on Arts and Humanities.
The lesson is organized into four segments -- one per week. A minimum of two and one-half hours per week should be allowed for student work time. Additional time may be necessary outside of class for this interdisciplinary lesson.
Students are divided into groups of four. It is best to include a student who is interested in each of the four areas, of course, but not necessarily practical. You could ask the students to indicate their top two or three choices among the four disciplines and then assign students to the groups. If your class consists of a group of less than four students, you might consider consolidating roles or inviting additional students to participate in the lesson.
If you're working in a one-computer classroom, or don't have Internet access from your class, it might be advisable to print out the Internet pages on each individual so that students can read them offline. Otherwise, a schedule will need to be developed to allow each student some time online.
As a teacher, you need to have some experience with the Internet. It would also be helpful to have knowledge of the program WebWhacker, or something similar. Using WebWhacker, one can save the web pages to the hard drive of the classroom computer so students do not need to be online to access the information.
You also need to have working knowledge of PowerPoint, or an assistant who has experience with the program. This might be an ideal situation for volunteers to help in the classroom.
Week One: The students will read about three or more of the specific people in their chosen fields. They may use books and magazines as well as the Internet links provided. Because the fields are divided among them, it will be extremely important that each of them learn as much as they can about what influenced these people and caused them to become great. Students will need to take notes on each individual to refer to later.
Week Two: Students continue reading about at least three of the people and collecting information about their lives. They will begin to formulate their own theories about what might have caused these people to become great and look for evidence to support their theories.
Week Three: Group members meet to compare what they've learned. Are their theories similar? Can they find anything that the famous individuals might have in common?
If they find nothing in common, they may want to consider the theories of other members of the group and go back through the information on their subjects. Perhaps students overlooked something. If there is nothing in common, this will need to be incorporated into the PowerPoint presentation before the school board and community members group.
Students develop their plan for the presentation they will give to the committee examining a magnet school. Each student must contribute to the presentation whether it is with visual aids, role-playing, or summarizing. They need to plan how to get their message across to their audience.
Week Four: Students finalize plans for their PowerPoint presentation as a group. Each student must have a significant role in sharing the findings. Students will need to practice their delivery.
Culmination: Students present their findings to the committee.
Variations
Knowledge about organizing and conducting a live remote session with an expert would be extremely beneficial, if it can be arranged. Some of the individuals selected for this lesson were specifically chosen because they may be accessible through e-mail or interactive remote sessions.
Additionally, you may consider collaborating with the library media specialist to locate and gather reference materials. A resource center could be established that includes periodicals and other print items.
Resources Needed
Students will need access to the Internet for sources related to each of the four research areas. They do not need to read everything, but should choose a representative sample of the items listed. Also, a list of suggested print materials is included.
Internet Links
- Science and Technology
- Leadership
- Sports
- Arts and Humanities
Student Guidance
In a gifted and talented or mainstreamed classroom setting, the teacher will be the primary guide for students.
Other teachers, including the library media specialist, may assist with the specific fields. Community members with expertise in the various areas could be enlisted to provide guidance and information to the students.
Evaluation
The following rubric will be used to determine how well students succeed in completing the task. As the teacher, you can help students to become familiar with the following items and decide which level they'd like to aim to reach.
You will be observing the students throughout the month as they work to learn about gifted individuals, their characteristics, and how their lives and experiences might relate to students at a potential magnet school. The evaluations will be completed after the students deliver their final report to an appropriate audience.
You may ask the students to evaluate their own group, themselves as individuals, or ask students to evaluate each other. Another alternative would be to ask the audience members to complete an evaluation.
| Beginning 1 | Developing 2 | Accomplished 3 | Exemplary 4 | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conclusion
The lesson, "What Makes Someone Great?", provides students with an opportunity to learn about famous gifted individuals, and to develop a greater understanding of what it means to be gifted.
Students learn how to develop effective arguments to support a position and how to speak persuasively to an appropriate audience.
Perhaps they will also learn which personal traits and skills to develop in order to help themselves become successful in achieving their goals.
