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![]() Question #3: Gifted students have special needs just as other students with unique needs. Imagine yourself the teacher of a gifted class. Select a lesson you are familiar with teaching and reflect on how it would need to be changed to address the needs of gifted students. What technologies would you employ to support this change? One of my favorite topics that I have taught over the past two years has been how Native Americans came to the Americas. There is good evidence of peoples crossing a land bridge between modern day Siberia and Alaska, the is evidence of people traveling around glaciers by boats hugging the coastlines from Asia to North America, possible evidence of Australian aboriginals in Brazil (wild), and there has even emerged some evidence of Europeans traveling by boat hugging the coastlines similar to ancient Asians. It is a very fun topic to discuss and students are genuinely interested in the thoughts and theories. I usually bring in some arrowheads and spear points that have been found locally to bring in a physical connection to the subject to assist students that are tactile learners. Thinking about the question presented above I will offer a low tech solution to enriching this topic for gifted students as well as an internet enrichment. Low Tech: Can You Do a Science Experiment in History Class? Absolutely! One great way to enrich this topic is by having students perform an experiment in class. One of the theories of how Native Americans came to North American centers on crossing a land bridge called Beringia. How is it possible that there was a land bridge 10,000 years ago and not one today? Well it all has to do with stacking or trapping water on land. This is accomplished through thousands of years of snowpack that turns into glaciers. This can be demonstrated by using a large bowl, a cup, a sponge, and a pitcher of water. Take a solo cup and make incremental markings up the side. Then pour water into the large bowl. Fill the solo cup with water (this is so it will not float and stay submerged in the large bowl of water) and place it into the large bowl of water. Have students take note of where the water level falls on the lines on the outside of the cup. Then, take a sponge and soak up water from around the cup and place the sponge on top of the cup. In this demonstration, the water is of course the water level of the oceans, the cup represents the world's landforms, and the sponge represents glaciers. The amount of water in the experiment remains constant (just as in our world), however, the water level and the amount of land visible above the water can change by the amount of water trapped on land in the form of glaciers. This is a great tactile and visual adaptation to an abstract lecture topic. High Tech: Using GIS Mapping and Computer Modeling to Recreate Beringia Now that students have a concept of how sea levels can change, take them to the web and let them see how geologists are mapping exactly what Beringia would have looked like over 10,000 years ago. One great resource is from Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research of the University of Colorado (INSTAAR). INSTAAR has utilized Global Imaging Satellites to map the Bering Strait and created a model of what Beringia would have possible looked like. Click Here. This site have a few Quicktime videos that show the visible change in sea level as time passes. Students can click and drag the video cursor and watch this change take place. The website also has several other links available to other INSTAAR pages on paleoenvironment, Field Notes (primary source), the marine climate of Beringia, and INSTAAR's GIS laboratory. It is truly amazing at the amount of enrichment information contained in this one site link. Students are able to see a graphic and interactive demonstration of lecture material, as well as delve into other topics of self interest that were not covered in the class lecture. What Tech Is Needed? It is remarkable to me that the high tech option for this lesson enrichment is less work on the teacher and requires less material. The only items needed for the high tech option is an internet capable device. Just one item needed to add a lot of differentiation to a lesson on Native American migration. This is one reason why it is so important to increase the amount of available classroom technology here in Mississippi schools. Also, it is important that history classes also have access to these technologies. Many schools that have high rates of poverty have used Title 1 funds to purchase Chromebooks or tablets to assist teaching ELA, Math, and Science. There is currently a boom in available history resources that are web based, however, tested subject areas get priorities on new technology use.
3 Comments
Luke Smith
6/26/2020 06:28:01 pm
This lesson sounds amazing! I do not think any of my history teachers ever got close to doing either of these ideas in my class. I think both of these options would also capture the minds of gifted students. I think some gifted students often get bored in classes since they aren't being challenged very much, but you've found two different ways to grab their interest while teaching them some important history as well. I think anytime we have gifted students, the worst thing we can do for them is to let them get bored and not fully apply themselves. You have found a great way to not let that happen though!
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6/27/2020 05:50:36 am
Hello, Derrick
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6/28/2020 10:41:13 am
I always love reading about how teachers are using cross-curricular designs in their classroom. Utilizing teaching methods that are typically reserved for science classes in a history classroom can really help to re-engage students, as they are now seeing something unexpected. I have also learned, throughout professional development meetings and personal studies, that using tangible objects to demonstrate concepts can be incredibly effective. In addition, from my own experience as a student, I can always recall lessons that I learned in science labs, but I find it much harder to remember historical concepts that I sat through lectures on. Thanks for sharing a creative way that you helped engage your students.
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