Many schools have already started back to school (shout out to my niece and nephew in Georgia!) but others wait until after Labor Day, such as in New Jersey. Whether back in session or still wrapping up summer vacations and projects, teachers are undoubtedly gearing up to engage their students with enriching activities. To help with that introduction, here are a few suggested activities to challenge students with collaborative, inquisitive activities in the early days.
(1) Identity: How do your gifts grow?
Have students complete some form of collage sharing their gifts as roots and flowers. The flowers are the gifts others can see, while the roots are those gifts which support the flowers. This can be a drawing, a digital collage comprised of online pictures, or some other art form — as long as the above- and under-ground elements are included. Share the presentations via Flip.com or in groups, with students finding others who share their gifts.
(2) Values: Individual and Group Values
Ask the students their goals for the year, and what our class goals should be. From those goals, pull some values – then have them add more! One of the values should be persistence (aka grit, perseverance). Create individual and group lists of their values, which they sign at the bottom. Then allow them to work on challenges which illustrate those values, including those shared by BigIdeas4LittleScholars here.
(3) Family Connections: Home Interviews and Objects about Me
Provide the students with three general questions about themselves to ask their families about and share the answers. If their family is not available, they can ask a family friend or even a teacher or another educator who knows them. They will share the answers in a rewritten or respoken form, or through objects. For example: Q1: What is one ability or quality of mine that you appreciate? If the family talks about how the student reads well and really enjoys books, the student would share that with the class through a Google Slide, through a Canva collage, or through bringing in a book. While listening, the other students will take notes on the strengths of the class to create a database of the skill sets in the class.
The goals of these activities include creating a class identity, allowing for connections between students who often don’t recognize what others bring to the table, and for the teacher to know some of the interests of these students.
Gifted Weekly 