Elementary Breakout ITAG
Presented by
Susan Winebrenner
Education Consulting Service, Inc.
www.susanwinebrenner.com
skwine76@gmail.com
(760) 510 0066 (Pacific Time)
Compacting
Excuses advanced students from having to repeat
content they already know and from having to
proceed with new contact at the same pace as
those who are learning at grade level
Demonstrates that the teacher values respect for
individual differences, so all students believe they are
accepted just the way they are and do not have to
pretend to be less capable to “fit in”.
The Jesse James Syndrome
All the time I just sat there…..
Waiting for something new to learn!
My teachers should have ridden
with Jesse James………
For all the learning time
they have stolen from me!
A 10 year old boy quoting from
Rommel Rides Deep Into
Egypt by Richard Brautigan,
American poet
Differentiation Definition
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To differentiate the learning experience
for gifted students, we adjust the content,
the learning processes, the types of
products that are created, and the
learning environment through different
expectations, work places, and assessment
practices.
Compacting for Young Gifted Students
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Do “kid watching” to find students who
catch on quickly to new material, appear to
already know much of the grade level
standards, and/or have a wide storehouse
of general knowledge. Always give
students full credit for what they have
already mastered. Do not expect them to
finish the “regular work” before working
on extension activities, nor to help others
Compacting One Lesson at a Time
Most Difficult First
Teach 10-15 minutes; give practice on what has just been taught.
All students have the option to try MOST DIFFICULT FIRST:
Those who can complete the MOST DIFFICULT FIRST, neatly,
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legibly, with no more than one wrong, are done practicing
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With time they “buy back”, they work on “choice” activities
Help only those who begin at beginning of the assignment
You correct work until model paper is found
Appoint “CHECKER” to check work of other volunteers
Person can be the checker only once a week
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Collect their work; enter all grades when other papers are
collected
Compacting One Week at a Time
Pre-Test And Choose From Alternate Work
(Compacting one week at a time)
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Offer voluntary pretest at beginning of each unit
Do NOT quickly review what will be tested
Those who demonstrate 90%receive mastery grade
They then do choice activities for the rest of the week
Favorite Activity
With partner, choose alternate words; learn spelling and meaning
Partners test each other; unmastered words go to next list
REMEMBER: IT’S THEIR TIME;
TEACH THEM HOW TO USE IT WISELY
Differentiating for Young Gifted Students
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Prepare practice work at two levelsentry and advanced
Keep all kids who want to be there at
the group lesson
Send kids to the table with the work
appropriate for them – red or blue
blocks. Switch block color daily.
Learning Contract-For One Chapter/Unit
Student’s Name:_________________________________ Chapter__________________________
X
Page/Concept
X
Page/Concept
X
Page/Concept
Extension Options :
Students keep records or activities done on _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ ______ ______
each date they work on extensions.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ ______ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ ______ _____
Your Idea
_________________________________ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Working Conditions
Teacher’s Signature:
Student’s Signature:
_____
THE ESSENTIAL RULES
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Don’t bother anyone
Don’t call attention to yourself
Do the work you have selected
Keep records of your extension activities
When you follow the rules, you get to choose what to do.
When you do not follow the rules, I will choose for you.
Differentiation Definition

To differentiate the learning experience
for gifted students, we adjust the content,
the learning processes, the types of
products that are created, and the
learning environment through different
expectations, places to do their work, and
assessment practices.
Extension Menu Guidelines
Each square clearly describes what students are to
learn about the described topic.
 Task statements are based upon the use of higher
level thinking expectations.
 Students may work on one task only throughout their
extension work for the unit.
 Student Choice must be approved by the teacher
and must follow the general Extension Menu
Guidelines
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Monthly Math EXTENSION MENU
CREATE a math game
your classmates can
play
Borrow a menu from your
family’s favorite restaurant and
see how many orders you can
create that would only cost
your family what they could
afford for each person.
Design a scale model of
your classroom the way
you think it should be
arranged.
STUDENT
CHOICE
Create a vehicle using
LEGO’s as well as
directions to other
students so they can do
the same thing
Use a catalog from a
favorite store, create an
order for supplying your
family with holiday gifts
they would enjoy. If the
catalog is online, be sure
to include the shipping
costs. Pretend there is no
limit on how much you can
spend, OR Spend only
what you think you can
afford.
Monthly LA Extension Menu
RE-WRITE a summary of a
story using different words
that mean the same thing
you find in a thesaurus.
Create a storyboard series
of pictures to show the
order in which events
happened in the story. Use
words from the group’s
word bank.
CREATE your own story
that is like the story the
class is reading. Either tell
it to a recording device or
Complete a Super
Sentence from the book of
the same name. Work with
a friend and show your
solution to your teacher.
STUDENT CHOICE
Using pictures or comics,
create a graphic story to
match the events in a story
the class is reading.
READ a different story by
the same author and show
how they are the same and
how they are different.
Dictate 6 sentences in your
native language that tells the
story. Use a digital device for
this.
Select 8 vocabulary words
from a story or unit of
stories that make you
want to learn their
The 4C Project Planner
C1 COLLECT facts,
words, ideas, and
pictures
C3: Create a
way to share
what you have
learned
C2: Compare your
topic to other
things – which is
better, more useful,
less expensive, etc.
C4: Communicate
information to an
audience
Daily Log of Extension Work
Student’s Name: _______________________________________________
Project Topic: ______________________________________________________
Today’s
Date
What I Plan to Do During
Today’s Work Period
What I Actually
Accomplished Today
Curriculum Differentiation Chart
by Learning Style Preferences
Required Standard
Typical Learning
Activity
Alternate Learning
Activity
Extension Activity
Following nutritional
guidelines is a healthy
way to eat.
Describe the foods you
would choose for a
healthy day of eating
Find or draw pictures
of food that would
represent a balanced
day of eating.
Investigate how some
eating plans that
don’t recommend
balanced diets would
impact your health.
Junk food is high in
calories and low in
nutrition.
Watch TV ads about
junk food and
compute the
percentage of time in
an hour that is
devoted to junk food.
Separate your home
groceries into Junk
and Nutritional Foods.
Compare also the cost
per ounce.
Present a lesson to a
class to help them
understand the facts
about junk food.
A lack of energy may
be present in people
who do not eat a
balanced diet.
Use the Internet to
find documentation of
how health and energy
are impacted in Third
World countries.
Prepare and perform a
skit that shows how
poor food choices can
affect one’s health
and energy.
Predict what would
happen to your body if
you eliminated one
specific food group for
a month.
Compacting and Differentiation Benefits
LESS PRESSURE ON PERFECTION:
CONSISTENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR
STRUGGLE AND CHALLENGE
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Students must:
Know that intelligence is not diminished by
struggle
Value individual differences
Have access to the teacher as they work
on extended curriculum
What about cooperative learning?
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Students experiencing differentiation work together
Tutoring or helping others learn should be voluntary
and not daily
Avoid group grades; find other evaluation methods