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In the current unit - Physical theatre - we are exploring using our bodies for communication instead of spoken word and facial expressions. G&T students  were challenged to use more complex movements such as lifts under supervision and guidance of the teacher.

Orla

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G&T Drama students in grade 6 are often given the role of director where they will take notes when groups are rehearsing performances. The "director" makes helpful  suggestions to their peers on how to enhance their performance

Orla

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Students who finished their in class task before other students were given the extended task of creating a quiz to give to give to their peers.

Lauren

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Key/Time/Title

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Grade 8: Popular Music Culture Song-writing task

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Grade 8: Popular Music Culture Song-writing task

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Each team is writing their own lyrics and music for a song based on a theme of their choice. Some groups have been able to add accompaniment, harmony and articulation. This task requires collaboration and the ability to perform in sync. It is also developing the skills of students who are beginners too. Students are required to document their creative process on a blog as part of their process journal.
Cliodhna

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Higher Ability students were able to finish their compositions including dynamics, tempo and accompaniment ahead of the rest of the class. Their next step was to create and perform their melody in parallel harmony.
Cliodhna

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Question on Board:
Formulate an equation for the area of a parallelogram.

Students were given 10 minutes to work in groups to formulate an equation. This gave all students the chance to challenge themselves and test their knowledge with absolutely no teacher intervention.

The task was then scaffolded at regular intervals i.e. hints were given every 4 minutes.

Hint 1: Consider what you know about the formula for the area of other shapes

Hint 2:  Draw a parallelogram and cut it out. Can you make another shape using a parallelogram?

etc. etc.

Some students created a formula after only a few hints whereas some students needed all the hints/scaffolding to get the answer but all students were given the same first challenging question.

Fiona

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Two higher ability students who were finished the task ahead of the group were asked to compare and evaluate each others answers.

If different solutions were found students had to justify why they thought their solution was correct and analyze the other persons work

Fiona

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After investigating and proving that there are 180 degrees in all types of triangles:

Which proof came first?
-180 degrees in a triangle
or
-360 degrees in a quadrilateral

Led to a debate on which discovery was made first and why and how it impacted further discoveries on the angles in different types of polygons.

Fiona

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Science Grade 9 - Designing Experiments 

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Science Grade 9 - Designing Experiments 

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During the first class of the unit, Grade 9 students were provided with an array of equipment and instructed to design an experiment to investigate the effects of Earths Gravitational Field Strength.

Students had to use concepts they had learned in previous lessons to aid them in their design.
At the end of the lesson, students discussed what worked, what didn't if there was any difference in the equipment used and how could the method be improved upon.
Later in the unit this concept of Measuring Earths Gravitational Field Strength was the basis of their Summative.

These tasks worked well for the higher ability students, but more scaffolding or introduction was needed for some of the students. I would try this again, definitely with my smaller grade 9 class, but would need more preparation for the larger class, where there are a few students who struggle with focusing on self directed tasks at times.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtA4jcxHnV7/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1q51btil9qd26
The video above shows the students testing out different masses before going back to review their design.

Lauren

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Each student was divided into a 'Home' and 'Expert' Group.

In their expert groups the students researched a particular scientist with the Big Question in Mind "How would our World be different today, if this discovery had never been made". This question pushed students to develop their critical and analytical thinking skills.

Once the student became an "expert" they would return to their "home" group to teach their peers about the concept. The "Home" group was comprised of at least one student from each "Expert" group. This allowed for the students to discuss each scientist again, and for the students to make the connection between the scientists.

Lauren

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All students were asked to reflect on their learning about Primary and Secondary sources. They were asked to answer the following question and Gifted and Talented students were asked to give detail feedback on what others have written. " It is impossible to write ancient history because we do not have enough sources and it's impossible to write modern history because we have far to many" Charles Pierre Peguy
What do you think would be the challenges of studying history if you had access to
a) too few sources or b) too many sources

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Challenge Question
At the beginning of the lesson the students were asked the following questions; In what way has Japan set an example for other countries living along Ring of Fire, in terms of coping with Earthquakes?
How would you adapt to natural disasters such as Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis if your country was located along the Ring of Fire? ( Zones of activity)

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Challenge questions asked at the end of the lesson.
1.       7-8 level question- How can the information discussed in class be told in the form of story or a poem?

2.       5-6 level question- To what extent do you believe, Timelines help us to understand change and continuity?

3.       4-3 level question- What is significance of timelines in history? How does it impact change and continuity?

After completing the task in groups and later in the notebook individually; students were asked to pick a question. They were then asked to challenge themselves by choosing a question higher than their grade level. The Gifted and Talented students were given 7-8 level questions.

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Students are encouraged to attempt extension tasks that develop parallel to their main tasks in the unit. This often links to evaluating alternative perspectives and contexts of novels, plays and poems. They are given a range of question that link to the higher end of the criteria in question. Jen

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Grade 9 English Language Analysis Level 7 Question

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Grade 9 English Language Analysis Level 7 Question

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Jen

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Analysis of higher level terminology in preparation to complete a level 7 response. Jen

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Grade 9 English Language Analysis Level 7 Question Annotations

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Grade 9 English Language Analysis Level 7 Question Annotations

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Analysis of higher level terminology in preparation to complete a level 7 response. Jen

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Allocate the higher level students to take on a role of a detective in relation to the higher end of Bloom's Taxonomy scale. Can be conducted as 'Secret Detective' with the younger grades.

Jen

I really like this Jen - virtually no preparation needed for the teacher, yet stretches students from the moment they walk into the room. Excellent.
How/when do you check that they've done it though?

At the end of the lesson or the end of that task, the 'detectives' have to feedback to the class with their observations. I have clipboards in my room that they use to take notes. In the past, students have also taken pictures of sample pieces of work and shared it on Managebac or Padlet - depending on the task given.

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Please share at least THREE examples of what you are doing to stretch and challenge our learners. 

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Please share at least THREE examples of what you are doing to stretch and challenge our learners. 

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You can add pictures/photos of students' work, and your post can be examples of questions you have asked, tasks you have set or resources you have used. The deadline is end of Sunday 3rd Feb 2019.

Please add your name at the bottom of your post.

Rob Commons