Hi again!
I'm proud of myself for writing another post (haha!)! I find that in order to keep my gifted grade 4s engaged, I really need to provide hands-on, inquiry, problem and project based learning opportunities. These spaces were they can think critically, be creative and inquire in more detail into an aspect of the topic they are more interested in is where I see my more engaged students and their best work. Below are some examples of some Problem/Project Based Learning activities we have done in grade 4 gifted!
Our first PBL assignment that we tackled this term was a math activity. Students had to design and plan their very own lemonade stand. They had to budget, buy different products to make their stand successful, create a menu, order the correct number of supplies, create a business plan, and use their knowledge of fractions, decimals and financial literacy to fit all the pieces together. They were so engaged and had so much fun. They got to work in groups of up to 3. To wrap up this assignment and to connect to media literacy and art, students had to make an advertisement for their poster and create a 3D design on Tinkercad. Tinkercad is a wonderful and easy to use program that when connect to a 3D printer and print their designs in 3D. Below are some of their Tinkercad designs of their lemonade stand!
Next, we created Area + Perimeter zoos! My students loved this activity. They love art and really did well with the math & art connection in this assignment. Students had to plan a zoo and include at least 6 animal exhibits, 2 restaurants, 2 washrooms, 1 food vendor, and 1 space of their choice. Many students went above and beyond these expectations and created something really cool. Students had to figure out the area & perimeter of each space, figure out how many animals would safely fit in each exhibit, and how much the flooring and fencing would cost for the zoo. Here are some pictures of their great work!
That's all I have for today, but stay tuned for more PBL activities we have done this year! Thanks for reading :)