Sixth Grade Challenge Curriculum



Critical Content/Concept Web

Unit Topic:

Conceptual Lens:

Grade:

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Affective Development

Lens: Understanding Yourself

|Unit Resources |

|William and Mary Autobiographies |

|A Girl from Yamhill |

|The Lost Garden |

|A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw |

|The Invisible Thread |

|Autobiographies of gifted people |

|Grade: 6th |

|Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum |

|Unit: Affective Development |

|Lens: Understanding Yourself |

Enduring Understandings Guiding Questions

|Differences and life experiences make one unique. |How do your experiences make you who you are? |

| |What differences do you see in yourself? |

| |How have themes (sports, art, music, academics, family issues, etc.) in your own life shaped who you |

| |are? |

|Reflecting on other’s life experiences helps us understand our own giftedness. |1. What experiences do many gifted people share? |

| |2. How do gifted people overcome life challenges? |

| |3. Do the gifted approach life challenges differently? |

|Social skills can be learned and applied. |What are social skills and can they be learned or |

| |unlearned? |

| |2. How do cultural differences affect social skills? |

|Writing is a tool for self-discovery. |How can writing about your memories help you understand |

| |and interpret them? |

| |Why do people have a need to tell their stories through |

| |writing? |

| | |

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Affective Development

Lens: Understanding Yourself

| |

|Critical Content and Skills |

| |

|Students will . . . |Idaho State Standard Addressed |

|demonstrate communication skills that enhance personal relationships. |7-8.H.3.1.2 |

|develop scientific explanations based on knowledge, logic and analysis. |9-10.B.1.2.3 |

|generate ideas using a variety of strategies. |9.LA.3.1.1 |

|write reflective autobiographical narratives that explore the significance of personal experiences and communicate the significance of events. |9.LA.4.1.1 |

|evaluate issues in which fundamental values are in conflict, such as between liberty and equality, individual interest and the common good, and |6-12.USH.1.4.1.3 |

|majority rule and minority protections. | |

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Independent Projects and Research

Lens: Fundamentals of Research

|Suggested Activities |

|(Correlations) |

|Read about the experiences of other gifted people. |

|Create a character life box. |

|Debate between two gifted characters, one from the present and one from the past. |

|Journal about daily life experiences. |

|Journal from the perspective of a primary character in one of the autobiographies. |

|Compare and contrast models of giftedness (Sternberg, Gagne’, Kaplan, etc.). |

|Use gifted life experience jar to create self-awareness and community. |

|Role play social situations to teach social/coping skills. |

|Create a PowerPoint presentation/commercial describing how teachers can help gifted students in the classroom. |

|Conduct Socratic social sessions to allow open discussion of gifted issues. |

Critical Content/Concept Web

Unit Topic:

Conceptual Lens:

Grade:

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Independent Projects and Research

Lens: Fundamentals of Research

|Unit Resources |

|National History Day | |

|Thesis paper/project | |

|Destination ImagiNation | |

|Renaissance/Elizabethan study | |

|The View from Saturday | |

|Grade: 6th |

|Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum |

|Unit: Independent Projects and Research |

|Lens: Fundamentals of Research |

|Enduring Understandings |Guiding Questions |

|Balanced research employs multiple sources. (Content) |What is a primary source? |

| |What is a secondary source? |

| |What is balanced research? |

| |How does balanced research affect the quality of understanding? |

| |How does framing a problem lead to its solution? |

|A sound thesis statement or hypothesis guides research. (Process) |What is a thesis statement? |

| |What is a hypothesis? |

| |How can a thesis statement or hypothesis guide research? |

|A research product reveals understanding and instructs others. (Product) |How does guided research lead to a solution, final product, or proposal that reveals understanding and |

| |instructs others? |

| |What are different forms of products? |

| |How can a product communicate understanding? |

| |How can the research be translated into real life situations? |

|Grade: 6th |

|Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum |

|Unit: Independent Projects and Research |

|Lens: Fundamentals of Research |

| |

|Critical Content and Skills |

| |

|Students may . . . |Idaho State Standard Addressed |

|Analyze theatrical elements of a dramatic performance. |9-12.T.3.1.3 |

|Develop appropriate interpersonal listening skills (eye contact, body language). |7.LA.6.1.1 |

|Listen to, acquire and summarize information from a variety of sources. |7.LA.6.1.4 |

|Ask questions to elicit information, including evidence to support a speaker’s position. |7.LA.6.2.1 |

|Organize oral presentations to maintain a clear focus. |7.LA.6.2.3 |

|Use speaking techniques that include effective verbal and nonverbal communication. |7.LA.6.2.5 |

|Apply technical skills to produce visuals that communicate to the audience. |7.LA.6.3.5 |

|Improvise dialogue to tell stories and convey information at a personal level. |6-8.T.3.1.1 |

|Perform or create an original work (National History Day (NHD) or Desitination ImagiNation (DI)). |6-8.T.3.3.1 |

|Plan and direct scripted scenes (NHD or DI). |6-8.T.3.3.3 |

|Demonstrate appropriate behavior while attending and/or participating in events. |6-8.T.3.3.4 |

|Show respect for personal work and work of others. |6-8.T.3.3.5 |

|Generate a main idea or thesis appropriate to the writing (NHD). |8.LA.3.1.2 |

|Revise draft for meaning, clarity and effective organization. |8.LA.3.3.1 |

|Add details and delete irrelevant and redundant information. |7.LA.3.3.2 |

|Arrange transition words and phrases in draft to clarify meaning and improve organization. |7.LA.3.3.3 |

|Publish writing in an appropriate format for the purpose and audience. |7.LA.3.5.1 |

|Use graphics, if applicable, to further convey meaning. |7.LA.3.5.2 |

|Use appropriate technology to create a final draft. |7.LA.3.5.3 |

|Make inferences, draw conclusions and form opinions based on information gathered from text and site evidence to support. |7.LA.2.1.3 |

|Use ideas generated and organized in prewriting to write a draft with a main idea and supporting information. |8.LA.3.2.1 |

| Write a draft with ideas sequenced in a logical, cohesive order. |8.LA.3.2.2 |

| Share research with intended audience. |8.LA.3.5.4 |

| Recognize pertinent information for problem-solving. |8.M.1.1.6 |

| Write a research report or persuasive composition that supports a main idea with facts, details and |12.LA.4.3.1 |

|examples from multiple sources, taking into consideration the validity and reliability of those | |

|sources. | |

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Independent Projects and Research

Lens: Fundamentals of Research

|Suggested Activities |

|(Correlations) |

|Any Unit |

|Compare and contrast a primary and secondary source on a particular topic. |

|Create a graphic organizer that demonstrates understanding of a research topic. |

|Use a thinking map or other graphic organizer to synthesize information. |

|Develop an interview for a primary source. |

|Given related information, develop a thesis statement. |

|Given several statements, evaluate whether they are sound thesis statements (provable and debatable). |

|History Day |

|Participate in the National History Day competition |

|Destination ImagiNation |

|Participate in the Destination ImagiNation competition. |

Critical Content/Concept Web

Unit Topic:

Conceptual Lens:

Grade:

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Metacognition

Lens: Levels of Thinking

|Unit Resources |

|It’s All in Your Head by Susan L. Barrett | |

|Psychology for Kids by Jonni Kincher, Pamela Espeland and Julie Bach | |

|Psychology for Kids II by Jonni Kincher, Pamela Espeland and Julie Bach | |

|You’re Smarter Than You Think by Thomas Armstrong and Jennifer Brannen | |

|Chess | |

|Grade: 6th |

|Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum |

|Unit: Metacognition |

|Lens: Levels of Thinking |

Enduring Understandings Guiding Questions

|The human brain has specific physiological characteristics that enable it to function. |1. What are the functions of the three control centers of the |

| |brain? |

| |Do both genes (nature) and the environment (nurture) affect the development of the human brain? |

| |What functions do the right and left sides of the brain perform? |

|Human intelligence can be defined in several ways. |1. How can intelligence be measured? |

| |2. What are other ways to define intelligence? |

| |3. What constitutes genius? |

| |4. What impact do genes and the environment have on human |

| |intelligence? |

|Problem-solving requires multiple strategies and perspectives. |1. Is there only one way to solve a problem? |

| |2. What is metacognition and how do we use it to solve |

| |problems? |

|Creativity is hard to define and difficult to measure. |1. What is creativity? |

| |2. How can creativity be measured? |

| |3. How can creativity be nurtured? |

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Metacognition

Lens: Levels of Thinking

| |

| |

|Critical Content and Skills |

| |

|Students will . . . |Idaho State Standard Addressed |

|develop explanations based on knowledge, logic and analysis. |9-10.B.1.2.3 |

|generate ideas using a variety of problem-solving strategies. |9.LA.3.1.1 |

|label the major components of the brain and identify their function. |7-8.H.1.1.7 |

|know that science has defined six types of memory. | |

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Metacognition

Lens: Levels of Thinking

|Suggested Activities |

|(Correlations) |

|Using different colors of Sculpey clay, each student creates a model of the brain. |

|Play a Jeopardy-style game on the characteristics, functions and parts of the brain. |

|Create a class web with the different ways to define human intelligence. |

|Have the school psychologist speak to students about the different intelligence measures and the pros and cons of these measures. |

|Research the nature vs. nurture debate. Hold a class discussion on the issues. |

|Take inventories to assess individual learning styles, multiple intelligences, and thinking styles. |

|Identify and discuss right and left brain functions (related to daily activities). Create a chart. |

|Research and report on a “genius” that shares student’s multiple intelligence. |

|Participate in a team creative problem-solving challenge (i.e. Destination ImagiNation Instant Challenge). |

|Create a book of class-created mnemonics. |

|Work in small groups. Using real building blocks, brainstorm and label the “stumbling blocks” to creativity. Share as a whole group. |

Critical Content/Concept Web

Unit Topic:

Conceptual Lens:

Grade:

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Math and Science

Lens: Manipulating Systems and Discovering Order

|Unit Resources |

|Chess | |

|Zometools | |

|Visual Productions | |

|Lego Mindstorms (Technical writing) | |

|Grade: 6th |

|Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum |

|Unit: Math and Science |

|Lens: Manipulating Systems and Discovering Order |

|Enduring Understandings |Guiding Questions |

|Systems can be discovered and understood by manipulating their components. |What is a system? (A process or set of rules which guide behaviors, motions, or interactions.) |

| |What are some ways you can manipulate a system? (Trial and error or step-by-step following |

| |directions.) |

|Order can be discovered and understood by identifying the patterns and processes within a system.|What is order? (Predictability, stability, classification, progression, functionality, etc.) |

| |Does order exist in all systems? |

| |How does order create systems? How do systems create order? |

|Grade: 6th |

|Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum |

|Unit: Math and Science |

|Lens: Manipulating Systems and Discovering Order |

| |

|Critical Content and Skills |

| |

|Students will . . . |Idaho State Standard Addressed |

|write technical or scientific text that identifies a sequence of activities or processes. |9.LA.4.2.3 |

|recognize equally likely outcomes. |7.M.5.4.2 |

|make predictions based on simple, theoretical probabilities. |7.M.5.5.1 |

|use a variety of strategies, including common mathematical formulas, to compute problems drawn from real-life situations. |7.M.1.2.6 |

|read, give, and execute technical instructions. |6.S.1.8.1 |

|add details and delete irrelevant or redundant information. |8.LA.3.3.2 |

|use text, features and graphics, if applicable, to further convey meaning. |8.LA.3.5.2 |

|use appropriate technology to create a final draft. |8.LA.3.5.3 |

|match appropriate writing format to purpose and audience. |8.LA.3.1.4 |

|recognize pertinent information for problem-solving. |8.M.1.1.6 |

|describe how science and technology are part of our society and how they are interrelated. |7.S.5.2.1, 7.S.5.2.2 |

|use appropriate vocabulary and symbols. |6.M.4.1.7 |

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Math and Science

Lens: Manipulating Systems and Discovering Order

|Suggested Activities |

|(Correlations) |

|Chess |

|Participate in an in-class or extra-curricular chess tournament. |

|Play and critique a chess game from notation. |

|Zometools |

|Using Zometools, investigate Fibonacci numbers or another number pattern inherent in the building system. |

|Using Zometools, explore the visual-spatial aspects of geometry. |

|Lego Mindstorms |

|Using the Lego Mindstorms kits, build and program a functioning robot using only the diagrams provided and write your own instructions for assembly. |

Critical Content/Concept Web

Unit Topic:

Conceptual Lens:

Grade:

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Communicative Arts and Cultural Awareness

Lens: Change: Personal Perspectives

|Unit Resources |

|William and Mary Autobiographies Unit | |

|Shakespeare | |

|Lego Mindstorms (Technical Writing) | |

|Visual Productions | |

|Calligraphy | |

|Junior Great Books | |

|Classics Reading Project | |

|Grade: 6th |

|Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum |

|Unit: Communicative Arts and Cultural Awareness |

|Lens: Change: Personal Perspectives |

|Enduring Understandings |Guiding Questions |

|Change is pervasive (everywhere). |Does change apply to all areas of your life? |

| |What are some specific changes which apply only to your life? |

|Change is linked to time. |How is change in your life linked to time? |

| |Are all of these changes linked to time in the same way? |

|Change can be perceived as random or orderly. |Can you predict changes in your life? |

| |Which aspects of change can be predicted and which are unpredictable? |

|Change may be positive or negative. |What is progress? (Personal growth.) |

| |Does change always represent progress in your life? |

| |How might a change be thought of as both positive and negative? |

|Change may happen naturally or be caused by individuals or groups. |What causes change in your life? |

| |What influence do people have over changes in your life? |

| |What influences do you have over changes in other people? |

| |What influence does nature have over changes in your life? |

| |What influence do you have over changes in nature? |

|Grade: 6th |

|Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum |

|Unit: Communicative Arts and Cultural Awareness |

|Lens: Change: Personal Perspectives |

| |

|Critical Content and Skills |

| |

|Students will . . . |Idaho State Standard Addressed |

|determine the author’s purpose, stated or implied, for writing various texts. |6.LA.2.1.1 |

|describe different genres of literature and forms of poetry, and the major characteristics of each. |6.LA.2.3.1 |

|distinguish between major characters and minor characters. |6.LA.2.3.2 |

|analyze the influence of the setting on the problem and resolution of the story. |6.LA.2.3.3 |

|analyze the conflict of a plot and explain its resolution. |6.LA.2.3.4 |

|identify the literary point of view (example: first person, third person) in literary text. |6.LA.2.3.5 |

|identify themes that appear in different literary works. |6.LA.2.3.5, 6.LA.2.3.6 |

|identify common literary devices (example: flashback, foreshadowing, personification). |6.LA.2.3.7 |

|conference with others to improve writing. |8.LA.3.3.6 |

|write reflective autobiographical narratives that explore the significance of personal experiences and communicate the significance of events. |9.LA.4.1.1 |

|evaluate issues in which fundamental values are in conflict, such as between liberty and equality, individual interest and the common good, and |6-12.USH.1.4.1.3 |

|majority rule and minority protections. | |

|write narratives about personal events or situations. |7.LA.4.1.1 |

Grade: 6th

Subject: Challenge Gifted Curriculum

Unit: Communicative Arts and Cultural Awareness

Lens: Change: Personal Perspectives

|Suggested Activities |

|(Correlations) |

|William and Mary: Autobiographies Unit |

|See William and Mary Language Arts Curriculum for High Ability Students: Autobiographies. |

|Create a graphic narrative or cartoon of one’s life. |

|Shakespeare |

|In a creative way, show how a character from a Shakespeare play changes over time. |

|Read, view, and/or perform a Shakespeare play. |

|Literature Studies |

|1. Classics Reading Project |

|2. Junior Great Books |

|3. Independent book study through novel choice |

-----------------------

Unit Overview

In this unit, students will develop thinking skills, including analysis, interpretation, and reasoning. Students will be able to use historical interpretation skills, the scientific method, and/or creative problem-solving skills to address a problem.

Suggested Time Frame: 9-12 Weeks

Unit Topic:

Independent Projects and Research

Independent Projects and Research

Fundamentals of Research

6th

Creative Thinking

• Fluency

• Flexibility

• Originality

• Elaboration

• Evaluation

Analytical Thinking

• Main idea

• Finding evidence

• Analyzing

• Inferring

Organizational

• Goal Setting

• Planning

• Problem solving

• Decision making

Critical Thinking

• Point of View

• Unstated assumptions

6th

Understanding Yourself

Metacognition

6th

Levels of Thinking

Unit Overview

Gifted students have questions about what being gifted means, why they think and learn the way they do, and how to make school more challenging. This unit explores the physiology of the brain and its functionality.

Suggested Time Frame: 1-5 weeks

Literature Connections

It’s All in Your Head by Susan L. Barrett

Critical Thinking

• Point of View

• Fact vs. opinion

• Detecting bias

• Credibility of a source

• Relevance vs. irrelevance

• Unstated assumptions

Critical Thinking

• Fact vs. opinion

• Relevance vs. irrelevance

• Unstated assumptions

Unit Overview

The students will explore an existing system (such as a building kit or the game of chess) by manipulating its components. Students will discover and articulate the underlying patterns and processes of the system. Students will understand the relationship between systems and order.

Suggested Time Frame: 6-8 weeks

Manipulating Systems and Discovering Order

Math and Science

Critical Thinking

• Relevance vs. irrelevance

• Unstated assumptions

6th

Affective Development

Unit Overview

In this unit, students will discuss topics that include how to make friends, how to cope with teasing and other gifted issues. Students will also discover how people’s experiences make each of us unique.

Suggested Time Frame: 9-12 weeks

Note: These thinking skills and concepts are embedded in all gifted curriculum. A separate unit is an option but not required. This unit’s enduring understandings embed well in the Communicative Arts and Cultural Awareness Unit and the Metacognition Unit.

Critical Thinking

• Point of view

• Fact vs. opinion

• Relevance vs. irrelevance

6th

Change: Personal Perspectives

Communicative Arts and Cultural Awareness

Unit Overview

Students will explore the concept of change through discussion and the reading and analysis of a variety of literary forms. In addition to developing their analytical and interpretive skills in literature, students will develop their persuasive, creative, and technical writing skills.

Suggested Time Frame: 8-12 weeks

Literature Connections

William and Mary Autobiography Unit:

A Girl from Yamhill

The Lost Garden

A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw

The Invisible Thread

Other:

The View from Saturday

•

Creative Thinking

• Flexibility

• Evaluation

Analytical Thinking

• Analyzing

• Inferring

• Evaluating

• Synthesizing

Organizational

• Problem solving

• Decision making

Unit Topic:

Metacognition

Creative Thinking

• Flexibility

• Elaboration

• Evaluation

Analytical Thinking

• Patterning

• Observing

• Evaluating

• Synthesizing

Organizational

• Problem solving

• Decision making

Unit Topic:

Math and Science

Creative Thinking

• Flexibility

• Evaluation

Analytical Thinking

• Main idea

• Analyzing

• Inferring

• Summarizing

Organizational

• Problem solving

•

Unit Topic:

Communicative Arts and Cultural Awareness

Unit Topic:

Affective Development

Creative Thinking

• Originality

• Elaboration

Analytical Thinking

• Finding evidence

• Analyzing

• Inferring

• Evaluating

Organizational

• Problem solving

• Decision making

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