Debbie Triska Keiser

Review

Differentiated Projects for Gifted Students Grades 3-5
by Brenda Holt McGee& Debbie Triska Keiser
Prufrock Press

I requested this book for ideas to use in our enrichment program, but also to find application in higher middle school classes. With those classes not designated gifted I found numerous applications. For instance, one of our state standards for the eight grade level reading concerns graphic aids. I found the Graphs introduced in Types of Graphs a good starter and connection with our course of study.

I also shared the volume with our elementary level with some success. Throughout the volume I found clarity and usability.… (mehr)

Differentiated Projects for Gifted Students by Brenda Holt McGee and Debbie Triska Keiser provides project ideas for thirty-two science and social studies topics. Aimed at grades three through five, the authors provide a few ready-to-use activities for independent study. Choice is an important part of differentiation and this book does a great job providing several choices for each topic.

Unfortunately, there's no narrative or lesson to support the activities. As such, it's unclear where in the instructional process these activities fit. While they provide a great starting point for planning, the details on how these activities fit into the larger topic of "differentiated instruction" is missing. If you're looking for resources related to differentiated instruction, stick to the works by Carol Tomlinson. However if you have a background in differentiated teaching and learning, this is a great resources for developing differentiated projects.… (mehr)