Student Project Fair

Oy! It has been a very busy week at work!
My day job is one that I absolutely love.  I am a Gifted Services Specialist but the main portion of my job is teaching the High-Ability students.  Every spring each of my students choose a topic to research and then spend a couple of months gathering facts, taking notes, finding photos and other graphics and then put everything together on a display board.  Between my two schools, I have been working with about 80 students on these projects.  It takes a lot to help 80 kids get everything they need, especially when I work at a very low-income school and very few of them have computers at home. The past few weeks have been hectic as you can imagine.  Here is my wonderful group of 2nd graders who put together a group project on Mammals of the North Pole.  They each chose an animal and then were responsible for coming up with info and pics to add to the project.  Here they are putting everything together.  I was super impressed with how well the 7 of them worked together!

Once all projects are turned in and graded, we have a Project Fair and invite the school to come see the projects.  My morning school will have their Project Fair next Thursday but my afternoon school had theirs yesterday.  The boards were all set up in a U shape on tables in the library and the guests had to wind their way around them as they read.  Here is a  snap shot of the set-up, but you can only see the inside of the U.

One down, one to go!

Comments

[Samara]

It's so wonderful that you love your job. For you, just because it would make for a long day/year to go to work everyday if you didn't. Also though, for your kids. Your enthusiasm and love for education and kids no doubt is felt by them. Helping 80 kids with this project sounds like a TON of work! But I bet you learned a little bit about everything, huh? Good for you, and good for them! It's great that your district has kept these kind of programs going even though they have had to make some cuts. This kind of stuff is so important -- to foster ingenuity, thought and pride in their work, and to just reminding them that they can do whatever they set their minds to. I'm sure they all loved the challenge and were proud to display their work for the whole school!

[Kristi S (sweetsauer)]

Thanks, Sam! The kids were very proud of themselves. I truly believe the
G/T program is very important, especially in the inner city where they might
not have the same opportunities as the kids in the 'burbs.