GT kids

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OMG! A part of Texas Social Studies curriculum stipulates that we as 6th grade teachers must teach cultures and geography from every continent, Because Language Arts teachers are saddled with having to teach Social Studies, plus Reading, the school district encourages and actually demands that we integrate these two subject areas. My GT class this year is on a much higher level in reading than most 6th graders. Most of them read high school level or higher. So my dilemma has been all year to find novels relating to each of the 7 continents that are challenging and good. Presently we are studying the Middle East, and I found a book called One More River by Lynne Reid Banks. It is about a Canadian Jewish girl whose family emigrates to Israel. At first she rebels and resists but eventually moves and gets used to it. The setting is the 6 Day War in 1967. My GT kids got so interested in it, that when I told them there was a sequel, they HAD to read it, as well to find out what happens to the main character, Lesley. So we started the sequel, Broken Bridge and they literally absorb the characters' feelings, emotions, etc. The plot, they act like it is real and react strongly to it.
I assigned them a Middle East project and gave them either a person, event or organization to research and present 2 weeks from now. We watched a video on the PLO and Yasser Arafat today, and the girl who is doing Arafat, said, "You expect me to do Yasser Arafat? You are going to hate me when I am finished!" I said, "You are presenting information ABOUT Yasser Arafat, you aren't BECOMING Yasser Arafat."

GT kids are an absolute joy to teach, and I love how they really get into what they are learning about.