DIFFERENTIATION BY BREADTH
Choices and Options
Gifted learners have an incredible ability to make connections between ideas and concepts. They
need opportunities to see the “big picture” (e.g. how art relates to science and how science is a
product of history). By combining topics from several subject areas and providing a lot of
choices and options in assignments, students will integrate and broaden their thinking skills.
Extension Menus and Choice Boards:
A. When providing a list or menu of options for students to do a project or assignment,
include the option of “Your Own Idea” to encourage particular passions or interests as
well as advocating for themselves.
Example of a Choice Board:
Solar System Projects That Are Out Of This World!
Make an illustration booklet
Make a travel brochure to
Invent a multiple choice quiz
called “Facts About Planets”
interest space travelers to visit to test your knowledge of
our solar system.
outer space.
Create a Guiness Book of
Design a set of postcards you
Create and illustrate an
Universal Records. Includes
might send from each of the
astronomical alphabet book
such topics as: The Biggest!
planets describing your
with entries for each letter.
The Fastest! The Hottest!
vacation.
Think of ten questions you
Create an application form for Invent a game for students to
would ask an astronaut in an
NASA to use to hire new
learn more about the signs of
interview. Research
astronauts. Think of physical, the zodiac and other
appropriate answers to each
intellectual, emotional and
constellations. Include the
question to make a mock
social questions. Complete the rules.
magazine article.
application for the best and
worst astronaut.
Make a dictionary of 50 outer Create a solar system
Your own idea – subject to
space words with easy to
cookbook giving recipes for
teacher approval.
understand definitions.
creating planets, moons,
comets, meteors, etc.
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Example of Totally Ten Menu:
Population of Toronto By
Age
25 to 34 year olds make up the
largest age group in Toronto.
Seniors make up the third largest
group or 13.3%
Source: Stats Canada (metropolitan census
1995)
2 point question
Enlarge the graph to fill an
entire page.
Put the age groups in order
from largest to smallest.
Explain in your own words
what this graph is attempting
to show.
What is the approximate
percentage of school aged
children (age 5-19)
5 point question
Translate this information into
a pie graph
8 point question
Predict what the demographic
information would look like
25 years from now. What
occurrence might affect the
accuracy of your prediction.
Calculate the approximate age How do you suppose the
of the average Torontonian.
information in this graph was
obtained? Describe a plan for
collecting the most accurate
demographic information.
Which groups of people would
your method miss?
What is the discrepancy on the Do you feel the information in
horizontal axis? What might
this graph is relevant to
be a reason for this
Kitchener? Why? How could
discrepancy?
you assess this?
Create 5 accurate and 5
Who would want to use the
inaccurate conclusions you
information in this graph?
can draw from the data on this How?
graph.
Students are provided with an activity sheet; questions are given differing values according to
difficulty; students select activities that total ten points.
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B. The Game Show Menu is the most complex. It covers multiple topics or objectives
with at least three predetermined choices and a free student choice for each objective. All choices
carry different weights and have different expectations for completion time and effort. Students
must complete at least one activity from each objective (column) and have a total of 100 points.
Example of a Game Show Menu:
Homophones
Complete the
homophone
worksheets provided
by the teacher.
(15 points)
Design a game for
your classmates that
test their knowledge
of homophones.
(30 points)
Word Play Game Show
Synonyms
Antonyms
Make a set of
Make a poster
concentration cards
illustrating at least 10
for at least 10 pairs of pairs of antonyms.
synonyms.
(15 points)
(15 points)
Multiple Meanings
Look up the word
“run” in a dictionary.
Make a booklet
showing pictures for
at least half the
definitions of run.
(15 points)
Design a crossword
puzzle where each
clue has 2 or more
meanings.
(30 points)
Create two webs: one Design a worksheet
for the word “good”
for a student that tests
and one for the word
his/her knowledge of
“nice”. Brainstorm
antonyms.
synonyms for these
(30 points)
words that you could
use in your writing.
(30 points)
Create a poetry
Write a funny yet
Design your own
Create a PowerPoint
collection using at
descriptive story
children’s book based presentation that uses
least ten different sets about a day in the life on antonyms to share multiple meaning
of homophones.
of a bug. You must
with a kindergarten
words and tests the
(45 points)
use synonyms for the student.
reader’s ability to
banned words at the
(45 points)
identify their
bottom of the page.
meanings.
(45 points)
(45 points)
Your own idea!
Your own idea!
Your own idea!
Your own idea!
(25-50 points)
(25-50 points)
(25-50 points)
(25-50 points)
List of Banned Words: good, bad, fun, like, said, hot, cold, sad, mad, go, blue, nice
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Guided Independent Study/Projects:
A term to describe project-based learning as well as other activities in which students identify
and explore interests beyond the curriculum delivered in class while working somewhat
independently of teacher instruction. To be successful, it is essential that a teacher is actively
involved with the student in creating and monitoring the study.
Example:
TOPIC PLANNER
Name: _______________________________
Date: ________________
GENERAL TOPIC OF INTEREST: ____________________________________
SUBTOPICS I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT:
________________________________
________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
HOW MIGHT I COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC:
Information Sources
Call Number, Author, Date, Website
Address
Title
Books
Periodicals
Websites
Other Sources (human, TV, radio, etc)
PROFESSIONALS WITH WHOM I MIGHT CONDUCT INTERVIEWS:
NAME:
PROFESSION:
WORKPLACE:
EXPERIMENTS I MIGHT CONDUCT:
HOW I CAN SHARE WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT ONE SUBTOPIC:
Source: Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom by Susan Winebrenner
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Thematic Teaching/Interdisciplinary units:
Example 1:
Math Makes Sense – “Cross Strand Investigations” are in each grade level text
Example 2:
Math
Draw 3D shapes from
different perspectives
Interdisciplinary Unit: Perspectives
Begin by deciding on an abstract
Perspectives
concept or universal theme such as
Perspectives. Students work to
generate some generalizations or
universal truth statements about the
theme:
• Perspectives change over time
• The same thing may look
different to several people
depending on their perspective
Art
Social Studies
• Personal perspectives are
Draw a cityscape
Compare the
influenced by a person’s
using aerial
explorers’ view of
perspective
background or culture
Native people to our
modern one
• Perspective can be
manipulated by outside
influences
Writing
Science
Rewrite the poem
from a different point
of view
Compare the
perspectives of a
scientist and a
magician
Look through the curriculum to find
how the theme is related to different
subjects. Or, begin with a curriculum
area (e.g. geometry – 3D shapes) and
broaden the range of activities to cross
different subjects. Be creative!
Plan meaningful experiences which
reinforce or challenge the universal
truth statements.
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