Five Ideas for Students That Have Already Mastered the Standards

Teaching is pretty challenging!

Some students learn at an "average" pace. Other students need extra help to keep up, and then there are the students who already know everything you are expected to teach them!

We want these students to continue learning and stay motivated in the classroom. How can we do this, while we continue to meet the needs of the other students as well? 

Idea #1: Let them develop skills on a deeper level!

I always prefer to let more advanced students deepen skills rather than accelerating their learning onto a higher grade level's skills. Students need to feel like they belong, and if they're not studying what the others are studying, they feel excluded! This is a tough concept when they already know what you're teaching, but there are ways to work with it.

 

How do we do this? 

• This is easiest to do with reading. If everyone in the class is working on biographies, they should also read a biography, but at a higher reading level. They can do a more challenging form of book summary or report.
  
• If you're studying addition, have these children make problems for their classmates to solve. Or have them learn a game that practices the same skill, but at a deeper level. (Practice 4 digit addition rather than 2 digits!)
  
• If you're studying Mexico have these students research something that's not in the district's curriculum, such as Mexico's history, or major exports of Mexico.
• If you're studying figurative language, have these children find figurative language phrases to share with the class.
• If you're studying the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly, have these students research more information about the butterfly, such as migration or how fast they can fly.
• Here's a resource I use based on second grade math requirements: Mystery Math Bundle
  

Idea #2: Let them learn by guessing!

I know, this sounds rather strange, but I call it the "Jeopardy method." (See this blog post: Do You Ever End Up Smarter After Watching Jeopardy?) Whenever you hear the answer (or on Jeopardy, I believe it's the question...) you get smarter! Having the children take an educated guess at some trivia helps them remember the information! 

 

Here are some resources that are perfect for your fast learners to learn by "guessing:"

• Science Review Boom Cards
• Plurals, Possessives and Contractions BoomCards
• Social Studies Review Boo  Cards
• Building Science and Social Studies Vocabulary: Boom Card Bundle 
• Calendar General Knowledge Facts: Boom Learning
  
• Vocabulary Builder: Weather, Plant, or Dessert? Boom Cards (This one is a dollar deal!)

Plus, here's a freebie so you can give them a try:

• July Calendar Trivia: Boom Learning

 

Idea #3: Let them work with another student at their level.

Just because they're smart and catch on easily doesn't mean they have to carry the load for a group that isn't functioning at the same academic level. (We know this can happen!) They do need some time with their equals who can challenge them and help them go above and beyond the status quo. Please, find opportunities for them to work with others at their level, even if it means finding students from other classrooms or even other grades who can work with them.

 

Idea #4: Offer choice!

All students need and deserve choices! These quick learners need choices too! Most students make choices based on their strengths, interests, and passions! A student with an interest in writing would prefer to write a report on what they learned. A student with an interest in art would prefer to make a poster. A student with an interest in social studies might like to make a map. All students have preferences, not just the gifted and talented! Please respect these preferences, you'll get a whole lot more from your students if you do! 

Idea #5: Let them research something they love. 

As mentioned above, all students have strengths, interests, and passions. The best way to address the needs of all students is to work with these passions! These brighter students can research their passions! The acts of research will help them enrich their skills, and the ways they present what they've learned will strengthen more skills! It's a win-win!

Here are a few blog posts also dedicated to this group of students:

 How do we keep them engaged?

 Three Purposes for Boom Learning Digital Task Cards  

 

Twelve Reasons to use Boom Learning Digital Task Cards!   

 But My Students Don't Know This Stuff!

 Looking for ways to organize it all? Try this!

Organizing Literacy Centers

 

One last note:

As smart as these children are, they all have weaknesses as well! They may be ahead of the game with reading skills or math skills, but like all of us, they have areas of need. Please pay close attention to the whole child and make sure they are developing academically as well as socially and emotionally.

 

 

But My Students Don't Know This Stuff!

Sometimes I'll lead my students to some activities where they are expected to answer questions that still need to be taught the content. 

How can this be valuable?

I've been doing some reading, and I've found some research proving children learn from an activity that requires guessing. In fact, these challenges are good for them, and enhance learning! The key? Making sure they get immediate feedback.

 

 

If the children are doing an activity where they have to guess at something, it gets them thinking. Once they've thought about it, they'll take a guess. If they get immediate feedback, they'll learn!  

 

It's just like watching Jeopardy! Every time I watch, I learn more facts, even when I didn't know them before I watched! Guessing helps the brain learn! (Thanks, Alex!)

 

 

This sort of activity can be repeated over and over. Each time it's repeated, they'll remember more. As they repeat the activity, there will be less guessing and more remembering! 

 

This is a perfect type of activity for students to work on while you're working with individuals or small groups.

 

 

These are perfect for your "fast finishers" or children who need a little extra challenge after their daily work is complete.
 

Plus, reading random questions counts as reading practice. They do need to be reading every day, right?

They can work alone, but working with a friend brings valuable conversation! You know, the conversations that help them think through and remember information!

 

 

Did I mention how much the children love this stuff? Seriously, they love learning new material!

 

I know what you're thinking... but I'm having enough trouble fitting in everything I have to teach already! Yes, I know, but this isn't just "another thing to do." It's something to enhance what's already happening!

 

 

But what about the standards? Yeah, I thought you might be concerned about that one. I'll tell you a little secret:

Teaching isn't all about the standards. 

Teaching is about enriching the lives of the kids.

 

Shocking, I know. Can you imagine if administrators heard me say that? Well, I'll tell you another little secret:

I'm not here to impress the administrators. 

I'm here to make a difference in the lives of children.

 

Well, I'm not really that much of a rebel, but I really do want to make a difference in the lives of the children. (And yes, the standards DO matter, but there's so much more to kids!)

Now I suppose you're wondering where to find these activities that keep kids guessing!

Well, here's a freebie to get you started:

 

July Boom Learning Trivia and General Knowledge (Boom Cards)

Here's another fun Boom Learning resource for building vocabulary!

Country, Science Tool, or Sandwich? (Boom Cards)

 

Here are a few more:

Facts About Space (Boom Cards)

Black Americans Quotes "Who Said This" (Boom Cards)

Digital Social Studies Topics Practice and Review Bundle (Boom Cards)

Digital Science Topics Practice and Review Bundle (Boom Cards)

Science Review Task Cards

Hurricanes: Reading Comprehension for Active Learners

 

Most of these activities will enhance the children's knowledge with very little work on the teacher's part. Plus, teachers can see their results easily for all those Boom Cards! 

Here are some links to articles about how guessing helps students learn.

How Mistakes Help Students Learn

How guessing the wrong answer helps you learn the right answer 

How Guessing Helps Students Learn

  

How do you challenge your students beyond what they already know?

Three Purposes for Boom Learning Digital Task Cards

Children (and teachers) absolutely LOVE Boom Learning Digital Task Cards.

Did you realize there are different ways to use them?

1. Skills Practice

Skills practice is probably the most popular use of Boom Learning cards. Since Boom Cards can be used on tablets, phones, laptops, or desktops, it's easy to just send a link for the children to practice their skills at home, during center time, or for independent work. 
 

I've made some little videos so you can see the Boom Cards in action:

This first video is an example of part of my fact fluency system. There are 8 different levels for the children to master, and two review levels. 

This is Level 1 Addition and Subtraction:  the +1 families

(This one is a freebie!)

Here's an example of the multiplication and division fact fluency system:

Level 5 Multiplication and Division the X9 families

2. Assessment

Assessment is a great use of the Boom Cards as well! With a paid membership to Boom Learning, teachers can see the records of everything their students have done while on Boom Learning. They can see which questions students got right or wrong, how long the student took on that question, and a record of how many times the student has used that deck. It's a wealth of information about the students, and it's amazingly easy to use!

The above fact fluency decks can be used for assessment as well as practice. I watch the scores of the children, and when they are close to 100% accuracy, we have a celebration and they move on to the next level. 

Assessment can have several purposes within itself! A teacher might want to assess students before a lesson or unit, in order to see what the students know. 

This one will let you know what your students know about figurative language.

Figurative Language Boom Learning Digital Task Cards

 

A teacher might want to do a personality assessment at the beginning of the school year, then again at various points through the year to see how the student grows and changes. Plus, they love talking (writing) about themselves!

Who Am I? Get to Know Your Students Boom Learning Task Cards

Here's a way to assess what your students know about germs!

Germs: Viruses and Bacteria Boom Learning Task Cards

 3. Exploration and Enrichment

Enrichment and Exploration are my favorite purpose for Boom Learning cards! These cards are perfect for the students who have mastered the basic information and are ready to learn more. They can be assigned a deck on a topic they're not familiar with, and explore. The best part? They can do the same deck over and over, and their responses should become more and more accurate! (Teachers can keep an eye on this, and if they're not becoming more accurate, a conversation needs to take place with this student, of course!)

There are plenty of this type of Boom Learning decks. Here are a couple:

 Famous Black Americans: Who Said This?

I have a whole series of Social Studies and Science vocabulary builders. Check out this video of  

City, Country, or Candy

I have plenty more Boom Learning decks, which you can find HERE.

How do you use your Boom cards? 

Do you have other purposes for them?