The Gifted and Talented second and third graders at Everett Elementary found joy in learning while working on special projects. This semester GT teacher Lara Fendley assigned “Passion Project” to help her students find enjoyment in learning by exploring and researching topics that interest them.
“The students got to choose a topic that interests them,” said Fendley. “They brainstormed things that made them happy or areas they would like to explore. Using Chromebooks they learned the research process through their areas of interest, used Google Docs to take notes and develop their presentations, and found creative ways to showcase their work with an audience of classmates, teachers, parents, and administrators.”
Some of the “Passion Projects” included dinosaurs, panda bears, futuristic cars, organs of the body, mind reading, pirates, Christopher Columbus, Leonardo Di Vinci, Vincent Van Gough, Houdini, how slime is made, and how a Play Station works.