You now have the foundation to start construction. You can put up the framework, but you need the blueprint to drive instruction. This is where your differentiation strategies come in, the nuts and bolts Curriculum Compacting is one of the most effective means of differentiating curriculum for gifted students, keeping them motivated, encouraging them to soar, raising the bar with rigor, and helping them develop into lifelong lovers of learning with well-developed thinking skills!
In her book, Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom, Susan Winebrenner states that the five steps to successful compacting are:
Many times your gifted learners have already mastered the lesson you are preparing to teach to the entire class. Several behaviors may be observed: the student may rush to finish the work because it is tedious, the student may act out because of boredom (a word I despise and try to avoid with my students, but, unfortunately, a very possible reality), or the student may tune you out totally and be way off task. There is a remedy! Curriculum compacting allows the student to demonstrate mastery and then continue working on something he/she enjoys – either connected to the subject being taught or an independent project agreed upon by both the student and the teacher. We will now proceed to learning our first three strategies designed to help us effectively compact our curriculum. Here is a sample of how the Compactor could be used. Also available is a blank form that you can use with your students.