Can Mystery Science be used with students in gifted classrooms?

Dear Mystery Science,

My school has a membership and the regular classroom teachers love it! I teach gifted and talented students, so I need more rigorous science curriculum than the rest of my school. Do you have any suggestions for how I can use Mystery Science in my exceptional classroom?

Thanks,

Ali

That’s a great question, Ali! We definitely understand your desire to differentiate the curriculum for your classes.

Our goal is to be as inclusive as possible of students with a wide range of backgrounds and needs, and we hear success stories all the time from gifted classroom teachers all the way to lower-functioning special education classes!

Each full Mystery Science lesson lasts about an hour and includes optional extras and assessments for teaching. Even with other teachers in your school using Mystery Science as their core curriculum, you can use these extension activities with your classroom to extend the teaching to up to three hours per week. These resources include additional readings, information, and activities for your advanced students.

We also have our Anchor Layer, which is another way to take instruction to another level! With this optional feature turned on, you would see:

• Phenomena-driven units taught through storylines
• Project-based performance tasks with differentiated rubrics
• Student-generated conceptual models
• Each lesson tying back to the unit phenomenon
• Teacher guides included as a reference

We hope this helps give you more insight on how to best use Mystery Science to support your gifted students!

Curious to learn more? Here are some other resources you may find helpful:

Inclusivity Principles

Are there additional resources I can use to teach a lesson?

What are Mystery Science storylines?

What is the Anchor Layer, or unit starter, and how do I turn it on?

Can Mystery Science be used in my special education class?