Mrs. Jacobs

pjacobs@wyckoffschools.org

W.E.L.

Welcome to the Wyckoff Extended Learning Program for gifted and talented students in grades 6 and 7 at Eisenhower Middle School! We are always excited about our many creative endeavors so feel free to stop by and visit or email Mrs. Jacobs with any questions or comments. Feedback is always welcome!

For all students in W.E.L., the curriculum for the school year incorporates four learning opportunities. There are two individual projects as well as two cooperative learning projects, enabling students to maximize their individual and collective potential.

SIXTH GRADE W.E.L.

For their first individual learning project,the sixth grade W.E.L students presented a project called "Infomercial of the Self". This is an autobiographical assignment which requires students to communicate information about themselves in an interesting and informative way before their peers. Following specified criteria, students create a project in any format which gives their peers (and themselves) a unique perspective on who they are and what makes them awesome individuals! Some highlights were power point presentations, scrapbooks, newspapers, an autobiographical "box", a radio show and several home movies! We learned a great deal about ourselves and each other!

Our second assignment, "The Leadership Project", was our first group project. For this cooperative learning opportunity, sixth graders work in groups to identify a cause they would like to support given a hypothetical budget of $10,000. They must first create a proposal for teacher approval and then get to work on making their dream become a reality. Each group's concept may be communicated in any format.  We shared many innovative and thoughtful service learning ideas!

Sixth grade students have completed their second individual learning opportunity in W.E.L. entitled, "Who Is A Role Model?".  For this project, each student is required to select a personal role model and create a tribute to this individual in any format.  Some students selected family members while others chose individuals such as Anne Frank, Florence Nightingale, John Lennon and Al Gore.  Each student is required to communicate what makes the selected individual a role model from his or her perspective, a well as present relevant historical, cultural and biographical information about that person.

For their second cooperative learning opportunity, sixth graders in W.E.L. create "The Storybook Creation Project".  In groups, students design and create a book for a selected grade level and donate their finished project to a elementary classroom of their choice. Student groups are each required to submit a formal proposal of their concept and format before they begin to work on the book.  Fables, chapter books, cookbooks and pop up books are just a few of the creative ideas generated by our sixth graders in W.E.L. and a variety of topics have been explored and researched.  Ask your young authors and illustrators all about it!

ALL 6TH GRADE W.E.L. STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO DISPLAY THE FOUR COMPLETED PROJECTS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR AT My Space 2009, AN EXHIBITION SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2009 AT 7:30 p.m. IN THE MULTIPURPOSE ROOM AT EISENHOWER.

PLEASE JOIN US!!!!!!

SEVENTH GRADE W.E.L.

For the first project of the school year, seventh graders in W.E.L. create individual projects as part of an independent learning opportunity entitled, "Experts in the Field".  Students each select a person to research and they are asked to communicate as much detailed information as possible about the individual selected and what contributions this person has made to a particular field. Some highlights were power point presentations on Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and choreographer Katherine Dunham. We have enjoyed two cakes modeled after the "extreme cakes" of pastry chef, Duff Goldman. One was a spiderweb design with spiders crafted from Rice Krispies. We also had an iPod cake made with colored fondant. We have seen a collage/poetry project on comedienne Whoopi Goldberg and a menu depicting the life and accomplishments of chef, Emeril Lagasse. A multi-dimensional project on the life of Vincent van Gogh incorporated a diorama, two biographical display boards and a game in which the winners were awarded with real sunflowers, inspired by one of the artist's famous paintings. We have gained fascinating insights into the life and times of the individuals W.E.L. students have chosen to research while learning about individual talents inherent to members of our seventh grade W.E.L. community!

The first cooperative learning opportunity for 7th grade W.E.L. students is. . . "The Educational Theater Project"!!! In groups formed by student interest, each team produced a theatrical vignette as part of a full-length dramatic presentation. Each team focused on a social issue which it considered to be important for middle school students. Themes from "The 3 R's Day" were an inspiration for many of the ideas.  Each team then created a short theatrical presentation which communicated a message that the group members felt to be important. Students were given the option of including any and all forms of media, poetry, comedy, song, etc. It was up to each team to decide how it wished to communicate its chosen message. Students who did not wish to perform were encouraged to explore options such as song composition, video production, directing, etc. The goal was to create a play, combining the vignettes created by both seventh grade W.E.L. classes. It was brilliantly performed on Wednesday, March 4th at 8:00 p.m. in the Eisenhower Cafetorium!! 

As part of a revered W.E.L. tradition, seventh grade students have recently concluded their final cooperative learning opportunity for the school year . . "The Restaurant Project"!  For this group adventure, students create business plans for a totally original restaurant of their own design.  The project addresses aspects such as developing a concept, marketing and advertising, human resources, creating a menu and business practices. Each student has received a syllabus which outlines due dates for each required aspect of the project and ,prior to the assignment of each component, students receive a detailed outline of what is required and any additional supporting materials.

Student projects were evaluated on Wednesday, June 3rd in the Media Center at Eisenhower Middle School.  The judges for the project were; Ms. Michele Pillari, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Mr. Richard Kuder, Principal, Mr. Steve Raimo, Assistant Principal, Mrs. Donna Greenberg, Guidance Counselor and Mr. Harold Olejarz, Art/Technology Instructor.

The final individual learning opportunity for 7th grade W.E.L. students is "My Educational Plan".  This is an opportunity for students to reflect upon their educational needs and create a brief proposal for how these might best be served.  Students research trends in the field of gifted and talented education and create a four part proposal which outlines their proposed 8th grade class schedule and their "dream" 8th grade class schedule.  Students are then asked to compare/contrast these to determine how they can use their research to incorporate elements of their "dream plan" into their schedule.  In addition, students learn to become advocates for their own educational process by considering how to obtain assistance from parents, teachers, administrators and people from the community.  Creative forms of proposal presentation are strongly encouraged and students will present their projects during "publishing parties" scheduled for June 22 and 23, 2009 during class time.

CHECK ON OUR PROGRESS AS WE ENGAGE IN NEW AND EXCITING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN W.E.L.!

YOUR FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOME!