Gifted and Talented Curriculum - Carnival Roller Coaster Unit Third Fourth Fifth

This unit contains both a printable packet version AND individual JPEG files for each document so that you can easily upload to Google Classroom. Since they are in JPEG format, students should be able to write on the documents in Google Classroom.

Additionally, this unit now includes a PARENT INSTRUCTIONS edition that you can easily pass on to parents when students are out of school. The instructions are easy to follow and allow parents to work with students just as you would in the classroom! This also makes it super easy to send home additional materials for students that need extra enrichment outside of your classroom!

This Carnival and Roller Coaster themed mini-unit was developed for a Gifted and Talented classroom, but could also be used in the regular classroom. It is designed for grades 3-5 but could be adapted for other grades as well. Every activity is common core aligned and the standards are listed on each activity intro page.

Included in this mini-unit:

Buy a Coaster Journal - Students will write a letter to their school administrator to persuade them to buy a roller coaster for the school playground. (GT: Differentiation, Creativity, CC: W.3.1, W.4.1, W.5.1)

STEM Coaster - Students will complete a STEM challenge to build a working roller coaster for a marble with simple parts. (GT: Affective Development, Competitiveness, Critical Thinking, Differentiation, Teamwork, CC: SL.3.3, SL.4.3, M.P.1, M.P.2, CCRA.SL.2

Ability Coasters - Students will cut, paste, and write to create a roller coaster picture showing their abilities and things they can work on. All student work can be strung together to make one large roller coaster classroom display. (GT: Affective Development, CC: SL.3.3, M.P.1, M.P.2, SL.4.3, CCRA.SL.2)

Mind Bender Madness - Students will divide into teams and compete to answer math mind bender brain teasers with a carnival theme. (GT: Affective Development, Competiveness, Critical Thinking, Differentiation, Teamwork, CC: 3.NF.A.1, 3.OA.A.1, 3.OA.A.3, M.P.1, 4.NF.B.3b, 4.NBT.B.5, 5.NF.A.2)

Razzle Dazzle Words - Students will use the given vocabulary terms (carnival and roller coaster related) and definitions to create a visual dictionary sheet (included) that includes the word, definition, picture, a sentence, and part of speech. (GT: Vocabulary, Creativity, Common Core Standards: L.3.1, L.3.6, L.4.1, L.4.6, L.5.1, L.5.6)

Mirrors of Me - Students will create funhouse mirror versions of themselves to show how they believe other students see them, how teachers see them, and how they see themselves. (GT: Affective Development, CC: SL.3.3, M.P.1, M.P.2, SL.4.3, CCRA.SL.2)

Take Research For a Ride! - Students will use a choice game board to find subjects to research that are carnival related. There are ten research projects to choose from. You could have students research all ten or have them choose a few. Rubrics are included!! (GT: Research, Presentation, RI.3.1, RI.4.1, RI.5.1)