by Helen Kumpel with Donna Lasher
| This festive project was created by Helen Kumpel, a GT teacher in Georgia. It would be fun to do anytime, but if you need a seasonal activity that doesn’t focus on any holiday at all – this is great! There are many ways to adapt this project to complement your studies, too. Thank you for sharing, Helen! |
I’ve been gnome-obsessed lately, and recently I was trying to think of an activity to do at this time of year that would be educational and fun, but not focused on any particular holiday. This project is the result!
My upper elementary gifted students need practice and reinforcement in written expression, so this project includes review and practice in writing dialogue. It also includes a drawing lesson my students love.
To begin, students learn a little about the etymology of the word “gnome” and about some of the traditional attributes of gnomes found in literature. Then, students are challenged to create one-of-a-kind gnomes, each with a very specific look and characteristics.
A drawing lesson presents students with step-by-step instructions in creating amazing gnomes. You can see some student artwork pictured below and there are more examples in the presentation.
In folklore, gnomes are often associated with the protection of property, and because I designed this as a holiday activity, I decided that our gnomes would protect gifts. I have each student draw, on an index card, a gift they would like to give and on another index card, a picture of the wrapped gift. These become part of a hallway “guessing game” display.
The final piece of the project is the creation of a conversation between the gift-giver and the gnome. The dialogue has to meet certain criteria, the main one being that clues must be included that hint at what the gift is, but the gift cannot be named.
For the writing piece, I have students look for examples of dialogue in the books they are reading and try to get them to explain the RULES of writing dialogue and we discuss why those rules were developed. Once we’ve reviewed how to write a conversation, students use a graphic organizer to help them in developing their dialogue.
| If you’d like to see the teaching slides for this project, you can make a copy of the presentation HERE. It also includes rubrics to use in assessing the writing. |
CHANGE IT UP USING THE TOOLS of DEPTH and COMPLEXITY
Thinking tools can be used and combined in many ways to modify the project. Here are just a few ideas:
| Multiple Perspectives | Write a dialogue between your gnome and a famous person giving a gift (such as an invention or an innovative idea). Include clues that relate to both the gift and the giver without revealing either. |
| Big Idea | Write the dialogue asking your gnome to protect a special gift. The gift is a one-word concept – a big idea -such as HOPE or POWER. Give clues in the dialogue about the gift, explaining why it must be protected. |
| Ethics / Over Time | Write a dialogue asking your gnome to protect a future invention or innovation. Give clues about the gift by explaining what needs to happen before the gift can be given to the world. |
If you have any other ideas to add to this project or other gnome-related lessons, we’d love for you to share them in the comments below!
Happy Holidays, everyone! 🎁
Do you have any additional examples of the clues dialogue page? I have 6th graders I’m doing this with. Thanks
Sarah, let me check with the teacher-author on this! Thanks for the question.
Hi Sarah,
Below is an example to go with Taylor Swift concert tickets that the gnome is guarding but can’t say what the gift is…
You might mention the songs she sings, how many Grammys she has won, her costumes, or her Eras Tour, and that you will take your friend on a specific date to see this performer WITHOUT saying her actual performer’s name.
If the gift was going to be a football, you might mention the material it is made of, that your friend enjoys learning new plays and is a quick thinker with a good throwing arm.
Or you could have your kids allow the gnome to ask three questions about the present they are protecting without asking, “Is it Taylor Swift tickets?”
Example:
The Gnome scratched its head and asked, “Is the present a thing, a place you can go, or to see a person?”
“It’s all three!” I exclaimed. “This thing is required to be able to go to the place to see a very talented person!”
The gnome was intrigued. “Is it an entertainer or an athlete?”
“This very talented singer and songwriter performs her songs worldwide. Her music is loved by many people from different ERAS. Never in my WILDEST DREAMS did I think we would have the opportunity to see her perform live! Do you have a BLANK SPACE to hide this special gift until the big day arrives?”
*My biggest suggestion is to have students list attributes or facts about the gift and creatively use them in their dialogue. I hope this example is helpful. 🙂
Thank you, Helen, for the extra ideas and suggestions!