Observe your gifted student for a week and determine which learning styles fit his personality. For instance, does your gifted student fidget during lessons? If so, he may be a bodily-kinesthetic learner. Does he doodle on his desk or notebook? If so, he may have great spatial intelligence. Howard Gardner established eight basic "learning styles" in his theory of multiple intelligences, including linguistic, logical-mathematical and interpersonal, to name a few. You will likely observe a blend of several learning styles. For more accurate assessment, test your student using the University of Missouri's Learning Style Inventory for elementary students.
Make your gifted student an integral part of project development. Sit down with the student and brainstorm potential projects. Discuss upcoming lesson plans and ask the student for suggestions. For example, if your student has a high visual-spatial acuity, develop a project where he builds and paints a model for class. You can feature this project as a component of a larger class project. For instance, if you're teaching a class about French culture, have the gifted student build a Eiffel Tower out of craft sticks, but have the rest of the class finger paint scenery. Design one project for class, one that will challenge your gifted student and another that is entirely of the child's making. Emphasize autonomous learning in all projects.
Allow your gifted student to figure out his own problems, but if you see him continuously struggling over an aspect of a project, intervene and offer suggestions. Advise him beforehand that this kind of struggle is to be expected. Tell him you gave him a difficult project because you see great potential in him, but emphasize that frustrations are to be expected. Always make yourself available for questions or clarification. Do not assign projects above a third-grade learning level.
Do not isolate your gifted students. Even though they are working on unique projects for class, they should do so alongside their classmates. Encourage other students to offer suggestions for the projects, and even actively participate, if they show a genuine interest and are able to execute the work. This is another reason not to exceed third-grade skill sets, as it will alienate other students from participating. For instance, according to the website of Roan Elementary School in Mountain City, Tenn., most elementary students are not expected to master basic Internet and computer skills until the third grade. Your gifted student may be able to make his own webpage, but having another student help research a topic would be more inclusive.