How could a high school student ever begin to empathize with a
soldier in the trenches of World War I? This question drove
Adrian French to stress historical empathy for his high school
students, part of the Challenge Program for Gifted and Talented
Youth at Mount Douglas Secondary School. The Cree Star Blanket
project, as part of French's project-based history curriculum,
won him the Governor General's Award for Excellence in Teaching
Canadian History in 2010. This book, created by Hugo Wong, a
former student who did the project himself in his junior year,
began as a thank you to the novelist who inspired the project,
but has evolved into a statement on where gifted education can
take students who thrive on French's challenging, impactful, and
unique curriculum. Combining literature, poetry, and indigenous
art, the interdisciplinary project is a window to the war, and a
fresh take on what gifted education looks like. Read the full
story on Hugo's blog at: