The Mystery of Me: The Art of “Knowing Thyself”

At the beginning of the year, my 4th-grade GT students complete a booklet that we call The Mystery of Me, and we add to it throughout the year. Our GT studies in 4th grade center around MYSTERIES (find an overview HERE), and certainly there are many unanswered questions about what makes us unique as human … Read more

Striving to Measure Up ~ Helping Students Overcome the “Imposter Phenomenon”

This article includes strategies for helping students with perfectionism and suggestions for how to talk to them. Due to the reality of distance learning for so many, tips for helping students “virtually” have been included. Please find these at the end of the article. Many gifted students struggle with perfectionism and feel they must be … Read more

Hands-On Equations: “The Fun Way to Learn Algebra”

Even younger students can grasp algebraic equations after just a few short lessons in Hands-On Equations® . Developed by Dr. Henry Borenson, the program has three levels and many extra materials that will challenge the brightest students. If you would like to know more about this program, I suggest watching the videos on the website and … Read more

Back to School ~ A Few First-Day Ideas to Surprise and Delight (K-5th)

“Teaching is about surprise and delight … students want energy, something different, something they are not expecting,” –Rick Ross, Mason County superintendent, Maysville, KY Source: Mason County Adopts New Teaching Tools While reflecting on GOALS for THE FIRST DAYS of each GT class, I ran across the quote above and thought, “Exactly!” Many GT classes do … Read more

Cryptology and Cybersecurity for Young Scholars ~ Part Three: Decipher This!

This is the third in a series of posts related to the study of CRYPTOLOGY for advanced students in grades 3-5. See also: Part One: The History of Codes and Ciphers and Part Two: Crack the Code! FIND A VIRTUAL SLIDE SHOW READY-TO-SHARE WITH STUDENTS HERE! Making and breaking codes and ciphers can be fun challenges … Read more