A Guide for Gifted Teachers

by Sarah Young

Sarah Young works with districts all over the world to create and improve their gifted programs, curriculum, and teacher training. She also works virtually with students in grades K-10 in underserved and underrepresented gifted programs. She is passionate about helping teachers and was inspired to create a website to share curricular resources – over 80 of which she created herself! Sarah has presented at national conferences and also offers a number of services including professional development and consulting. In this guest blog post, she explains more about the purpose and organization of her site.

I understand how hard it is to know where to start as a new gifted teacher. When I first started teaching, I was overwhelmed by all the options available and all the subjects I wanted to cover. I often found myself flying by the seat of my pants week-to-week, pulling together random lessons and activities that looked fun or interesting. The kids enjoyed it, but I realized I wanted something more cohesive, a road map I could follow and feel confident in guiding students down it. I wanted students to take a deep dive into various topics and to think critically about it, rather than skimming the surface. I also realized I would work with some of my kids for eight years. This meant I needed to focus on the long-term and how I would sequence units throughout my time with them.

This is where the Gifted Guide website was born! I put together a collection of my favorite curricula, and I want to show gifted teachers how everything fits together. I have created curated lists of the things real teachers have used and like, as well as over 80 units and resources I have created myself. Because I want it to have the broadest possible impact, everything I have created is free. I know how hard it is to figure out how to allocate your (typically very small) budget. I want you to spend it on the most quality resources.

On the Essentials Page, I outline a scope and sequence for a complete gifted curriculum for grades 1-8! This page also includes a first day of school slideshow with completely free activities, including class builders, team builders, learning and interest inventories, rule development, collaborative engineering activities, and more!

If you’re interested in working together to create a scope and sequence, having me speak at your school, or need help making quality curriculum for your gifted learners, please email me at: sarah@thegiftedguide.com 

I hope this site allows you to experience the joy I’ve found in the gifted classroom, giving you a much-needed starting point and road map to know where you are going. Happy teaching!