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

Cryptology and Cybersecurity for Young Scholars ~ Part Two: Crack the Code!

This is the second 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 ~ FIND A VIRTUAL SLIDE SHOW READY-TO-SHARE WITH STUDENTS HERE! In Part One, students were introduced to CRYPTOLOGY as the study of the history … Read more

Show Me the Math! ~ Activities that Promote Divergent Thinking (K-8)

Recently, I ran across “5 Simple Ways to Add Creativity in Mathematics,” and was prompted to spotlight a few engaging math activities that are open-ended, have high ceilings, and can be adapted for any grade level. Even if you are using these in your classroom, you might like to skim through to read about possible … Read more

The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way ~ Great Thinkers and their Impact

Among the many recommended books and resources listed on this site, there are a few I feel compelled to tell you more about, to explain how I used them and how they impacted our G/T studies. The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way (affiliate link) is one that connects math, science, art, and philosophy … Read more

POWERS of TEN and COSMIC EYE ~ Mind-Expanding for Students

Every year, on the first day of G/T classes, I showed Powers of Ten to my 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students. By the time my students reached fifth grade, many had seen this nine-minute video three times. They never complained; in fact, they loved telling new students, “Oh, wait ’til you see this; it’s so … Read more

Cryptology and Cybersecurity for Young Scholars ~ Part One: The History of Codes and Ciphers

This is the first in a series of posts related to the study of CRYPTOLOGY for advanced students in grades 3-5. See also Part Two: Crack the Code! ~ FIND A VIRTUAL SLIDE SHOW READY-TO-SHARE WITH STUDENTS HERE! Here’s a unit of study that incorporates math, science, history, engineering and also involves solving puzzles! No … Read more

DAILY WORD GAMES ~ Word Play for the “Word Smart”

The kid-friendly puzzles described below were originally offered by THE PUZZLE SOCIETY, but appear to be unavailable right now. These particular brands were suitable for advanced elementary-aged students, and I’m sorry to see them go! I will keep this post alive in case they are reinstated at some point in the future. Here are a … Read more