Donna Lasher This year, International Dot Day (Sept. 15-ish) is celebrating fifteen years! I thought it would be a good time to create a landing page for any “dotty brainwork” featured on the website. The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, inspires wonderful “dotty artwork,” and you can find TONS of ideas online. If you’d like to make … Read more
When I was in seventh grade, I had a South Korean pen pal named Kae-suk Kang. Our English teachers had connected us and, in a pre-internet era, we wrote letters by hand and waited weeks for each reply. My classmates and I loved the personal connections with friends from an entirely different culture. I’ve never … Read more
What do you think about when you sit down to plan for your intellectually gifted students? What are the first things you DO? Let’s just get real. I know we have curricular guidelines and state standards to think about, and maybe you don’t incorporate the Depth and Complexity framework. But I think we can learn … Read more
Kids love receiving and writing TOP SECRET messages! Not too long ago, I created an outdoor scavenger hunt for my two grandsons using invisible ink pens. We had so much fun, it prompted me to think about how invisible ink could be used in the classroom. Here are a few ideas to get us started: … Read more
One of the best things about creating this website and blog is that it has connected me to so many of you. I’ve also been so grateful for those who have taken the time to FREELY share lessons and ideas in guest blog posts. It’s so fun to be a part of sharing those! I … Read more
I’ve previously shared about an academic field day event called a THINK-A-THON. Students compete in indoor and outdoor “games” that combine running, relay racing, and teamwork with puzzles and problems to solve! Knowing a large-scale event might not be possible for all teachers, I was inspired to create this simpler version! This Mini-Olympiad is designed … Read more
by Stefanie Schropp My colleague and friend Stefanie Schropp continues to amaze me. She is the Gifted, Talented, and Enrichment Coordinator on her pre-K through 8th-grade campus and she’s previously shared on the blog about her student Padlet porftolios. Recently, her GT students hosted an extraordinary hands-on interactive museum, and I had the pleasure of visiting and experiencing … Read more
Have you ever heard of the dice puzzle called POLAR BEARS ? It stumped me -big time! Students who haven’t seen this will love it, and even if they have seen it, they’ll get a kick out of watching classmates struggle! You can use this slide deck to present the puzzle to your class. Hints … Read more
On April 8th, the moon will totally eclipse the Sun, and its shadow will sweep across the U.S. Knowing that many of us will want to capitalize on this stellar event (pun intended), I’ve shared some unique and novel activities and resources that can be used as small group or whole-class experiences. AN ENGAGING HOOK … Read more
In the post All the World’s a Stage ~ Spotlight Your Students’ Learning, I shared some of my favorite ways to spotlight student work either throughout the year or at an EOY showcase event. In this post, I’ve elaborated on three ways to make a showcase more exciting for your students to create and more … Read more
