Donna Lasher Here is a math activity that can serve as a quick brain teaser or an ongoing whole-class activity to use throughout the school year. First, if you aren’t familiar with what I call Triple-A Analogies, watch the video tutorial below, first shared in this post. It’s a great place to start and you’ll find ready-to-share … Read more
by Taylor Halliday NOTE (from Donna): Last year, I discovered Natalie Babbitt’s novel The Search for Delicious and immediately saw the potential for use with GT students. What a treat it was for me when Gifted Intervention Specialist Taylor Halliday shared her excitement and enthusiasm for the study. Even more thrilling were the fun activities … Read more
Recently, GT teacher Julia Dweck (@GiftedTawk) posted on Twitter about her class competing in the math game 24 with a group of college students. One video she shared of her students competing in a Variables round was amazing! I confess: I was not aware of the many different versions of the game! I was inspired … Read more
Recently, I had a chance to introduce a group of 3rd-grade GT students to the Gus and Gabby problems found HERE. After doing a set of problems, the students asked if they could create their own. They were reading my mind, and I loved that it was their idea! The process of creating their own … Read more
Here is another virtual scavenger hunt, but this one is a bit different from previous ones I’ve shared on this site. With just ONE CLICK, your students will be off on their journey! The scavenger hunt experience is much the same- students “travel” from place to place around the world, via Google Earth, hunting for … Read more
Who doesn’t love the beach, and this time of year who isn’t already dreaming about summer days? So, why not turn that into an opportunity for learning? Recently, 5th-grade teacher Jen Pillman reached out on social media asking teachers for “beach-themed” ideas. Through direct messaging, Jen shared she uses THEME DAYS as rewards in her … Read more
Here is an activity that I used for enrichment with Kinder and 1st grade during a time when we were working on visual-spatial discrimination (In the P.E.T.S.™ curriculum, this is Max the Magician’s specialty). I was so surprised by the results! It had me wondering if this activity could even aid in identifying gifted kinder … Read more
Even if you don’t recognize this principle, I’m confident that you’re familiar with it. The Premack Principle is also known as “Grandma’s rule” and the gist is “no dessert until you eat your dinner!” More specifically stated, it is delaying a preferred activity until a less preferred activity has been completed. What does this have … Read more
Do you do novel studies with your students? If so, this is a culminating project I can recommend for both general education and gifted classes, particularly in middle school. No doubt you’ve heard of one-pagers and may have even assigned them. You’ll find many great write-ups and resources listed below. I thought I’d share some … Read more
Kids love secret messages! In this activity, students use color to “fix” the code below and then write a secret Valentine’s Day message using their own code. This activity is a great complement to this lesson found in the P.E.T.S. (Primary Education Thinking Skills) program. If your students have no prior experience with deciphering, you … Read more
