Our brains love and seek out experiences that are new and different. Learning and retention are enhanced when content is presented in a unique way or is something not encountered before. It’s why we love a good plot twist, magic tricks, and surprise parties (well, some don’t love those!). Novelty is when you experience something … Read more
A variety of topics have come up as my GT students and I read The Giver, a novel that fits in well with a study of philosophy and our year-long theme, IMPACT (read more about that here). Genetic science has always emerged in our discussions because of the role of genetic engineering in the story. … Read more
Let me explain that title. There are so many great puzzles and so many ways to incorporate them in the classroom! Let’s count just five ways! In this post, I’ll focus on word puzzles. FIVE WAYS TO USE WORD PUZZLES IN YOUR CLASSROOM: (1) TO INTRODUCE A LESSON ~ A word puzzle is a great … Read more
One size never fits all in any classroom. When it comes to activities and projects, it’s helpful to have some flexibility in the design so that students with varying abilities and interests can benefit. We definitely want projects that promote meaningful deep dives into content and a GAME DESIGN project is one I can highly … Read more
Of all the mysteries of the world, the HUMAN BRAIN is one of the most fascinating, and it literally connects to all topics of study since it is the organ devoted to LEARNING. In my classroom, a study of the brain began in 3rd grade GT class as part of our year-long unit: SYSTEMS, which … Read more
Pi Day (3/14) is one of many math holidays you can celebrate with students! If you’ve never observed it, this Pi Day website is a great place to start. You will find teacher resources, math help, merchandise, and even a countdown to Pi Day. A simple search online will result in dozens of additional ideas! … Read more
I had no idea it was a thing. In researching the topic of creative constraint, I was led to this Wikipedia article, and proceeded down a rabbit hole! Writing “with limitations” is ubiquitous. Six-word memoirs, seven-word summaries, haiku poetry, and 280-character tweets are all examples of constrained writing. I became interested in exploring more about … Read more
In a previous post, I shared a fun way to introduce and explain the origin of the phrase “thinking outside the box.” I wonder if “thinking inside the box” could describe some of the brain-training exercises that promote thinking through the application of rules and constraints. A constraint is a limitation or restriction. Most of … Read more
If your students have not yet tried Kyudoku, it’s a logic puzzle that reinforces strategies similar to those used in solving Sudoku but introduces new constraints and an entirely different goal. You can share the tutorial below with your students, and the Kyudoku puzzles can be found on Brainzilla. See also LOGIC EQUATIONS, BEYOND SUDOKU … Read more
WHO NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK? Teachers and parents of K-12 students. That’s really all you need to know. Here’s why I so highly recommend this book. I taught 8th-grade English and Literature for three years, and -hands-down- my students’ favorite activity was a mock trial we did after a reading of the story “The … Read more
