My Texas friend and colleague, Stefanie Schropp, is a Gifted, Talented, and Enrichment Coordinator (PreK-8th) and she’s been a generous contributor to this blog. In this post, she shares a cross-curricular mini-unit that is perfect for October, and the culmination is a media project that your students will love. Her previous posts can be found … Read more
In a previous post, The Math Behind the Fun and Games, I shared “lessons for masterminds who love Wordle.” Our students love puzzles, games, and brainteasers. So, as long as we’re sharing these with students, we might as well squeeze out as much learning and thinking as possible! Here’s a game you have probably played. … Read more
Recently, as I did some research for this puzzle, I learned a lot about unmanned aerial vehicles, (drones). Right away, I saw the potential for critical and creative thinking. Drones are assisting in all kinds of endeavors, some of which might surprise you, such as monitoring coastlines for sharks and delivering medicines to remote areas. … Read more
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
