Time and date patterns have gained in popularity in recent years and seem to pop up in my social media feeds almost every month. Every year, for example, on February 22nd at 10:22 p.m.(and 22 seconds), the date and time can be written as 2-22 22:22:22. And in the year 2022, the pattern increased by … Read more
by Candace Coffee I first reached out to Candace Coffee back in the spring of 2020, when the pandemic hit and she generously shared some fabulous choice boards (find them HERE). Candace is the GT Educator/Specialist for Princeton ISD in Texas, and when she recently shared this holiday STEAM activity via social media, I reached … Read more
If you’re a fan of special “academic” days of celebration such as Pi Day, Powers of Ten Day, and Fibonacci Day, celebrated on November 23rd, then we have something in common! What student isn’t interested in anything that involves “celebration?” It can be a good thing to set aside whatever studies are happening at the … Read more
Few language exercises provide as much bang for the buck as analogy challenges do! Students learn to think critically and logically as they evaluate word meanings, connotations, characteristics, parts of speech, and many other possible relationships connecting words and ideas. With more advanced analogies, students engage in verbal reasoning that requires an extensive vocabulary and … Read more
Students appreciate it when we set them up for success. No presenter- at any age- wants to see an audience looking bored or disinterested. Modeling and teaching students HOW to present to audiences in engaging ways should be a big part of what we do as teachers. One way to engage an audience is to … Read more
Grab a deck of playing cards and you have all you need to introduce dozens of fantastic higher-level activities that get kids thinking! Here are a few that complement The Primary Education Thinking Skills™ curriculum which addresses four main types of high-level thinking: convergent, divergent, visual-spatial, and evaluative thinking. You can find other PETS™-friendly activities … Read more
The other day I was thinking about the challenges of monitoring and assisting students virtually, especially as they complete independent studies. By any name (Genius Hour, 20% Time, Wonder Workshop), gifted and advanced students benefit in many ways when they are allowed to explore their own passions and interests, but they need guidance along the … Read more
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 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
For many years, the thought of guiding students in a study of the systems of the human body did not overly excite me. This is not like me. I’m interested in almost everything. I love to learn. Perhaps it has something to do with the way they were taught to me when I was in … Read more
