Like previous scavenger hunts shared on this site, On the Hunt for Maggie O’Brady is an educational virtual field trip that includes a mystery element: Maggie goes on a trip around the world and is now missing. Students gather information as they retrace her journey via Google Earth, and then solve a puzzle and a … Read more
Logophiles and verbivores, this post is for you! Even if you’re not a word lover, you have many students who are, and injecting wordplay into your school day not only enhances the language arts curriculum, it adds fun and laughter to your day. Here are a few ways to leverage a little language levity (with … Read more
Because I love etymology, I’ve always introduced philosophy to my gifted students as a “love of wisdom” (Greek ~philos and sophos). We spent some time exploring words related to those roots. My students especially loved the origin of the word “sophomore!” (see also “A Greek Root is Worth 1,000 Words”) If you work with intellectually … Read more
Many years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Marcy Cook speak. She is a well-known math specialist and presenter of seminars and workshops all over the world, and if you’ve never attended one of her sessions, I highly recommend it! In my district, the goal for our gifted students has always been to create … Read more
Metacognition: a big word and a powerful idea. People of all ages, from primary students to corporate CEOs, benefit from learning how to THINK about their own THINKING. Way back in the 1960s, Edward de Bono introduced lateral thinking and created strategies that enable people of all ages to intentionally think in organized ways in … Read more
My G/T students always LOVED solving calculator riddles similar to these, particularly the third graders! At some point, they noticed the square root key on the calculator and wanted to learn about it. So, I began teaching square numbers and square roots and over the years found a few great resources to accompany the lessons. … Read more
