Biomimicry is a fascinating and novel topic of study for younger students. Also called biomimetics, it comes from the Greek roots bios, meaning “life,” and mimesis, “to imitate.” It is observing “what works” in nature and mimicking it to solve problems, create, and innovate. Co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute, Janine Benyus calls it “innovation inspired … Read more
In “Team Logic: Cooperative Problem Solving,” you’ll find some cooperative group activities for older gifted students (3rd-8th). Here are a few collaborative logical-thinking activities you can try with younger students, all found at NRICH Maths, a project of the University of Cambridge. NUMBER MATCH – (2nd-3rd) Students “play” this in groups of four and must … 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
Is there a YEAR ZERO? What does CIRCA mean? If a man was born in 17 B.C. and died in 27 A.D., about what age did he die? Why do the 1800s make up the 19th century? These are the kind of questions that I want my students to be able to answer, and they … Read more
If your students are fans of the 24 Game, they might enjoy “Triple-A” Analogies. While looking for some challenging math problems and puzzles, I ran across a type of analogy I had not seen, and even though the YouTube video was not narrated in English, I was intrigued by the math enough to try it … Read more
This post reflects what teachers needed in 2020, during the time of our worldwide pandemic. The links below are all still active as of 9/2024 and there are some great ideas! Have you noticed that creativity is playing a major role in how people are handling this pandemic? I am so inspired by people everywhere … Read more
Many teachers who work with gifted students incorporate Socratic Dialogue, Socratic Seminar, Shared Inquiry, Philosophical Chairs, or other methods of facilitating scholarly discourse and discussion. The methods and goals vary depending on the objectives. Some begin with reading a specific text or quote (see Philosophy for Kids), and some lean more towards debate, but all … Read more
If you’re looking for ways to incorporate advanced vocabulary while having fun with words, here are a few activities to add to those presented in previous posts (see Pun and Games… and Kid-Created Word Puzzles). INFLATIONARY LANGUAGE Many of you reading this are too young to remember the Danish musician, conductor, and comedian Victor Borge. … Read more
If I had to name the ONE book that has most influenced my teaching practices in guiding students through challenging texts, it would have to be Deeper Reading by Kelly Gallagher. A high school English teacher, presenter, instructional coach, and author of a number of books, Kelly Gallagher is well known for his educational leadership … Read more
In a previous post, I shared instructions, tutorials, and links for introducing two types of Japanese number logic puzzles to your students: Kakuro and Futoshiki. Here are two additional types that are also less well known, along with tutorials and free resources you can use in your classroom. Hashiwokakero or Hashi o kakero means “building … Read more
