The extraordinary truce that took place on Christmas Day during World War I is a piece of history that you might like to share with older students during December. It can be shared in less than 15 minutes or expanded into a longer lesson with time for discussion. Your decision to share will depend on … Read more
by Krista True Krista True is a gifted K-12 facilitator in Ottawa, Kansas serving students of all ages across her district. After teaching in elementary education for a decade, she moved into GATE and is currently working on a master’s in gifted education. I’m so grateful she agreed to share about this creative holiday project! … Read more
This has been on my mind for a while, and a recent conversation in a social media group inspired me to write this. A new GT teacher asked, “Is gifted (education) all about STEM now?” This prompted some great discussion, and I’d like to continue the conversation here and in our Facebook group. Here is … Read more
In the classic poem “The Skater at Ghost Lake,” William Rose Benet crafted an eerie picture with words, somewhat spooky but not horrific or frightening – perfect for late October. Here are a few ideas you can use to lure students into a closer reading of just four stanzas, with ideas for extensions. INTRODUCING the … Read more
by Mel Paradis. Mel Paradis is a GT teacher and coordinator for three elementary schools in Wyoming and also a member of an improv comedy troupe! I was thrilled when she offered to write a post about how she uses improvisation in the classroom to engage students, enhance their thinking skills, reinforce content, and so … Read more
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
I’ve previously shared about Ed Zaccaro’s book The 10 Things All Future Mathematicians and Scientists Should Know (But Are Rarely Taught), and how I introduced and reinforced the BIG IDEAS in these lessons over a two-year span with my 4th and 5th grade GT students. You can read the first post I shared HERE. In this post, … Read more
See the KID-CREATED category for additional tutorials and projects that invite students to create original puzzles, presentations, events, and more. If your upper elementary or middle school students have enjoyed any of these Google Earth virtual scavenger hunts, it might be interesting to have them try to create their own as part of a unit … Read more
by Stefanie Schropp Stefanie Schropp is the Gifted, Talented, and Enrichment Coordinator on her pre-K through 8th-grade campus. In addition to teaching pull-out classes for 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade G/T students, she also “pushes in” to teach whole-class enrichment lessons in all elementary and pre-K classes. On top of that, she teaches a G/T middle … Read more
The photo of my classroom shown here is one I took a few years back and I promise- I did not spend a lot of time or energy putting things on walls. As the year progressed, I added things, but here are some things you can put up very quickly that promote ongoing learning and … Read more
