“Socratic circles are the best activity that takes place in my classroom, bar none… Critical reading, critical thinking, discussion skills, listening skills, team-building skills, vocabulary improvement, and student ownership, voice, and empowerment are all valid reasons for including Socratic circles in the classroom.” ~ Matt Copeland, author of Socratic Circles If you’ve never tried Socratic … 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
If you’re looking for a novel topic of study that involves exploring MYSTERIES and UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, you might like to introduce your students to the ocean’s twilight zone! Some are calling it the next frontier because so little is known about this ecosystem. What has been discovered so far will fascinate and perhaps surprise your … Read more
It’s been around for decades and is still used frequently in business and education, but many people can’t really articulate the meaning of the phrase “thinking outside the box,” and some wonder if it should be reframed. In GT classes, lateral thinking is often a key curricular component introduced in early grades (see Six-Hat Thinking), … 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
Have you noticed that creativity is playing a major role in how people are handling this pandemic? I am so inspired by people everywhere coming up with inventive ways to help others and find joy in the midst of a crisis! Also very inspiring are the creative ways that educators are responding to the needs … 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
