Most people have something they say they’d run back into a burning house for. For some, it’s photos or mementos. For others, it’s something of great monetary value. As a teacher, I have a few pedagogical tools I’d (figuratively) run into a burning house for, and the most precious is
The students are the core of what we do, and I think it’s critical that they are also able to be the corps, or body, of what we do. A gifted student wrote an essay for assignment at school, and she gave me permission to share her thoughts about being
In the article about creating a differentiated lesson plan step-by-step, I shared a lesson plan on landforms that used a cloud-based Jeopardy! game as a pre-assessment tool. I thought I would share a little more about how and why I do that. Jeopardylabs.com First, let me introduce you to Jeopardylabs.com.
I’m going to share a differentiated lesson plan from start to finish. In the article Begin with the Highest Level Learner in Mind I promised that I would share the process, and here it is. I decided to do a 5th grade lesson on landforms. To be more specific, I
There’s a YouTube cooking channel called Chowhound that has a series called “You’re Doing it All Wrong.” They take fundamentals of cooking (mashed potatoes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, etc.) and show how you’re making them the wrong way. Of course, they show you the right way, and then you,
When I was the Youth & Education Ambassador for Mensa, I started a program called the Young Mensan Book Parade. I asked publishers for books I thought gifted readers might like, and then I asked kids in Mensa to read and review them. We published all of the reviews on
Sometimes gifted kids can move much more quickly than the system is ready for. Sometimes gifted kids can move much more quickly than they are ready for. What do you do when you have a child whose cognitive abilities exceed the opportunities available? How do you handle it when it’s
I’m in a lot of schools on a pretty frequent basis, and I’m noticing a disturbing trend: a focus on what is called “leadership” in a way that is hurting, not helping. I saw it most closely when a friend of mine taught at a school last year that even
Back to School after a Vacation Every year it was the same: spend the last few days of Christmas vacation searching my mind, files, teacher books and the internet for the perfect activity that would get my students back in the groove after vacation. Most of what I’d find would
When I’m working with other teachers, one of the most popular things I do is share some of my fave tech tips, and my love for (good) PowerPoint is one thing I like to share. One tip is that you can crop any picture to any shape in PowerPoint with
When I was teaching high school, I kept a can of spray cheese in my classroom, and when kids would whine, I would pull it out and ask, “Would you like some cheese with that whine?” I had to make a joke of it because listening to whining is no
What happens when a gifted student moves from one school district to another? How do parents obtain continuity of service for gifted students? How can you make the transition as smooth as possible? When gifted kids move, it can be trickier than it is for typical learners. The same is,
