One sad side-effect of gifted students’ success is that it can become the status quo. Students become afraid of not living up to their own high expectations. They then begin to take fewer risks out of fear of failure. Help your students cope with failure by introducing these famous, successful people who have developed a positive attitude towards their own failures.
Year: 2010
A Deep, Complex Extension Menu For Character Analysis
A reusable extension menu gives gifted students choice while simplifying directions and reducing teacher workload. These eight options for character analysis incorporate depth, complexity, content imperatives, and interesting uses of technology.
Oz, Paragraphy, and Systems of Sentences
I combined my utility Paragraphy with Project Gutenberg, The Differentiator, and The Wizard Of Oz to create a differentiated lesson about how to order sentences within a paragraph for gifted students.
Beyond The Book Report
I began to list all the things I could do after reading a book. Then, something wonderful happened. I began having all kinds of neat, interesting ideas. The more I thought about it, the more ideas came. By Erika Saunders.
Should Students Have To Work In Groups?
Once in a while, a student will ask me a question that makes me realize how much more there is to know about my class. One child came up and quietly asked me, “Do I have to work in a group?”
Think Like A Psychologist
Looking to help your students go deeper into any content area? One technique is to teach them to “Think Like A Disciplinarian.” This idea, part of the Depth and Complexity Framework, teaches students to analyze ideas from the point of view of a specific profession or discipline.
The Original Puzzlement: A Zoetrope
As teachers, I spend a ton of time searching for inspiration to enliven my lessons. But sometimes, inspiration hits as soon as you leave the desk and books behind. Friday my wife and I took a trip to Disneyland and saw this unbelievable (literally, it seems like magic) intersection of art & technology.
Remixing Stories With Gifted Students
One of my favorite ways to differentiate for gifted students is to create “remixes” of an existing idea. Students take an existing story, reshape it, and create a new product. It encourages them to explore the stories behind existing stories, helps them to understand how real writers work, and gives them a creative way to explore literature.