Language Arts

Going Beyond “Challenge Words” In Spelling

Going Beyond “Challenge Words” In Spelling

Many students blow past grade-level spelling and vocabulary at a young age. Unfortunately, a common technique to "challenge" them is to find harder and more obscure words for their spelling list. Instead, let's take advantage of the built-in complexity of common words with multiple-meanings.

Improving “What’s The Chapter’s 🏛️ Big Idea?”

Improving “What’s The Chapter’s 🏛️ Big Idea?”

Let's improve this bland Depth and Complexity question by getting really specific.

Reordering A Mixed Up Paragraph

Reordering A Mixed Up Paragraph

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.

Don’t Just Paraphrase A Poem!

Don’t Just Paraphrase A Poem!

What if, instead, we re-wrote the poem in the style of a different poet?

Practice Context Clues with Classics

Practice Context Clues with Classics

Most context clue worksheets have incredibly low expectations.

Exploring Morality Behind Actions

Exploring Morality Behind Actions

No one can deny that our gifted students have great power. They may be intellectual powerhouses, grasping concepts years ahead of peers. They may be emotionally sensitive, becoming aware of issues such as mortality at an early age. They may be leaders of people, showing leadership qualities from the very beginning. How do we teach them to use this power?

Patterns In Writing I: Introduction

Patterns In Writing I: Introduction

Take a break from teaching the details of writing and examine narrative writing from a larger perspective. How can structure increase creativity in writing? Take your gifted writers on a journey through common patterns in narrative writing.

Books with 700, 800, 900, & 1000 Lexile, Recommended By Teachers

A reader was looking for examples of high-quality books for gifted/talented 4th and 5th graders, but she was constrained to a lexile range of 900-1000. Here are the recs I received...

Don’t Just List ⚖️ Ethical Issues

Don’t Just List ⚖️ Ethical Issues

Let's improve this "make a list" question to incorporate high level thinking.

How *Not* To Ask Questions About A Novel

How Not To Ask Questions About A Novel

These "discussion questions" highlight so many of the problems we've been looking at.