In a time when teachers feel prohibited from writing their own lessons, many are limited by what their textbooks offer. So what, exactly, do textbooks offer in terms of differentiation for gifted learners?
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Enrichment Must Prompt Thinking
Enrichment is not merely about doing fun things. It should never be just a project-of-the-week. It must be about getting students thinking in new and interesting ways. Here’s how!
Divergent Questions (How To Ask ‘Em)
How to ask Divergent Questions and ensure that your students are thinking rather than merely remembering.
Ira Glass on Perfectionism
For people who do not suffer from perfectionist tendencies, it can be hard to understand the crippling feeling a student feels when their work doesn’t match their expectations. Ira Glass, who you know from This American Life, has a fantastic quote that gets to the heart of this problem.
Thinking From Anything’s Perspective
How a small change, with very little effort on the teacher’s part, leads to a delightfully complex task that can will get students thinking.
Why I don’t include “Explain Why” in Questions
I used to think that adding “explain why” to the end of a question somehow made it higher-level. But now I see two problems in asking students to “explain their thinking”.
When Too Much “Depth” Leads To Simplicity
Here’s the most common mistake I’ve seen in implementing depth and complexity: the “fill in the blanks” worksheet.
Word Pyramids – A Delightful Vocabulary Puzzle
A fun, abstract vocab puzzle in which students can add one letter per line, forming a pyramid of words.
Beware “Real World Problems”
Why I stopped looking for “real world” problems and started aiming for “interesting.” The real world is often tedious and annoying. Interesting never is!
What “Gamification” Gets All Wrong About Games
I love Margaret Robertson’s piece about how typical gamification items like badges and levels completely miss the point of what makes games great. Take a look.