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Perspectives of Power: ELA Lessons for Gifted and Advanced Learners in Grades 6-8
by Emily Mofield Tamra StambaughWinner of the 2015 NAGC Curriculum Studies Award Perspectives of Power explores the nature of power in literature, historical documents, poetry, and art. Lessons include a major focus on rigorous evidence-based discourse through the study of common themes and content-rich, challenging nonfiction and fictional texts. This unit, developed by Vanderbilt University's Programs for Talented Youth and aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), guides students to explore the power of oppression; the power of the past, present, and future; and the power of personal response by engaging in simulations, skits, creative projects, literary analyses, Socratic seminars, and debates. Texts illuminate content extensions that interest many high-ability students including bystander effect, social class structure, game theory, the use and abuse of technology, cultural conflict, the butterfly effect, women's suffrage, and surrealism as each relates to power. Lessons include close readings with text-dependent questions, choice-based differentiated products, rubrics, formative assessments, and ELA writing tasks that require students to analyze texts for rhetorical features, literary elements, and themes through argument, explanatory, and/or prose-constructed writing. Ideal for pre-AP and honors courses, the unit features texts from Emily Dickinson, William B. Yeats, and Charles Perrault; art from Moyo Okediji and Salvador Dali; and speeches by Elie Wiesel, Susan B. Anthony, and John F. Kennedy. As a result from the learning in the unit, students will be able to examine powerful influences in their own lives and identify their own power in personal responsibility. Grades 6-8
Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder About Everything!
by David A. WhiteInspire animated discussions of questions that concern kids—and all of us—with this innovative, interactive book. Open your students' minds to the wonders of philosophy.Allow them to grapple with the questions philosophers have discussed since the ancient Greeks. Questions include: “Who are your friends?,” “Can computers think?,” “Can something logical not make sense?,” and “Can you think about nothing?” Young minds will find these questions to be both entertaining and informative. If you have ever wondered about questions like these, you are well on your way to becoming a philosopher!Philosophy for Kids offers young people the opportunity to become acquainted with the wonders of philosophy. Packed with exciting activities arranged around the topics of values, knowledge, reality, and critical thinking, this book can be used individually or by the whole class. Each activity allows kids to increase their understanding of philosophical concepts and issues and enjoy themselves at the same time. In addition to learning about a challenging subject, students philosophizing in a classroom setting, as well as the casual reader of Philosophy for Kids, will sharpen their ability to think critically about these and similar questions. Experiencing the enjoyment of philosophical thought enhances a young person's appreciation for the importance of reasoning throughout the traditional curriculum of subjects. The book includes activities, teaching tips, a glossary of terms, and suggestions for further reading.Grades 4-12
Philosophy for Teens: Questioning Life's Big Ideas (Grades 7-12)
by Sharon M. Kaye Paul ThomsonWhat is love? Is lying always wrong? Is beauty a matter of fact, or a matter of taste? What is discrimination?The answers to these questions, and more, are examined in Philosophy for Teens: Questioning Life's Big Ideas, an in-depth, teenager-friendly look at the philosophy behind everyday issues. The authors examine some of life's biggest topics, such as:lying,cheating,love,beauty,the role of government,hate, andprejudice.Both sides of the debates are covered on every issue, with information from some of the world's most noted philosophers included in a conversational style that teenagers will love. Each chapter includes discussions questions, thought experiments, exercises and activities, and community action steps to help students make reasoned, informed decisions about some of life's greatest debates.Examining life's big ideas and discovering their own opinions have never been easier or more exciting for today's teens.Grades 7-12
Alternative Assessments With Gifted and Talented Students
by Joyce VanTassel-BaskaAlternative Assessments With Gifted and Talented Students provides a concise and thorough introduction to methods for identifying gifted students in the school setting.Including overviews of assessment tools and alternative methods of assessment, as well as pertinent discussions concerning the need to identify gifted and talented students, this book combines research and experience from top scholars in the field of gifted education in a convenient guide for teachers, administrators, and gifted education program directors.Topics covered include the need for nonverbal testing with traditionally unidentified students; the identification of students from minority populations; the value of using traditional assessments with students; the role of creativity tools as a measure of giftedness; and the use of portfolios, products, and performance-based assessment to document learning; among others. This handy guide to assessing and identifying gifted students is a necessity for anyone serving and working with this population.A service publication of the National Association for Gifted Children (Washington, DC)This designation indicates that this book has been jointly developed with NAGC and that this book passes the highest standards of scholarship, research, and practice.
Phunny Stuph: Proofreading Exercises With a Sense of Humor (Grades 7-12)
by M. S. SamstonYour students will really pay attention when you use Phunny Stuph. Jokes and humorous urban legends make up all 100 proofreading exercises in this useful book. Use the exercises as a class warm-up, or photocopy them to pass out to your students. The errors include a little bit of everything—missing punctuation, spelling mistakes, errors in usage, sentence fragments, and more. Each exercise includes teaching notes and an example showing possible corrections. Most of the exercises are short—just right for quick, frequent lessons that will really help your students improve their skills.Phunny Stuph helps students sharpen their skills at recognizing and correcting errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, sentence structure, and usage.Grades 7-12
Poetry and Fairy Tales: Language Arts Units for Gifted Students in Grade 3
by Amy Price Azano Tracy C. Missett Carolyn M. CallahanThe CLEAR curriculum, developed by University of Virginia's National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, is an evidence-based teaching model that emphasizes Challenge Leading to Engagement, Achievement, and Results. In Poetry and Fairy Tales: Language Arts Units for Gifted Students in Grade 3 students will read and analyze various forms of poetry and write their own poetry anthology. They will learn how to identify and use figurative language to create concrete images from abstract ideas. In the fairy tales unit, students will study fairy tales and folklore to understand how and why societal norms and mores are culturally transmitted. These units focus on critical literacy that includes reading diverse sources, understanding bias and cultural contexts, and creating informed consumers of information.Grade 3
Polygons Galore: A Mathematics Unit for High-Ability Learners in Grades 3-5
by Clg Of William And Mary/Ctr Gift Ed Marguerite M. Mason Jill AdelsonPolygons Galore! is a mathematics unit for high-ability learners in grades 3-5 focusing on 2-D and 3-D components of geometry by exploring polygons and polyhedra and their properties. The van Hiele levels of geometric understanding provide conceptual underpinnings for unit activities. The unit consists of nine lessons that include student discovery of properties of polygons and polyhedra, investigations for finding areas of triangles and quadrilaterals, study of the Platonic solids, and real-world applications of polygons and polyhedra. It also includes activities related to identifying, comparing, and analyzing polygons by using properties of the polygons; constructing meanings for geometric terms; developing strategies to find areas of specific polygons; identifying and building regular and nonregular polyhedra; and recognizing geometric ideas and relationships as applied in daily life and in other disciplines, such as art.Grades 3-5
Practice Problems for Creative Problem Solving: Grades 3-8
by Donald J. TreffingerThis book includes 50 situations that present interesting opportunities and challenges to stimulate students' creative and critical thinking. The brief, practical, everyday situations provide motivating starting points for practicing Creative Problem Solving with groups of many ages.These problems were designed to represent a variety of different tasks or challenges in an open-ended, invitational format that we describe informally as a "Messy Situation." These Messy Situations, like many of life's everyday opportunities and challenges, take a variety of forms, sizes, and shapes. They might concern a variety of situations in which people find themselves day in and day out. Thus, some of the Messy Situations in this book are people tasks (that is, situations involving the interactions or relationships among people). Others are planning tasks (that is, concerning more effective ways of organizing or managing a situation), and yet others are product tasks (that is, challenges that call for designing, inventing, or producing a new product of some kind).Each of these one-page problems can help students learn and apply CPS components, stages, and tools in an engaging and enjoyable way. Choose the problems that are best suited to your group's interests and needs. The challenges in Practice Problems for Creative Problem Solving and several helpful worksheets are reproducible for classroom use.Grades 3-8
Preventing Challenging Behavior in Your Classroom: Classroom Management and Positive Behavior Support
by Matt TincaniRevised with an eye toward the ever-evolving research base undergirding positive behavior support (PBS) and related approaches, Preventing Challenging Behavior in Your Classroom, second edition, focuses on real-world examples and practical strategies to prevent and reduce behavior problems and enhance student learning. Featuring a new chapter on culturally responsive PBS, this second edition helps readers understand disparities in punitive responses and identify strategies to promote equitable, positive school discipline. Teachers will be able to smartly appraise the efficacy of a range of classroom management practices with the help of updated standards, function-based strategies to differentiate evidence-based from questionable or harmful practices, and resources and tools for evaluation. Written in engaging, easy-to-understand language, this book is an invaluable resource for pre- and in-service educators looking to strengthen their understanding and implementation of equitable PBS.
Preventing Challenging Behavior in Your Classroom: Positive Behavior Support and Effective Classroom Management
by Matt TincaniPreventing Challenging Behavior in Your Classroom: Positive Behavior Support and Effective Classroom Management focuses on practical strategies to prevent and reduce behavior problems and enhance student learning, particularly Positive Behavior Support (PBS). This book discusses the myths and facts of effective classroom management, provides an overview of the conceptual and empirical basis of PBS, and describes PBS interventions from peer-reviewed research, highlighted in easy-to-understand language to facilitate teachers' knowledge of evidence-based techniques. Real-world examples are provided in conjunction with recommendations to enhance teachers' understanding and implementation of PBS.
Primarily Creativity: Grades 1-3
by Judy Leimbach Joan VydraAn emphasis on creative thinking skills in the classroom necessitates providing students with open-ended assignments and encouragement as they search for new answers. Unlike typical textbook questions that have a given right answer, creative questioning and thinking assumes that there may not be one right answer, but many possibilities.Primarily Creativity bubbles over with ideas to spark creative talent in young students. Get creative juices flowing with lessons in eight areas of creativity including:curiosity, fluency, originality, imagination, awareness, flexibility, elaboration, and perseverance.Each section includes an explanation on the skill, questions that foster this type of thinking, a list of tasks, and several attractive, reproducible worksheets. This comprehensive text provides an enjoyable, balanced introduction to creative thinking.For more problem ideas on integrating creativity in your classroom, see Primarily Problem Solving.Grades 1-3
Primarily Logic: Grades 2-4
by Judy LeimbachIt's never too early to start building thinking skills—skills that will spill over into other areas of the curriculum and into real life. Primarily Logic consists of a series of units designed to introduce logical thinking to young students. It is an excellent, easy-to-use starting point for teaching well-established forms of logical thinking. Each skill is introduced with examples, and then worksheets give students an opportunity to practice the skill. Group lessons and worksheets provide practice in: finding relationships, analogies, thinking logically using “all” and “none” statements, syllogisms, and deductive reasoning using logic puzzles. Logical thinking is both enjoyable and challenging for students as they build a sound foundation for further instruction in critical thinking. Suggestions for related activities are included in the Instructions for Teachers section.For easier logic activities for younger students, try Lollipop Logic.Grades 2-4
Primarily Problem Solving: Creative Problem Solving Activities (Grades 2-4)
by Sharon EckertCreative Problem Solving (CPS) is a process that allows people to apply both creative and critical thinking to find solutions to everyday problems. It is a way to enhance creative behavior and also a systematic way to organize information and ideas in order to solve problems. The overall goal of CPS training is to improve creative behavior and problem-solving behavior. The skills involved are: ability to select relevant information ability to summarize information ability to analyze social situations, ability to think creatively to generate possible solutions, ability to evaluate options based on given criteria, ability to plan activities to accomplish a goal, and ability to make inferences. Primarily Problem Solving allows you to give your younger students a head start on problem solving. This book presents creative problem solving in a step-by-step manner young children can understand and enjoy. Use the CPS process to solve the problems of the Three Little Pigs, Rapunzel, and the Frog Prince, as well as more common family problems. Each problem includes illustrated worksheets to take students through each step of the problem-solving process. Teaching notes give instructors additional ideas for using creative problem-solving techniques in the classroom.Fun problems and step-by-step guides will take students successfully from the fuzzy beginning to an effective end. The end result is confidence in being able to think through a solution, rather than just latching on to the most obvious solution. Use these exercises as a part of your thinking skills class or creativity training, as supplementary reading assignments, or as a technique to solve conflicts in the classroom.Expand your knowledge of CPS even more with Primarily Creativity.Grades 2-4
Probability for Kids: Using Model-Eliciting Activities to Investigate Probability Concepts (Grades 4-6)
by Scott ChamberlinProbability for Kids features real-world probability scenarios for students in grades 4-6. Students will encounter problems in which they read about students their age selling magazines for a school fund raiser, concerned about their homeroom assignments, and trying to decode the combination to a safe that their grandfather abandoned, among others, all of which maximizes learning so students gain a deep understanding of concepts in probability. This book will help teachers, parents, and other educators to employ best practices in implementing challenging math activities based on standards. Problem solvers who complete all six activities in the book will understand the six basic principles of probability and be high school ready for discussions in probability. Grades 4-6
Project-Based Learning for Gifted Students: A Step-by-Step Guide to PBL and Inquiry in the Classroom
by Todd StanleyProject-Based Learning for Gifted Students: A Step-by-Step Guide to PBL and Inquiry in the Classroom outlines how to implement PBL in the gifted classroom. This fully updated second edition:Guides teachers to create a project-based learning environment in their own classroom.Includes helpful examples and reproducible lessons that all teachers can use to get started.Focuses on student choice, teacher responsibility, and opportunities for differentiation.Provides a step-by-step process for linking projects with standards and finding the right structure.Helps build a practical and engaging classroom environment.Use this must-have guide to challenge students' thinking, promote rigor, and build engaging authentic, real-world, inquiry-based learning experiences.
Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades 3-5
by Telannia Norfar Chris FancherProject-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades 3–5 explains how to keep inquiry at the heart of mathematics teaching in the upper elementary grades. Helping teachers integrate other subjects into the math classroom, this book outlines in-depth tasks, projects and routines to support Project-Based Learning (PBL). Featuring helpful tips for creating PBL units, alongside models and strategies that can be implemented immediately, Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades 3–5 understands that teaching in a project-based environment means using great teaching practices. The authors impart strategies that assist teachers in planning standards-based lessons, encouraging wonder and curiosity, providing a safe environment where mistakes can occur, and giving students opportunities for revision and reflection.
Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades 6-10
by Chris Fancher Telannia NorfarProject-Based Learning in the Math Classroom explains how to keep inquiry at the heart of mathematics teaching and helps teachers build students' abilities to be true mathematicians. This book outlines basic teaching strategies, such as questioning and exploration of concepts. It also provides advanced strategies for teachers who are already implementing inquiry-based methods. Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom includes practical advice about strategies the authors have used in their own classrooms, and each chapter features strategies that can be implemented immediately. Teaching in a project-based environment means using great teaching practices. The authors impart strategies that assist teachers in planning standards-based lessons, encouraging wonder and curiosity, providing a safe environment where failure occurs, and giving students opportunities for revision and reflection.Grades 6-10
Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades K-2
by Telannia Norfar Chris FancherProject-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades K–2 explains how to keep inquiry at the heart of mathematics teaching in the elementary grades. Helping teachers integrate other subjects into the math classroom, this book outlines in-depth tasks, projects and routines to support Project-Based Learning (PBL). Featuring helpful tips for creating PBL units, alongside models and strategies that can be implemented immediately, Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades K–2 understands that teaching in a project-based environment means using great teaching practices. The authors impart strategies that assist teachers in planning standards-based lessons, encouraging wonder and curiosity, providing a safe environment where mistakes can occur, and giving students opportunities for revision and reflection.
Promoting Rigor Through Higher Level Questioning: Practical Strategies for Developing Students' Critical Thinking
by Todd StanleyPromoting Rigor Through Higher Level Questioning equips teachers with effective questioning strategies and:
Proven Strategies That Work for Teaching Gifted and Advanced Learners
by Kathleen McConnell Fad Gail R. RyserProven Strategies That Work for Teaching Gifted and Advanced Learners is a collection of research-based strategies designed for advanced learners in cluster-grouped general education as well as those in self-contained classes for gifted students. The strategies focus on key areas of importance to educators, including assessment, content, instruction, and acceleration of learning. The book is not intended as a textbook, but rather is designed for educators who are looking for strategies they can implement in real-life situations. The strategies encompass a wide variety of topics. The accompanying forms and reproducibles are user-friendly resources designed to help teachers maximize their students' learning. For educators who work with advanced learners, these materials should become a basic, “go-to” resource.Grades 3-8
Public Speaking: 7 Steps to Writing and Delivering a Great Speech (Grades 4-8)
by Katherine Pebley O'NealStudents write lots of reports, but how do they turn their hard work into appealing oral reports? Where can they learn to present their research with flair and style? Every student who will ever have to give an oral report needs the surefire techniques in this book. You'll find the basics of public speaking in clear language for children and busy teachers. Some of the topics covered are getting organized, preparing a great opener, using visual aids, involving the audience, and speaking with confidence. Public Speaking is a much needed resource that students, teachers, and parents can flip through or use cover-to-cover.In this book, students can learn how to organize information into a presentation that will interest and amaze their classmates. They will discover exciting ways to start a speech, and lots of intelligent techniques to use in the middle to keep the audience attentive. Here they will discover tricks to keep from getting nervous, and special, easy ways to remember what to say. Using these new skills, your students will be entertaining, informative, and confident.For more guidance on verbal presentation, see Speaker's Club.Grades 4-8
Quiet Kids: Help Your Introverted Child Succeed in an Extroverted World
by Christine FonsecaBeing an introverted child is difficult, especially in an ever-increasingly noisy world. Often viewed as aloof, unmotivated, or conceited, introverted children are deeply misunderstood by parents, educators, and even their peers. That's where Quiet Kids: Help Your Introverted Child Succeed in an Extroverted World comes in. Designed to provide parents with a blueprint for understanding the nature of introversion, Quiet Kids provides specific strategies to teach children how to thrive in a world that may not understand them. Presented in an easy-to-read, conversational style, the book uses real-world examples and stories from introverts and parents to show parents and educators how to help children develop resiliency and enhance the positive qualities of being an introvert. With specific strategies to address academic performance, bullying, and resiliency, Quiet Kids is a must-read for anyone wishing to enhance the lives of introverted children.
Raising a Gifted Child: A Parenting Success Handbook
by Carol FertigFrom the author of the nation's most popular blog on parenting gifted children comes the definitive how-to manual for parents, Raising a Gifted Child: A Parenting Success Handbook, a gifted education Legacy Award winner. Raising gifted children isn't easy, but when armed with the practical knowledge and tools in this exciting book, parents can navigate the maze of raising bright kids, leading to success in school and beyond. This book offers a large menu of strategies, resources, organizations, tips, and suggestions for parents to find optimal learning opportunities for their kids, covering the gamut of talent areas, including academics, the arts, technology, creativity, music, and thinking skills. The focus of this definitive resource is on empowering parents by giving them the tools needed to ensure that their gifted kids are happy and successful both in and out of school.Additional topics covered include volunteering at their child's school; different school options and specialty programs; tips for handling special circumstances; specific suggestions for each core content area; and strategies for finding the best resources for parents on the Web. This easy-to-read book is sure to be a favorite of parents of smart kids for years to come!Educational Resource
Raising Boys With ADHD: Secrets for Parenting Successful, Happy Sons
by Mary Anne RicheyThe second edition of the best-selling Raising Boys With ADHD features the latest information on research and treatment for boys with ADHD. This book:Empowers parents to help their sons with ADHD find success in school and beyond.Covers topics not often found in other parenting guides.Provides a strength-based approach to helping boys discover their strengths and abilities.Helps boys become motivated, successful, and independent adults.Discusses the preschool years, early diagnosis, and strategies for teens transitioning to work and college.Filled with practical knowledge, a dynamic action planning guide, resources, and tools needed to help parents address the many strengths and challenges of boys with ADHD, this book provides parents with encouragement and hope for the future.
Raising Boys With ADHD: Secrets for Parenting Healthy, Happy Sons
by James W. Forgan Mary Anne RicheyWritten by two professionals who have "been there and done that" with their own sons with ADHD, Raising Boys With ADHD empowers parents to help their sons with ADHD find success in school and beyond. The book covers topics not often found in other parenting guides such as the preschool years and early diagnosis and strategies for teens transitioning to work and college. Filled with practical knowledge, resources, and tools needed to help parents address the many strengths and challenges of boys with ADHD, this book provides parents with encouragement and hope for the future.