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Exploring America in the 2000s: New Millennium, New U.S. (Grades 6-8)
by Molly Sandling Kimberley ChandlerExploring America in the 2000s: New Millennium, New U.S. is an interdisciplinary humanities unit that looks at literature, art, and music of the 2000s to provide an understanding of how those living through the decade experienced and felt about the world around them. Through the lens of "identity," it explores life in America and the myriad groups that coexisted in harmony and, often, with friction. Cultural movements like the rise of social media and the advancements of minorities are examined alongside larger issues such as 9/11 and its profound effect on American identity, our redefined role in the War on Terror, increasing environmental awareness, and economic recession and corporate struggles. The unit uses field-tested instructional strategies for language arts and social studies from The College of William and Mary, as well as new strategies, and it includes graphic organizers and other tools for analyzing primary sources.Grades 6-8
Exploring Critical Issues in Gifted Education: A Case Studies Approach
by Christine L. Weber Cecelia Boswell Wendy BehrensAlthough the best way to provide professional development for educators is through field experiences and hands-on practice, it is not always easy or even possible to organize such encounters, especially in the field of gifted education. In order to better prepare educators to work with gifted and talented students, Exploring Critical Issues in Gifted Education: A Case Studies Approach presents problem-based learning scenarios that explore authentic situations found in K-12 classrooms. The scenarios can be read and discussed in a short amount of time, allow the reader to gain greater understanding through empathy, require an analysis of multiple perspectives, and support the standards of excellence set forth in the 2010 NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards. Using the cases in the book, educators will gain the insight needed to improve the identification of and services for gifted and talented students in light of these standards.
Exploring People and Cultures: Authentic Ethnographic Research in the Classroom (Grades 5-8)
by Mary Ellen Sweeney Brooke WalkerExploring People and Cultures: Authentic Ethnographic Research in the Classroom provides teachers with tools and activities for conducting a classroom study of ethnic groups and cultures. Through the more than 30 ready-to-use, differentiated lessons, teachers will help students learn how to recognize the elements of culture; think critically; apply real-world research techniques in field experiences; identify behavioral patterns in modern-day cultures; and create, plan, and share their products in a student-led ethnography fair.Grades 5-8
Advanced Common Core Math Explorations: Measurement & Polygons (Grades 5-8)
by Jerry BurkhartStudents become mathematical adventurers in these challenging and engaging activities designed to deepen and extend their understanding of concepts from the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. The investigations in this book stretch students' mathematical imaginations to their limits as they create and manipulate geometric figures, draw and analyze complex designs, and develop and apply measurement strategies to solve challenging real-world and mathematical problems. Each activity comes with extensive support for classroom implementation including learning goals, discussion guides, detailed solutions, and suggestions for extending the investigation. There is also a free supplemental e-book offering strategies for motivation, assessment, parent communication, and suggestions for using the materials in different learning environments.Grades 5-8
Fiction and Nonfiction: Language Arts Units for Gifted Students in Grade 4
by Carolyn M. Callahan Tracy C. MissettThe 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 Fiction and Nonfiction: Language Arts Units for Gifted Students in Grade 4, students will read and analyze short stories and write their own short story in the fiction unit. In the nonfiction unit, students will study nonfiction (and creative nonfiction) texts to examine how writers use many of the same devices to tell nonfiction stories. Students will read a variety of texts and will write their own memoirs. These units focus on critical literacy skills, including reading diverse content, understanding texts as reflections of culture, and finding bias in fiction and nonfiction.Grade 4
Fighting Fake News! Teaching Critical Thinking and Media Literacy in a Digital Age: Grades 4-6
by Brian HousandEducators have long struggled to teach students to be critical consumers of the information that they encounter. This struggle is exacerbated by the amount of information available thanks to the Internet and mobile devices. Students must learn how to determine whether or not the information they are accessing is reputable. Fighting Fake News! focuses on applying critical thinking skills in digital environments while also helping students and teachers to avoid information overload. According to a 2017 Pew Research report, we are now living in a world where 67% of people report that they get their “news” from social media. With the lessons and activities in this book, students will be challenged to look at the media they encounter daily to learn to deepen and extend their media literacy and critical thinking skills. Now more than ever, teachers need the instruction in Fighting Fake News! to teach students how to locate, evaluate, synthesize, and communicate information.Grades 4-6
Finding Freedom: ELA Lessons for Gifted and Advanced Learners in Grades 6-8
by Emily Mofield Tamra StambaughFinding Freedom invites students to follow America's journey toward finding freedom by examining multiple perspectives, conflicts, ideas, and challenges through seminal historical texts. This unit, developed by Vanderbilt University's Programs for Talented Youth and aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), features close readings of some of the most famous American political speeches from notable Americans, presidents, and minority voices. To sharpen historical thinking, students analyze arguments for freedom, examine dissenting perspectives, and reason through multiple viewpoints of historical issues through debates and interactive activities. To develop advanced literacy skills, students evaluate effective rhetorical appeals, claims, supporting evidence, and techniques that advance arguments. Students synthesize their learning by comparing speeches to each other, relating texts to contemporary issues of today, and making interdisciplinary connections. Lessons include close readings with text-dependent questions, choice-based differentiated products, rubrics, formative assessments, social studies content connections, and ELA tasks that require argument and explanatory writing. Ideal for pre-AP and honors courses, the unit features speeches from Patrick Henry, Frederick Douglass, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lincoln, Kennedy, Johnson, George W. Bush, Obama, and others. Grades 6-8
Advanced Common Core Math Explorations: Numbers and Operations (Grades 5-8)
by Jerry BurkhartStudents become mathematical adventurers in these challenging and engaging activities designed to deepen and extend their understanding of concepts from the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. The investigations in this book stretch students' mathematical imaginations to their limits as they investigate the numeration systems of creatures from another planet, create and solve stories and problems with extreme numbers, use place value to design their own new divisibility strategies, and play with a strange kind of number line specially designed to multiply numbers without a calculator. Each activity comes with detailed support for classroom implementation including learning goals, discussion guides, detailed solutions, and suggestions for extending the investigation. There is also a free supplemental e-book offering strategies for motivation, assessment, parent communication, and suggestions for using the materials in different learning environments.Grades 5-8
First Time Analogies: Grades K-2
by Dianne DrazeAn analogy is a comparison between two things. It points out the similarities between two things that might be different in all other respects. Analogies cause us to think analytically about forms, uses, structures, and relationships. First Time Analogies is the ideal launching pad to start nonreaders on the road to real thinking experiences with these pictorial and symbolic analogies that are both challenging and motivating. The book is divided into four sections that let you introduce analogies in a developmental way. The levels are: recognizing relationships; choosing one item to complete the analogy; given two items, choosing two other items that have the same relationships; and pairing up four items to complete two related pairs. Exercises are presented on worksheets that require circling the correct answer, as well as cutting out pictures and pasting them in the correct spaces. Attractive illustrations will draw students into the engaging exercises. Although they think they are just solving fun puzzles, they will be doing serious thinking and building a basis for future experiences in critical thinking. This is the first in a series of books that introduce analogies at varying difficulties and formats. The other books are Analogies for Beginners, Analogies for the 21st Century, Thinking Through Analogies, and Advancing Though Analogies. Grades K-2
Fostering Creativity in Gifted Students: The Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education (Practical Strategies In Gifted Education Ser.)
by Bonnie Cramond Frances Karnes Kristen R. StephensIt is not possible to teach someone to be creative. It is not possible to teach someone to be intelligent. It is, however, possible to teach students to use the creativity and intelligence they already have. Students can be taught to think more creatively or intelligently, and can also learn strategies for thinking more rationally or imaginatively.Encouraging creative thinking in the classroom is an exciting component of any effective gifted education program. This guide offers basic foundations required for supporting creativity. From establishing the right classroom environment, to using creative teaching strategies, to assessing student outcomes, this book is filled with practical information. The book also includes a listing of competitive contests and programs and an extensive list of resources.This is one of the books in Prufrock Press' popular Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education. This series offers a unique collection of tightly focused books that provide a concise, practical introduction to important topics concerning the education of gifted children. The guides offer a perfect beginner's introduction to key information about gifted and talented education.
From Giftedness to Gifted Education: Reflecting Theory in Practice
by Jonathan A. Plucker Anne Rinn Matthew C. MakelThe fields of gifted education and talent development have numerous theories and conceptions for how to identify and serve students. This book helps introduce and apply these ideas to help reflect theory in practice. Each chapter introduces readers to a different theory by providing definitions of key concepts, explaining the fundamental conceptual/theoretical approach, and concluding with advice on how the conception can be put into practice. Suggestions for further reading are also provided. Some chapters are based on theories that have been around for decades, and some have been developed more recently. But all chapters focus on helping empower readers to understand and take action without having to reinvent the wheel.
10 Performance-Based STEM Projects for Grades 2-3
by Todd Stanley10 Performance-Based STEM Projects for Grades 2-3 provides 10 ready-made projects designed to help students achieve higher levels of thinking and develop 21st-century skills while learning about science, technology, engineering, and math. Projects are aligned to national standards and feature crosscurricular connections, allowing students to explore and be creative as well as gain an enduring understanding. Each project is linked to national STEM education goals and represents one of a variety of performance assessments, including oral presentations, research papers, and exhibitions. Included for each project are a suggested calendar to allow teachers to easily plan a schedule, mini-lessons that allow students to build capacity and gain an understanding of what they are doing, as well as multiple rubrics that can be used to objectively assess the performance of students. The lessons are laid out in an easy-to-follow format that will allow teachers to implement the projects immediately. Grades 2-3
Advanced Common Core Math Explorations: Probability and Statistics (Grades 5-8)
by Jerry BurkhartStretch your students' mathematical imaginations to their limits as they solve challenging real-world and mathematical problems that extend concepts from the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics in Advanced Common Core Math Explorations: Probability and Statistics. Students will learn powerful mathematical ideas about data and chance as they make sense of real-world situations from science, sports, and everyday life. Each activity comes with extensive teacher support, including student handouts, discussion guides, detailed solutions, and suggestions for extending the investigations.Grades 5-8
Genius Hour: Passion Projects That Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry
by Andi McNairGenius Hour provides educators with the tools that they need to successfully implement Genius Hour, or passion projects, in the classroom. Presented through an easy-to-follow six-step strategy, teachers will utilize the 6 P's—passion, plan, pitch, project, product, and presentation—as a map for students to follow as they create, design, and carry out projects. Students will experience personalized learning through these self-driven projects, application of standards and real-world skills, and opportunities to learn through failure and reflection. The book includes handouts, suggested online resources, and tips and tricks to make the Genius Hour process meaningful for students and manageable for educators, as well as a discussion of Genius Hour's importance and impact on gifted students as they take ownership of their own learning.2019 Teachers' Choice Award for Professional Development Winner
Gifted Education and Gifted Students: A Guide for Inservice and Preservice Teachers
by Kelly Margot Jacque MelinAlthough most teacher education programs offer classes on special education and English language learners, teachers often do not receive any training in the needs of high-ability students or gifted education practices. This book:
Advanced Common Core Math Explorations: Ratios, Proportions, and Similarity (Grades 5-8)
by Jerry BurkhartStretch your students' mathematical imaginations to their limits as they solve challenging real-world and mathematical problems that extend concepts from the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics in Advanced Common Core Math Explorations: Ratios, Proportions, and Similarity. Model the solar system, count the fish in a lake, choose the best gear for a bike ride, solve a middle school's overcrowding problem, and explore the mysteries of Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio. Each activity comes with extensive teacher support including student handouts, discussion guides, detailed solutions, and suggestions for extending the investigations.Grades 5-8
Gifted Program Evaluation: A Handbook for Administrators and Coordinators
by Kristie Speirs Neumeister Virginia Hays BurneyFaced with budget challenges, many districts cannot afford to hire an outside consultant to conduct a formal evaluation of their gifted programs. Districts may wish to conduct their own in-house program evaluation. The second edition of Gifted Program Evaluation: A Handbook for Administrators and Coordinators is designed to assist administrators in designing, conducting, and reporting on an evaluation of their gifted programs. Written with the busy administrator in mind, this handbook includes an overview of evaluating programs to ensure that (1) the program structure is based on best practice, (2) students are achieving at levels commensurate with their abilities, and (3) the program develops skills that gifted students will need to be meaningful contributors in society, including higher level thinking, communication, and affective skills. The book provides all of the tools to assist evaluators, including an in-depth description of how to conduct a program evaluation, the mechanics of collecting and analyzing a variety of different data sources, and how to organize, write, and share the findings. It also features reproducibles, including interview and survey question banks, classroom observation tools, professional development forms, and program element checklists.
Grad's Guide to Graduate Admissions Essays: Examples From Real Students Who Got Into Top Schools
by Colleen RedingGrad's Guide to Graduate Admissions Essays provides more than 50 successful admissions essays straight from the source—recent college graduates making the transition to earning advanced degrees at highly selective graduate programs. Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, and Northwestern are just a few of the universities to which these students were admitted. Each of the essays contains designated segments highlighting the particular characteristics that make them outstanding admissions essays. Additionally, the essays are interspersed with segments labeled “Writer's Words of Wisdom,” which contain statements from the author of the particular essay with advice on the admissions process. By receiving guidance from successful graduate school applicants, readers can glean advice from a variety of perspectives, while still obtaining the critical information as it relates to well-written essays for programs within a variety of fields including law, business, medicine, education, and humanities.
Greek Mythology for Teens: Classic Myths in Today's World (Grades 7-12)
by Zachary HambyGreek Mythology for Teens takes classical mythology to a new level by relating ancient stories to the culture, history, art, and literature of today. The book uses the innovative approach of reader's theater to teach mythology to teens, asking them to act out the stories and become engaged in a common learning experience. By looking at topics instrumental to both mythology and modern culture, teens are encouraged to question topics such as heroism, foolishness, love, and more. Each chapter builds on a particular theme found in the central myth and includes activities, discussion questions, and exercises that connect the myth to the modern world and everyday life. Visually-appealing sidebars also give background on Greek and Roman mythology and culture. Greek Mythology for Teens takes the classic myths taught in school and turns them into an engaging, interesting, and modern way of looking at old material.Grades 7-12
Grit in the Classroom: Building Perseverance for Excellence in Today's Students
by Laila SangurasThe combination of sustained hard work and resiliency, grit is the difference between those who give up and those who don't. Grit in the Classroom: Building Perseverance for Excellence in Today's Students assists educators in creating a learning environment that fosters grit development for all students, regardless of ability. Each chapter includes stories to illustrate the research and ideas presented and ends with discussion questions that can be used to continue the conversation. In an era of talent development and the pursuit of excellence, learners must be equipped with the perseverance that is essential to reaching high levels of success. This book provides a rationale for cultivating grit in the classroom with the goal of propelling this topic into discussions of building passion and talent in today's students.
Growing Up Green: Problem-Based Investigations in Ecology and Sustainability for Young Learners in STEM (Grades K-2)
by Stephen T. Schroth Janese DanielsGrowing Up Green allows young students (grades K-2) to build critical and creative thinking skills, while also improving skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The book:Includes 10 problem-based investigations that explore sustainability and environmental concerns.Covers topics such as reducing one's carbon footprint, developing green manufacturing processes, initiating a recycling program, and more.Is perfect for general education classrooms, single- or multi-grade gifted classrooms, or pull-out programs.Features crosscurricular connections.Includes a list of apps, websites, and books that can be used to increase students' understanding and curiosity.Each investigation includes comprehensive teacher instructions, ideas for differentiation, hands-on student activities, reproducible student resources, reflection opportunities, and assessment options. The engaging investigations guide learners through the process of identifying problems, developing research questions, gathering and analyzing data, developing possible solutions, and disseminating information to others.Grades K-2
Advanced Placement Classroom: A Midsummer Night's Dream
by Kathryn L. Johnson Laurie HeinemannAdvanced Placement Classroom: A Midsummer Night's Dream takes students inside Shakespeare's well-loved comedy by providing teachers and students with a detailed overview of the play, along with interesting and challenging activities geared for the advanced language arts student. Students will examine Shakespeare's inventive language by collecting words and phrases to use later in a “Sweet-Talk Challenge,” akin to a modern-day poetry slam; discover the history behind the play by researching and giving presentations on Elizabethan occupations; and recognize the challenge of performance by reenacting scenes.Prufrock's new line of innovative teaching guides for the Advanced Placement classroom is designed to engage students with creative learning activities that ensure Advanced Placement success. The Teaching Success Guide for the Advanced Placement Classroom series helps teachers motivate students above and beyond the norm by introducing investigative, hands-on activities including debates, role-plays, experiments, projects, and more, all based on Advanced Placement and college-level standards for learning.Grades 7-12
Guiding Gifted Students With Engaging Books: A Teacher's Guide to Social-Emotional Learning Through Reading and Reflection
by Thomas P. HebertGuiding Gifted Students With Engaging Books supports teachers and counselors in facilitating book discussions designed to guide bright young people to self-understanding through high-quality literature. This exciting resource: Covers social-emotional issues in the lives of gifted students. Features examples of lessons and menus of discussion questions for successful book discussions alongside enrichment activities to extend students' learning. Includes an annotated bibliography of children's and young adult books ideal for social-emotional learning. Engaging lessons and activities support learners as they process their feelings regarding issues highlighted in the selected books and class discussion. The book examines this approach with whole classrooms as well as with small groups of students, and features considerations for special populations of gifted students, including twice-exceptional students, culturally diverse students, and children and teens facing serious adversity in their lives.
Handbook for Counselors Serving Students With Gifts and Talents: Development, Relationships, School Issues, and Counseling Needs/Interventions
by Tracy L. Cross Jennifer Riedl CrossThe second edition of Handbook for Counselors Serving Students With Gifts and Talents provides the definitive overview of research on the general knowledge that has been amassed regarding the psychology of gifted students. This book:Introduces the reader to the varied conceptions of giftedness.Covers issues specific to gifted children and various intervention methods.Describes programs designed to fulfill the need these children have for challenge.Is updated and expanded, addressing contemporary issues.Reflects the latest research on giftedness.With chapters authored by leading experts in the field, Handbook for Counselors Serving Students With Gifts and Talents is a resource professionals can turn to for answers to a wide variety of questions about gifted children.
Hands-On Archaeology: Authentic Learning Experiences That Engage Students in STEM (Grades 4-5)
by John R. White Mattie OverossHands-On Archaeology immerses students in the world of real-life archaeologists. Through engaging authentic learning experiences, students will discover artifacts from the past and participate in archaeological digs while building STEM skills, as well as making connections to geography, history, art, and English language arts. This book is packed with activities that can easily be conducted in the classroom using everyday materials and includes everything teachers need to help students conduct real-life archaeological digs. From participating in digs in the classroom to conducting digs in the community, students will not just learn about archaeology—they will be archaeologists!Grades 4-5