Reading Buddies can improve reading fluency, decrease anxiety in reluctant or stressed readers, and add a bit of cuddly fun to reading, making it even more pleasurable than it usually is! A Reading Buddy can be another student, or, as I’m going to talk about here, a stuffed animal or
What’s your sentence? What is one sentence that would convey what you are all about? I loved this idea when I saw it in this video: It’s part of Dan Pink‘s work on motivation, which I love. I started incorporating “What’s your sentence?” into a professional development experience I facilitate.
Brainstorming with Microsoft’s SmartArt is an easy and free way to make brainstorming in class a breeze. Brainstorming is one of the most common classroom techniques, and Microsoft’s SmartArt can make it easier than you ever imagined. There’s no need to invest in graphic organizers when Microsoft’s SmartArt is there
Differentiating a challenging course can confuse even experienced educators. How do we add rigor to something already rigorous? It can feel like gilding the lily. Yet, even in advanced courses, the students are different. They have different levels of ability, interest and preparation. Where there is need in students, there
Helping children appreciate and enjoy art doesn’t need to be daunting. Gifted children are often tuned in to the aesthetic nature of things and can easily become aficionados with very little encouragement. Both the Waldorf and Montessori methods are based in part on the idea that even very young children can
Brain breaks are wonderful, and they’re best when they’re quick and easy. Using nothing more than a handful of dice and a free printable, I’ve got 30 quick and easy brain breaks you can do with absolutely no prep. Why Use Brain Breaks? If you read what I wrote about
Practice can be fun using a simple practice cube. The theory behind it is simple: practice can become routine and mundane, and adding a little creativity to it can make all the difference in the world. Surprisingly, this simple cube can make even the most routine practice fun and kinesthetic.
Tech tools make learning {and lesson preparation} more fun, and often more interesting. Do you know these favorite tech tools of mine? 1. Classtools for QR Code Scavenger Hunts QR codes can be spectacularly fun in class, and Classtools has a particularly cool trick for teachers. Just type in a series
This free printable can help you infuse a little choice into school or home tasks. Simply download the free PowerPoint printable, and edit it to meet your needs. First, I did not invent this strategy. I read it somewhere. I wish I could remember where so I could credit it.
Let’s be honest: working in groups is not typically a strength for gifted learners. That doesn’t mean that we just shrug our shoulders and say, “Oh, well I (or my child) just prefer to work alone.” That’s simply not practical in today’s cooperative learning and work environments. So how can we
When I was learning to quilt, the only consistent about my stitching were the mistakes. A friend reassured me that the famous and fabulous Amish quilters always placed a deliberate mistake in their quilts in recognition that only God is perfect. After that, whenever I made a mistake (often), I would
I’m a fan of celebrating strengths, and I’d love to tell you why. I learned a lot about it from a shell. It may sound odd to take advice from a shell on celebrating strengths, yet one of the things that strikes me as a problem is the difficulty people
