Challenging Units for Gifted Learners: Teaching the Way Gifted Students Think (Science, Grades 6-8)

Description

Gifted students have the potential to learn material earlier and faster, to handle more abstraction, and to solve complex problems better. This potential, however, needs stimulating experiences from home and school or it will not unfold. These books are designed to help teachers provide the engaging curricula that will nurture this potential in school. The Science book includes a medical simulation in which teams of students work as doctors to diagnose patients' cases, a food science project in which students use a variety of information-gathering techniques to learn how nutrition impacts performance, a hands-on study of human memory and expertise, and a study of the physics of sports. Grades 6-8

Kenneth J. Smith, Ph.D., works at Sunset Ridge School District 29 in Northfield, IL, a suburb of Chicago. He currently runs the district-wide enrichment program. In 1995, Ken earned his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Columbia University in New York. He was an American Memories fellow for the Library of Congress, and his articles have appeared in The Middle School Journal and Gifted Child Today.

This book uses the natural curiosity of gifted learners who want to fully understand and take ownership of their experiences, and it provides structure by focusing topics in a sequential way. It has a marvelous approach to taking what students have learned and applying it to real-world situations. The book includes well-rounded projects incorporating technology, physical science, and life science . . . This book engages, excites, explains, and then envelopes. ,Teri Consentino,NSTA Recommends, 10/9/11