#smithingifted

Gifted Education

  • 🧠 Why I Use Logic Problems With 3rd Grade Gifted Students

    🧠 Why I Use Logic Problems With 3rd Grade Gifted Students

    Logic problems help 3rd grade gifted students become more independent thinkers by strengthening deductive reasoning, persistence, and evidence-based thinking. Instead of waiting for the teacher to provide the next step, students learn to analyze clues, eliminate possibilities, revise their ideas, and prove their conclusions. The ultimate goal is not simply solving puzzles—it is developing confident,…

  • Every Drop Counts: Exploring New Mexico’s Water Resources in the Global Innovation Lab 💧🌵

    Every Drop Counts: Exploring New Mexico’s Water Resources in the Global Innovation Lab 💧🌵

    This blog post explores New Mexico’s water resources through The Global Innovation Lab’s Every Drop Counts challenge, helping students connect science, geography, agriculture, technology, law, and systems thinking. It also explains how the Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado Rio Grande case and the 2026 Supreme Court settlement affect groundwater use, farming, communities, industry, and…

  • The Global Innovation Lab Is Coming to the NMAGT Fall Institute 2026 🌎💡

    The Global Innovation Lab Is Coming to the NMAGT Fall Institute 2026 🌎💡

    This blog post introduces The Global Innovation Lab, a student-centered learning experience designed to help gifted learners tackle real-world challenges through collaboration, creativity, design thinking, data analysis, and systems thinking. It also highlights the program’s upcoming appearance at the New Mexico Association for the Gifted Fall Institute 2026: Unmasking Brilliance, where educators can learn how…

  • I Never Want to Teach the Same Lesson Twice

    I Never Want to Teach the Same Lesson Twice

    This blog post explores how John Maxwell’s habit of collecting ideas has shaped the way I approach teaching. I am always looking for ways to improve my lessons—through professional learning, student feedback, travel, technology, and even observing how businesses like Disney, resorts, and shopping centers create meaningful experiences. I believe great teaching is never truly…

  • Snap Circuits Jr. in the Gifted Classroom: Where Curiosity Meets Circuitry ⚡🧠

    Snap Circuits Jr. in the Gifted Classroom: Where Curiosity Meets Circuitry ⚡🧠

    Snap Circuits Jr. is more than a fun electronics kit—it’s a powerful tool for building critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, systems thinking, and perseverance in the gifted classroom. ⚡🧠 By moving students beyond simply following directions and challenging them to predict, troubleshoot, redesign, and invent their own circuits, teachers can transform hands-on STEM play into…

  • 📚 DIBELS and Gifted Students: What the Scores Tell Us—and What They Don’t

    📚 DIBELS and Gifted Students: What the Scores Tell Us—and What They Don’t

    This post explains why DIBELS can be a helpful reading assessment for gifted students, but should never be used as the only measure of their ability or instructional needs. Gifted students may quickly reach the assessment ceiling, show uneven results, or need more advanced reading opportunities beyond grade-level benchmarks. The key is to use DIBELS…

  • Gifted Doesn’t Always Look Like Straight A’s: When Bright Students Struggle in the Regular Classroom

    Gifted Doesn’t Always Look Like Straight A’s: When Bright Students Struggle in the Regular Classroom

    This #smithingifted blog explores why gifted doesn’t always mean straight A’s. Gifted students may struggle with missing assignments, motivation, organization, perfectionism, or repetitive work even while demonstrating advanced thinking and creativity. The post encourages educators to look beyond grades and behavior to determine what students truly need. Gifted learners still need accountability—but they also need…

  • Every Drop Counts: Turning Water Conservation into a Real-World STEM Challenge

    Every Drop Counts: Turning Water Conservation into a Real-World STEM Challenge

    Global Innovation Lab: Every Drop Counts challenges students to become water detectives, systems thinkers, and innovators. Through research, water audits, collaborative design, and persuasive presentations, students create realistic solutions to reduce water waste while considering people, the environment, cost, safety, and unintended consequences. This hands-on STEM experience empowers students to see that protecting our water…

  • Beyond “More Work”: Using Depth & Complexity in the Gifted Classroom

    This blog explores how Depth & Complexity prompts help gifted students move beyond basic recall to analyze patterns, perspectives, ethics, unanswered questions, and big ideas. It provides practical ways to incorporate deeper thinking into existing lessons without creating extra work or rewriting the curriculum.

  • Beyond the Textbook: Historical Investigation Projects in the Gifted Classroom

    Beyond the Textbook: Historical Investigation Projects in the Gifted Classroom

    Historical investigation projects transform gifted classrooms into thinking labs where students become historians, detectives, and researchers. By examining primary sources, comparing perspectives, evaluating credibility, and defending evidence-based conclusions, students develop critical-thinking skills that help them understand the past and navigate today’s competing claims.