Visual-Spatial Thinking for Advanced Learners, Grades 3–5 will teach students how to perceive and represent visual information, and to mentally manipulate objects within space. Visual-spatial thinking is a skill which helps students develop depth, complexity, and abstraction in thinking and inquiry. Working through the lessons and handouts in this book, students will develop spatial language, learn to visualize and mentally manipulate visual information, look at objects from varying perspectives, explore dimension, and seek structure in organizing visual information. This curriculum provides cohesive, focused, scaffolded lessons to teach each targeted area of competency followed by authentic application activities for students to then apply their newly developed skill set. This book can be used as a stand-alone gifted curriculum or as part of an integrated curriculum. Each lesson ties in both reading and metacognitive skills, making it easy for teachers to incorporate into a variety of contexts.

Analytical Thinking for Advanced Learners, Grades 3–5 will teach students to think scientifically, systematically, and logically about questions and problems. Thinking analytically is a skill which helps students break down complex ideas into smaller parts in order to develop hypotheses and eventually reach a solution. Working through the lessons and handouts in this book, students will learn strategies and specific academic vocabulary in the sub-skills of noticing details, asking questions, classifying and organizing information, making hypotheses, conducting experiments, interpreting data, and drawing conclusions. The curriculum provides cohesive, scaffolded lessons to teach each targeted area of competency, followed by authentic application activities for students to then apply their newly developed skill set. This book can be used as a stand-alone gifted curriculum or as part of an integrated curriculum. Each lesson ties in both reading and metacognitive skills, making it easy for teachers to incorporate into a variety of contexts.

Divergent Thinking for Advanced Learners, Grades 3–5 will develop students’ specific creative thinking skills. Divergent thinking is a skill which helps students approach problems with a flexible and open mind. Working through the lessons and handouts in this book, students will learn to examine problems from multiple perspectives and fluently generate varied solutions. This curriculum provides cohesive, scaffolded lessons to teach each targeted area of competency, followed by authentic application activities for students to then apply their newly developed skill set. This book can be used as a stand-alone gifted curriculum or as part of an integrated curriculum. Each lesson ties in both reading and metacognitive skills, making it easy for teachers to incorporate into a variety of contexts.

Convergent Thinking for Advanced Learners, Grades 3–5 will teach students how to approach problems with a critical and evidence-based mindset. Convergent thinking is a skill which helps students arrive at defensible solutions. Working through the lessons and handouts in this book, students will learn strategies and specific academic vocabulary in the sub-skills of observation, using evidence, considering perspectives, reflection, and deduction to find accurate solutions. This curriculum provides cohesive, scaffolded lessons to teach each targeted area of competency, followed by authentic application activities for students to then apply their newly developed skill set. This book can be used as a stand-alone gifted curriculum or as part of an integrated curriculum. Each lesson ties in both reading and metacognitive skills, making it easy for teachers to incorporate into a variety of contexts.

Evaluative Thinking for Advanced Learners, Grades 3-5 will teach students to think critically about values, issues, and ideas while creating defensible arguments. Evaluative thinking is a skill which helps students learn to weigh values and facts in making judgements. Working through the lessons and handouts in this book, students will examine difficult and ambiguous questions from a subjective and balanced perspective. This curriculum provides cohesive, focused, scaffolded lessons to teach each targeted area of competency, followed by authentic application activities for students to then apply their newly developed skill set. This book can be used as a stand-alone gifted curriculum or as part of an integrated curriculum. Each lesson ties in both reading and metacognitive skills, making it easy for teachers to incorporate into a variety of contexts.

Do you know things without being able to explain how or why? Do you solve problems in unusual ways? Do you think in pictures rather than in words? If so, you are not alone. One-third of the population thinks in images. You may be one or you may live with one. If you teach, it is absolutely certain that some of your students.

Are you looking for ways to differentiate your instruction to meet the needs of gifted visual-spatial learners? You've found it in Visual-Spatial Learners: Understanding the Learning Style Preference of Bright But Disengaged Students (2nd ed.). Visual-spatial learners are students who show advanced abilities with computers, maps, construction toys, and puzzles. The techniques outlined within these pages help all learners succeed—regardless of preferred learning style. Based on the most current understanding of the brain's hemispheric functions, the author provides a number of strategies and lesson plan ideas to help make your classroom a successful learning environment for all learners. These strategies address preparing students to succeed on timed tests; easing the pain of handwriting; teaching spelling using imagery; incorporating mnemonics, rhyme, and other tricks that engage the right hemisphere of the brain; helping students stay focused and on track; getting—and keeping—students organized; and much more!