This lesson occurs within a study of early American literature and exposes students to the writings of Thoreau. Tasks require students to analyze Thoreau’s philosophies and apply them to their own lives in an essay. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

This writing activity for gifted learners might serve as a culminating activity or final assessment as part of a larger fiction-based genre study. Students will take part in close readings of a variety of fictional genres throughout the unit, such as parables, fables, folktales, fairy tales, myths, novels, and even poetry.  In this activity, gifted learners would work independently to close read The 13 Clocks by James Thurber. They will work to decipher the story and it’s genre, analyzing major components of the story (such as a central message, characters, setting, and/or events in the story) and evaluating those components by the various genre criteria they learned about in class and through their own online research.  This will culminate in an opinion piece arguing as to the genre of The 13 Clocks and potentially the creation of a new genre.  This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

Through the study of American poetry, or particularly early American poetry, students can analyze and appreciate Wheatley’s poem for its meaning, diction and how she balances meaning during a difficult time for African Americans. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

Walt Whitman tried to capture the exuberance of the American spirit in his poem I Hear America Singing.  His words create an image of a working class who happily goes about its day developing a young America.  Other poets have captured their feelings as well, such as Langston Hughes in his poem I, Too Sing America.  Using the rich website Poets.org, students can explore and analyze a wealth of poetic voices that document America and ultimately create their own poem contributing to the voices that have described their America. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

These activities engage students in deep discussions and thinking about the concept of evil. Students explore the idea of evil in the works of Poe and then apply it to the world around them. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

This activity for gifted learners might serve as a culminating activity of part of a larger social studies unit or an English language arts unit centered on the concept of culture.  Students will take part in close readings of a variety of fiction (folktales, myths, historical fiction, etc.) and non-fiction (informational books, reference books/materials, maps, magazines articles, original documents, websites, etc.) throughout the unit.   As they read, they will pay attention to the different sections of the books (e.g., - nationalities, religions, languages, etc.) and take notes on what applies to them/where they fit in regard to that topic/category, thus comparing  & contrasting where they stand when considering their place in America & their place in the world. They will then work to create a “self portrait” by crafting their research into a portrait that conveys who they are in America, in the world, and in their own head & heart and present that information to the class.  This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

The students will analyze how the poets Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman make claims about the influence of nature.  Even though the poets share similar claims, their different styles give the class much to analyze.  After the students analyze the poems, there is a modified RAFT assignment.  This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

After the whole class reads a text selection and engages in comprehension activities, the AIG students will work collaboratively to analyze the characters, plot, setting, and structure of the text and adapt it into a Reader's Theater.  They will perform their script for the whole class when completed and after rehearsal. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.