The teacher will introduce students to the two web articles with perspectives about slavery (one from the perspective of a slave and one from the perspective of slave owners).  Then the higher level will have a discussion about the two perspectives. Higher-level students will write a R.A.F.T, assuming a ROLE and using the R.A.F.T and the rubric to guide their writing.  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 teacher will introduce students to websites about famous North Carolinians who have made contributions in our local communities and regions over time.  Higher-level students will work in small groups of 3 students, and they will work collaboratively in those small groups to pick 10 diverse historical figures of NC who have made contributions.  Then they will discuss and research these individuals to rank them according to amount of impact that their contributions had on our communities and state.  Students will need to justify their rankings which will require critical thinking and collaboration.  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 reading books about different cultures (the differences/similarities in language, dress, homes, food, art), the teacher and class will discuss how people in different cultures dress differently, eat different foods or foods that are made in different ways, live in different homes, and have different celebrations.  The teacher could make a simple slide show or get some images from the internet to show students different cultures and their dress, foods, celebrations, etc.  The higher level students will read Don’t Laugh at Me by Steve Seskin and Allen Shamblin and participate in a seminar discussion.  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 reading books about how/why the seasons change, higher-level students will read a fiction book that incorporates season changes and effects of those changes with their parents for homework.  They will then answer questions about the changes and the effects of the changes and bring those answers to class so that students may engage in a discussion seminar.  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 teacher has read many books to the class about diversity (different cultures, people with disabilities, children of families of divorce, etc.), the whole class will discuss ways that we can show respect and appreciation for differences rather than pretending that there are no differences or taking the easy way out by ignoring the differences and the people with differences.  Next, higher-level students will write skits to demonstrate interactions among people of different cultures, backgrounds, religions, and abilities.  All class members will get to act out the skits.  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 teacher will introduce to students the idea that different places vary, grow and change over time, partly because of human beliefs and actions and partly because of physical characteristics. Then the teacher will work with higher-level students to research several different communities around the world. They will work with the teacher to find contacts for other school children so that all students in the class may Skype to learn more about different communities around the world and how changes have taken place due to human and natural causes. Lastly, the students will create an Excel spreadsheet to list different categories of the environment that have been influenced by human and environmental causes. After Skyping with people in several different communities, higher-level students will create the spreadsheet with their own community and several other communities and the categories so they may easily compare/contrast the physical and human characteristics of each. 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 reading books about different cultures (the differences/similarities in language, dress, homes, food, art), the teacher and class can create a Prezi or physical poster to show different cultures around the world. Students can compare and contrast their culture with different cultures around the world.  This could be done using a Venn Diagram as well. Then higher-level students will be expected to create their own slideshow of one culture around the world including language, dress, homes, food, art, holidays, and anything that makes the culture special and unique. 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.

Higher-level students will read the story of Cinderella from many different cultures. They willconsider why Cinderella was treated as she was and how prejudice occurs across cultures. They will answer pre-seminar questions and participate in a Paideia seminar. Students will learn to compare/contrast traditions, foods, and languages of the cultures from which the Cinderella stories come. 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 teacher has read books and internet articles to students regarding key historical events that occurred in NC and in their own area of the state and that have affected the local community, region, and state, higher level students will be asked to research more deeply these  events and collaboratively create a timeline of these events (in NC). 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.

During a unit on financial literacy, this lesson gives students the chance to consider the options that consumers face when dealing with their money and to observe what happens to money when consumers make different decisions about how to use it. 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.

During a study of the US Constitution and after students have already read the Constitution, students explore the philosophical underpinnings of it and decide which of the different influences on it ultimately had the biggest impact on the Founding Fathers’ thinking. 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 teacher has read books about community helpers to students and the whole class has created a chart with columns (Community Helper; What the Helper Does; Effects on the Community), higher level students will work with the attached Job Postings to complete writing of job postings for particular community jobs. 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 teacher has led a discussion about how we depend on the physical environment and natural resources to meet basic needs, students will begin to help her make a list on the board of natural resources that we depend on and need for our survival.  Students may list things such as:  trees for lumber to build houses and furniture, water from springs and rivers, plants to eat and use for medicinal purposes, animals for food and food products, etc.  Then higher-level students will research the Pilgrims and create a poster to show all the ways they had to depend on natural resources and the environment for survival.  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 reading books about how weather conditions cause humans to adapt (wearing different clothes, building houses differently, vacationing at different spots, maintaining a home – for example shoveling snow or patching shingles) and how weather conditions can create jobs for people, the teacher will do a sort activity with the whole group and will provide higher-level students with an additional activity regarding the effects of weather conditions. 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.

Higher-level students will work collaboratively to create trivia game cards about the elements that define states and nations.  They will find information on the internet or in books to help them find information about specific states and nations.  Students will analyze the information to determine which information would be important enough to include on the game card to help someone figure out the answer.  The information that they will be finding will include details about culture, demographics, economy, and geography of the state or nation for which they are trying to define and write a trivia card.  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.

Higher-level students will be divided into small groups so that they may work collaboratively with their peers to research (even possibly interview via Skype or e-mail) a particular entrepreneur of NC.  Students will draw from “a hat” the entrepreneur who they will research, and they will also draw from “a hat” the type of project that they will complete on the entrepreneur to reveal what they have learned.  Then after exploring how entrepreneurs have become entrepreneurs, students will work on a small entrepreneur fair for their class/school.  They will develop a product to sell at the fair.  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 classroom discussions and activities to exemplify positive relationships through fair play and friendship, the higher-level students in the class will work in small groups to write skits and role play examples demonstrating fair play and friendship. 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.