Gifted And Talented Education(GATE) for 20 years.
With math use tons of visuals and manipulatives. Too bad they can't work in pairs or groups. Angles and number patterns are usually fun for my students due to the hands on manipulatives and the visual "games" they discovered (like puzzles). I incorporated art into most subjects. Kids love to draw. Visual learners and those who have a difficult time grasping some concepts "get it" through the use of visuals. I learned in my teacher classes that gifted kids are part of the "special" group of kids. Those who have a physical learning disability, those who are slow learners, and those who are high achievers all are "special" education.
The parents always wanted their kids to be challenged, even though not ready. One student came back to visit while in high school and he said I gave them harder work than they got in middle school. I told him he can thank his parents for that...it was their idea. But when it came time for their little rocket scientists to do a test or a project, let alone nightly homework, the parents usually realized they would end up doing half the homework and they themselves and eventually they backed off.
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