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Welcome to Duke TIP's Teachers Workshop blog! As so many students are taking their learning 100 percent online, we hope educators and parents alike will find some great resources here. The latest post, TIPs for Taking Your Course Online, is a great place to start!

The Duke TIP Curriculum Vault provides our legacy curriculum for gifted students from the last decade. Guided by core principles foundational to gifted education, teachers will find usable materials such as multimedia videos and text resources for direct instruction as well as prompts and rubrics for open-ended projects suitable to gifted students.

Please adapt and share as needed in your classroom and within your school.

A couple of important notes before you begin your exploration:

Because courses were originally designed for students’ independent study, language refers to “mentors,” which you should read as “teacher.”

Course readers and other supplementary texts (such as novels) are not included with the curriculum. However, most materials can be found via library or Internet research, while some can be replaced with comparable material available to an individual educator.

Hyperlinks are no longer actively curated. If you find a broken link, please use the content or context of the page to find a related link via your own search.

Duke TIP does not support or update this curriculum.

This course for gifted students grades 5-7 teaches mechanisms of disease, medical concepts, logical reasoning, experimental design, statistical analysis, and epidemiological investigation, culminating in a medical mystery: an illness outbreak at the State Fair.

This Duke TIP interdisciplinary curriculum for gifted students grades 5-7 teaches students to write stories driven by interest as they craft original characters and plots, test different points of view, and experiment with a range of settings and style.

This Duke TIP interdisciplinary curriculum for gifted elementary and middle school students explores architecture from both ancient and modern times, teaching students how to use the built environment as a lens for understanding different cultures.

This course for gifted students grades 8-10 develops writing skills for high school success, including critical reading practice. Students learn how to write definition essays, arguments, literary analyses, and research papers.

This course for gifted students grades 5-7 explores culture and myth of ancient Greece while profiling mythical teen heroes such as Achilles, Pandora, Perseus, and Persephone. Students learn note-taking and academic writing skills while studying Homer, Sophocles, and Ovid.

This writing course for gifted students grades 6-8 teaches the building blocks of academic writing: vivid diction, controlling purpose, audience awareness, and lively voice while students review examples of descriptive, expressive, and narrative writing.

This course for gifted students grades 8-10 helps them explore a range of world literature texts while they develop writing skills in literary analysis and various modes of discourse. Students investigate multiple genres from Latin America, India, and the Middle East.

This course for gifted students grades 6-8 helps them analyze classic American literature, developing skills in decoding texts such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Warriors Don’t Cry, and A Raisin in the Sun.

This course for gifted students grades 4-6 teaches students to crack codes like a cryptologist by mastering prime factorizations, the key word method, digital roots, and affine ciphers.

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Welcome to Duke TIP’s Teachers Workshop blog! As so many students are taking their learning 100 percent online, we hope educators and parents alike will find some great resources here. The latest post, TIPs for Taking Your Course Online, is a great place to start!

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Used by GT ALSDE at meeting

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Roger von Oech presents a wealth of insightful ideas culled from great thinkers and doers throughout history. The Whack Pack deck consists of 64 cards, each featuring a different approach or creative strategy. Some cards highlight ways to discover new information. Others provide techniques to generate new ideas and approaches. Some offer decision-making advice. And many give you the "kick" you need to get your ideas into action. The deck is divided into four different suits representing roles or creative types: Explorer, Artist, Judge, and Warrior. Creative Whack Pack has helped millions of people apply these innovative solutions and classic wisdom to the challenges of modern life.

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Roger von Oech presents a wealth of insightful ideas culled from great thinkers and doers throughout history. The Whack Pack deck consists of 64 cards, each featuring a different approach or creative strategy. Some cards highlight ways to discover new information. Others provide techniques to gen...

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This is a copy of the Laurie Candler MI survey and results graph I mentioned at the BOY meeting.

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WQED Specials
Clip: Season 2019 Episode 7 | 2m 11s |

The number of construction jobs is projected to increase to 7.5 million to 2026, with civil engineering jobs showing some of the highest growth. We visit a construction site in downtown Pittsburgh to see first hand what a typical day looks like for a civil engineer, and also hear why he chose this particular career.

Aired: 08/13/21

Rating: NR

Problems Playing Video? Report a Problem |

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WQED Specials | Civil Engineer | Season 2019 | Episode 7

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WQED Specials Clip: Season 2019 Episode 7 | 2m 11s | The number of construction jobs is projected to increase to 7.5 million to 2026, with civil engineering jobs showing some of the highest growth.

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Cycle 1 Padlet

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Cycle 1 - 3D Solid Shapes Student Activities

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Cycle 1 - 3D Solid Shapes Student Activities

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Cycle 1 3D Solid Shapes  Sudent Activities

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A few of us combined the ideas shared during the discussion to create a generic response.  Feel free to use, delete, memorize, edit, and/or copy.

We take a cross-curricular, real-world approach to a variety of topics, similar to project-based learning.  Our county has established abstract ideas, referred to as conceptual lenses, and guiding questions generated from established essential understandings. We incorporate these items into our weekly lessons, which fall into three main categories: STEM, Humanities, and Affective skills.

Many PACE class lessons meet or exceed the requirements for secondary level state standards.We encourage creativity, critical thinking, social/emotional development, effective collaboration, and 21st century skills. This allows for differentiation and extended learning beyond the general education classroom.

We serve 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students that are identified as gifted in accordance with the ALSDE referral process. Our curriculum is divided into three year-long cycles. This year’s curriculum includes units on ...

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PDF

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This is a great opening STEM activity. It reinforces the STEM EDP and teamwork. You may do the lesson in its entirety OR you may change and shorten it to your needs. Students love it and it is a cheaper STEM activity.

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Free from TPT

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Matches posters (see Amazon link above)

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Matches posters (see Amazon link above)

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Matches posters (see Amazon link above)

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Matches posters (see Amazon link above)

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Matches posters (see Amazon link above)

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Craftsmen in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Bronze Age Aegean, as well as later in Greece, Etruria, and Rome, used hand-powered tools to engrave gems…

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A brownish-red mineral, a gemstone called carnelian, is cut and carved with modern tools in this 2009 video for a Carvers and Collectors: The Lasting Allure of Ancient Gems exhibition at the Getty Museum: The Art of Gem Carving. Gemstones such as amethyst, agate, chalcedony, jasper, lapis lazuli, and onyx have been engraved and etched with cameo (a two-color carving in relief) and intaglio (meaning "to cut into" from the Italian word intagliare) designs since antiquity. From Khan Academy:

Craftsmen in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Bronze Age Aegean, as well as later in Greece, Etruria, and Rome, used hand-powered tools to engrave gems...

Although intaglios are concave and cameos are convex, the ancient methods used to produce both were similar and, apart from the modern use of power tools, were much the same as those employed today.

The video above also shows how a scarab was carved on the back of the intaglio design:

In antiquity, engraved gems served as seals, amulets, or ornaments... However, the primary objective of an engraved gem was to serve as a seal for identification, much like a signature.

In the mid-500s B.C., the scarab design was introduced. A scarab is a gem with a curved back side, carved to resemble a dung beetle ... This beetle was considered sacred in ancient Egypt; it was associated with the divine manifestation of the early morning sun.

Related reading: List of Gemstones By Name (A-Z).

Related videos: The invention of graphics on cave walls, A Continuous Shape: Stonecarver Anna Rubincam creates a portrait, and installing massive statues with engineering and care at the Met.

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The Art of Gem Carving | The Kid Should See This

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A brownish-red mineral, a gemstone called carnelian, is cut and carved with modern tools in this 2009 video for a Carvers and Collectors: The Lasting Allure of Ancient Gems exhibition at the Getty Museum: The Art of Gem Carving.

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This exhibition will cast new light on these ancient civilizations and their place within world history.

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Emblems of royalty, sacred offerings, ornaments, adornments, and treasures endowed with symbolic significance. Follow the development of goldworking from the Inca Empire, the Aztec Empire, and other ancient civilizations across 2,000 years of history, "from its earliest appearance in the Andes to its later developments farther north in Central America and Mexico." Met Curator Joanne Pillsbury gives us a peek at some of the exhibit's 300+ artifacts.

Golden Kingdoms: Luxury and Legacy in the Ancient Americas will reveal the distinctive ways ancient Americans used not only metals, but also jade, shell, and feathers-materials often considered more valuable than gold. Bringing together newly discovered archaeological finds and masterpieces from major museums in Latin America, Europe, and the United States, this exhibition will cast new light on these ancient civilizations and their place within world history.

Catch the exhibition at The Met Fifth Avenue from February 28 through May 28, 2018. Related reading: Gold in Ancient America (pdf).

Next: Kintsugi & kintsukuroi - The art of pottery mending with gold.

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Golden Kingdoms: Luxury & Legacy in the Ancient Americas | The Kid Should See This

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Emblems of royalty, sacred offerings, ornaments, adornments, and treasures endowed with symbolic significance. Follow the development of goldworking from the Inca Empire, the Aztec Empire, and other ancient civilizations across 2,000 years of history, "from its earliest appearance in the Andes to its later developments farther north in Central America and Mexico."

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The art of pottery mending with gold video

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The art of pottery mending with gold video

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Chinese pottery method- relate to imperfection in our students

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The 400+ year old Japanese art of . An art form born from kintsugi (golden repair) or kintsukuroi (golden joinery) is a pottery repair method that honors the artifact's unique history by emphasizing, not hiding, the breakmottainai - the feeling of regret when something is wasted - the cracks are seamed with lacquer resin and powdered gold, silver, or platinum , and often reference natural forms like waterfalls, rivers, or landscapes. This method transforms the artifact into something new, making it more rare, beautiful, and storied than the original.

Above, when mending becomes an art.

In the archives, more repairs: Havana Bikes, New York City's pothole repair team, and La Mer de Pianos.

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Kintsugi & kintsukuroi - The art of pottery mending with gold | The Kid Should See This

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The 400+ year old Japanese art of . An art form born from kintsugi (golden repair) or kintsukuroi (golden joinery) is a pottery repair method that honors the artifact's unique history by emphasizing, not hiding, the breakmottainai - the feeling of regret when something is wasted - the cracks are seamed with lacquer resin and powdered gold, silver, or platinum , and often reference natural forms like waterfalls, rivers, or landscapes.

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Parts of a Civilization- Graphic Organizer

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Parts of a Civilization- Graphic Organizer

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GRAPES

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Lesson Plan

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Classical Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in Ancient Greece and Rome (Hands-On History)

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Classical Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in Ancient Greece and Rome (Hands-On History)

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Hands-on activities such as making a star gazer; chiseling a clay tablet; weaving Roman sandals; making a Greek mosaic; creating Roman jewelry; throwing Greek pottery; casting a vote in a Roman-style election; and much more.

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FREE Shipping

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Or get 4-5 business-day shipping on this item for $5.99. (Prices may vary for AK and HI.)

Learn more about free shipping

on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon or get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

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classical kids: an activity guide to life in ancient greece and rome (hands-on history)

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creative activities and seat work - juvenile literature

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creative activities and seat work;juvenile literature.

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greece - social life and customs - juvenile literature

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rome - social life and customs - juvenile literature

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history & the past: general interest (children's / teenage)

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juvenile nonfiction / social science / customs

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juvenile nonfiction / social science / general

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young adult nonfiction / social science / customs

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young adult nonfiction / social science / customs

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history & the past: general interest (children's / teenage)

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Classical Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in Ancient Greece and Rome (Hands-On History)

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Travel back in time to see what life was like in ancient Greece and Rome while having fun with hands-on activities such as making a star gazer; chiseling a clay tablet; weaving Roman sandals; making a Greek mosaic; creating Roman jewelry; throwing Greek pottery; casting a vote in a Roman-style el...

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Hands-on activities, research opportunities, and mapping exercises engage students in learning about the history and culture of civilizations around the world.

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FREE Shipping

Free 5-8 business-day shipping within the U.S. when you order $25 of eligible items sold or fulfilled by Amazon.

Or get 4-5 business-day shipping on this item for $5.99. (Prices may vary for AK and HI.)

Learn more about free shipping

on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon or get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

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young adult nonfiction / history / general

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social studies; world history; fertile crescent; mayas; aztecs; incas; archaeologist; artifacts; civilizations; bts2012; world civilizations; world cultures; cultures; history; mark twain media; don blattner; reluctant reader text; mesopotamia; sumeria; babylonia; assyrians; hittites; ancient egypt; far east; china; mongols; indus valley; aegean; minoans; mycenaeans; greek; greece; athens; sparta; macedonia; alexander the great; etruscans; celts; rome; romans; vikings; middle east; phoenicians; hebrews; persians; byzantine empire; muslims; ottoman empire; africa; kush; ghana; zimbabwe; americas; olmecs

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World Civilizations and Cultures, Grades 5 - 8 (World History)

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Bring history to life for students in grades 5 and up using World Civilizations and Cultures! This 96-page book features reading selections and assessments that utilize a variety of questioning strategies, such as matching, true or false, critical thinking, and constructed response. Hands-on acti...

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Disregard the pandas, this is about Egypt.

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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Turn on back of each poster for a Lesson Plan and 3 coordinating activities!

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creative teaching press ancient civilization

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Creative Teaching Press Ancient Civilization, 5-Chart Pack (5557)

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Includes 1 each of: CTP 5558 Gifts of Ancient China CTP 5559 Gifts of Ancient Rome CTP 5560 Gifts of Ancient Mesopotamia CTP 5561 Gifts of Ancient Egypt CTP 5562 Gifts of Ancient Greece

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Mud Bricks for Kids

While stone building was reserved for monuments and other places the ancient Egyptians wanted to be sure would lasted forever, basic buildings like homes, tombs, palaces, or even just protective walls in Ancient Egypt were constructed of brick. Prior to brick making, soil was used but was not very sturdy.

Ancient Egypt- Israelites Mud Bricks

Back in Ancient Egypt they couldn't just make a run to the brickyard to pick up a pallet or ten in their trucks. Brick making was very hard, labor intensive work. So they used Israelite slaves to first gather the materials, make the bricks, and then use them to build with. They needed to use resources they had on hand to create sturdy bricks for building walls.

The first thing the Israelites had to do was gather sand, clay, and silt from the Nile. The soil from the Nile River when dried became a black hard stone like substance, making for sturdy bricks. Since we are not able to take a trip to the Nile River to gather our supplies, we are going to improvise and use materials that we can easily get our hands on.

You are going to need: topsoil, straw, water, and clay if you can easily get some. Oh, and something to use as a mold. You can make mini bricks with an ice cube tray if you would actually like to construct a model of something using your bricks. Or if you want to see a full sized brick you can make molds with wood, as the Israelite slaves did, or use something like a small square or rectangle pans. We used a silicone soap mold we had from another project for ours.

If your straw is larger you will want to chop it into small bits. Straw was used as a binder to help make the bricks even sturdier. This is called Straw Chaff. I found these little straw bundles at the craft store but you can also find hay or straw at a feed store, or ask a friend with livestock for a a few handfuls. Sometimes, they even used animal droppings to construct their bricks (we are gonna skip that part with our brick making).

Next, the Israelites had to work the mud and straw together. They did this by trampling it with their feet to mix it up consistently. Place your soil, straw and water in a large tub and try to mix it together the same way they did. Add just enough water so that your soil will hold together. This will help your bricks dry faster. The average size of bricks in Ancient Egypt was 8.7 x 4.3 x 5.5, if larger bricks were needed for building they were about 15.0 x 7.1 x5.5. You can make your bricks any size you like. Remove the mud mixture from the tub and place it in your molds, press firmly into the mold to remove air bubbles. Then, let it sit in the full sun for 1 day or until it is mostly dry. At this point they would remove it from the mold and let it finish drying in the sun out of the mold. Do the same with yours. Israelites left theirs to dry in the sun for 25 days. If you make smaller bricks they will obviously dry much faster. Later on in history the bricks would be baked in a kiln to hasten drying time. Once your brick is completely dry it is ready to be used for construction! Think you could make 1000 to 2000 bricks a day? That is what the ancient Israelite slaves were required to do.

You'll also love this huge Ancient Egypt lapbook and unit study from Home School in the Woods - one of my favorite hands-on history providers.

It would take an average of 5 days of brick making in order to have enough bricks to construct a small one story home for the worker.

Here are a few more interesting facts about mud bricks and the ancient Israelites...

Houses were built using mud bricks and then were whitewashed to help deflect the brutal sun's rays and keep the inside of the home more comfortable. Windows were placed high rather than lower like in modern homes to keep sand out and covered with reed mats. The roofs were flat.

While these bricks were sturdy, they were not able to stand the test of time and that is why most of the remaining ancient Egyptian buildings that we have been able to study were made from stone rather than these mud bricks which eventually wore away.

Mud bricks were often stamped with the cartouches of the reigning pharaoh. While many were lost, we have been able to recover some bricks that still bear the stamp.

Israelite slave children as young as 4 were used to help make mud bricks.

While smaller bricks were more common they have discovered mud bricks that were as large as 1 meter in length.

You'll love these other hands-on ideas for studying about Ancient Egypt:

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Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy. While stone building was reserved for monuments and other places the ancient Egyptians wanted to be sure would lasted forever, basic buildings like homes, tombs, palaces, or even just protective walls in Ancient Egypt were constructed of brick.

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A simulation of a Greek treasure hunt requiring fundamental arithmetic operations, logic, and problem solving.

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Begin in Collect and Catalog to dig for Mesopotamian artifacts in Iraq. Then Curate a Museum Exhibition using photographs of the artifacts you found. Or you can jump ahead and Curate a Museum Exhibition using photographs of artifacts selected for you.

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The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

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Ancient Mesopotamia: This History, Our History. Multi Media

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Begin in Collect and Catalog to dig for Mesopotamian artifacts in Iraq. Then Curate a Museum Exhibition using photographs of the artifacts you found. Or you can jump ahead and Curate a Museum Exhibition using photographs of artifacts selected for you.

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Various lessons, links, and articles for Gifted Ed teachers.

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Microscope Slide Observations- Student Sheet

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Microscope Slide Observations- Student Sheet

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Various websites and activities

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Video

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Getting into Shapes

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PROJECT M3 CURRICULUM - GETTING INTO SHAPES

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Grant Snider's "Incidental Comics"

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20 Cool STEM Activities to Learn About Ancient Times

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20 Cool STEM Activities to Learn About Ancient Times

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Hey, just so you know ... This post includes affiliate links. That means if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. That's how I can afford to continue inspiring and equipping families to add more digital learning to their home education. You can read my full affiliate disclosure HERE
Have your children been begging to learn about Ancient Times but you have wanted to bring history to life with STEM activities? I have gathered a variety of activities for Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman times so that your child will have fun learning with these cool STEM activities. Both boys and girls will enjoy creating these activities while learning all about Ancient History in the process!

Another fun way to keep track of time is by using a like Teach Beside Me made to help with timing games.

This Ancient Greek Architecture STEM Challenge from Powol Packets shares how children explore lintel and posts while building this project from simple supplies found around your house.

Make your own Nile River in a foil pan from Creekside Learning. Plant "reeds" and watch them grow by flooding your Nile River. Be sure to add some crocodiles.

Use a cloud-based presentation tool to create a digital Time Travel Journal. View the video tutorial from Techie Homeschool Mom's Guide to Digital Student Projects.

Have your students test their knowledge of ancient Greece and learn about the importance of the seas with this boat making experiment from Homeschool Den.

Learn more about ancient times with
Online Unit Studies

Discover more STEM Activities
from these books from Amazon

Related Posts

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20 Cool STEM Activities to Learn About Ancient Times - Techie Homeschool Mom

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Hey, just so you know ... This post includes affiliate links. That means if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. That's how I can afford to continue inspiring and equipping families to add more digital learning to their home education.

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A Little Bit of This....A Little Bit of That

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A Little Bit of This....A Little Bit of That

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