In his new book, I USED TO BE GIFTED, long time educator, Mark Hess, helps teachers and parents understand and nurture gifted learners and even-perhaps, in the process-themselves- by offering anecdotes, research from experts in the field, practical guides, lesson plans and units, and observations from 34 years in K-12 education. The opening chapters will help the reader understand gifted children with stories that are sometimes light-hearted, sometimes tugging on heartstrings, but always relatable and true. Through stories, readers are invited inside the experiences of giftedness-organically and congenially as if they were visiting on the author’s back porch. Sit down, chat about these kids we love. Have a cookie? A glass of wine? But this book is so much more than a series of stories and an amused chuckle here and there. The stories are tied to research and observations from experts in gifted education and through a lifetime of the author’s own readings in the field. In understanding our gifted learners, we hope to understand how to nurture them as well. I USED TO BE GIFTED provides the practical advice so desperately needed by teachers and parents on a daily basis. It contains four units for gifted learners appropriate for both home and school: two social-emotional units focused specifically in meeting the needs of gifted boys and girls, an engaging hands-on unit which spans the curriculum for our highly visual Generation Z students, and a series of differentiated menus which can be used by either gifted resource teachers or teachers in the regular classroom. All are kid-tested, developed, and refined over the years in the author’s classrooms-elementary and middle school. In addition, links are provided to a wealth of free resources provided by the author. The section containing these units contains ready-to-print activities that can be used right away. Additionally, Mr. Hess takes the lead in exploring the lives of our younger generation of school children by dedicating an entire chapter to Generation Z and giftedness!
