Asking higher level questions - if you want to raise the rigor in your classroom and ensure that you are teaching to the level of the standard, you need to be able to ask higher level questions of your students.

Tiered Lessons - differentiation isn't about making 30 lessons plans for 30 students. It is about determining the various levels of understanding in your classroom and making sure you meet the needs of those students.

Removing the Ceiling on Learning - when we teach a lesson, we can either put a ceiling on the learning by asking students to provide a definite answer, one that stops the learning once they find it. Or we can remove the ceiling by asking them to do something that has multiple possibilities, each of which can be explored and expanded upon.

How to Get Students to Dig Deeper - when we ask students to do this, how intentional are we being about showing them how to do this whether it be asking the right questions or giving them a process to use?

Going Above Grade Level - we can challenge students through enrichment and going deeper, but we can also accelerate their learning and expose them to content and learning that is above what is expected of them. One simple way to do this is to present students who have shown mastery above grade level content.

Flexible Grouping - when we put students into groups we must be purposeful about it. This is because in order for their needs to be met, they must be in the best environment for them to grow.

Compacting Curriculum - is everything we are required to teach necessary for all students? What if they already know what we are going to be teaching?

In order to keep gifted students on their toes and thinking we must employ novelty in the classroom and mix up the teaching strategies we are using.

Independent Study - this is having a student learn on their own about something that will enrich and challenge them. But there does need to be a structure underneath. It cannot be the child just working on his/her own.

Inquiry-Based Learning - What if we let the students be responsible for most of the learning in class? That is the basic premise behind inquiry-based learning where the content is not given to the kids by the teacher but rather generated and discovered on their own.