Mark Hess

This is a great book to to teach SEL in an elementary classroom. I like how this book addresses the fact that elementary students who are gifted still need to be taught social and emotional skills and management. Although a child is labeled gifted, it is so important for adults to remember that the child is still a child and experiences social situations and emotions like a child. Overall, the activities in this book are engaging and age appropriate. I like how all of the activities are show more thorough and seem to
be easy to implement in the classroom. I like how this book provides handouts and links to websites and additional resources. I especially appreciated the last chapter dedicated to initiating conversations and allowing students to revisit the SEL themes addressed in the activities. This is a great resource to have on hand when teaching SEL. show less

In the age of social-emotional learning books, Hess writes a real winner. This is essentially a guide to teaching gifted 5th grade students valuable social-emotional skills and topics like perfectionism, empathy, resilience, and self-understanding. Hess takes a holistic approach that offers students the opportunity to come to their own conclusions about these topics and how they relate to them rather than teaching them to memorize definitions. Handouts, lesson plans, unit structures, and show more connections to the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) for each lesson.

This guide would be useful to anyone who works with gifted students in an academic setting. Teachers, specialists, paraprofessionals, and counselors alike can benefit from the framework of this book—it is a wonderful find. show less

This book is a great addition to any teacher or home school family library. Although it is created for gifted students, I can also see these lessons as being appropriate for students with autism, as social and emotional skills are often a challenge for them. The curriculum is solid, with objectives and standards listed. The activities as hands on and exciting for the learner, touching on all learning styles.

I love this book! It has awesome, usable ideas to help with some of the most common social and emotional issues of gifted students. There are lessons for perfectionism, self-esteem, empathy, accountability, and giftedness. I can't wait to try these with my students!!