Rural Exceptional Student Talent Opportunities, Resources, & Experiences
DIFFERENTIATION & VIDEO HAL HACKS
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HAL HACKS
What if meeting the needs of your gifted and high-ability students didn’t require hours of prep?
Introducing HAL Hacks — bite-sized (2-10 minutes) video strategies designed specifically for busy educators like you who want to stretch, challenge, and truly engage their high-ability learners . . . without overhauling their entire lesson plan.
Each hack takes less than 10 minutes to learn, and can be applied the same day. Think:
✅ Simple differentiation moves
✅ Instant critical thinking boosts
✅ Creative enrichment twists
✅ And strategies that actually work in real classrooms
Whether you teach in a rural school, a pull-out program, or an inclusive setting, these video HAL Hacks give you the quick spark you need to elevate instruction — fast.
They are posted below 👇
Additional HAL Hacks will be added regularly, so check back often. Let’s make gifted education feel doable — a few minutes at a time.
HAL Hack, Video 1: Pre-Assessment
Today we're going to talk about one of the most powerful tools you have as a teacher of gifted and talented students: pre-assessment. Pre-assessment is not just another test, it's a way to unlock where your students are starting, so you can plan instruction that truly challenges them.
HAL Hack, Video 2: Differentiating Content
Today we're diving into one of the most important and sometimes most challenging parts of teaching gifted learners: differentiating content. When we differentiate content, we adjust what students learn, not just how they learn it. The goal is to ensure every student is challenged at the right level, engaged, and moving forward.
LINK: Differentiating Content Teacher Guide
HAL Hack, Video 3: Differentiating Process
Today we're continuing our look at differentiation by focusing on process, the "how" of learning. Differentiating process means adjusting the strategies, structures, and pathways students use to work with content. For gifted students, this is critical because they often need more complexity, independence, and creativity in how they engage.
LINK: Differentiating Process Teacher Guide
HAL Hack, Video 4: Differentiating Product
In this video we're going to explore how to differentiate product for gifted and high-ability learners using three powerful tools: Bloom's Taxonomy, Depth of Knowledge (DOK), and Depth & Complexity thinking prompts. If you're new to differentiation, think of product as the end result of learning; what students create to show their understanding.
LINK: Differentiating Product Teacher Guide
HAL Hack, Video 5: Bloom's
Today, we're going to focus on how we can take our everyday classroom questions and make them more rigorous, more engaging, and more open-ended for our high-ability learners. One of the best tools we can use is Bloom's Taxonomy, a framework for moving from simple recall to higher levels of thinking, which is exactly where our advanced students thrive.
LINK: Bloom's Taxonomy Question Starters for Differentiation
HAL Hack, Video 6: Curriculum Compacting 101
Hey Teachers! Got fast finishers or kids zoning out during review? This two-minute gifted tip is for you. Let's talk curriculum compacting. Compacting helps high ability learners skip content they've already mastered, and dive deeper into meaningful learning. Why re-teach what they already know?
HAL Hack, Video 7: Curriculum Compacting 201
Curriculum Compacting 201: Creating Space for Thinking, Not Just Skipping - Work Infused with Depth and Complexity. Welcome back teachers! When advanced learners are stuck repeating what they already know, they disengage. Compacting reclaims time for challenge and creativity by identifying mastery, reducing repetition, and replacing it with purposeful learning.
HAL Hack, Video 8: Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
Welcome to our session on Depth of Knowledge, or DOK, one of the most powerful tools we can use to differentiate instruction for all learners, and especially for our gifted and talented students. DOK is a framework that describes the complexity of thinking required for students to engage with content . . . focused not just on what they know, but how deeply they understand and can apply it.
LINK: Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Anchor Chart
HAL Hack, Video 9: Depth & Complexity
Developed by Dr. Sandra Kaplan, Depth and Complexity is a thinking framework that uses 11 visual icons to prompt higher-order thinking. It allows students to engage with content in more sophisticated, nuanced, and integrated ways.
LINK: Depth & Complexity Teacher Quick Reference
LINK: Depth & Complexity as a Differentiation Tool
HAL Hack, Video 10: Depth Icons
In this video, we'll focus on the Depth icons . . . powerful tools designed to push our thinking beyond the surface. Each icon represents a different way to dive deeper into a subject, whether we're exploring science, history, math, or literature.
HAL Hack, Video 11: Complexity Icons
Welcome back to our Depth & Complexity journey. In Part 1, we explored the Depth icons and ways to push students deeper into content. Today, we'll focus on the Complexity icons. These are designed to help learners think across perspectives, disciplines, and dilemmas.
HAL Hack, Video 12: Using Depth & Complexity Icons Together
Welcome back! So far, we've explored the Depth icons and the Complexity icons separately. Today, we're going to take the next step: learning how to use these icons together to differentiate instruction for your gifted and talented students. When we combine icons, we don't just ask students to go deeper or broader, we ask them to do both at once. That's where higher-level differentiation really happens!
HAL Hack, Video 13: Depth & Complexity PLUS Bloom's
Welcome back! As educators of gifted and talented learners, we know that the quality of our questions drives the quality of student thinking. Today, were taking Depth & Complexity to the next level by pairing it with Blooms Taxonomy.
LINK: Depth & Complexity + Bloom's Taxonomy Question Stem Chart
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