Rural Exceptional Student Talent Opportunities, Resources, & Experiences
WIN TIME ENRICHMENT
WIN TIME ENRICHMENT
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Welcome to WIN Time Enrichment, your go-to hub for meaningful, high-impact resources designed specifically for Grades 3–8. We know that "What I Need" time is most effective when it’s simple for you to facilitate and deeply engaging for your students. This section is crafted to help you seamlessly differentiate instruction—offering ready-to-use extension activities, open-ended STEAM challenges, and passion projects that keep fast finishers and advanced learners motivated, curious, and growing.
Rather than just giving students "more work," our goal is to help you provide deeper work. From critical-thinking puzzles and independent research prompts to collaborative problem-solving tasks, these materials are aligned with upper-elementary and middle school standards while encouraging student autonomy. Dive in to find turn-key options that reduce your prep time and turn every WIN period into a meaningful win for your classroom.
This page will be updated frequently, so check back often!
ADVANCED NOVEL STUDIES
These novel studies are designed for teachers seeking meaningful challenge for advanced readers. Rather than adding more work, they deepen the thinking through significant questions, historical investigation, competing interpretations, evidence-based discussion, and original inquiry.
Each study includes student and facilitator materials, chapter-aligned missions, response tools, assessments, historical context, and a culminating task. The resources can be used with an entire class, a gifted cluster, a small group, or an individual learner.
Flexible supports—including audio, speech-to-text, visual organizers, and compacting after mastery—preserve access without reducing intellectual rigor. When texts contain harmful language or sensitive historical content, the materials provide guidance for honest, responsible discussion.
The goal is not one correct interpretation. It is to help students read carefully, reason deeply, revise their thinking, and leave with stronger questions.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
A mischievous boy in a Mississippi River town gets into scrapes, witnesses a murder, and hunts for buried treasure with his friend Huck Finn.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical & Cultural Context Investigation Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 7-8
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 7-8
Animal Farm is an allegorical novel in which farm animals overthrow their human owner, only to see their dream of equality corrupted by leaders who become as oppressive as the rulers they replaced.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
The BFG
by Roald Dahl
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
The BFG
by Roald Dahl
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
A young orphan named Sophie is whisked away by a gentle, dream-catching giant into Giant Country, where together they must outwit the far larger, child-eating giants who terrorize the human world.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Armed only with a battered suitcase and a stack of jazz-club flyers left by his late mother, ten-year-old Bud Caldwell runs away from an abusive foster home in Depression-era Michigan to find the man he believes is his father — only to discover a truth far different, and far better, than he imagined.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
The City of Ember
by Jeanne DuPrau
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
The City of Ember
by Jeanne DuPrau
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
In an underground city slowly running out of power and supplies after 200 years of isolation, two twelve-year-olds, Lina and Doon, race to decode a mysterious ancient message that may hold the only way out before the lights go dark for good.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 7-9
Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 7-9
Fahrenheit 451 follows a fireman who begins questioning a society that burns books and suppresses independent thought, leading him to seek knowledge and freedom.
<will be posted soon>
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
The Friendship War
by Andrew Clements
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
The Friendship War
by Andrew Clements
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
When sixth-grader Grace accidentally starts a school-wide button-collecting craze, the fad spirals into a full-blown rivalry that threatens to end her lifelong friendship with her once-inseparable best friend, Ellie.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 5-7
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 5-7
The Giver tells the story of a boy named Jonas who discovers the hidden truths behind his seemingly perfect society and must decide whether to accept its rules or fight for freedom and individuality.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Holes
by Louis Sachar
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Holes
by Louis Sachar
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Sentenced to a juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, Stanley Yelnats must dig endless holes in a dried-up lakebed, where he uncovers a decades-old mystery tied to his family's "curse" and buried treasure.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Home of the Brave
by Katherine Applegate
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Home of the Brave
by Katherine Applegate
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Fleeing civil war in Sudan and arriving alone in the bitter cold of Minnesota, ten-year-old Kek must learn a new language and way of life while clinging to hope that his missing mother is still alive.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888
by Lauren Tarshis
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888
by Lauren Tarshis
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
An 11-year-old boy new to Dakota Territory must fight his way through one of history's deadliest and most sudden blizzards after dashing back out into the storm to save a younger girl.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 5-7
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 5-7
Four sisters in Civil War–era Massachusetts grow up together through love, loss, and ambition as they navigate the passage from girlhood to womanhood.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Loser
by Jerry Spinelli
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Loser
by Jerry Spinelli
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
An awkward, endlessly cheerful boy named Donald Zinkoff endures years of ridicule and the "loser" label from his classmates, but his irrepressible spirit and selflessness are ultimately vindicated when he risks himself to search for a missing girl during a blizzard.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Night of the Twisters
by Ivy Ruckman
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
Night of the Twisters
by Ivy Ruckman
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
When two tornadoes rip through Grand Island, Nebraska, in one terrifying night, twelve-year-old Dan and his friend Arthur must survive the storm's immediate aftermath and search for Dan's missing baby brother amid the wreckage of their town.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Nothing Else But Miracles
by Kate Albus
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-7
Nothing Else But Miracles
by Kate Albus
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-7
On New York's Lower East Side during WWII, twelve-year-old Dory Byrne and her brothers lean on their tight-knit neighborhood to hold their family together while their father is off fighting, and a secret elevator leads them to an unexpected solution when their home is threatened.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 6-8
The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 6-8
The Outsiders tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis, a teenager who learns about loyalty, loss, and the shared humanity that exists beyond the rivalry between two very different groups of teenagers.
<will be posted soon>
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Refugee
by Alan Gratz
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Refugee
by Alan Gratz
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Three young refugees from three different eras — a Jewish boy fleeing 1930s Nazi Germany, a Cuban girl fleeing 1994 political unrest, and a Syrian boy fleeing present-day civil war — each risk everything on a desperate journey to find safety, and their stories ultimately converge in surprising ways.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred D. Taylor
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred D. Taylor
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry follows the Logan family as they endure relentless racial prejudice, systemic injustice, and economic hardship while fiercely holding onto their land and dignity.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Save Me a Seat
by Sarah Weeks & Gita Varadarajan
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Save Me a Seat
by Sarah Weeks & Gita Varadarajan
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
Over one turbulent week of fifth grade, a bullied American boy and a newly arrived Indian immigrant boy discover they have more in common than they thought when they team up against a shared tormentor.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
The Secret Lake
by Karen Inglis
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
The Secret Lake
by Karen Inglis
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
Siblings Stella and Tom follow their elderly neighbor's mysteriously reappearing, soaking-wet dog through a hidden tunnel to a secret lake that transports them 100 years into the past, where they become entangled in a daring rescue.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
When eleven-year-old Marty discovers a young beagle named Shiloh has been abused by its owner, he must decide how far he's willing to go — including lying to his own parents — to save the dog he's come to love.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Uncle Tom's Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 7-8
Uncle Tom's Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 7-8
An enslaved man's forced separation from his family and his enduring faith expose the brutal moral realities of American slavery.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical & Cultural Context Investigation Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
What Comes Next
by Rob Buyea
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
What Comes Next
by Rob Buyea
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-6
After witnessing the sudden death of her best friend, twelve-year-old Thea withdraws into silence, and it takes an unusual rescue dog and a fresh start in a new town to help her find her voice again and open her heart to new friendship.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
Wringer
by Jerry Spinelli
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-7
Wringer
by Jerry Spinelli
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 4-7
A boy in a small town dreads turning ten, the age at which he'll be expected to join in his town's tradition of killing wounded pigeons, and must decide whether to defy what's expected of him.
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle
Target: Advanced Readers gr. 3-5
Awkward, brilliant Meg Murry, her prodigy little brother Charles Wallace, and their new friend Calvin are swept across the universe by three mysterious beings to rescue Meg's missing scientist father from the dark force that has imprisoned him on a planet ruled by a giant, controlling brain.
<will be posted soon>
Student Pre-Assessment
.docx // .pdf
Historical, Ethical, & Cultural Context Packet
.docx // .pdf
Student Mission & Response Journal
.docx // .pdf
Teacher Facilitator Guide
.docx // .pdf
INDEPENDENT STUDY UNITS
Each three-week study challenges students with a real-world problem, higher-level questions, and choices in how they research and show their learning, wrapping up in a final project they'll share with an audience. We can't wait to see what they create. (gr. 5-6)
The Atlas of Elsewhere
The Atlas of Elsewhere
What if your students discovered a door with no handle, received a message from tomorrow, investigated the last dragon, or entered a city built around one very unusual rule?
Welcome to The Atlas of Elsewhere—a ten-episode enrichment series designed to challenge curious, creative, and advanced learners through mystery, storytelling, problem-solving, and imaginative investigation.
In each episode, students encounter an unusual situation that requires them to:
- Analyze clues and recognize patterns
- Develop and revise hypotheses
- Use logic, creativity, systems thinking, and ethical reasoning
- Collaborate and communicate their ideas
- Defend conclusions with evidence
- Reflect on how they approached the challenge
How to Use the Series
How to Use the Series
The episodes may be completed in order as one continuing adventure or used independently whenever you need a high-interest enrichment experience. Most core investigations can be completed in approximately 20–30 minutes, although the extensions can easily turn an episode into a longer lesson. Good for students in grades 3-8, scaffolding may be necessary for some of our younger students.
Each episode includes five organized components:
Facilitator Dashboard — preparation, objectives, materials, and teaching guidance
Student Mission — the story, challenge, and student directive
Thinking Record — a customized organizer for that episode’s reasoning process
Artifacts and Clues — illustrated evidence, maps, cards, and information to release
Confidential Key and Reflection — possible solutions, misconceptions, talent indicators, extensions, and discussion questions
A Few Helpful Tips
- Read the Facilitator Dashboard and Confidential Key before beginning.
- Print only the student mission, thinking record, and artifacts needed for that episode.
- Keep the Confidential Key teacher-only.
- Release clues gradually rather than giving students everything at once.
- Allow productive struggle—there may be more than one defensible solution.
- Ask students to explain what changed their thinking, not simply announce an answer.
- Use the observation tools to notice strengths that may not appear during traditional assignments.
- Encourage diagrams, models, movement, discussion, and other ways of showing complex thinking.
A Few Helpful Tips
- Read the Facilitator Dashboard and Confidential Key before beginning.
- Print only the student mission, thinking record, and artifacts needed for that episode.
- Keep the Confidential Key teacher-only.
- Release clues gradually rather than giving students everything at once.
- Allow productive struggle—there may be more than one defensible solution.
- Ask students to explain what changed their thinking, not simply announce an answer.
- Use the observation tools to notice strengths that may not appear during traditional assignments.
- Encourage diagrams, models, movement, discussion, and other ways of showing complex thinking.
These missions work especially well with gifted and talented groups, enrichment clusters, advanced learners, small groups, early finishers, intervention-to-extension blocks, after-school programs, and whole-class lessons that invite multiple levels of response.
There is no single road through Elsewhere—and that is exactly the point. Students will need to take intellectual risks, learn from wrong turns, reconsider assumptions, and discover that the strongest thinkers are not always the ones who answer first.
Open the Atlas. Release the first clue. Then see where your students’ thinking takes them!
Enjoy the adventure!
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