• Quests and Quandaries: Intellectual Pursuits and Problem-Based Learning for Advanced and Gifted Students.
• Dinosaurs to Drones: Investigating Change and Grit through Paleontology
By Jason S. McIntosh
(Routledge/Prufrock Press, 2025 – Learn more here and here)
Reviewed by Kim Rensch
While it is certainly not impossible to find language arts resources appropriate for gifted middle school students, it can be a more daunting task than seeking out elementary resources. Fortunately, we have authors and curriculum content creators like Jason S. McIntosh to ease the burden.
After working with Dr. Marcia Gentry, a giant in the field of gifted education, during his doctoral studies, McIntosh has gone on to be a gifted coordinator and curriculum writer.
Teachers of middle school gifted language arts courses will find two of his books compelling additions to their repertoire: Quests and Quandaries: Intellectual Pursuits and Problem-Based Learning for Advanced and Gifted Students, and Dinosaurs to Drones: Investigating Change and Grit through Paleontology.
Quests and Quandaries
This book is a collection of lesson plans that take students from exploring “intellectual interests” to presenting on an area of expertise developed over time. McIntosh aligns lessons with 8th grade Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) standards, making them ideal for gifted students in grade 6 and higher.
In his curricular approach, McIntosh leans heavily on strategies and tools near and dear to the hearts of gifted education specialists. The Depth and Complexity Icons offer lenses through which students view their topic of interest. The Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM), a thoroughly-researched approach to teaching, makes use of interdisciplinary learning experiences, advanced content and higher-order thinking skills, and a theme or “universal overarching concept” (2). (Teachers unfamiliar with these concepts will want to learn more about the Icons and ICM before using the Quest and Quandaries lessons with students.)
I found this book to be intriguing. In fact, if I were to teach a gifted or enrichment language arts class again, this book would be a strong contender for my curricular resource of choice. There is enough material here to last for much of a school year. It offers a nice mix of independent, whole class, and small group learning experiences.
The depth of thinking required to keep gifted students’ brains engaged is built in with critical thinking skills and the Depth and Complexity Icons. McIntosh even took the time to create special teacher notes that pop up occasionally and share useful tips and tricks, especially “look-fors” that help with assessment.
While overall this book is a great companion for any teacher of gifted middle school children, there are a couple of points of caution. First, it is important to note that it is beyond the scope of the book to fully address the use of specific instructional strategies. Teachers will need to rely on their experience and expertise to know how to present new learning to students, whether it be cognitive apprenticeship (I do – we do – you do) or another instructional approach.
Also, while the lessons in Quests and Quandaries offer a good variety of learning experiences, students may still tire of the ongoing study of one particular topic. There will be a need for supporting students’ social-emotional development as well as their intellectual growth.
Dinosaurs to Drones: Investigating Change and Grit Through Paleontology
Teachers of gifted 5th and 6th graders looking for an intriguing interdisciplinary learning opportunity might appreciate this combination novel/series of lesson plans that could provide weeks of teaching material to the overwhelmed teacher.
Students read a realistic fiction book written by McIntosh himself, while investigating the world of paleontology, the use of drones (the link between dinosaurs and drones makes sense after reading the novel), and the theme of change over time.
Lessons are aligned with the National Association for Gifted Children, Next Generation Science, and Common Core literacy standards, integrating reading, writing, discussion, and critical thinking. Teachers required to teach from specific content standards (power learning targets, essential learning outcomes, etc.) might find it frustrating to align all the lessons in this book with specific content-related standards. It might be easiest to use in an enrichment language arts class because reading, writing, and discussion can be measured using English/language arts content standards.
Lessons include ranking experiences based on how much grit is required of people engaging in them, which should yield fascinating classroom conversations as students study the physics of drones, cut potatoes in half to model the differences between fossilized bones and regular rocks, research dinosaur facts, and use deductive logic to make inferences.
McIntosh does what he can to make implementation of these lesson plans easy, from providing materials lists at the beginning of each lesson to assessments and procedural instructions. One complication that could arise is with the novel. I could only find a print version inside the book, after the lesson plans. Teachers need to be prepared to make some copies, which will be time intensive. While the book could be used as a read-aloud in order to avoid the need for printing, teachers know that that is not always the best way to present a book to some students. (There is a $3 Kindle version of McIntosh’s book, Dinosaurs, Diggers and Thieves, available at Amazon.)
McIntosh shows a keen understanding of good instructional design in his books. The lessons in Dinosaurs to Drones spiral, returning to previous activities to build on them and review concepts, which will make the learning more likely to “stick” with students. Like Quests and Quandaries, the lessons here include a variety of independent, small-group, and whole-class activities, which should provide enough variety to keep students engaged throughout the lengthy unit.
A Final Recommendation
Overall, both these books get a thumbs up from this gifted education and language arts specialist. The seasoned professional will know what adjustments might be necessary to meet the needs of the unique learners in their classrooms. Because McIntosh takes much of the lesson planning work from teachers’ shoulders, the time spent making these adjustments should be minimal.
McIntosh’s integrative approach to unit planning is a surefire way to whet a gifted child’s curiosity and engage their brains in the critical thinking skills needed to help children grow intellectually.
Kim Rensch is a National Board Certified Teacher and former middle school language arts teacher now working as the lead facilitator of the Gifted Services team for Fargo Public Schools in North Dakota. She is a board member for the North Dakota Association for Gifted Children. When she is not advocating for gifted children, Kim can be found at church, digging around the garden, or on walking trails with her husband and dogs.
