This book provides 12 theme-based model lessons for gifted students in grades 6, 7, and 8. Introductory material addresses ways to integrate middle school curricula with established national standards and principles of differentiated curriculum. Each lesson follows a five-part outline: (1)motivation (stimulating the learner); (2) input (providing background experiences to promote context understanding); (3) output (learning through development of written, illustrative, oral, and other products); (4) culmination (synthesizing learning); and (5) extensions (elaborating further learning). Assessment suggestions are also included for each lesson. Each lesson is specifically related to curriculum standards and to a differentiation framework. Four lessons for Grade 6 are organized around the theme of conflict and include: epics and ballads (language arts); religion and political change (social studies); probability and statistics (data collection (mathematics)); and genetics (science). Four lessons for Grade 7 address the theme of relationships and include: writing mysteries (language arts); diversity (social studies); probability and statistics (duel for debate (mathematics)); and ecological succession (science). The four Grade 8 lessons consider the theme of power. These lessons consider: southern society (language arts); revolution (social studies); probability and statistics (decision making (mathematics)); and extinction (science). Correlations of the curriculum standards with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills are attached. (DB)