Social studies curriculum often gets the short end of the differentiation stick with most of the attention focusing on reading and math. Join us in learning about a new project in which teachers, GT coordinators and researchers are collaborating to develop challenging differentiated curricula to address the needs of at-risk middle school students. Four curriculum units are being developed that illustrate evidence-based practices in both gifted and social studies education. The presenters will illuminate the messy process of taking a curriculum unit from textbook-boring to novel-scintillating and share sample lessons to help students develop a love of history and research.