Gifted Children and Gifted Education Publisher - Prufrock Press

More Online Resources for Gifted Education

CFertig — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:01:00 GMT

In the past, I have listed many excellent websites that contain compilations of resources for gifted education. Recently, several more have come to my attention.

Exquisite Minds is created and maintained by Stacia Nicole Garland, a national award-winning teacher who worked with gifted children for 16 years. She includes practical, user-friendly information for both parents and educators as well as a long list of links of "Brainy Games."

While 96 Essential Sites & Blogs for Gifted Homeschoolers is designed for homeschoolers, it also contains some great websites for children who are more traditionally educated. If you are looking for ideas that support or supplement your student’s interests and abilities, you will find many ideas here. Topics include

General Blogs for Gifted Homeschoolers
College Prep
Science
Math
Writing
The Arts
Forums

Related Gifted Education Web Sites, from the American Psychological Association has an extensive alphabetical listing of gifted associations, programs, university connections, schools, research organizations, and publications.

Top 10 Gifted Education Blogs, from OnlineDegrees.org, lists links to the best blogs in gifted education. I’m pleased to say that Prufrock’s Gifted Child Information Blog is included in the list.

Prufrock Press Acquires Cottonwood Press

JMcIntosh — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:01:00 GMT

I would like to share some exciting news with you.

Today, my company, Prufrock Press, announced the acquisition of a wonderful publishing house, Cottonwood Press.

Colorado-based Cottonwood Press is a leading publisher of more than 85 engaging education products for the language arts classroom. Cottonwood Press' titles have been enthusiastically used in K-12 classrooms for 25 years.

This exciting and creative company built its reputation on quality language arts materials with a flair for humor and creativity. Cheryl Thurston, the publisher at Cottonwood, created a company beloved by language arts and English teachers around the country.

I am honored that Prufrock Press will be the new home for Cottonwood's excellent product line.

I invite you to learn more about our acquisition of this fine publisher of respected products. For more information, click here to read our press release about our acquisition of Cottonwood Press.

Social Networking for Advocates of Gifted Kids

JMcIntosh — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 20:05:00 GMT

This year at the NAGC convention in Atlanta, GA, I'll be moderating an exciting panel discussion titled, "Social Networking for Gifted Education Advocacy, Professional Development, and Communications."

Web-based social networking tools allow parents and teachers to coordinate advocacy efforts, learn about gifted education resources, and share ideas about gifted education and parenting with a global community. Social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and web-based discussion groups offer a rich source of support and information about children who are gifted. This panel discussion will explore how parents and teachers of gifted children can use these tools to coordinate advocacy efforts and improve classroom practice

The panel is comprised of some of the country's most popular gifted education social networking advocates:

Ian Byrd, Founder and Director, Byrdseed.com
Carolyn Kottmeyer, Director and Founder, Hoagies' Gifted Education Page
Deborah Mersino, Principal, Ingeniosus and #gtchat

Join us at the NAGC Convention for this great panel discussion:

Date: Saturday, November 13, 2010
Time: 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM EST
Room: Atlanta Ballroom E

Response to Intervention (RtI) for Gifted Students

CFertig — Thu, 20 May 2010 09:01:00 GMT

We all know that one size does not fit all when it comes to students' education. As advocates of gifted students, we are acutely aware that a very bright child may be advanced in one academic area, performing at grade level in another, and performing below grade level in another. Even highly gifted students cannot be expected to be advanced in all subject areas.

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a tool that was originally designed to provide services to students with achievement deficits and/or behavior problems, but had not been formally identified for special education. RtI is a tiered services model, which means that instruction and any other necessary assistance is delivered at whatever level is needed. It is an effective tool to use with very bright students who have not been formally identified as gifted and, therefore, have not been placed in a gifted program. It is only common sense that teachers constantly evaluate all students on a regular basis to determine their educational needs. Response to Intervention provides a structured method for doing this.

If you are interested in learning more about RtI's application to gifted education, you may want to check out the Summer 2009 issue of Gifted Child Today, which focuses almost exclusively on RtI and gifted education. Prufrock Press, the journal's publisher, recently began offering this issue free of charge as a downloadable PDF in response to the large number of requests from graduate students, teachers, professors, and other gifted education professionals who have used it for professional development purposes. According to Joel McIntosh, the publisher of Prufrock Press, the special issue, guest edited by Mary Ruth Coleman, Ph.D., and Claire E. Hughes, Ph.D., was so popular after its initial publication that "it quickly became one of the most widely-read issues in the peer-reviewed journal's history."

You will want to view the articles made available to learn more about this important technique. For additional information on Response to Intervention, you also may consult the following websites:

More Pre-K Pupils Qualify for Gifted Programs in NYC Schools

JMcIntosh — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:15:00 GMT

More students are qualifying for gifted kindergarten programs in hyper-competitive New York City schools, but a spike in the use of tutors and test-prep programs by privileged families may be playing an outsized role.

Apparently, parents in NYC are hiring tutors and buying IQ test-preparation materials for their four-year-olds! The problem is so bad that the results from the identification instruments used are becoming invalid. In this recent New York Times article, one Prufrock author, Dr. Susan Johnsen, makes an important point: “Any test is susceptible to test preparation, and that’s why you start to invalidate those assessments.” Dr. Johnsen supports the use of a wide variety of tools for assessing giftedness in kids.

Read the full article, "More Pre-K Pupils Qualify for Gifted Programs."

TONI-4: Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, 4th ed., Available in May

JMcIntosh — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:13:00 GMT

Let me give a quick notification to any gifted education coordinators, school counselors, or district-level diagnosticians involved with gifted child identification.

If you are currently using the TONI-3 as a part of your school's gifted child identification processes, please note that the TONI-4: Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, 4th ed., will be released in mid-May. The TONI-4 is a completely revised instrument and will replace the older version of the test.

The TONI-3 is no longer available, but we will be shipping the TONI-4 in just a few weeks.

More Online Learning for Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 09:01:00 GMT

Teachers and parents alike often turn to online learning options in order to supplement and/or accelerate gifted students' learning. Does your young person have a strong interest and ability in mathematics, physics, computer programming, literature, writing, history, or foreign language? Does she want to take Advanced Placement (AP) classes that are not offered at her local high school? Or, does your student need a flexible schedule because of family circumstances, work responsibilities, or health issues?

Are you in a school district where your young person’s needs and abilities surpass the available curriculum? Do you homeschool your child, either full-time or part-time, and, as a result, need solid educational resources? Or, do you have a student who doesn't necessarily want to earn credit for extracurricular classes, but instead just wants to expose himself to different topics in order to see if any really interest him? If so, then you may want to introduce your student to the wide range of opportunities available through online learning.

For years, I have been writing about the virtues of distance learning for gifted kids. Over the past few years, the distance learning field has continued to expand. As the technology becomes more sophisticated, many distance learning programs are beginning to use not only computers for their programs, but also everyday technologies, such as cell phones.

Kids are often more comfortable with these technologies than adults. This may be one reason why traditional schools are often unable to adjust to and incorporate these new technologies into the traditional classroom. Adults (both parents and teachers) sometimes lack the expertise that young people have already learned at an early age and use every day. Perhaps it is time for adults to stop fighting these new developments and, instead, embrace them and incorporate them into student learning. Online learning is one good way to start.

If you are interested in learning more about the opportunities available to gifted kids, there is a great deal of information available at the Davidson Institute for Talent Development website and at the Distance Learning Programs page of Hoagies’ Gifted Education website.

Differentiating Instruction for Gifted Students (Podcast)

JMcIntosh — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:22:00 GMT

Increasingly, teachers grapple with the task of differentiating instruction in a way that challenges every student in a mixed-ability classroom. While there are many effective approaches to accomplishing this goal, Prufrock Press' series, Differentiating Instruction With Menus, is one of the best ready-to-use resources available on the topic.

In today’s podcast, I speak with Laurie Westphal, the author of Prufrock's Differentiating Instruction with Menus series. After teaching science for more than 15 years, both overseas and in the U.S., Laurie now works as an independent gifted education and science consultant and as a very popular Prufrock Press author.

I asked Laurie to join the podcast today to discuss the idea of adding student choice into a classroom as one way of differentiating instruction in a mixed-ability class of students.

Listen to the Podcast

Click here to listen to the podcast

(approximate length: 22 minutes)

Click here to listen to or subscribe* to this podcast on iTunes

(requires that you have iTunes installed on your computer)

* If you wish to receive notifications when new podcasts are posted, you need to subscribe to Prufrock Press' "Gifted Education Podcast" on iTunes or subscribe to the "Podcasts" RSS feed in the left column of this blog (see "Categories/RSS"). Click here to read instructions on using RSS feeds.

A "Mysterious" Way to Teach Scientific Inquiry

JMcIntosh — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:54:00 GMT

When I was a kid, I loved mysteries and ghost stories and games. When I was about six, my parents gave me a board game called “Green Ghost.” For the life of me, I don’t remember the details of how the game was played, but I remember that the entire board game glowed in the dark. The point of the game was to make your way around a haunted house with trap doors and attacking ghouls. One fun gimmick of the game was that you had to wait until after dark to play it if you wanted to experience the glow in the dark effect.

As a teacher, I never lost my love for the good mystery. I tried to bring elements of the mysterious into the classroom. My high school students and I played with writing descriptive passages from the home of Jack the Ripper, collected local ghost stories, and discussed the ways in which mystery writers construct their tales.

When I first saw the prospectus for Science Sleuths: Solving Mysteries Using Scientific Inquiry, I was thrilled. The authors, two science teachers, wanted to develop a tool for teaching scientific literacy and inquiry using detective mysteries as their framework.

As the project developed, I became more and more excited. The authors began constructing a book with full-color “evidence” posters, crime logs, crime scene evidence, and a cast of questionable suspects. The crimes they created were intriguing—an art gallery heist, a mysterious death at a bed and breakfast (yes—they called it “Dead and Breakfast”), and a mysterious death at a software company.

Each of the activities in the book requires students to use inquiry, research, and the tools of scientific exploration to solve mysteries. Students must think and act like forensic detectives to succeed. Working in groups, students race to beat the clock as they attempt to determine which suspect should be charged with the crime.

I’m incredibly proud of this book. The authors have a knack for making science fun. The kid in me is pretty envious of the students who will get to experience Science Sleuths in their science classrooms.

Proposed Exams Could Allow Students to Graduate Two Years Early

JMcIntosh — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:06:00 GMT

A provocative eight-state initiative that could change the way high schools work was launched this week. The National Center on Education and the Economy announced a plan to pilot a national board examination for high school students. Results of the exam would allow many students to graduate two years early and attend junior colleges or move into the work force.

Each of the eight states (Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont) have pledged that in selected schools, students will be given a national board examination at the end of their tenth-grade year. Students passing the exam could graduate from high school and immediately enter junior college or the work force. Those passing students wishing to enter more rigorous four-year universities could begin taking advanced college preparation classes. Students failing the national board exam would be required to begin taking remedial classes designed to prepare them to pass the national boards the following year.

The junior and senior years of pilot high schools would focus on either remedial education or advanced college preparation classes exclusively.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided a $1.5 million planning grant to help get the program running. According to the New York Times, the project organizers expect to cover additional implementation costs by applying for a portion of the $350 million in federal stimulus money designated for improving public schools.

To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this project. On the one hand, it will allow public high schools to intensely focus resources on two goals: helping struggling learners meet national standards and preparing advanced learners for the academic rigor of the university. However, it will dramatically change the way the last two years of high school are organized and experienced by students. I'm also a little less than enthusiastic about a plan that assigns struggling learners to remedial classes based on a single type of test. It is not clear how much flexibility is allowed under the plan.

Regardless, this project is incredibly interesting and has the potential to impact high schools in a significant way. It will be interesting to see if research data coming out of the pilot schools support the plan's implementation on a nationwide basis.

Sharpening Gifted Brains

CFertig — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:01:00 GMT

The SharpBrains blog is run by a market research firm that tracks new research into brain fitness and cognitive health. The website includes a number of articles and sections that may be of interest to parents and teachers of gifted kids.

Interesting articles from the website include:

Working Memory: A Better Predictor of Academic Success Than IQ? This article addresses several important questions such as: How important is working memory for long-term academic success? Which is more important, IQ or working memory? Can working memory be assessed?
Learning about Learning: An Interview with Joshua Waitzkin. In this article, the chess prodigy featured in the film Searching for Bobby Fischer is interviewed.
Arts and Smarts: Test Scores and Cognitive Development. This article highlights the connection between the arts, academic performance, and improved cognition.

Activities highlighted on the website include:

Brain Teasers. More than 50 brain teasers are divided into categories such as “attention,” “pattern recognition and planning,” and “visual illusions.” Many of the brain teasers are interactive and are accompanied by articles explaining the brain research that supports the activities.

NCLB Stagnates the Progress of Some Gifted Learners

JMcIntosh — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:08:00 GMT

Under NCLB, the academic progress of high-ability learners who are economically disadvantaged, English Language Learners, or historically underprivileged minorities has stagnated. That is the conclusion of a new report from the Indiana University Center for Evaluation and Education Policy. The report, Mind the (Other) Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education, concludes that after nine years of NCLB, these students "represent a smaller proportion of students scoring at the highest levels of achievement."

In fact, the report makes it clear that while high-ability students from traditionally "over-represented groups" faired relatively well under NCLB, high-ability students from traditionally under-represented groups have made little progress. The report concludes, "whatever the effectiveness of ESEA/NCLB in shrinking the achievement gap at the level of minimum competence, there appears to be little comparable improvement at the advanced level."

From the report, "the final conclusion is clear: there has been little progress in substantially reducing excellence gaps since the passage of NCLB."

Download Mind the (Other) Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education (PDF format, 1.7 MB)

Connect With Gifted Education Advocates Via Social Networking

JMcIntosh — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:48:00 GMT

As a teacher or parent of gifted children, you know that finding others who share your passion for gifted education can be difficult. Finding information, resources, and support for gifted children can be a struggle. However, I believe that the growth of social networks offers a way to overcome the isolation that many advocates for gifted children feel.

The opportunities to become involved with other gifted education advocates using the Internet and social networking are numerous and rapidly growing.

For example, one gifted education advocate with whom I recently corresponded, Deborah Mersino, organizes weekly online chats during which gifted supporters from across the globe join in something called a "Twitter chat." If you are interested, join Deborah for a Twitter chat tonight to discuss "Delving Into the Digital Age: Tools & Tips for Teachers and Parents of Gifted Kids" at 7:00 p.m. EST. If you miss tonight's chat, simply visit Deborah's blog to find the date and topic for the next chat. Anyone can join the discussion, and doing so is very easy. To participate in tonight's chat, simply visit TweetChat, follow the set-up instructions, and use the special "hashtag" #gtchat in step 2 of the setup process.

Yesterday afternoon at Prufrock Press, my staff and I launched two exciting opportunities for our customers to connect and discuss gifted education topics of interest. As of yesterday, we began using both Twitter and Facebook to help our customers and other gifted education supporters to reach out to one another.

Twitter
Follow the ongoing discussion about gifted education and advocacy for gifted education by following our Twitter feed. My staff and I have started posting lots of interesting ideas, resources, and comments related to gifted education. By following us on Twitter, you can join in that discussion. All you need to do is join Twitter and follow our Twitter feed. Click the icon below to join the discussion on Twitter!

Facebook
Become a fan of Prufrock Press on Facebook. We have big plans for building interesting and engaging content for our Facebook page. My editors will be encouraging discussions, posting pictures from gifted education conferences, and keeping you updated on the latest news in gifted education. We want our Facebook page to be a rich source of news and information about advocating for and teaching gifted children. However, don't just become a fan of our page--visit the page, post your ideas, and join in the discussion. Click the icon below to join the discussion on Facebook!

I want to emphasize that my staff and I want to use our Twitter and Facebook presence to help connect our customers and fans with each other. We will use these tools to build an exciting, interactive social network focused on friendships, information, resources, and support. The more gifted education supporters who join us, the more exciting the experience will be. So, get involved today by joining Ms. Mersino's weekly chats, following Prufrock Press on Twitter, or becoming a fan of our page on Facebook.

Do You Want a Gifted or a Hard-Working Child?

CFertig — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:01:00 GMT

Psychology Today recently featured a provocative article on its website, titled, Parenting: Do You Want a Gifted or Hard-Working Child? This particular article caught my eye because it presents an alternative way of thinking about parenting gifted kids. I wanted to share it with the gifted education community because it provides some food for thought. The author of the article, Jim Taylor, notes that although "the world is full of gifted failures," parents continue to "hope beyond hope that their children are gifted."

Kids often feel the same way. According to Taylor, whenever he asks a group of kids whether they would rather be gifted or hard working, almost all of them say that they would rather be gifted. In their view, being gifted means that that they are not only destined for success, they won't have to work that hard for it either.

Hard work and perseverance are crucial components of success. However, many people tend to negate the importance of hard work and practice and instead believe that achievement is based on ability alone. This is a dangerous misconception, particularly for gifted kids.

Because learning comes so easily to them when they are young, gifted kids often fail to learn that there is an important link between effort and outcome. They assume that their achievements are a result of their natural ability and that, conversely, their failures are a result of their ability, as well. As Taylor writes: "If gifted children attribute their successes to their ability, when they fail--which they inevitably will sooner or later--they must attribute their failures to their lack of ability (they must be stupid or untalented)." Unfortunately, this kind of misguided thinking can lead kids to give up on a task prematurely because they fear that they aren't good enough. They don't understand that effort is just as important to success as ability.

If these kids continue to succeed with limited effort, they will eventually find themselves in an environment (such as a selective college or university) where nearly everyone is gifted. As Taylor writes: "At this point, giftedness isn't what ultimately determines who becomes truly successful. What separates those children who are simply gifted from those who are gifted and successful is whether they possess the skills to maximize their gifts. Unfortunately, these children will find that their inborn talent is no longer sufficient to be successful. Because everything comes so easily to them, many never learn the skills--hard work, persistence, patience, perseverance, discipline--that will enable them to become truly successful."

Taylor even goes so far as to say that parents should not tell their children that they’re gifted because it will put an unnecessary burden upon them. As Taylor writes: "Instead of emphasizing your children's giftedness, you should talk to them about the attitudes and skills--which are under their control--that they will need to fully realize their talents." Taylor also believes that we should not tell a child that he or she has great potential because having potential means that a youngster has done nothing yet. Potential implies eventual adult success, and, as Taylor writes, we are simply not very good at predicting who will become successful in life.

According to Dr. Anders Ericcson, a professor at Florida State University who has studied expert performance in sports, music, mathematics, and other activities, the single greatest predictor for success is how many hours a person has practiced an activity. The more hours one practices, the better he or she is. (Remember the 10,000 hours rule that Malcolm Gladwell championed in his book, Outliers? That rule is based on a study that Ericcson conducted. According to the 10,000 hours rule, it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve mastery.) As Taylor writes: "Hard work means children putting in the necessary time, sticking with it when it's not always fun, persevering in the face of setbacks and failures, and developing all of the skills necessary to become successful."

And so now we have one more way of looking at the capabilities and possibilities of young people. Be sure to check out the comments section at the bottom of Taylor's article for an ongoing discussion of his viewpoints.

Friendship and Giftedness

CFertig — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:01:00 GMT

There is a common misconception that gifted children experience more social and emotional troubles than average children. However, research shows that most gifted young people are well-adjusted and have a strong circle of friends. For a clearer understanding of the importance of gifted children's friendships, you will want to consult the following resources:

The Davidson Institute for Talent Development

The Institute's website offers numerous links to articles that expand on this theme, as well as information about a wide variety of books that discuss friendship and giftedness. Articles that may interest you include:

SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted)

"Play Partner" or "Sure Shelter": What Gifted Children Look for in Friendship

The Duke Gifted Letter

Summer Programs for the Gifted: Time to Start Planning

CFertig — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:01:00 GMT

Gifted students enroll in summer programs for a wide variety of reasons. They may choose to enroll in a summer program in order to:

spend valuable time with others who are at a similar intellectual level,
concentrate on a specific area of interest or ability,
enhance their academic study with additional enrichment opportunities,
burnish their credentials so that they have a better chance of gaining entrance to an elite college,
"try out” an academic area of interest, or
earn early college credit.

Cogito is an online community for gifted youth that is sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. As of today, the website has listed more than 430 summer programs in all academic areas. These programs are located all over the United States, as well as the world. Most of the programs listed are designed for middle school and high school students, but some programs are designed for elementary school students, as well. Some programs are residential and some are commuter. Opportunities can be sorted by title or by organization. There is also a search engine built into the website that allows you to sort by grade level, acceptance requirements, and location. You also may want to check out Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page: Summer and Saturday Programs for more summer enrichment ideas.

Selecting an appropriate summer program for your student can seem like a daunting task. NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children) has several articles that you may find helpful as you sort through your list of choices.

Remember that many of these programs have strict deadlines for admission. Whatever your reason for enrolling your student in a summer program, be sure to start the process now before it is too late.

Our Shameful National Commitment to Gifted and Talented Children

JMcIntosh — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:07:00 GMT

The National Association for Gifted Children recently released its "State of the Nation in Gifted Education" report. The report offers a frustrating picture of this nation's commitment to providing a quality education to our most talented students.

The report concludes. . .

Gifted programs are embarrassingly underfunded--Gifted education is without support at the federal level, and states do a poor job of funding programs. Thirteen states have no gifted education funding at all, and most other states provide only token support.
Teachers are untrained and underprepared--Training in gifted education identification and teaching methods is seldom a requirement for teachers, even teachers working in specialized programs for gifted students.
Services offered to gifted students are haphazard and piecemeal--Gifted students often can expect fragmented and uncoordinated services and opportunities.
Gifted education has no accountability--Absent any reporting or accountability measures to ensure that services are delivered equitably, there is no way that local districts or states can monitor and improve gifted education services.

The report's "Executive Summary" concludes that:

Our nation needs a comprehensive, national gifted education policy in which federal, state, and local leaders work together to ensure that all gifted and talented students are identified and served by well-trained teachers using challenging curriculum to meet their advanced learning needs. Supporting teacher training and professional development, designing and sharing model identification and service programs, and eliminating policies that obstruct students from receiving appropriate instruction are core elements of a national strategy to support our most advanced learners. A greater investment in these children is a greater investment in our nation's future. (p. 4)

"Amen," I say. But I have little optimism that this problem will find its solution on the national level. My experience with gifted education over the last 20 years leads me to believe that there is little will at the national level to tackle this problem. Politicians and special interest groups discount gifted education as elitist and unnecessary, regardless of the realities that gifted kids are facing in our schools.

On the other hand, at the local level, parents of gifted children hear such nonsense and call it ridiculous. These parents have real kids who are gifted and need quality services. They push schools and administrators to implement programs at the local level. As a result, we have a patchwork of quality programs and wide disparities in gifted education from one school district (or even one school) to the next.

I wish I had more optimism about gifted education leadership and funding at the national level. However, over and over, it seems that truly effective advocacy is wielded by parents at a grassroots level. Unfortunately, this fact will continue to cause wide disparities in gifted education until we find the national will to face this country's shoddy approach to educating gifted children.

Video Gaming for the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Playing video games is often a big part of the lives of today’s youth. Why not capitalize on this trend from an educational standpoint? Many gifted students will enjoy learning about the history and development of video games, and they may also enjoy learning about potential careers in the field.

Like so many other advances in technology, video games began for pure amusement; but their applications have spilled over into the broad fields of information sharing and education, including in the military and in many corporations.

Some websites that your student may enjoy exploring include:

The Video Game Revolution—This PBS site explores the history of gaming, how a game is made, and the impact of gaming on the world. It also offers personal stories about gaming (both positive and negative), quizzes, and retro games that kids can actually experience. The site contains both audio and video, and is interactive.

Cogito, the math and science website sponsored by Johns Hopkins University that I can’t say enough good things about, has some excellent resources on video gaming, including camps and workshops, competitions, and information about careers. Search on a variety of terms, including “careers in video games.”

For older, serious students, there is the annual Game Developers Conference where attendees can avoid the expensive full access registration by purchasing a pass for just the Game Career Seminar. The Game Career Seminar is a full day program designed for students and individuals interested in learning how to break into the video game industry.

Three Prufrock Press Books Win Prestigious Gifted Education Awards

JMcIntosh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:50:00 GMT

I'm so proud to announce that three outstanding books published by Prufrock Press have been named winners of the prestigious 2009 Legacy Book Awards, which recognize outstanding books published in the United States that have long-term potential for positively influencing the lives of gifted children. The Legacy Book Awards are sponsored each year by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT), the largest state advocacy group of its kind.

This year, the Legacy Book Awards recognized three outstanding books for educators, parents, and students. Strategies for Differentiating Instruction: Best Practices for the Classroom (2nd ed.), by Julia L. Roberts, Ed.D., and Tracy F. Inman; Raising a Gifted Child: A Parenting Success Book, by Carol Fertig; and Social-Emotional Curriculum With Gifted and Talented Students, edited by Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Ed.D., Tracy L. Cross, Ph.D., and F. Richard Olenchak, Ph.D., are the winners of the 2009 Legacy Book Awards.

For more information, visit our 2009 Legacy Book Award announcement page.

Nine Research-Supported Facts About Gifted Education

JMcIntosh — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:13:00 GMT

In 2008, Dr. Sally M. Reis (University of Connecticut) prepared a National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) position paper listing facts that we know to be true about gifted education.

She limited this list to include only conclusive statements that can be supported by many years of research findings about gifted education. Certainly, she could have included others; however, the idea behind this list was to collect those statements that had so much solid support, they could be considered established facts.

As I read over Dr. Reis' list, I found it frustrating that what we do in schools diverges so radically from what we know is best for gifted kids. How many gifted children attend schools where most, if not all, of the facts listed below are ignored? How many parents have heard a school administrator reject acceleration as an option for gifted kids? How many untrained general education teachers "differentiate" for gifted students by just giving them more work? How many schools ignore high-ability learners in order to myopically focus exclusively on teaching minimum skills to struggling learners?

The NAGC position paper is helpful for gifted child advocates because it explicitly establishes what we know to be true about gifted education. Let me share the information included in Dr. Reis' report:

The needs of gifted students are generally not met in American classrooms where the focus is most often on struggling learners and where most classroom teachers have not had the training necessary to meet the needs of gifted students.

Grouping gifted students together for instruction increases achievement for gifted students, and in some cases, also increases achievement for students who are achieving at average and below average levels.

The use of acceleration results in higher achievement for gifted and talented learners.

The use of enrichment and curriculum enhancement results in higher achievement for gifted and talented learners, as well as other students.

Classroom teachers can learn to differentiate curriculum and instruction in their regular classroom situations and to extend gifted education strategies and pedagogy to all content areas.

Gifted education programs and strategies are effective at serving gifted and high-ability students in a variety of educational settings and from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic populations. Gifted education pedagogy can also reverse underachievement in these students.

The curriculum and pedagogy of gifted programs can be extended to a variety of content areas resulting in higher achievement for both gifted and average students. Some enrichment pedagogy can benefit struggling and special needs students when implemented in a wide variety of settings.

Some gifted students with learning disabilities who are not identified experience emotional difficulties and seek counseling. High percentages of gifted students do underachieve, but this underachievement can be reversed. Some gifted students do drop out of high school.

Gifted education programs and strategies benefit gifted and talented students longitudinally, helping students increase aspirations for college and careers, determine postsecondary and career plans, develop creativity and motivation that they can apply to later work, and obtain more advanced degrees.

Read the entire NAGC position paper, "Research That Supports the Need for and Benefits of Gifted Education." The position paper includes references to the research studies that support each of the conclusions listed above.

NAGC Virtual Convention Delivers Captivating Speakers Live at Home

JMcIntosh — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:50:00 GMT

Can't attend gifted education's largest convention? Not a problem! Now you can watch the National Association for Gifted Children's most captivating convention speakers at home on your computer.

This year, for the first time, NAGC is offering a convenient and inexpensive "Virtual Convention." As a virtual conference participant, you will be able to hear and see important presentations during the conference from any computer that has Internet access.

In fact, I am so excited by this concept that I contacted NAGC and offered for Prufrock Press to sponsor the Virtual Convention this year.

Don't let shrinking budgets and travel restrictions keep you from being a part of the largest and most informative national conference devoted to classroom innovation, gifted education, and high-ability learners. Register for the NAGC Virtual Convention and experience a full-day of content-rich sessions on Saturday, November 7. Attendees will have access to 17 live convention sessions. NAGC is offering three different convention strands: practical ideas for teachers, support for parents, or a focus on critical issues.

Those who register to participate virtually will also be given access to an online portal in which they can discuss topics, post documents, etc. in order to reach out to fellow attendees in advance of the live webinars.

Update [10/15/09]: NAGC Virtual Convention attendees can receive one university continuing education unit (CEU) throught the University of California at Irvine. This CEU may be used to document professional development hours and can be submitted to your district to meet requirements for salary advancement.

Visit NAGC's Virtual Convention home page for more information or to register.

Helping Gifted Students Analyze Literature

CFertig — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:01:00 GMT

The website Guidelines for Reading and Analyzing Literature was compiled by Dr. Tina L. Hanlon, associate professor of English at Ferrum College in Virginia. Although the guidelines were originally assembled for college students, they are equally applicable to gifted high school students and, with some minor adjustments, also can be used by gifted youngsters in middle school and upper elementary school.

The higher level thinking skills presented on the website provide an excellent model for teachers to use with almost any piece of literature. The guidelines also are helpful for parents who want to have in-depth book discussions with their kids. And homeschoolers: I know that you too will appreciate the useful information provided on this site. Hanlon breaks down the process of reading and analyzing literature into five steps:

First Impression
Types of Literature
Literary Techniques
Themes
Evaluation and Review

I like this particular website because the information, while extensive, is presented in a form that is very easy to scan quickly. It also contains universal ideas that can be used immediately.

Social/Emotional Activities for the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:01:00 GMT

What a surprise! For this week’s blog, I chose the topic of social/emotional activities for the gifted. I like to provide free information to readers, and I thought that it would be easy to find material about this topic to post on the blog. However, it wasn’t easy at all!

There is a lot of information available about why gifted kids may need support, and there are also basic guidelines for setting up support groups. In addition, there are several books available on the subject, but these books can be costly.

When it comes to finding actual, hands-on strategies that a parent or teacher can use with gifted kids, it can be very difficult. My guess is that there are readers out there who have developed their own successful strategies for working with gifted kids. I invite you to share those ideas by adding a comment to this blog entry. There is obviously a strong need for your suggestions. Meanwhile, below are a few links that I did find.

The following links can be used as jumping off points for your own discussions about issues that gifted students may struggle with over time. Frequently, young people may not be able to attach names to some of their issues, and they may not realize that others wrestle with the same concerns. Don’t hesitate to modify the information provided below to suit your group of students.

Emotional Intelligence Activities for Children Ages 8-10: Thirty-three pages of activities for elementary students. Gifted kids will be able handle these issues at even younger ages.
Emotional Intelligence Activities for Teens Ages 13-18: Thirty-four pages of activities for teenagers. These activities can also be used with younger gifted students.
Teaching Social Skills: Six steps to teaching social skills, plus a list of 24 social skills to teach gifted kids.

If you are interested in actually purchasing books, here are a few resources:

Free Spirit Publishing specializes in social and emotional issues and strategies.
Prufrock Press also has books on the subject. Search using the words “social emotional” for a list of possibilities.
SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) lists recommended books under the link to “Articles and Resources.”

Helping Gifted Students Find Their Passions

CFertig — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Passion drives an individual and creates self-motivation. Some students easily develop strong interests that motivate them. However, for many others, discovering their passion is not always so simple.

How can we, as adults, help these kids uncover their desire to learn? I suggest that this can be accomplished in two ways: first, by exposing kids to a wide range of subjects, interests, and experiences, and second, by allowing kids to observe first-hand another person’s excitement for a topic.

Parents and teachers may assume that a student's passion must be academically driven in order to be important. However, this is not true. A student's profound interest in just about any socially acceptable area can be very significant. For example, when a student is driven by an extracurricular passion, they will often find reasons to work harder on academic areas that support that interest.

Eleven-year-old Tyler Befus found his passion in fly fishing. (Listen to this interview to get a sense of Tyler’s intensity, and his ability to articulate his passion.) Fly fishing led Tyler to write two books about the subject, develop his marketing skills, and practice public speaking at a very young age. It also motivated him to study entomology, and master the fine art of fly-tying. In addition, Tyler developed skills through fly fishing that would serve him well throughout his life, such as the ability to organize information and see patterns, as well as the ability to persist in the pursuit of his goals and overcome obstacles. Tyler’s father exposed him to fly fishing at a very early age, and, luckily for Tyler, one of the first interest areas that he was exposed to was one that stuck. Most people need to be exposed to a large variety of topics before they latch on to one that suits them.

Adults should expose kids to a wide variety of experiences, and realize that youngsters may develop interests that are quite different from those enjoyed by the rest of the family. It is also important that adults supplement kids' academic pursuits by introducing them to different types of music, dance, theater, film, sports, hobbies, and people. After all, if a student's exposure to different experiences is limited, then how can they be expected to develop an interest in something suited to their personality?

Once your kid does find a topic that she wants to pursue, support their interest by increasing their exposure to that subject through books, extracurricular clubs, information on the Internet, supplemental classes, or perhaps summer camps devoted to that interest. You may also want to introduce your kid to mentors that have excelled in their area of interest.

Don’t be upset if your kid seems passionate about one topic, and then suddenly wants to move on to something else. This is a time for experimentation, and it may take a while for them to find a passion that sticks. After all, even you may find that your interests wax and wane at different periods of your life.

Music Appreciation for the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:01:00 GMT

The Interactive Resources at the Carnegie Hall Web site provides a range of music appreciation instruction for young learners through advanced musicians. Here is a sampling of what is available.

A History of African American Music

Here you can trace the musical contributions of African Americans from the time of slavery to today’s popular styles. An interactive timeline organized by year and genre includes notable Carnegie Hall performances. Photos and historical information are partnered with streaming audio.

Listening Adventures

This section was designed to teach kids, ages 6–12 about sound, music notation, text, and instruments in a fun, interactive exploration. Teacher resources are included along with the following adventures:

“The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, by Benjamin Britten” where students join Violet as she embarks on an instrument safari, guided by her uncle Ollie, collecting all the instruments of the orchestra.
“Carnegie Hall Animated History” hosted by Gino the cat who leads an adventure through Carnegie Hall from its founding in 1891 to the present day. It includes a game featuring important figures from this landmark music venue's past.
“Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9” teaches kids about the structure of the symphony as well as the instruments that are played. This is done with help from Dvořák himself via excerpts from his letters and instructive comments about his life. Engaging activities are also included.

Interactive Performance Guides

This section is suited for more-advanced learners, exploring issues of technique, interpretation, and composition.

Leon Fleisher's master classes focus on technique, interpretation, and performance in the four late Schubert piano sonatas. This section will be best understood by advanced piano students.
“The Emerson String Quartet: The Bartók Quartets, A Guide for Performers and Music Lovers” is intended for performers who are preparing these pieces as well as listeners and concertgoers who wish to learn more about the Bartók quartets and about the many musical decisions that must be made in order to perform these demanding works. This section includes video footage, written commentary, and an animated score. Much of the video was taken during a workshop given by Emerson members in 2003 and has been supplemented with additional video of Emerson members and others speaking about the quartets.

In addition to these wonderfully interactive segments, the Sound Insights section of the Carnegie Hall Web site has a wealth of musical information. Additional sections include video, audio, and written material about composers, artists, and other music personalities.

David Shenk's Giftedness Controversy

CFertig — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:01:00 GMT

David Shenk, author of The Genius in All of Us, to be released next year, has created a blog of the same title for The Atlantic magazine. The Genius in All of Us focuses on initiating and perpetuating a research-based conversation about the nature of giftedness and the institutional responses that are filtered through gifted education. Many will find Shenk’s research and resulting conclusions controversial. Some will find him threatening to their view of giftedness; others will find his views heartening. But this controversy is what makes him interesting, creating potential for field-enhancing questioning and discussion.

Shenk hopes to post blog entries several times a week and is off to a good start with the following titles:

The End of Giftedness
How Genes Really Work
The Truth about IQ
Should Kids Know Their Own IQs?

Some of the broad areas he plans to cover in the future include:

How brains work
Where child prodigies come from
What nature/nurture really means
The creative process and work habits of high achievers
The roles of parents, schools, culture, and technology

I am curious to see where Shenk goes with all of his ideas—if he makes convincing arguments for his view of intelligence, what implications this will have for future research in gifted education, and what suggestions he will make for parents and educators.

Helping Gifted Kids Become Resilient

CFertig — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:01:00 GMT

We all know people who have been through a lot but are able to bounce back—emotionally strong, physically healthy, happy, and able to achieve. We also know individuals who appear to have every advantage but fall apart at the first sign of trouble. The difference is resilience. Resilient people are able to adapt, despite risk and adversity.

When things happen unexpectedly or take a wrong turn, gifted children are just as susceptible to the intense vulnerability that accompanies struggle and tragedy whether it results from something beyond their control or is simply caused by errors in judgment. Given the right tools, young people can gain control over how they react to situations. Children can learn to be more resilient by becoming more optimistic in response to difficulty.

"Seven Parenting Solutions to Help Kids Rebound from Mistakes," an article in Michele Borba's blog, Reality Check, offers some great advice for parents (teachers, these are good techniques for the classroom as well). Using colorful anecdotes, Borba lists concrete ways to teach kids to bounce back from difficult situations, see mistakes as learning opportunities, and keep trying. In addition to teaching techniques, she suggests that teachers and parents use optomistic language when addressing students in a vulnerable state. Visit her web site to read the detail behind each of the following suggestions:

Be an example of bouncing back;
Set realistic expectations;
Start a “bounce back!” motto;
Create a “Stick to It” award;
Help children see mistakes as opportunities;
Respond to errors noncritically; and
Offer support only when needed.

Michele Borba's article also appears in her soon to be release book, The Big Book of Parenting Solutions: 101 Answers to Your Everyday Challenges and Wildest Worries (Published by Jossey-Bass).

In Duke Gifted Letter’s article Promoting Resilience, Maureen Neihart discusses how adults can help children develop the ability to bounce back. Neihart recommends:

Praising effort rather than performance;
Reading hopeful, optimistic stories with resilient characters, discussing the challenges the characters face, and the choices they make;
Helping the child brainstorm many possible reasons for a situation to prevent the development of black-or-white thinking; and
Doing anything and everything possible to enhance the child’s relationships with caring adults.

In Mental Toughness, Resiliency, and Endurance, Fernette and Brock Eide recommend:

Modeling resiliency for young people;
Praising effort and perseverance more than accomplishment;
Encouraging risk-taking and boldness; and
Allowing kids to fail, but being ever ready with unconditional emotional support, context (failure is one of the best ways to learn), and redirection toward the future.

News Sites for Gifted Kids

CFertig — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Kristin Hokanson (elementary teacher turned high school tech coach) maintains The Connected Classroom Web site. Hokanson understands the growing importance of technology in our lives and urges teachers and parents to incorporate technology into their children’s learning experiences. Connected Classroom contains many interesting sections. Today, I’d like to tell you about News Sites for Kids.

News Sites for Kids offers a comprehensive list of links to news that kids can understand. Many of these links also offer lesson plans or teaching ideas such as the following listed on The New York Times Learning Connection:

In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," Atticus Finch tells Scout, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." And the Buddha is supposed to have said, "You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger." Choose one of these quotations or find another expression about human nature by searching an archive of quotations, such as About.com's Quotations page or Bartleby.com. Then read The New York Times for a week, looking for articles that support (or refute) the expression you chose. Good starting places are the Opinion, N.Y./Region and U.S./National sections. Then write an essay that explains the degree to which the expression seems to be true, backed by the examples you found.

As always, teachers should check sites out first to make certain they are appropriate for the learning levels of their students.

Links for the younger set include:

For upper elementary and older:

CNN Student News
New York Times Learning Connection
PBS Newshour for Kids
The Internet Public Library Newspapers Collection
National Geographic News
EconEdLink

Hokanson has including additional links to visual sites using world maps to organize the day's headlines, world newspapers, commercial newsites, and sites that help teachers develop lesson plans about current events and the nature of journalism.

Immediate Action Needed to Save Federal Gifted Education Funding

JMcIntosh — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:33:00 GMT

The National Association for Gifted Children has called for "emergency" action to save federal funding for gifted education. However, if you wish to help, you must act before the end of business today.

Federal funding for gifted education is on the chopping block, and your action is needed. The only federal funding for gifted child education is known as the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act. While small in comparison to other education programs, this funding supports important programs and research focused on identifying and serving disadvantaged gifted students. These limited funds were cut out of the proposed 2010 federal budget.

Please consider e-mailing or calling your congressperson and asking that at least $7.5 million be reinstated in fiscal year 2010 for the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act.

Please suggest to your congressperson that funds currently earmarked for local special projects be directed to fund the Javits Act. These special projects funds have already been budgeted, so ask that some of these dollars be allocated toward gifted education. By simply shifting these funds, federal spending would not be increased.

The National Association for Gifted Children has posted detailed instructions related to contacting your representative in Congress.

Keep in mind that you must act today.

Free Online Mathematics Instruction for Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Mathematics education in the United States is often criticized as ranking behind that of other countries. For a sampling of such evidence, you can review a study conducted by the American Institutes for Research or highlights from TIMSS 2007.

Online mathematics learning offers one possible solution for advancing math abilities in highly engaged and self-motivated students. Global Education is an organization that endeavors to raise the proficiency level of capable students so that they will be prepared for the world’s elite universities. The main goal of the program is not to educate mathematicians but to help students acquire as much useful analytical ability as possible to be successful in the future. Though Global Education was established in 2003, it employs proven teaching methods developed to support math education in the 1960s.

Predicated on the premise that mathematically gifted students (from about Grade 6) should be allowed to pursue math education outside the strictures of a traditional classroom setting, Global Education presents rich content in an interactive forum that naturally facilitates individual enrichment. Four to five 50-minute sessions weekly supplant the traditional text book, challenging gifted students to acquire additional math skill by relying upon previous knowledge and their own innate abilities.

Using live video and audio, the program was developed by and is taught by many of the foremost mathematics experts in the world, including contributors from the Ivy League, Russia and Central and Eastern Europe. All of the teachers are able to instruct in English.

Here’s the part that may really catch your attention: In an effort to promote this program, no tuition will be charged through the summer of 2010. Please be aware that specific, upper-end hardware is required for participation.

If you have a very capable student, you may want to look at the Global Education Web site and contact them for more information.

Wiki on Great Books for Gifted Kids

CFertig — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:49:00 GMT

Here’s a new idea—a wiki hosting literature and related lesson plans that focus on both intellectual and emotional development in gifted kids. Newly created by Lynette Breedlove, GTKidsBooks provides a place for educators and parents to recommend and share books with gifted children. Breedlove anticipates the wiki to include great lesson plans posted by teachers using the books suggested.

You can join the wiki and contribute. To be included, a book must:

feature a character who exhibits gifted and talented characteristics
deal with some issue that gifted children often face

A chart summarizes book titles categorizing them as adult or young-adult novels, chapter books, picture books, or self-help. At present detailed information for specific books is limited, however, as the wiki is fleshed out, book data will possess rather comprehensive detail including recommended ages, themes related to giftedness, and linked lesson plans.

As always, wikis grow through the participation of followers, so join GTKidsBooks and contribute to the process. With your help this could become a great resource.

Summer Reading and Media Lists for Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:01:00 GMT

It’s that time of year again. Summer is upon us and I know many of you are looking for good books for your kids to read as well as notable recordings, videos, and software. Here are some links that will offer guidance.

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

Lists book and media awards, including the Newbery, Caldecott, Sibert, Wilder, Carnegie, Batchelder, Belpré, Geisel, and Odyssey awards and the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. Includes Children’s Notable Lists, identifying the best of the best in children's books, recordings, videos, and computer software.

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

Includes book awards lists in various categories along with a number of lists dedicated to audiobook and film recommendations for accelerated young adults.

Best-Loved Books: A Unique Reading List for Gifted Students in Grades 6-12

A teacher of gifted students lists books that, over the years, “were requested the most often, provoked the most interesting discussions, and were remembered and mentioned years after they were read.”

2009 Summer Reading Programs for Students

Information about goal-oriented summer reading programs from Scholastic and Barnes and Noble.

Do the Goals and Aspirations of Gifted Young Adults Differ by Gender?

JMcIntosh — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:40:00 GMT

As the nation embarks on high school graduation season, the New York Times blog, "The Choice," ponders several important issues raised in a study that sought to compare male and female high school valedictorians. Published last summer in Prufrock Press' journal, the Journal of Advanced Academics, the study reveals significant disparities for parents and educators to consider as we examine gender issues among gifted students.

The blog's author, Jacques Steinberg, writes:

The goal of the study, by an economics professor at Meredith College in North Carolina, was to examine the college choices, intended majors and career aspirations of high-achieving boys and girls, and see if there were any differences. Specifically, the study examined 150 valedictorians from high schools from the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, and surrounding counties.

Its main conclusion? That when stacked up against the boys, the female valedictorians tended to choose less selective colleges and plan careers in lower-paying occupations. While the girls were more likely to major in the humanities and social sciences, the boys were more likely to plan to major in math, computer science and engineering.

The results of this study seem to indicate that out-dated thinking about the education and career choices are still alive and well, even among our brightest young men and women. While this study was somewhat limited in scope, it raises important questions about how we parent and educate bright and talented females. Certainly, an excellent education can be received at less selective colleges, and majoring in the humanities and social sciences may be more about one's passions and interests than low expectations. However, these choices should be based on explicit decisions about what is best for a talented student, rather than social expectations imposed on young women by schools, parents, and the media.

Read the full text of the blog post, "Do the Ambitions of High School Valedictorians Differ by Gender?".

Arts Education and Brain Research

CFertig — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Earlier this month, Johns Hopkins School of Education hosted a summit and roundtable discussion titled Learning, Arts, and the Brain. Much of the information from this summit and roundtable can be found at the Dana Foundation Web site. Included are the following:

Music Training Changes Brain Networks Research by Ellen Winner, professor of psychology at Boston College; Gottfried Schlaug, professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School; Michael Posner, professor emeritus at the University of Oregon; and Elizabeth Spelke, professor of psychology at Harvard University.
Why the Arts Matter: Six Good Reasons for Advocating the Importance of Arts in School Jerome Kagan, Daniel and Amy Starch Research Professor of Psychology, Emeritus at Harvard spoke about the importance of the arts in education.
The Arts Will Help School Accountability Comments by Mariale Hardiman, Assistant Dean, Urban School Partnerships, and Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education at the John Hopkins University School of Education.
Learning, Arts, and the Brain from the Dana Press Blog Contains numerous posts about the Learning, Arts, and the Brain summit and roundtable. The blog also contains many additional posts of interest on the importance of the arts in education.
Arts Educators Should Be Asking One Key Question This article reflects on ways we might incorporate brain research and the arts into the classroom.
Learning, Arts, and the Brain A conversation with Michael S. Gazzaniga, director of the University of California, Santa Barbara’s SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind and its Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience.

The Dana Foundation has just started Arts Ed on the Web, a bimonthly feature in which Web sites devoted to arts education are highlighted. You’ll want to bookmark this. In the first posting (May 26, 2009) you will find an arts integration resource site, an education portal for teachers with lesson plans and videos, and a music education project featuring Yo-Yo Ma.

School Options for Gifted Kids—Where to Begin

CFertig — Fri, 22 May 2009 09:01:00 GMT

I experienced another interesting conversation yesterday while traveling to the airport in a shared van. The woman sitting next to me was flying to Tennessee to watch two of her children compete in the Global Finals for Destination ImagiNation (DI). DI is an exciting, creative enrichment program that engages kids in critical thinking, teamwork, time management, and problem solving. She told me about the wonderful enrichment teacher who works at their neighborhood school. Each year, the teacher is able to recruit parents who are willing to make the necessary time commitment to work with teams of youngsters who compete in Destination ImagiNation. What a wonderful experience for the students at this neighborhood school.

We then went on to have a general conversation about education, gifted education, parenting, etc. She told me that next year two of her children will attend a magnet/charter school that focuses on international studies. There, they will have a choice of languages on which to focus. Her children have decided to concentrate on Chinese. This woman had really done her research and was a very positive advocate for her kids, finding educational options that fit their needs.

My question to this fellow traveler was, “How do parents find out about the various choices in their school district?” It was then I realized that the shuttle driver had been listening intently to our conversation. When I asked my question, he laughed. He indicated that he had several children at home, was not pleased with their school situation, and did not realize that he had choices. He, too, had wondered how one finds out about opportunities.

So often, parents feel that their children are trapped in whatever educational program is closest to their home. They often cannot afford to move to a “better” neighborhood and don’t realize that there are alternatives.

So, I want to present you with some information. I also hope that others will comment on this blog entry, sharing possibilities that I have not listed. Right now, I will just talk about actual physical (as opposed to virtual) schools that might be available to you in your area. In my book, Raising a Gifted Child: A Parenting Success Handbook I discuss many more educational options.

Situations vary from state to state and from district to district. You often won’t know if these possibilities exist unless you ask.

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) provides an online database for open enrollment. To one degree or another, open-enrollment policies allow a student to transfer to the public school of his or her choice. There are two basic types of open-enrollment policies: intradistrict and interdistrict. The Web site cited here is an excellent resource. In many cases, students are not locked in to attending their neighborhood or even their district schools.

The U.S. Department of Education provides information on charter and magnet schools across the country. Charter schools are public schools that operate with freedom from many of the local and state regulations that apply to traditional public schools. Some of them have very innovative philosophies. Magnet schools are designed to attract students from diverse social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. They focus on a specific subject, such as science or the arts; follow specific themes, such as business/technology or communications/humanities/law; or operate according to certain models, such as career academies or a school-within-a-school. Once you understand the general concepts of charter and magnet schools, you can search the Web sites of your local school district and surrounding districts to see what is available.

It is important to know how the students in your school and in schools you are considering perform on state tests. Look at sites such as SchoolMatters where you can search for information by school or state. This Web site is also able to list schools within a state from highest scoring to lowest scoring in reading and in math. It will be much easier for your child to perform at a high level if he attends a school where the norm is to perform well.

Please feel free to share additional information by hitting the “Comment” button at the top of this blog entry.

Summer Archaeology Camp

JMcIntosh — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:53:00 GMT

I've always enjoyed the subject of archaeology. In fact, one of the first science books Prufrock Press published was Hands-On Archaeology: Real-Life Activities for Kids (now in its second edition). Written by renowned archaeologist John White, Ph.D., this book shows any teacher or parent how to help kids become young archaeologists. Imagine the thrill students will experience as they discover artifacts from the past. There isn't a single student who won't love the activities in this book!

Today, I received a brochure from the Center for American Archeology advertising their 1-week to 3-week archaeology summer programs for kids. The CAA's High School Field School offers teenagers the opportunity to participate in authentic archaeological research designed to learn more about the prehistoric peoples of the Lower Illinois River Valley, one of the richest archeological regions in the Midwestern United States. Working with the CAA staff and interns, teens will have the chance to learn the basics of field excavation, laboratory processing, and how archeologists develop their interpretations of sites based upon the information they collect. It’s a great way to explore the field of archaeology in a hands-on manner.

The program sounds both fun and educational, and I wanted to bring it to your attention.

Limited scholarship support is available for girls, and students 16+ can earn college credit. For more information, visit the CAA's High School Field School information page.

Profoundly Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 10:01:00 GMT

There are many different levels of giftedness. Profoundly gifted kids are so advanced that they may have a very difficult time finding peers. They often skip several grades and/or begin college before they enter adolescence. This group of students makes up a very small portion of the population and resources are difficult to find. Here are some that you may find helpful:

To better understand various levels of giftedness, read What Is Highly Gifted? Exceptionally Gifted? Profoundly Gifted? And What Does It Mean? Carolyn K. helps us better understand the meanings of each of these terms and how they are determined.
Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Students: An Underserved Population by Miraca U. M. Gross explains the developmental differences of this group of young people, pressures they feel, and provides recommendations for addressing their academic needs.
Raising a profoundly gifted child can be a real challenge. In Profoundly Gifted Guilt, Jim Delisle discusses the frequent concerns of parents of profoundly gifted children.
In Tips for Parents: Helping Parents Understand Their Profoundly Gifted Children, Barbara Clark applies brain research to profoundly gifted children and recommends ways to work with them.
The Davidson Young Scholars program provides free services designed to nurture and support profoundly gifted young people. Students and their parents receive assistance through consulting services, an online community, annual get-togethers, the Ambassador Program, and guidebooks.
The Texas Parents for the Profoundly Gifted provides both planned and spontaneous activities. The organization has an informational e-mail loop to discuss topics of importance.
PG Retreat: A Gathering Of Families With Profoundly Gifted Children is an annual event that provides opportunities for children to meet, socialize, play with, and learn from others who are developmentally advanced. While the children are engaged in their activities, parents listen to speakers. The 2009 retreat will take place July 2–6, 2009, in Colorado Springs, CO.

Gifted Education Forums

CFertig — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:01:00 GMT

Do you ever have specific questions about gifted education, but you don’t know where to turn? Do you want to know what gifted education issues are being discussed by others but don’t want to join a listserv that might flood your email box? An Internet forum might be just what you need. An Internet forum is an online discussion site where you can ask questions and get answers or you can just observe the questions and answers of others.

There are a number of forums dedicated to gifted education. Here are a few, along with some recent topics of discussion.

About.com: Gifted Children

Preschool
Home—incredibly bright/School—lazy

Music and learning

Bella Online: Gifted Education

How gifted-friendly is your state?

Exploring fine art with children

Radical acceleration and early college

Gifted Education 2.0

Book recommendations for gifted readers grades 4–6

Information on upcoming conferences

Recommendations for online GT endorsement programs

GT Cyber Source

Parenting and advocacy

Identification, testing, and assessment

Grade skipping

Gifted - OGTOC

When to seek professional help

Enrichment

No Child Left Behind Act

Teachers.Net: Gifted/Talented Teachers Chatboard

Early entry to kindergarten policies

Web-based math programs

Compacting/Learning Contract Advice

Encouraging Gifted Students to Be Innovators

CFertig — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:01:00 GMT

Is innovation dead? Are we encouraging our young people to be creative innovators?

In a podcast titled Tough Economy Doesn't Help U.S. 'Innovation Gap', author Judy Estrin is interviewed about her new book Closing the Innovation Gap: Reigniting the Spark of Creativity in a Global Economy. Estrin wants to encourage the renewal of innovation in America, closing the gap between where we used to be and where we are now, and between where we are now and where we could be in the future. She believes that this key trait has been stifled by the school system, by an emphasis in society on efficiency, and by the use of threats in our country to scare people rather than inspire them.

The author states that certain core values are needed to foster deep innovation. These core values include

Questioning of both self and of the ways in which we do things
Willingness to take risks
Openness
Patience
Trust

Estrin feels that our current educational system is set up to produce people who test well. What we really need is for people to ask questions, not just answer them. The way in which many of us currently teach and parent kids stifles the core values listed above and, therefore, stifles innovation. We can influence the educational system by working with certain nonprofits, electing officials who promote innovation, and encouraging the respect of science in society.

As parents, we should encourage kids to explore, think, and ask questions. We should also really listen to children and engage them in critical thinking discussions. One organization that Estrin believes is helpful is Sally Ride Science.

For related blog entries on this topic, search (upper right corner of this page) on Creativity, Questioning, and/or Critical Thinking. While Estrin focuses her discussion primarily on science and technology, innovation, creativity, and critical thinking are needed across all disciplines.

Exciting Reading Program that Challenges Gifted Learners

JMcIntosh — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:22:00 GMT

I'm very pleased to announce our newly released Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Program.

We just got back from exhibiting at the annual conference of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). We took plenty of these books to display and sell at the conference, and we sold out on the second day!

I heard from so many people at the conference that they are looking for a field-tested reading program that works with kids of all ability levels--including gifted children. When field-testing this program, the staff at The College of William and Mary's Center for Gifted Education found solid achievement gains among mid-level and struggling students. The key difference between this product and others is that it also showed solid gains among gifted students. So many other programs really are geared to only address the needs of struggling students. This program offer a great tool for teachers in mixed-ability and gifted classrooms.

I've created a combination pack that allows you to buy the entire series at a savings ($109.95 for the complete set).

Developed by the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary, the Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Program targets reading comprehension skills in learners by moving students through an inquiry process from basic understanding to critical analyses of texts. Students in grades 2–8 will learn to comprehend and analyze any reading passage after completing the activities in these books.

In the form of three skill ladders connected to individual readings in poetry, short stories, and nonfiction, students move from lower order, concrete thinking skills to higher order, critical thinking skills. Each book, geared to increasing grade levels, includes high-interest readings, ladders to increase reading skill development, and easy-to-implement instruction. The ladders include multiple skills necessary for academic success, covering language arts standards, such as sequencing, cause and effect, classification, making generalizations, inference, and recognizing themes and concepts.

To read more about this exciting new reading program visit the Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Program product page on the Prufrock Web site.

A Different Way of Looking at Boredom of the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:01:00 GMT

When someone is bored, they don’t like what they’re doing, but don’t know what else to do.

I can remember that when I was a young child, I often sat around the house saying, “I’m bored.”

With a little smile on his face, my father’s consistent reply was, “Carol, you’re always bored.”

There was nothing I felt like doing at the time. No one ever felt sorry for me, though, and no one ever tried to rescue me from my boredom. Each member of the family went about his or her business and did not consider it their responsibility to entertain me. There was plenty I could do if I chose to take on the task.

Today’s parents and teachers often feel that their kids must be engaged at all times. But by rescuing young people from their boredom every time it pokes its head above the surface, we may be denying them the chance to figure out their own boredom-relieving tactics.

Children need to understand that life isn’t always fun, that everyone gets bored occasionally—or dislikes the task at hand—and we all have to do things that we’d rather not.

In the article We Try Our Best to Avoid It, but Boredom Has Its Benefits. Today, It's a Lost Art Form, the author states: “As more and more people seem to recognize, the universal experience of being bored—unengaged, detached, afloat in some private torpor—may be far more precious, fruitful, and even profound than a surface apprehension might suggest.”

Perhaps it would be interesting to create a regular discussion group around the subject of boredom to help kids better understand it. Some possible activities follow:

Have students articulate their own feelings about boredom. What does it mean? Are they ever bored? If so, when? How do they handle it? Are there other ways they can handle boredom?
Find out how others have handled boredom. How do characters in the books they read address the subject? What about people who lived in other times?
Have students interview family and friends and ask them how they handle boring times. What are the similarities and differences?
Have students do the activities in the lesson plan, How Did Civil War Soldiers Battle Boredom? Students are asked to make a Venn diagram comparing things they do to combat boredom with the activities Civil War soldiers did to do the same.
Create a list of all the things one could do when bored in school or at home. Allow kids to be very creative with this.

Book Just Released on Raising a Gifted Child

CFertig — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:01:00 GMT

What should you realistically expect from a gifted student, from the child’s teacher and school, and from yourself as a parent? Where can you find great resources to provide the best education possible for your young person? What are the many conventional and unconventional ways to educate a bright student?

I am pleased to announce that my new book, Raising a Gifted Child: A Parenting Success Handbook, has just been released by Prufrock Press. The book addresses all of the questions above and will appeal to parents, teachers, and discussion groups.

Written in a very easy-going style, it is chock-full of real stories of gifted kids. One of my favorite parts of the book is the chapter titled Specific Subjects. Here, one can find a multitude of resources to either encourage or reinforce student strengths in language arts, math, science, social studies, foreign language, fine arts, technology, and thinking skills. There also is a whole chapter on nurturing creativity.

If you find the information on this weekly blog helpful, you also will appreciate the information available in this book.

Whales—A Fascinating Topic for Young Gifted Kids

CFertig — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:01:00 GMT

Just as many children love learning about dinosaurs, they also love to learn about whales. Although there are many different types of whales, the information here focuses on the North Atlantic Right Whale.

Right whales were so named because early whalers considered them the "right" whale to hunt. In the early centuries of shore-based whaling, right whales were virtually the only large whales the whalers were able to catch for three reasons:

The right whales often were found very close to shore where they could be spotted by lookouts on the beach.
They were relatively slow swimmers so the whalers could catch up to them in their whaleboats.
Compared to other species of whale, right whales killed by harpoons were more likely float, and thus could be retrieved by the whalers and towed back to shore.

Tale of a Whale, from Smithsonian Education, has great information for teaching and learning about the North Atlantic Right Whale. Using the lessons provided, students experience work that is similar to that of real whale researchers by identifying an individual whale according to patterns of callosities and also identifying migration patterns. There also is a link to the New England Aquarium Web site where students can learn more about whale research and play an interactive whale identification game.

For background information and more photos, check out

Right Whales (from National Geographic)
The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium (NARWC)
American Cetacean Society Fact Sheet
North Atlantic Right Whales (from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service)

Anatomy for Gifted Kids

CFertig — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:59:00 GMT

There are a couple of great anatomy Web sites available for kids. The first two listed here are interactive and suitable for bright, middle to late elementary school kids. The sites can be used either at home or at school and are both entertaining and educational.

Interactive Body

At this Website from the BBC, you will find interactive computer activities that teach about the organs, muscles, skeleton, senses, nervous system, and puberty. Students use drag-and-drop to place various parts of the body and learn about the function of each.

Edheads

At this site, students can participate in virtual hip replacements and virtual knee replacements. Viewers also have the opportunity to diagnose different patients who might need knee or hip replacements. There are also videos of real people who have had the replacements, explaining what it was like before and after the surgeries. In addition, students can learn about “interesting people” who have jobs that are related to hip and knee replacements. This feature of the Web site introduces students to possible career paths.

Kids Online Resources (OLR)

At this site, there are numerous links to biology resources, several that relate directly to anatomy.

Teaching Foreign Language to Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:01:00 GMT

All research points to the virtues of beginning foreign language early in life—as early as preschool. Both parents and teachers appreciate ways to enrich foreign language instruction for their students who are gifted in this area.

As we become more and more global-centric, multilingual skills become even more important. We need to move beyond learning the traditional one foreign language to being comfortable speaking several languages.

The following include some helpful resources for teaching or learning a foreign language.

Teaching Gifted Pupils: Modern Foreign Language

This Web site comes from the U.K. It contains ideas for enriching and extending pupils' experiences in foreign languages that include

using everyday classroom events as an opportunity for spontaneous speech;
expressing and discussing personal feelings and opinions;
using a range of resources, including games, songs and poems;
using the target language imaginatively and creatively (i.e., creating newspapers, quizzes and tongue-twisters);
listening, reading, or viewing for personal enjoyment short stories, short novels, poetry, fairy tales, and plays.
writing short stories and poetry.

Language Camps for Youngsters

Here you will find an extensive list of language camps for students of all ages.

Foreign Language Software: An Alternative to Classroom Learning?

This is an article in the Duke Gifted Letter, which reviews a couple of software programs that teach foreign languages.

If you do an Internet search on “Foreign Language Online,” you will find many free resources, including games for learning languages.

Courses and Degree Programs for Teachers of the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:01:00 GMT

Do you want to have a more thorough understanding of gifted education so that you can better serve the needs of your students and their parents? Have you considered taking a class or two or perhaps working on a degree in gifted education? Here is a great resource for you.

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) has put together a University Directory of Programs and Services in Gifted Education. At this site, you will find lists of

universities and colleges offering coursework or degree programs in gifted education by state.
coursework by university that leads to a certificate or endorsement, an undergraduate degree with an emphasis in gifted, an M.S., an Ed.D., or a Ph.D.
universities that offer online courses in gifted education.

By using this information, you can find out if there is a program close to you, and if there isn’t, where you can take online classes.

The Use of Praise and Reward in Motivating Students

CFertig — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:10:00 GMT

Over the years, we have run the gamut with the role of praise and reward when working with students. When I was a young child I can remember hearing adults say, “Don’t tell him he did too good of a job or he’ll get a swelled head.” Praise was not readily given. At least in my environment, reward for tasks completed was never even considered. We were expected to do well without praise or reward.

When my children were young, self-esteem became a big issue. Adults became very sensitive to building the good feelings that children had about themselves. Praise, and often reward, was lavished upon these young people.

Today, we are offered a middle ground.

Both teachers and parents often are eager to motivate their kids in school. In two articles, Daniel T. Willingham, at University of Virginia, discusses the role of praise and the role of reward in motivating students. The emphasis of Willingham’s research is the application of cognitive psychology to K–12 education.

Role of Praise

Research indicates that praise can motivate and guide children—but there are circumstances under which praise is not beneficial. If you try to use praise for your own ends or even in a conscious attempt to help the student, it is likely to go wrong. If, on the other hand, praise is an honest expression meant to congratulate the student, it will likely be at least neutral or even helpful to the student. Whether or not praise is beneficial depends on when and how it is used. For praise to be helpful, it must

be sincere—In order to receive praise, the child must have done something praiseworthy. The content of the praise should express congratulations (rather than express a wish of something else the child should do).
emphasize process, not ability—The target of the praise should be not an attribute of the child, but rather an attribute of the child’s behavior.
be immediate and unexpected—Praise should immediately follow the praiseworthy act; however, praise that comes like clockwork presents a potential problem: The student may start to work with the expectation of being praised.

The author offers examples of constructive praise and encouraging comments.

Role of Reward

Here the author tackles the question of creating an atmosphere in which students want to learn vs. one in which they do minimal work to earn a promised reward.

Are rewards immoral and dehumanizing? What happens when rewards stop? How can rewards decrease motivation? What makes rewards more or less effective? Are rewards worth it?

Willingham likens using rewards to taking out a loan. You get an immediate benefit, but you know that you will eventually have to pay up, with interest. He suggests three guidelines to the use of rewards:

Try to find an alternative—The obvious alternative is to make the material intrinsically interesting.
Use rewards for a specific reason, not as a general strategy—One example is when a student has lost confidence in himself to the point that he is no longer willing to try.
Plan for the ending—If students are told at the start of the rewards program when it will end, there may be fewer complaints when the goodies are no longer available.

Don't Gifted Children Play the Guitar and Sit in Their Seats!?!

JMcIntosh — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:21:00 GMT

Last week, I spoke with a friend of mine who was in the middle of finishing two weeks of teacher orientation. On one afternoon, the teachers at her school heard a presentation about gifted children. During an afternoon break, one of my friend's table-mates commented that she imagined most gifted kids would be able to play the guitar because she only knows one gifted person, and he plays the guitar with great skill.

Another teacher explained how shocked she was to learn during the previous year that one of the boys in her class was gifted. She was shocked because "he never sat still." How could you be gifted and be out of your seat so much?

Then, last week, CNN posted an article by a free-lance journalist titled, "Is Your Kid Really Gifted? Probably Not."

The money quote from this article was:

"Gifted" has become one of the most tossed-about words in the parenting lexicon. Unfortunately—sorry, but let's get this out of the way right up front—it's also one of the most misused.

While there were many things about this article with which I disagreed, I did think this one paragraph held much truth. There is no end to the misceptions about who gifted kids are and how best to serve them.

Even among experts, there is some disagreement. Currently, there is a solid debate raging on in the gifted education community about whether we should only identify gifted kids who are performing at high levels or whether we should include kids who show potential for high performance, but do not yet (and may not ever) exhibit it.

The most infuriating aspect of this discussion is that giftedness exists along a continuum of human performance and ability. There is not a single agreed upon "line" we can draw that says, "on this side of the line you are gifted, and on that side you are not." Anytime a school or counselor makes the decision to label a child gifted, there is an element of the arbitrary in that decision. A couple of years ago, Prufrock posted an article titled "Definitions, Models, and Characteristics of Gifted Students" by Dr. Susan K. Johnsen. I invite you to read this article in its entirety. The article offers an overview of the many ways giftedness has been conceptualized and the many characteristics of gifted kids.

The article explains that there are many types of gifted individuals. For example, some exhibit gifted abilities and exceptional intelligence in many areas and some tend to exhibit gifted abilities in only specific subject areas. In other words, what a gifted child "looks" like can vary as much as snow flakes.

For example, Dr. Johnsen explains that kids with exceptional general intellectual abilities might exhibit the following characteristics to a high degree:

Has an extensive and detailed memory, particularly in an area of interest.
Has vocabulary advanced for age—precocious language.
Has communication skills advanced for age and is able to express ideas and feelings.
Asks intelligent questions.
Is able to identify the important characteristics of new concepts, problems.
Learns information quickly.
Uses logic in arriving at common sense answers.
Has a broad base of knowledge—a large quantity of information.
Understands abstract ideas and complex concepts.
Uses analogical thinking, problem solving, or reasoning.
Observes relationships and sees connections.
Finds and solves difficult and unusual problems.
Understands principles, forms generalizations, and uses them in new situations.
Wants to learn and is curious.
Works conscientiously and has a high degree of concentration in areas of interest.
Understands and uses various symbol systems.
Is reflective about learning.

On the other hand, according to the article, a child with exceptional talent in the specific subject area of mathematics or science might exhibit the following characteristics:

Is interested in numerical analysis.
Has a good memory for storing main features of problem and solutions.
Appreciates parsimony, simplicity, or economy in solutions.
Reasons effectively and efficiently.
Solves problems intuitively using insight.
Can reverse steps in the mental process.
Organizes data and experiments to discover patterns or relationships.
Improvises with science equipment and math methods.
Is flexible in solving problems.

The point I would like to make in this blog is that being gifted may look quite different from one child to the next. A little less overconfidence in our clarity about who the gifted child is and is not might be helpful as the school year begins. Let's keep that idea in mind as we look for those kids who might need special gifted education services.

Now, if you don't mind, I believe I will go back to sitting still while I play my guitar.

Philosophy for Gifted Children

CFertig — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:01:00 GMT

It may surprise both parents and teachers to learn that philosophy is a very accessible topic for children of all ages. Peruse some of the sites listed below and you will see what I mean. Philosophy is especially appropriate for gifted children who benefit from the exploration of ideas. The information provided here can easily be used both at home and at school and will help adults incorporate philosophical questioning into the daily lives of their children.

Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC)

Until recently, philosophy was thought to be too difficult and uninteresting a subject for children. It has now been found that children not only are capable of understanding philosophy but need and appreciate it for the same reasons that adults do. Philosophy offers children the chance to explore ordinary but puzzling concepts, to improve their thinking, to make more sense of their world, and to discover for themselves what is to be valued.

The IAPC publishes curriculum materials in Philosophy for Children for use in grades K–12. The curriculum consists of novels for students and manuals for teachers. Each novel is about 80 pages in length and is written in informal language, without technical terminology.

Philosophy for Children: Philosophical Questions from Children’s Stories

What is courage? Do the lives of kids require them to be brave? Philosophy for Children was created by Mount Holyoke College. All you need to do is to read aloud one of the children’s books suggested by the site to a group of elementary school children, and then use the question sets provided to guide the discussion of issues.

Be sure to watch the short video of fifth graders discussing whether judgments about art are purely subjective, and also listen to the podcast interview with Professor Thomas Wartenberg about the often overlooked philosophical concerns of young children and the deep philosophical issues raised by children’s books. The resources section at this site contains a rich list of other Web sites that will help guide adults when teaching philosophy to kids.

Philosophy for Kids

This Web site was developed by Gary Matthews, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. It poses stories and questions to guide parents or teachers in philosophical discussions with young children.

Books by David A. White

Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder About Everything!

Questions include: “Who are your friends?” “Can computers think?” “Can something logical not make sense?” and “Can you think about nothing?” This book, designed for young people ages 10 and up, is packed with activities arranged around the topics of values, knowledge, reality, and critical thinking. The book includes activities, teaching tips, a glossary of terms, and suggestions for further reading.

The Examined Life: Advanced Philosophy for Kids

This book, designed for students in grades 7–12, offers ways teachers can help students grapple with age-old questions about the nature of friendship (Aristotle), time (Augustine), knowledge (Plato), existence of God (Aquinas), perception (Berkeley), freedom and society (Rousseau), and many more.

Books by Paul Thomson and Sharon M. Kaye

Philosophy for Teens: Questioning Life's Big Ideas

In this book, created for students in grades 7–12, the authors examine some of life's biggest topics, such as lying, cheating, love, beauty, the role of government, hate, and prejudice. Both sides of the debates are covered on every issue, with information from some of the world's most noted philosophers. Each chapter includes discussion questions, thought experiments, exercises and activities, and community action steps to help students make reasoned, informed decisions about some of life's greatest debates.

More Philosophy for Teens: Examining Reality and Knowledge

Created as a companion book to their first book (above), the authors examine some of life’s toughest questions, including identity, God, the universe, freedom, and the meaning of life.

Ideas for Studying the Olympics

CFertig — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:01:00 GMT

We’re right in the middle of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Few Americans are in school right now, but parents may want to supplement their student’s summer learning using the Olympics. Teachers may want to start the school year with a review of the Olympics. Whether you are a parent or a teacher, there are lots of good resources available. When working with gifted individuals, do not feel that you need to stay with suggested grade level curricula or ideas; instead, move up one or more grade levels to find more appropriate material. Here are just a few of the wonderful resources available online.

The Amazing Olympic Games

The Academy of Achievement includes student materials, teacher facilitation guides for grades 4–12, and video clips of former Olympic champions.

Griffin Publishing Group

Series of 16 inexpensive booklets of activities surrounding the Olympics.

The Official Web Site of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

This site is filled with the history of the Olympics and all kinds of statistical information about the 2008 Summer Olympics, including information about all participating athletes. There are also lots of photos and video clips.

Olympic Games - Curriculum Context

This Web site from Australia features key Internet links and learning ideas tied into the Olympics theme. Learning ideas include drug use at the Olympics, classical Greek mythology, China, and languages that are used at the Olympics.