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Articles from
January 2011
A Comprehensive Guide to the Study of Shakespeare
For those of you who teach Shakespeare or for students who study Shakespeare, there are some excellent resources available. A reader of Prufrock’s Gifted Child Information Blog recently brought an exceptionally good link to my attention. (I always appreciate it when readers tell me about valuable resources). Naturally, I want to share it with you.
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Cool Shakespeare Facts—Personal trivia, words and phrases that were created by Shakespeare, and information about the Globe Theatre.
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General Shakespeare Resources—Links to five major sites that cover a multitude of facts and opinions about the famous bard.
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Links to Every Single Shakespeare Work Online—Plays are divided into the categories of comedy, history, and tragedy. Shakespeare’s poems are also listed. Each link contains the complete work so you don’t have to go to the bookstore or library to get a play or sonnet.
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Links to Resources that Give Notes/Info/Explanations of Shakespeare Plays—Sites that will help you interpret the writings of Shakespeare.
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Shakespeare Festivals—A list of Shakespeare festivals (with Internet links) held in the United States and Canada.
For more information, consult previous blog posts on Shakespeare at this Prufrock website.
Creativity Revisited
What is creativity and how should it be measured? Is it an important trait to possess?
For many years, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking have been used to measure individuals’ divergent thinking. The tests are sometimes used to gain entrance to gifted programs. But is it enough to be deemed creative, or is creativity only a valuable trait if one can put that ability to use to make and produce new and practical products and ideas?
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Tolerate “wrong” answers as children explore and fantasize.
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Invite children to come up with possible solutions for everyday problems, and listen to their ideas with respect.
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Ask open-ended questions and show interest in answers.
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Refrain from judging kids' ideas, even if they seem crazy or naive.
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Avoid paying too much attention to the outcome of kids' creative efforts. (You want them to be creative for the pure pleasure of it, not because they will receive praise.)
For numerous ideas about helping kids be creative, click on the Search Entries button in the upper right corner of this blog. Enter the Keyword “creativity,” and click on Search. This will bring up all previous blog posts on creativity.
Places to Publish for Gifted Young Writers
Gifted students need “real” audiences for their work. Those students who enjoy writing need places where they can see their words in print and find others who have the same interest.
Figment is a place where young people, ages 13 and up, share their writing, connect with other people with similar interests, and discover new stories and authors. The website was started by Dana Goodyear, a staff writer at The New Yorker, and Jacob Lewis, the former Managing Editor at The New Yorker and Condé Nast Portfolio. It contains a variety of sections that will be of interest to young authors, including
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A place where they can post their writing and get feedback in the form of comments and reviews.
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Writing contests.
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Advice from adults who publish young adult books.
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Recommendations of recently published books for young adults.
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A forum where students can connect on a variety of subjects related to their writing.
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A blog which, among other things, contains interviews with published authors of books for young adults.
If your young writer is more independent, suggest that he submit his writing for publication without the feedback and interaction of a group. A Young Authors Guide from NewPages.com provides updated lists of publications that accept submissions from young people, some from children as young as eight. It also contains a long list of writing contests, listed by month.
Paper Folding for Gifted Visual Spatial Learners
While it might jumble the brains of many bright people, the art of paper folding plays right into the strengths of gifted visual spatial learners. Once a student becomes comfortable with basic folds, she can go on to design her own models.
Here are some websites to help young people learn and improve paper folding techniques.
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Origami Gallery—At this site you can sort instructions according to simple, intermediate, and complex designs.
Some people even specialize in certain types of paper folding, such as Paper Airplanes, which includes six different designs.
Ways to Share and Collaborate
It’s always helpful to find others with the same interests.
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If your student would like to join a group of origami folders, you can find contact information at Origami USA. International groups are also listed at this site. In addition, information is provided on forming your own group of folders.
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Paper Folding Artists
If you want to show your burgeoning paper folders the possibilities of this craft, direct them to professional artists who have become masters. Here are just a few:
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