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Wiki on Great Books for Gifted Kids
Thursday, July 02, 2009 - by CFertig - 1 Comments - Category: Parents and Educators, Reading-Writing-L.A., Technology, Gifted and Talented Children, Gifted Education, Parenting Gifted Children, Teaching Gifted Children, Homeschooling, Language Arts
Here’s a new idea—a wiki of books for gifted kids. GTKidsBooks provides a place for adults to share books that they recommend for gifted children. You can join the wiki and contribute. Lynette Breedlove, creator of the wiki, hopes that teachers will post or link to great lesson plans using the books suggested. To be included here, a book must:
- feature a character who exhibits gifted and talented characteristics
- deal with some issue that gifted children often face
A summary chart is provided with book titles that fall into the categories of adult novels, chapter books, picture books, self-help, and young adult novels.
So far, only some of the books are detailed at the site. Those that are detailed include recommended ages, themes related to giftedness, personal recommendations, and some include links to lessons.
As always, wikis grow through the participation of followers, so join GTKidsBooks and contribute to the process. This could grow to be a great resource.
Notes That Apply to the Gifted from The Last Lecture
When I read a book that has special meaning for me, I often write down quotes that I feel are important. Such was true with The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow. Pausch was a very successful professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. When he wrote the book, he knew he would die in a matter of months. He wanted to leave something for his young children that would show them who he was and teach the things that he would not be there to teach them as they grew up. The book is filled with wonderful stories of the author’s childhood and sprinkled with bits of wisdom that he gleaned over the years. While Pausch was an accomplished computer scientist, the things he says about parenting and education are very applicable to the gifted community. Some of my favorite quotes are…
We didn’t buy much. But we thought about everything. That’s because my dad had this infectious inquisitiveness about current events, history, our lives. In fact, growing up, I thought there were two types of families:
1. Those who need a dictionary to get through dinner.
2. Those who don’t.
We were No. 1… “If you have a question,” my folks would say, “then find the answer.”
The instinct in our house was never to sit around like slobs and wonder. We knew a better way: Open the encyclopedia. Open the dictionary. Open your mind. (p. 22)
All my life, she (his mother) saw it as part of her mission to keep my cockiness in check. I’m grateful for that now. Even these days, if someone asks her what I was like as a kid, she describes me as “alert, but not terribly precocious.” We now live in an age when parents praise every child as a genius. And here’s my mother, figuring “alert” ought to suffice as a compliment. (p. 23)
Coach Graham worked in a no-coddling zone. Self-esteem? He knew there was really only one way to teach kids how to develop it: You give them something they can’t do, they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating the process. (p. 37)
Getting people to welcome feedback was the hardest thing I ever had to do as an educator…It saddens me that so many parents and educators have given up on this. When they talk of building self-esteem, they often resort to empty flattery rather than character-building honesty. I’ve heard so many people talk of a downward spiral in our educational system, and I think one key factor is that there is too much stroking and too little real feedback. (p. 113)
There are no better role models than people like Jackie Robinson and Sandy Blatt. The message in their stories is this: Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier. (p. 139)
This is an excellent book to read with older kids, perhaps starting at upper elementary school through high school. Take a look at The Last Lecture Web site, click on Online Extras and then The Last Lecture Educator’s Guide for some excellent discussion questions and writing ideas.
Science Friday for Gifted Kids
Every Friday I look forward to listening to Ira Flatow’s program, Science Friday, on NPR. Each week, the program focuses on interesting science topics in the news and provides an educated, balanced discussion of the issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join Flatow, himself a veteran science journalist, to discuss these topics and to answer listener questions during the call-in portion of the program.
Science Friday Kids’ Connection is an educational resource based on Flatow’s Program. A database created in partnership with McREL (the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning in Denver, Colorado), Kids’ Connection incorporates a variety of programs, available via podcast or streaming, that satisfy benchmarks selected from national science standards for grades 6-8. The database utilizes these standards along with Science Friday program content to optimize search results, enabling students, parents, and teachers to locate programs that best address specific subjects. For example, if you choose the topic “Characteristics of the Earth System,” three benchmarks pop up. The resource page for Benchmark 1—Knows that the Earth is comprised of layers including a core, mantle, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere—links to Science Friday’s program on “Preparing for Natural Disaster.” In addition, these benchmarks are supplemented by numerous (notice that I underlined “numerous”) linked curriculum activities.
Kids’ Connection is an excellent resource for teachers, parents who want to learn with their children, homeschoolers, and other kids who wish to explore topics in-depth. Teachers can use this resource to extend or differentiate their curriculum, providing an engaging alternative for students who have already mastered the fundamentals. These students, along with children exploring the site from home, will be able to participate in the further study of a subject of interest while being introduced to new topics.
Parents—if you have a child who loves science and is not challenged in school science classes, I encourage you to spend some time with your son or daughter and this resource during the summer. If it works for you, suggest it as an alternative for independent study in the fall. This is a Web site well worth exploring.
Summer Reading and Media Lists for Gifted Students
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.
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.
Includes book awards lists in various categories along with a number of lists dedicated to audiobook and film recommendations for accelerated young adults.
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.”
Information about goal-oriented summer reading programs from Scholastic and Barnes and Noble.
Summer Apprenticeship Program for Gifted Students
Friday, June 05, 2009 - by CFertig - 0 Comments - Category: Art, Math, Parents and Educators, Reading-Writing-L.A., Science, Social Studies, Technology, Gifted Education, Parenting Gifted Children, Teaching Gifted Children, Homeschooling, Language Arts
The Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA) offers three- and four-week summer apprenticeship programs for gifted high school students. Each year, the program places high school freshmen, sophmores and juniors in challenging, hands-on learning experiences provided by an esteemed group of participating mentors in various professions. This year's participants are located at several sites in Southern California and include the Los Angeles Superior Court, Art Center College of Design, and the Japanese American National Museum.
The programs run from July 12 through August 8. During this time, apprentices spend weekdays working with their mentors on pre-arranged projects. At the end of the program, they will present their work to fellow participants and other interested parties. Apprentices live on the Occidental College campus and IEA staff transport the students to and from apprentice locations. In addition, IEA will provide enriching evening and weekend activities, as well as other general opportunites for apprentices to socialize with their intellectual peers. Past program participants rave about their experiences and many have gone on to attend prestigious universities.
The original application deadline for this program has past, but there are still some spaces available. Call 626-403-8900 if you are interested in applying. IEA will continue to accept applications until all spots are full.
Specific information on the program, including apprenticeship sites and participating mentors can be found here. Financial aid is available.
This truly sounds like a wonderful opportunity. I urge you to explore this program.
Arts Education and Brain Research
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:
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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.
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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.
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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
Friday, May 22, 2009 - by CFertig - 1 Comments - Category: Art, Reading-Writing-L.A., Science, Social Studies, Technology, Gifted and Talented Children, Gifted Education, Parenting Gifted Children, Language Arts
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.
The NRIC Project for Kids Gifted in Math
Teachers, students, and parents will find the following Web site valuable. Activities found here can be used to teach grade-level topics, to accelerate, and to enrich.
NRICH is a project created by the mathematics and education departments at The University of Cambridge. The Web site contains thousands of free mathematics enrichment materials including problems, articles, and games. The information is helpful for students (ages 5 to 19), teachers, and parents. All the resources are designed to develop subject knowledge, problem-solving, and mathematical thinking skills. The Web site is updated with new material on the first day of every month.
Young people are able to practice writing about their mathematical thinking at the Web site. Being able to clearly state one’s process for solving a problem assures that the student truly understands the mathematical process. By practicing this skill, we are able to eliminate the standard response, “It’s hard for me to explain how I got the answer.” By assessing student writing, teachers are also able to identify fallacies in reasoning. Examples of past problem solutions are provided as models. Students can send in solutions to current problems that are posted, knowing that those solutions might be published on the Web site in the future.
There is also a forum that is monitored by a team of mathematicians (click on Ask NRICH at the top of the page). You can join in an existing discussion or start a new conversation of your own.
Journalism for Gifted Students
The way in which we get our news is morphing, with a heavy emphasis on technology. As journalism changes, newspapers remain important primary document resources. Archives of print media help us trace trends and ideas in history. There are numerous resources available to teach students about the value of journalism and how to be critical consumers of news. Here are a few.
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Newseum is an interactive museum in Washington D.C. that offers five centuries of news history. There are also links at the Newseum Web site that have good teaching tools. Under the Education link, the section titled Teacher Resources has some great lesson plans for grades 6-12 that highlight the headlines and front pages of newspapers. Today’s Front Pages is a very interesting section where you will find the day’s front pages from 767 newspapers, across 72 countries.
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High School Journalism: Lesson Archive is sponsored by the American Society of News Editors. Here you will find lots of ideas to teach about advertising, bias, copy editing, critical thinking about the media, decision-making, design, diversity, editing, editorial cartoons, editorial writing, entertainment journalism, features, First Amendment, graphics and design, interviewing, journalism ethics, journalism history, libel, news values, online journalism, photography, reporting, story ideas, and more. If you truncate the URL as I have here, you will find even more great information.
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The New York Times Daily Lesson Plan is an archive of lesson plans that blends daily news with higher-level thinking skills. There are some excellent ideas for teaching students to analyze what they read and see.
As always, remember that very bright students are capable of working beyond the suggested grade levels of lesson plans. The Web sites here are designed for teachers, but parents will also get many ideas for working with young people at home.
Is your student interested in a career in journalism? Have him check out some of these sites.
To Label or Not to Label as Gifted
Some schools are doing away with the label of “gifted and talented” yet still attempting to address the academic needs of bright students. Two schools in Maryland are participating in a pilot program in which second-graders are tested to see if they qualify for accelerated and enriched instruction. The qualifying students are then placed in accelerated classes that are tailored to their strengths. The theory behind this concept is that children don’t need to be labeled to get the instruction they need.
I have personally seen schools where students are labeled as gifted but do not receive an education that is appropriate for their academic needs. I have also see situations where young people are not formally identified, yet are subject-accelerated or are taught with the aid of in-depth studies using high-level thinking skills that are well above grade-level expectations. These same students may be linked with mentors or offered intense enrichment classes that are geared toward specific strengths. So I ask: Is the label necessary or even desirable?
The basic questions I ask are:
On the many listservs and forums to which I subscribe, I frequently see questions from educators asking advice on what methods to use to identify gifted students. I can assure you, that there are no definitive answers given other than that multiple criteria should be used. There is no consensus on which criteria should be employed or what the cutoffs should be.
I am sure I am dating myself when I tell you that when I was in public school, we never heard the word “gifted.” We did, however, know that some kids were smart and some kids were very smart. We also knew that there were students who dedicated themselves to their studies, working very hard. Those who were academically strong and applied themselves were provided with more difficult work or advanced classes. Expectations were high and it was considered an attribute to be asked to take on more challenge.
So I ask you (and would love to hear your comments): Is the label “gifted” necessary? Does it improve education or should we expect that a top-notch education be provided even without the label?
Marketing Gifted Education
Educators and parents often become frustrated in their efforts to promote gifted education. Perhaps it’s time for us to learn some lessons from the corporate world about promoting our field more effectively.
Deborah Mersino has combined nearly 20 years of national marketing communications experience with her passion for gifted education to form Ingeniosus. As part of her work, she has started a blog that contains lots of good ideas for incorporating business sensibilities into the educational realm—specifically in the area of gifted education. Using concrete examples, Mersino cites ways in which school communities unconsciously shut parents out. She is sympathetic to the concerns of both parents and teachers and her goal is to form strong partnerships between the two groups. Among her ideas for creating good, efficient, and informative communication is the use today’s technology.
Mersino’s goal is to create situations in which parents and teachers listen to one another, are both empathetic and pragmatic, and show respect. She focuses on examples, trends, and tactics that help bolster impact and strategies that help alleviate tensions.
Too often, teachers develop wonderful curricula for working with very bright kids, but lack skills to educate parents about classroom activities. When teachers are able to bring parents on board with gifted/talented programs, mothers and fathers will volunteer, spread the word, rally around, and become partners in education.
Teachers and district coordinators should read this blog on a regular basis for innovative ideas to keep parents informed about gifted education in the schools. There is a link at the blog that will allow you to subscribe via RSS feed or you can subscribe directly by emailing Deborah.
Gifted Students and the Role of Exceptional Teachers
Recently there was an article in the National Post (a Canadian newspaper) that discussed the research of Larisa Shavinina, a gifted education expert from the Université du Québec en Outanouais. Shavinina examined the backgrounds of more than 50 science Nobel laureates between 1981-2005 through personal interviews, autobiographies, and public documents. She found that they all had at least one teacher who was very important to them and acted as a role model. These formative teachers were enthusiastic, inspiring, and used “a playful spirit” that sparked a passion for science.
Many of the Nobel Prize winners were not considered gifted when they were young. They were often normal or sometimes underachievers. Some were twice exceptional (gifted with learning disabilities).
Professor Shavinina eventually hopes to include in her study science laureates from 1901-2006. She plans to discover when each winner’s first exceptional scientific talent was identified, the advantages and disadvantages of different educational approaches, and the factors that influenced their successes.
As parents, we need to figure out how to find inspiring teachers. In addition to classroom teachers, mentors can also play a significant role in inspiring students. You will find blog entries on mentors by using the search function in the right column on this page.
Dragons in Literature
Gifted kids relish theme-oriented studies. These studies allow students to study a topic in-depth and at a higher-level of thinking than many traditional units.
One fun, interesting, and non-conventional theme for study is Dragons in Children’s Literature. If you have a student who might find this topic interesting, there are some good resources available.
Tina L. Hanlon, Associate Professor of English at Ferrum College in Virginia, has assembled an annotated bibliography on Dragon’s in Children’s Literature. Included in the bibliography are picture books, novels, poems, background resources, and a paper/essay (the essay is particularly interesting) that Hanlon presented at the Children’s Literature Association Conference in June 2002. Using the extensive information that Hanlon offers could be a basis for a wonderful study of dragons (from those in Beowulf to Harry Potter) and their role in literature. Sometimes dragons are regarded as a symbol of evil and, as Hanlon states, sometimes as ”watered-down images resulting from the attempts of modern Americans to protect innocent children from the violence in traditional literature.”
Links to additional supportive materials can be found at The Dragon Theme Page, created by the Educational Technology Center at Kennesaw University in Georgia.
Material on the Web sites listed above could be a basis of study for very young children through high school students and beyond.
Meteorology for Gifted Students
Do you have a student who is interested in the weather? Weather affects our lives every day, yet it is a subject that few of us understand in-depth.
Meteorology and climatology are sciences that deal with the atmosphere and its phenomena. In addition to predicting the weather, scientists attempt to identify and interpret climate trends, understand past weather, and analyze today’s weather.
Meteorological research is applied in air-pollution control, agriculture, forestry, air and sea transportation, and defense. Meteorologists might analyze or develop numerical models, monitor rainfall and issue river stage warnings, or fly in aircraft investigating hurricanes.
Employers include
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Airlines
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Armed Forces
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Atmospheric Research Centers
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Business Corporations
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Colleges/Universities
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Engineering Firms
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Government Agencies
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Local, State, and National Weather Services
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Manufacturers of Meteorological Instruments
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Newspapers
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Private Consulting Firms
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Professional/Technical Journals
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Radio and TV stations
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Satellite Research Centers
If you want to teach about various aspects of weather, or if you have a student who is interested in the subject, there are some great resources available on the Internet.
This is an excellent science/math Web site for academically talented youth. Search on “Weather” to find articles, Internet links, contests, book reviews, reports, interviews, and information about educational expeditions.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
In the upper right quadrant of this Web site, you will see a couple of rows of rectangular boxes, including Weather, Satellites, Oceans, Climate, Coasts, and Research.
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
Check out the section “Students and Educators,” which contains many good informational resources; classes and quizzes (many of them free); career information; a data base of colleges and universities; digital libraries; teaching/learning modules; webcasts; podcasts; and animations.
Free Curriculum on Investigating Systems
Friday, March 27, 2009 - by CFertig - 1 Comments - Category: Parents and Educators, Reading-Writing-L.A., Science, Social Studies, Gifted Education, Parenting Gifted Children, Teaching Gifted Children, Homeschooling, Language Arts
In past blog entries, I have talked about the importance of teaching universal themes and using essential questions. (Use Search Entries button on the right to find and read these previous entries.) I continue that discussion here.
Marion Brady who, over the span of his career, has been a teacher, administrator, and author, is a person with strong ideas about what our educational system should look like. He feels that traditional curriculum is fragmented, emphasizing the need to "cover the material," without providing an umbrella under which students can understand and apply their learning. Brady offers this umbrella through his curriculum titled, Investigating Systems (IS).
In the spirit of the current movement to offer open sourceware (free classroom materials online), the author provides IS for download. (You do have to register, listing personal identification information, to be able to download the curriculum.)
To give you an idea of the content of the curriculum, I am including its Table of Contents.
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Organizing Information (Investigating Patterns, Investigating Relationships, Analytical Categories)
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Analyzing Systems (Systems with Human Components)
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Major Human Systems: Societies
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Investigations of Structure
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Investigations of Environment
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Investigations of Patterns of Action
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Investigations of Shared Ideas
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The Dynamics of Change
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Change and Stress
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Constructing New Knowledge
In addition to the free curriculum, there is also a place for online comments and discussions. Rather than viewing this curriculum as fully finished, Brady sees it as a work in progress; therefore, input from those who use the material is valued.
Whether you are a teacher or a parent, whether or not you choose to use the curriculum in its entirety, you will find that this curriculum will help you better understand the concepts of universal themes and essential questions and how to use these in the education of students at home and at school.
Upcoming Webinar on Developing a Gifted Program
Coming up next week is an online seminar that will target program leaders in gifted education—preschool through grade 12. Check it out and see if it is something in which your school/district should participate. It will take place on March 26 from 4:00-5:45 p.m. Eastern Time.
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What are the national standards for preparation of teachers of the gifted?
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What is the implication of accreditation standards in teacher preparation programs for Pre K – 12 teachers, schools, and districts?
At the end of the session, participants will be able to
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Describe the national gifted education standards.
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Identify ways that school districts can use the standards.
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Plan specific activities for implementing the standards in professional development.
The presenters are tops in the field: Susan Johnsen, Joyce Van Tassel-Baska, Diana Montgomery, and Margie Kitano.
To participate, one only needs a speakerphone, a computer, and a high-speed Internet connection. Administrators can arrange for as many individuals as they would like to participate for one low price. Teachers and educators can earn .2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
The sponsor of the online seminar is the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), which is “dedicated to improving the educational success of individuals with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.”
Integrated Curriculum for Gifted Students
Friday, March 13, 2009 - by CFertig - 0 Comments - Category: Art, Music, Reading-Writing-L.A., Science, Social Studies, Gifted Education, Parenting Gifted Children, Teaching Gifted Children, Homeschooling, Language Arts
Curriculum is meaningful when students can relate it to other aspects of their lives. This is more likely when material is taught using themes that integrate many subjects.
Integrated curriculum organizes education so that it links together the humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, social studies, music, and art. It views learning and teaching in a holistic way, reflecting the real world and prepares children for lifelong learning. Integrated curriculum includes
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A combination of subjects
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An emphasis on projects
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Sources that go beyond textbooks
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Relationships among concepts
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Thematic units as organizing principles
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Flexible schedules
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Flexible student groupings
Teachers often learn the theory behind good curriculum development, but they are too often expected to create their own materials. It is difficult to find enough time to keep “reinventing the wheel.” There are a couple of very good resources for integrated curriculum that contain already-developed teaching units that target gifted students.
In my blog, I have frequently mentioned the units developed by the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary. These units contain in-depth activities that develop high-level thinking skills and encourage students to relate the material to their own lives. I have personally used several of these units and know teachers who have used others. The material is excellent! Units are available for elementary through high school. Titles include The Weather Reporter, Spatial Reasoning, Patterns of Change, and Defining Nations: Cultural Identity and Political Tensions.
The units developed by the Ricks Center for Gifted Children at University of Denver use critical thinking, problem finding, problem solving, and evaluating as an overlay for the content areas included in each topic. Multiple teaching strategies are used to address specific learning styles, individual needs, and intellectual abilities. Units are available for pre-kindergarten through grade 8. Titles include Arctic/Antarctic, Architecture, Natural Disasters, and United Nations.
Questioning Techniques for the Gifted
Friday, March 06, 2009 - by CFertig - 0 Comments - Category: Parents and Educators, Reading-Writing-L.A., Science, Social Studies, Gifted Education, Parenting Gifted Children, Teaching Gifted Children, Homeschooling, Language Arts
As parents and teachers, we want to stimulate the thinking of gifted kids by posing open questions and teaching students how to create their own open questions. A closed question is one that can be answered with either a single word or a short phrase (i.e., "How old are you?" or "Where do you live?" or any question that can be answered with either "yes" or "no"). An open question, however, requires a longer, more involved response and does not have one correct answer; instead, it causes the respondent to think and reflect.
There are several resources available for teachers to create open questions in the classroom. Parents can use these same resources to guide interesting conversations with their children and promote good problem-solving skills.
Open questioning techniques include essential questions and critical thinking questions.
This Web site lists seven key components that essential questions have in common.
Examples of essential questions include:
- What are the ramifications of cloning?
- What is intelligence?
- Are we really free?
- Where does perception end and reality begin?
- Does history really repeat itself?
- Are there any absolutes?
- Are there other more pressing issues that deserve consideration before space exploration?
- What was the greatest invention of the 20th Century?
Although the information provided at this site is designed for college students, most gifted students are fully capable of using the techniques. I especially like the generic questioning stems, such as:
- What are the implications of …?
- How does … tie in with what we have learned before?
- Do you agree or disagree with this statement? What evidence is there to support your answer?
There are also very good suggestions for using critical thinking in student writing. The act of writing requires students to focus and clarify their thoughts before putting them down on paper.
Questioning in the Classroom
Although this Web site was developed specifically to identify questions to be asked in science or math, the concepts can easily be transferred to many other subjects. Questions are divided into four groups: direct information, relational, divergent, and evaluation. Questions are also posed to reflect critical thinking.
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What can you change to try to make ____ work/happen?
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Where have you seen something like this before?
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How can you use what you’ve learned?
The form at this Web site can be used to generate essential questions to be used in class.
Archaeology for Gifted Kids
Archaeology is the scientific study of the history of human cultures. It can be a compelling topic of interest for gifted kids and is often not included in school curriculum. Below are Internet links for students of all ages.
Archaeology is the publication of the Archaeological Institute of America. This site includes articles, reviews, information on local shows, interviews, breaking news, a blog, interactive digs, and videos.
Search for “Archaeology” and you will find a few good links on becoming an archaeologist as well as an interview with Tristan Barako, the senior researcher for the NOVA/PBS documentary, The Bible's Buried Secrets. A link is provided to watch all 13 episodes of this program on your computer.
Located in southwestern Colorado, this center has a wonderful reputation for education. Click on Archaeology Adventures and you will find information on middle school and high school summer camps.
Created by Cobblestone Publishing Company, this site offers information on this magazine, which is designed for the younger set. There is also information—state-by-state—of archaeological activities and a section titled Ask Dr. Dig where readers can ask questions of a real archaeologist.
Written by a museum teacher at the Royal Ontario Museum, the author tells how to pursue the field of archaeology as a profession, beginning in elementary school.
Another site designed for younger kids, students are guided through games, puzzles, and a virtual archaeological tour to understand how people at a farmstead survived 150 years ago.
A newsfeed on the ancient world, including articles, photos, and videos.
Search for “Archaeology” for all kinds of information related to the high- quality programs that appear on the PBS program, NOVA.
Search for “Archaeology” and you will find all kinds of free lesson plans.
The Evolving Definition of Giftedness
The definition of giftedness has always been controversial. In recent years, authorities have continued to explore the meaning of the word.
There is a growing body of evidence that suggests giftedness is not static. Instead, gifted behaviors can appear at different points in one’s life, and once in evidence may or may not continue. Rather than thinking about whether a student is “gifted” or not, we should focus on subject-specific programming options that meet advanced learning needs. The more options that are available to support gifted development, the greater the chances that child's learning needs will be met.
Some individuals may have pre-dispositions towards high abilities, which can be nurtured through the environment. In addition to nurturing these pre-dispositions, we also need to foster gifted-level development more broadly in more diverse learners. Both agendas are essential, and we shouldn’t choose one or the other.
Giftedness is developed in three stages:
- Helping students to fall in love with the topic or area
- Providing advanced skills and knowledge of the topic or area and sharing the values associated with it
- Coaching to help refine individual voice and contribution
There is much research that should still be done as we try to understand the definition of giftedness. We need to ask:
- How and why do some young children teach themselves to read?
- How does a prodigy's brain develop?
- What happens when a young person has intense instruction or when a strong ability is ignored?
There should be also be more longitudinal studies of talent development in specific domains and intervention studies of effective instruction and programming in each of those domains.
The Development of Giftedness and Talent Across the Life Span discusses important variables that affect functioning, including:
- ethnic minority status and how it can be both an advantage and disadvantage in talent development.
- the role of social skills in successful expression of talent.
Summer Arts Programs for Talented High School Students
Do you have a talented high school student who would like to pursue a possible career in the arts? There are a variety of summer programs that are worth considering. Some of these schools also offer programs during the school year. The following is only a sampling of what is available. To find more, use an Internet search engine or talk with a local high school art teacher or counselor.
Boston, MA
The emphasis of this program is drawing, painting, and sculpture.
Ithaca, NY
Classes include Introduction to Architecture and Art as Experience.
Velencia, CA
This program offers four weeks of exploration, discovery, and hard work designed to unleash creative power. Talented high school students receive intensive training from professionals in music, theatre, video and film, visual arts, dance, creative writing, and animation.
Northwestern Michigan
More than 2,500 of the world's most talented and motivated young people attend this camp each summer. They learn and perform with peers and educators. Areas of focus include creative writing, dance, motion picture arts, music, theatre, and visual arts.
Chicago, IL
Here, students expand their creative talents and develop a strong portfolio for college admission while receiving college credit. Students study art, design, and writing.
New York City
This program is designed for high school students who want to enhance their creative skills, learn more about a particular field of art, or develop a portfolio. Course offerings include animation, filmmaking, screenwriting, cartooning, painting and drawing, sculpture, printmaking, graphic design, and photography.
Webinar on Whole Grade Acceleration for Gifted Students
Whole grade acceleration, or grade skipping, is recognized in the field of gifted education as one of the most successful ways to address the needs of students who are advanced in their abilities. However, it is not the answer for all gifted kids. The Iowa Acceleration Scale: A Guide for Whole-Grade Acceleration K-8 (IAS) is a tool to help parents, teachers, and administrators determine if grade acceleration is appropriate for a particular student. The third edition of this instrument has just been released. Training for its use will be offered via the Internet. Here is the information you will need to participate.
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Date of Webinar: Saturday, February 21, 2009
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Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Standard Time)
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Cost: $120 (includes the IAS 3rd Edition Manual)
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Participation is limited to the first 50 computer registrations. (One computer per registration, but you may have multiple participants viewing that computer.)
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Technical Requirements: high-speed Internet access and speakers connected to your computer. To ensure that you have the necessary computer capacity, click here.
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Required Materials: IAS 3rd Edition, available for purchase at a reduced rate from the Belin-Blank Center.
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Instructors: Drs. Susan Assouline, Nicholas Colangelo, Clar Baldus, and Laurie Croft.
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Training Format: Lecture/Presentation, case studies via stream video, and opportunities for Q&A during the training.
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Academic Credit(optional): One-semester-hour of credit; multi-media format from February 21 to March 20. Cost to participant: $180 (the Belin-Blank Center is providing participants a $181 scholarship that will cover the remainder of the graduate tuition). Contact Laurie Croft with questions about the credit option or to get a copy of the credit registration form. IAS training is required to participate in the credit option.
Black History Month—Engaging Educational Choices
Here is a good Website that will help teachers to highlight February, which is Black History month. There are many possibilities here for higher level thinking skills. While the activities are designed for the regular classroom, they are also open-ended. With proper guidance, groups of gifted students could take the concepts to a much deeper level.
AT&T’s Patchwork of African-American Life contains Websites that integrate the Internet into classroom learning around the subject of African-American life. In addition to learnign about Black History, students are asked to draw their own conclusions about specific situations and defend them. Each bulleted item below presents Black history in a different way. Some activities are inidividal, some are group activities, and some suggest working with other schools.
- Black History Hotlist—These links can be used as a jumping off point for independent research or to support an area of focus that the teacher chooses to emphasize.
- Black History Past to Present—Here you will find an interactive treasure hunt and quiz. Web sites that provide appropriate ways to find answers to the quiz are included. At the end of the exercise, students are asked to compose a thesis and essay stating what they feel are the most important aspects of African-American history.
- Sampling African America—This section engages students by helping them to feel personally connected to African-American history. It attempts to connect the student emotionally, thereby enabling him to feel that the subject is personally important.
- Little Rock 9, Integration 0—Through this WebQuest, students learn about nine African-American students who, back in 1957, chose to attend an all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Tuskegee Tragedy—In this WebQuest, students explore the issues of the Tuskegee Study and question the comparisons some people make to the study and such topics as abortion, gun control, and concentration camp experiments. By the time the study was exposed in 1972, a number of men had died of syphilis, others were dead of related complications, wives had been infected, and children had contracted the disease at birth.
Using Universal Themes to Promote Higher Level Thinking
The use of universal themes has been discussed in this blog on a couple of occasions:
The topic is so important for gifted students and so sought after by parents and teachers that I want to visit it again.
In education, we are often accused of delivering a curriculum that is not relevant to today’s students. If we teach (or have discussions at home) using universal themes, the material presented does become relevant.
A universal theme is a timeless, broad, abstract idea that can be used to tie together literary works or understand broad concepts in history. It is one to which all people can relate. It transcends race, gender, and creed.
In good literature, themes are implied rather than directly stated. By looking carefully at a universal theme, students are able to explore what that theme reveals about people, about their relationships, and about life in general. What motivates people to action? What causes a person to change? What human weaknesses and strengths do we see in others? Powerful universal themes explore concepts in depth. For example, rather than just study the facts of war/conflict, it is more interesting and meaningful to figure out how conflict changes the lives of all people involved.
If you visit the previous blogs mentioned above, you will find many ideas for using universal themes as well as many potential concepts that can be used as universal themes. Below are additional possibilities.
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Conformity/Nonconformity
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Free will vs. fate
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Growing up
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Hate
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Hypocrisy
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Martyrdom
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Restrictions of society
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Temptation
By using universal themes, you will make learning relevant, provide umbrellas under which details become easier to remember, and give students a framework of understanding that they can carry with them the rest of their lives.
Cartooning and Animation for Gifted Kids Revisited
Cartooning and animation are great outlets for those who have visual-spatial strengths. They also involve problem-solving skills, especially once one enters the realm of political cartoons or storyboards. There are many jobs available in this field for talented individuals, including film, advertising, video game design, print media, and instructional design.
My June 20, 2008 post on Cartooning and Animation for Gifted Kids has been very popular. Because of this interest, I am writing another blog on the topic with more resources. Here are some good Web sites, arranged in alphabetical order.
Contains all kinds of information on careers in the fields of animation and cartooning.
Offers information and advice on careers in animation.
Created for older, more mature students, this site offers lessons in political cartooning.
The best part of this Web site is the section on free classroom handouts.
Includes almost 300 quick tips for drawing cartoon characters and objects.
Written by Chris Browne, who creates the comic strip Hagar the Horrible. He offers advice on how to become a cartoonist.
Offers regularly updated cartoon drawing lessons.
Lists numerous drawing lessons, arranged alphabetically.
Teaching Gifted Students to Analyze Literature
Whether you are a parent or a teacher, there are some great resources to help you encourage students to think analytically about the books they read.
From University of Connecticut’s Schoolwide Enrichment Model Reading program, comes Using the SEM-R Bookmarks. I like the suggestions provided at this Web site because they explain how adults can model the thinking they want to develop in children. For example:
“How would the problem change if the story took place elsewhere?
The teacher could say, ‘I’ll show you how I might answer that question. First I would think of a different place or setting—maybe here in Willimantic. Then I would think about what is different between Willimantic and the setting in the book. (She could talk about some of these differences.) Now I would think about how these differences might change the problem.”
By modeling all behavior, we help students to better understand.
Be sure and download the “Bookmarks” provided at the beginning of the article. These bookmarks provide 28 pages of good higher level questions to pose when discussing books of all types. Even if you haven’t read the book that the child is discussing, you can elicit a conversation with these questions.
Inauguration—January 20, 2009
Don’t miss the opportunity to introduce your students to the historical significance and excitement of the upcoming presidential inauguration. The following Web sites can be relied on for accurate, in-depth information.
Offers extensive information about all things having to do with the presidential inauguration. The history section is especially detailed and interesting.
Contains the schedule for the days leading up to, through the days following the inauguration. There is a link to the committee’s Flickr page, with lots of related photos.
Information on security at the upcoming inauguration and the role of the Secret Service in protecting government officials.
Where you can read the inaugural address from 54 inaugurations.
Profoundly Gifted
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.
Free Math Tutorials for Gifted Kids
The Khan Academy is a great, free resource for those students who need help understanding math concepts or for those who want to work beyond what is offered to them at school. The academy was founded by Salman Khan (Sal) with the hope of using technology to foster new learning models. Sal currently is an investment professional in Palo Alto, CA and has held positions in venture capital, product management, and engineering. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He also holds a master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science, a BS in electrical engineering and computer science, and a BS in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked with students of all ages.
Posted on his Web site are more than 600 videos covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, and finance. Singapore Math is included as is SAT preparation. And these videos will cost you nothing. For an overview of the video offerings, check out this YouTube video. This is a great resource for kids who love math or who need a little help or reinforcement.
More and more individuals are posting legitimate math tutorials on YouTube. I found that, when searching, it helps to add the word “tutorial” to your search. For instance, if you search for “calculus tutorial,” you will be more successful than if you just search for “calculus.”
Great Resources for Gifted Education Teachers and Administrators
Whether you are new to gifted education or you are experienced but looking for information to support your teaching, program development, and parent communities, you will find a plethora of information available on the Internet. Here are just a few sites:
The Davidson Institute Educators Guild
This is a free, national service for professionals committed to meeting the needs of highly gifted students. The Guild offers:
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An electronic (email) discussion group where members interact with one another to share experiences and ideas, receive advice and resource recommendations, ask questions, and increase their knowledge about gifted education;
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Consulting services based on members’ needs. Information may include lesson plan ideas, differentiation strategies, assessment tools and options, GT program design, tools for advocating, and staff development opportunities.
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eNewsletters delivered to your mailbox, plus archived newsletters.
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A host of resources, including lesson plans.
Hoagies’ Page provides links to professional reading lists, reading lists for kids, classroom resources, and basic information on gifted education.
Here you will find gifted program and teacher preparation standards, plus extensive resources on many aspects of gifted education.
As the title implies, this organization has an emphasis on the emotional needs of the gifted. It offers an articles library, audio library, and a bibliography of recommended readings.
The Teaching Gifted Children’s Section of Prufrock Press Inc.
There is lots of good information here, including
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information for teachers new to gifted education;
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an introduction to gifted education and teaching methods;
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gifted education events, organizations, and resources; and
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links to the two Prufrock blogs: Gifted Children Information Blog and Gifted Education Blog.
ADHD—A Good Thing or a Bad Thing for Gifted Students?
Many gifted students have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
A New York Times article, A New Face for A.D.H.D., and a Debate, questions whether attention deficit is a good thing or a bad thing, giving experts a chance to thrash out the argument. The viewpoint that ADHD may be more blessing than curse has been brought to the forefront since the world learned that Michael Phelps, the Olympic superstar, was diagnosed in elementary school.
“Children with the disorder typically have trouble sitting still and paying attention," the author states. "But they may also have boundless energy and a laserlike focus on favorite things — qualities that could be very helpful in, say, an Olympic athlete.” Some doctors now pushing for a new view of the disorder that focuses on its potential strengths rather than solely on its challenges cite that, often, children with ADHD are highly creative.
If you do a search on “ADHD Famous People,” you will find long lists of historical figures who are thought to have had difficulty focusing coupled with very high energy. Of course the compilers of these lists can only have made assumptions that the people they included had the disorder.
Amazing Accomplishments of Gifted Science Students
If you want to be wowed by the capabilities of highly gifted, highly motivated middle school, high school, and college students, take a look at News & Views—Young Scientists on the Cogito Web site. These young people are incredible!
Cogito has gathered information on winners of science awards from all over the world, including Davidson Fellows, Global Challenge Awards, Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, Fields Medal, Siemens Westinghouse Competition, USA Computing Olympiad, and more. In addition to competition winners, many more students are presented who are working on very advanced science projects. These are projects that one would expect from only established research scientists. As of this writing, there are 155 articles on the Web site about these young science students. Some examples are
- Daniel Burd, who found a way to reduce the time it takes a plastic bag to decompose from 20 or more years to just three months.
- Tara Adiseshan, who is investigating a cure for endangered amphibians.
- Ahana Datta, who devised a plan to apply nanotechnology to making catalytic converters.
- Anshul Samar, who created a chemistry game and a company to produce and market the game.
- Tiffany Dinkins, who spent a summer working to uncover the mysteries of how genes affect brain function.
- Kayson Conlin, who is working on an electromagnetic invisibility cloak for buildings and vehicles that can be turned off and on at will.
Gifted Education Forums
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.
Preschool
Home—incredibly bright/School—lazy
Music and learning
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
Parenting and advocacy
Identification, testing, and assessment
Grade skipping
Gifted - OGTOC
When to seek professional help
Enrichment
No Child Left Behind Act
Early entry to kindergarten policies
Web-based math programs
Compacting/Learning Contract Advice
Encouraging Gifted Students to Be Innovators
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
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.
A Different Way of Looking at Boredom of the Gifted
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.
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
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?
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
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
Chemistry Resources for Gifted Kids
National Chemistry Week is October 19–25. There are some great resources available for students during this week of celebration or anytime during the year. The mission of National Chemistry Week is to reach the public, particularly elementary school children, with positive messages about chemistry. The theme of this year’s National Chemistry Week is Having a Ball with Chemistry. The focus is to show how chemistry plays a big part in all kinds of sports and games.
The education section of the American Chemical Society Web site has numerous resources for students in kindergarten through graduate school. There also are programs available for educators and scientists. If you look at the bottom of the page, you will see that the site is available in numerous languages. Poke around on the Web site and you will find
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online publications;
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activities, puzzles, and games;
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interviews with chemists from a kid’s point of view (great for learning about potential careers);
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podcasts; and
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information on Project SEED, which is a summer research program for economically disadvantaged students to experience what it’s like to be a chemist.
Rohm and Haas (a company that develops innovative technologies and solutions for the specialty materials industry) and The Franklin Institute (a leader in the field of science and technology learning) have teamed to produce a set of seven online videos that address the theme of this year’s National Chemistry Week. The videos explain how science has impacted a variety of kids’ favorite sports, like bicycling, snowboarding, hockey, and basketball. The videos show how a combination of physics, chemistry, and materials enable participants’ abilities to improve and also increase safety. This is a great way to see how science is applied to the sports industry. The videos will be available online beginning October 19.
Terrific Science: Empowering Teachers Through Innovation provides a large selection of fun activities to support this year’s National Chemistry Week’s theme of Having a Ball with Chemistry. These include activities about topics such as the Speedo LZR Racer® swimsuit that was the hit of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, impact and puncture testing of sports helmets, the importance of iron in our bodies, the chemistry of heat packs applied to sports injuries, and the effectiveness of sunscreen products.
Understanding Economics for the Gifted
Well, if nothing else, the financial crisis we’re experiencing is raising our awareness of economics. We’re all trying desperately to better understand what is happening—where we have come from and where we are going. We should view this as a good teaching opportunity, especially for middle and high school students. There are excellent resources that are available to help. Remember that very bright students often can handle content that is intended for older students. Bright middle school students, or even upper elementary children, may benefit from material that is intended for high school. If you look at the Economics Classroom link below and click on resources, you also will find economics lesson plans for students as young as in kindergarten.
The Annenberg Foundation has created a series of free online videos for both teachers and students including
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Economics U$A—Twenty-eight half-hour video programs that explore the fundamentals of economic history, theory, and practice, including microeconomics and macroeconomics, through interviews with Nobel Prize-winning economists. The series features Milton Friedman, Paul Samuelson, John Kenneth Galbraith, Walter Heller, and others. In each program, case studies of major economic events show how economic theory relates to the real world.
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Inside the Global Economy—Thirteen one-hour video programs offer a multinational perspective on how the global economy and market affect individuals, businesses, and industry. The series features 26 case studies, with follow-up analysis, from more than 20 countries, balancing widely held American views with opinions from around the globe and inviting comparison of the strategies used in international economics today.
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The Economics Classroom: A Workshop for Grade 9–12 Teachers—Eight video workshops and associated print and Web site information is intended to assist high school teachers in developing strategies to effectively teach the fundamentals of economics and personal finance. This site also provides a number of classroom-tested lesson plans and links to a variety of useful additional resources.
Etymology for Gifted Students
Etymology is the study of the history of words. It explains when a word entered a language, from what source, and how its form and meaning has changed over time. It is fun, interesting, and helps to build vocabulary.
Internet sites
This Web site takes words from mythology, explains their meanings, and helps students understand the influence of those words on today’s vocabulary. This is accomplished through interactive exercises and worksheets.
Students can search the origins of their names and that of friends and relatives.
Books
The system explained in these books can be used at home or at school to teach the Greek and Latin roots of words. It is a valuable system for students in elementary school through high school. The system helps students develop their vocabulary and enables them to recognize roots that will help them decipher the meanings of new words.
Students improve their mastery of the English language and acquire the keys for understanding thousands of words by studying Greek and Latin word parts (prefixes, root words, and suffixes).
Each of these books build understanding of vocabulary and help boost SSAT and SAT scores.
Anatomy for Gifted Kids
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.
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.
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.
At this site, there are numerous links to biology resources, several that relate directly to anatomy.
Teaching Foreign Language to Gifted Students
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.
This Web site comes from the U.K. It contains ideas for enriching and extending pupils' experiences in foreign languages that include
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using everyday classroom events as an opportunity for spontaneous speech;
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expressing and discussing personal feelings and opinions;
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using a range of resources, including games, songs and poems;
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using the target language imaginatively and creatively (i.e., creating newspapers, quizzes and tongue-twisters);
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listening, reading, or viewing for personal enjoyment short stories, short novels, poetry, fairy tales, and plays.
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writing short stories and poetry.
Here you will find an extensive list of language camps for students of all ages.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Philosophy for Gifted Children
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
Other Blogs on Gifted Education
Every once in a while I like to remind readers about other blogs on gifted education. If you look on the left column of this page as you scroll down, you will come to a section titled Other Blogs. I try to keep an updated list there of all the other blogs that focus on gifted education.
There are two blogs that have recently come to my attention:
This blog deals with “extreme giftedness, education, homeschooling, parenting and more…as seen from the Washington, DC suburbs.” It is written by a mom of two girls--one highly gifted, one profoundly gifted--living in Montgomery County, Maryland. Her family has experience with normal school, magnet school, and homeschooling...and the girls are not yet out of middle school.
The author of this blog has her M.A. and is an educational consultant who specializes in providing academic advocacy services for gifted and twice-exceptional children and their families. She has 15 years of teaching experience in public and private schools, the last ten as a classroom teacher in a school for gifted and talented. She is an adjunct faculty member for the Technology in Education program at National-Louis University in Wheeling, Illinois, and presents regularly to various educational and professional groups.
Tamara Fisher maintains this blog for Teacher Magazine. Tamara is a K-12 gifted education specialist for a school district located on an Indian reservation in northwestern Montana and president-elect of the Montana Association of Gifted and Talented Education. She is also co-author of Intelligent Life in the Classroom: Smart Kids and Their Teachers. In this blog, Fisher discusses news and developments in the gifted education community and offers advice for teachers on working with gifted students. She does an excellent job.
Ideas for Studying the Olympics
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 Academy of Achievement includes student materials, teacher facilitation guides for grades 4–12, and video clips of former Olympic champions.
Series of 16 inexpensive booklets of activities surrounding the Olympics.
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.
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.
Shakespeare for Gifted Students
Shakespeare never grows old. He was an outstanding observer of life and created many immortal characters that profess and embody human nature. His characters often capture traits that are universal. He used rich literary devices, compelling plots, and had an enduring wisdom and wit. He also wrote many unforgettable lines that are imbedded in our culture. He continues to be the most-quoted author in the English language.
There are many resources available to help teach about Shakespeare. Here are just a few.
Publishers
Prufrock Press has a new Advanced Placement Classroom series for the upper level classroom, grades 7–12. Currently, there are three books that present background material and activities for teachers for Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet.
The Writing Company has an extensive collection of books, videos, posters, simulations, and other resources on William Shakespeare.
Curricula
Navigators are collections of questions and activities intended to support group or independent study of selected literary pieces. The Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary offers Navigators for three of Shakespeare’s plays: Henry IV, Part 1; Hamlet; and Twelfth Night. These Navigators are designed for students in grades 9–12.
Web Sites
Complete texts of Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets, and poems. This site also includes search tools and statistics.
Numerous resources on all things Shakespeare.
Includes Shakespeare’s will, the authorship debate, language, the Globe Theatre, Elizabethan England, and theatre companies.
Activities for teachers to use when teaching Shakespeare.
For Fun and Learning
This book is filled with insults that teachers can share with their students to help them really get into Shakespeare's language, such as "Your brains are useless, boil'd within thy skull."
Using Universal Themes with Gifted Students
Back in September 2005 I wrote a blog entry titled Universal Themes & Gifted Education. Universal themes give any unit meaning. Themes give a common reason for students to read many different books, including books on different ability levels, which is excellent for differentiation. Universal themes can be used with any subject, but they are especially suited for literature and social studies.
A Sampling of Universal Themes
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Anger
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Friendship
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Loyalty
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Bullies
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Good vs. Evil
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Making Choices
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Belonging
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Grief
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Memories
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Bravery
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Guilt
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Peace
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Challenges
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Honesty
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Separation and Loss
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Commitment
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Innocence and Experience
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Survival
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Courage
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Jealousy
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Trust
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Customs and Traditions
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Leadership
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Values
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Diversity
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Loneliness
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Violence
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Forgiveness
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Love
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Activity to Begin a Unit
Upper Elementary through Adult
1. Divide students into groups of 5–7 and give each a large sheet of paper and markers. Ask the participants to brianstorm everything they can think of about the given theme. (You may want to review the rules of brainstorming before you begin this activity.) Give them plenty of time and don’t worry about silences. 2. After sufficient time to think and write, ask the students to look at their lists and see if there are ways they can group their comments.
3. Next, have them label each group of comments with a generalization.
4. Have each group of students share results, allowing them time to explain their reasoning.
5. As a class, find some common generalizations that can be used for the entire class.
A number of years ago, I participated in this activity while attending a conference session. At first, I was skeptical, thinking that it wouldn’t be a worthwhile exercise, but in the end, I was amazed at the depth of the discussion.
Next, I tried the activity with a class of gifted fifth graders. The discussions that the students had were phenomenal and gave real meaning to all the reading they did later in the unit. Each day, the kids could hardly wait to come to class to continue the discussions about the theme. I think that one of the reasons that students enjoy learning this way is because there are no right or wrong answers when discussing anything that is related to the theme. Instead, the universal themes and generalizations are used as a framework to help them think and to value their thinking. They do have to be able to support their ideas, which was far more meaningful that just spitting back facts or predetermined answers.
For more ideas about universal themes, check out Universal Themes and Generalizations. Remember that the generalizations listed here are only suggestions. You and your class may come up with different generalizations.
Girls vs. Boys in Math
For many years it was believed that boys were superior to girls in math, but research in the current issue of the journal Science reports that the gender gap has become a myth. Janet Hyde, a psychologist at University of Wisconsin, and her collaborators at University of Wisconsin and University of California, Berkeley culled data from federally mandated (No Child Left Behind) annual math tests administered in 2005, 2006, and 2007 to 7.2 million second- through 11th-grade students in 10 states. They found little difference between boys' and girls' average math scores. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation.
Today, girls are increasingly sticking with math classes through school, with girls and boys taking advanced math in high school in equal numbers and women receiving nearly half of all bachelor degrees given in math in the U.S.
Even though girls increasingly take the most difficult math classes, and girls and boys now perform equally well in math in school, researchers still need to better understand why females seem less likely to pursue careers in math-intensive technology and science fields. Currently, women make up only 15% of doctoral candidates in engineering programs. Furthermore, despite evidence that girls are performing as well as boys in math classes, many parents and teachers still believe girls struggle in math.
We need to get the word out to the high school teachers and counselors that girls are as good as boys at math. Hyde thinks mothers who grew up with math stereotypes need to be especially careful. "Even if you believe you can't do math, you can just keep quiet about it," she said.
The study's most disturbing finding, the authors say, is that state tests mandated by the NCLB law are doing a poor job of challenging both boys and girls, as few tough math problems being asked. Using a four-level rating scale, with level one being easiest, the authors said that they found no challenging level-three or -four questions on most state tests. The authors worry that teachers may start dropping harder math from their curriculums because "more teachers are gearing their instruction to the test."
To learn more about this study, read the current issue of the journal Science.
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