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Humanities & Linguistics Gifted

"Gifted students have the interest and the ability to use the language, the information, and the structures of social sciences to solve old problems and envision new possibilities. However, they must be challenged by parents and teachers who also find inquiry and mystery impelling. Too often, in today's schools gifted students are placed in educational structures that only repeat information that they already know, with concepts already explored, in settings that stifle excited inquiry. How much more could be learned, how many more could be entranced, and how important to all of us would their contributions be if such children were fostered and appropriately taught." Barbara Clark, The importance of social studies and the education of gifted students

Bookmarked: Teen Essays on Life and Literature from Tolkien to Twilight by Ann Camacho

Young people from a wide range of backgrounds reflect on how words from literature connect with and influence their lives, goals, and personal philosophies. Topics include suffering the death of a parent, facing a life-threatening illness, letting go of perfectionism, making friends, realizing goals, and grappling with questions of faith and sexuality. Books cited range from The Grapes of Wrath and The Great Gatsby to Twilight and Lord of the Rings.

Teachers, guidance counselors, and parents working with teens on personal essays— including for college applications—will find useful samples, models, and inspiration. Teachers of literature, writing, and language arts classes can also use these essays as a way to help teens explore literature—and their own responses to it—through writing...
 

Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts Curriculum by Michael Clay Thompson, from Royal Fireworks Press

I don't know how to explain Michael Clay Thompson's curriculum, except to say... gifted students, no matter where their gifts lie, need this curriculum.  I had the honor of hearing Michael speak about his Grammar Voyage and The Magic Lens grammar curricula and Practice Sentence student workbook series... and I was enthralled.  Please know, I am a math-y and a computer geek - I do not do language arts, if I can help it.  But this curriculum made grammar interesting to me!  Word Within The Word offers middle and secondary level, vocabulary-building curriculum that is like no other.  Sentence Island, Paragraph Town and Essay Voyage form the elementary writing curriculum.  And there's much more... investigate all the Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts Curriculum. For videos of Michael Clay Thompson's presentations, and to see why this math-geek is so excited by his curriculum, view Michael Clay Thompson Videos. And read Cathy Duffy reviews... Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts
 

Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Preschool to High School by Judith Wynn Halsted

Roeper Review says it all: "...should be on the shelf of every school library, whether that school offers gifted programming or not."  Also available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca
 

Adora Svitak in CNN's Young People Who Rock

Adora has been known as a "literary prodigy" since her first published book, "Flying Fingers," which contains stories, poems and a step-by-step instructional manual for parents and teachers to encourage kids to write. Her passion is evident from each story she puts out on her website and blog - a must read for kids and adults!
 

The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner

"John Gardner was famous for his generosity to young writers, and (this book) is his . . . gift to them. The Art of Fiction will fascinate anyone interested in how fiction gets put together. For the young writer, it will become a necessary handbook, a stern judge, an encouraging friend." -- The New York Times Book Review.
 

Breaking With Tradition - teaching composition to gifted students by Elissa S. Guralnick

Attend to the least proficient students and the best will take care of themselves. An educational philosophy that few university faculty would rush to embrace ... except with respect to expository writing. More from habit than reflection, writing programs tend to neglect the brightest seniors: we rarely consider subjecting their writing to serious scrutiny. Would that it were otherwise...

 

Cognitive Benefits of Learning Languages in the Duke Gifted Letter

It is critical that foreign language instruction be available to all students throughout their PK-12 academic experience. Knowing other languages and understanding other cultures is a 21st Century skill set for American students as they prepare to live and work in a global society.  Many studies have demonstrated the benefits of second language learning not only on student’s linguistic abilities but on their cognitive and creative abilities as well... 

 

Developing Verbal Talent by Michael Thompson

"Verbal talent is developed by new verbal experience.  If this seems too obvious, we must recall that it flies in the mass face of an educational culture that avoids the shock of difficulty in the name of self-esteem; giving students things they can do, the theory is, builds their self-esteem. Developing verbal talent in gifted children doesn’t work that way..."
 

Guiding Advanced Readers in Middle School by Teresa Masiello

Teachers, here's your differentiation guide for middle school readers. Challenge and inspire the gifted middle school student, plus reproducibles on literature circles, tiered activities, graphic organizers, and higher-level thinking discussion questions
 

Humanities: A Contracted Curriculum by Ross Butchart, in Gifted Education Press Quarterly

Today, in educational circles, value for the humanities is held in low regard – an attitude that is evident at the highest echelon of influence. The humanities offer an avenue to revive our collective strength of character, as it is through the discipline inherent in their study that critical thinking skills are developed. (requires ^Adobe, scroll down to page 9)

 

The importance of social studies and the education of gifted students by Barbara Clark

The study of social sciences and humanities forms the basic core of thought for growing, inquiring minds. These disciplines are even more fundamental to the nurture of the mind that is pushing the limits of human knowledge and bent upon changing the world...

 

It's a matter of philosophy by Tim Simmons, The News & Observer

When it comes to developing prescription drugs at the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, biologists, chemists and even statisticians impose an obvious order on the process.  But when Gary Merrill needs someone who can really think a problem through -- someone who can do the heavy lifting of analysis -- he turns to his philosophers.  These are not wizened old men contemplating the meaning of life. They are young undergraduates......

 

Language Arts for Gifted Students edited by Susan K. Johnsen and James Kendrick

Characteristics and identification of students who are gifted in English/language arts, how to develop differentiated curricula that includes multicultural components, and specific teaching strategies, such as integrating drama with literature, using storytelling activities, and developing a writers' workshop...
 

National-Louis University Summer Enrichment Program for Kids Uses Games and Simulations by Maureen Reed

Interacting with each student and challenging them to justify their decisions will enable the teacher to understand the student’s mastery of critical thinking skills and understanding of the rules/goals of the game. Winning or losing is not the important thing; the teacher should assess whether the student is planning and coordinating her movements...
 

On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner

John Gardner understands the poor, young, serious-fiction writer. Gardner's sympathetic On Becoming a Novelist is the novelist's ultimate comfort food--better than macaroni and cheese, better than chocolate. Gardner, a fiction writer himself (Grendel), knows in his bones the desperate questioning of a writer who's not sure he's up to the task. He recognizes the validation that comes with being published, just as he believes that "for a true novel there is generally no substitute for slow, slow baking." Gardner also has strong feelings about what kinds of workshops help (and whom they help), and what kinds hinder. But a full half of Gardner's book is devoted to an exploration of the writer's nature...
 

Understanding the Special Giftedness of Young Interpreters by Guadalupe Valdés, Stanford University

Analysis of the youngsters' performance on our simulated interpretation task revealed that youngsters were able to demonstrate their ability to carry out the very complex task of interpreting under particularly stressful conditions. Given their performance, we maintain that young interpreters exhibit at least some of the characteristics generally measured in prospective interpreters such as memory, analytical ability, speed of comprehension and production, and stress tolerance... (requires ^Adobe)

 

Last updated December 01, 2020