serving high school gifted learners · book reviews elaine wiener [email protected] departments the...

winter 2010 Vol. 41 no. 4 $12.00

Serving High School GiftedLearners

CaLiforniaassoCiationfortheGifted1

C O N T E N T SWinter 2010 | Volume 41 | Number 4

ISSN 1531-7382

Serving High School Gifted LearnersF E A T U R E S

15 stillGiftedafteralltheseYears:teachingGifted

andtalentedKidsinhighschool SteveKahl

21 academicLanguage:equippingenglishLearners

tospeakandWriteConfidentlyinsecondaryClassrooms PatrickHurley

26 threeWishesandaMagicalteachingManual:

UsingMagazinesasaLearningtoolBenjaminLundholm

30 UsingColoreffectively:thetruetestofteachingart StephenMcCue

33 developingstudentCreativitywithrealWorldapplicationsGordonJack

36 summitPreparatoryCharterhighschool:

analternativesecondaryschoolProgramDianeTavenner

D E P A R T M E N T S

S T U D E N T V O i C E S

6 achievement:MyfalsePretense JulienRoth

P A R E N T T A L k

8 ButWhatabouttheProm? NancyM.Robinson

T H E A M A z i N G b R A i N

10 BravenewBrain BarbaraClark

A D M i N i S T R A T O R T A L k

12 Pleasedon’tCallonMethisMorning:howadministrators

CanMaximizeLearningforhighschoolGiftedstudents CarolynR.Cooper

R T i 2 F O R G i F T E D L E A R N E R S

38 appropriateinstructionandinterventionfor

Giftedstudents BethLittrell

C A R P E D i E M

43 friendship,friendship,JustaPerfectBlendship ElaineS.Wiener

T E C H T O O L S F O R T O D A y ’ S T E A C H E R S

44 supersourcesforscience BrianC.Housand

b O O k R E V i E W S

46 thesmartteens’GuidetoLivingWithintensity ByLisaRivero

46 ParentingGiftedChildrenByJenniferL.Jolly,DonaldJ.Treffinger,TracyFordInman,andJoanFranklinSmutny(Eds.)

4 fromtheeditors

48 GeCfuturethemes2011-2012

Coverphotobydannelson.

photo by dan nelson

2GiftededUCationCoMMUniCatorWinter2010

Published by the California Association for the Gifted (CAG)

G i F T E D E D U C A T i O N C O M M U N i C A T O RaCqUisitionseditor Margaret Gosfield [email protected] Karen Daniels [email protected] Barbara Clark [email protected] Curriculum Beth littrell [email protected] Photography Dan nelson [email protected] Bookreviews elaine wiener [email protected] theamazingBrain Barbara Clark administratortalk Carolyn r. Cooper techtools Brian Housand WebWatch Carolyn Kottmeyer rti2forGiftedLearners Beth littrell Parenttalk nancy M. robinson ParenttoParent robin Schader Carpediem elaine S. wiener

desiGn Keir DuBois, BBM&D Strategic Branding www.bbmd-inc.com, (805) 667-6671

iLLUstrations Jon Pearson

Ken Vinton

C A G E x E C U T i V E C O M M i T T E E 2 0 0 8 – 2 0 1 0President Deborah HazeltonPresidenteLeCt Anna williamsseCretarY Maryanna GraytreasUrer Judith J. roseberryChair,edUCatorrePresentatives Joan lindsay KerrChair,ParentrePresentatives Marie thornsberryPastPresident Dana reupert

C A G O F F i C ESusan Seamons, executive Director9278 Madison Avenue, orangevale, CA 95662tel: 916-988-3999 Fax: 916-988-5999 e-mail: [email protected] CAGifted.org

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D i T O RMargaret Gosfield, editor3136 Calle Mariposa, Santa Barbara, CA 93105tel: 805-687-9352 Fax: 805-687-1527 e-mail: [email protected] should include your full name, address, telephone, and e-mail address. letters may be edited for clarity and space.

Gifted Education Communicator iSSn 1531-7382 is published four times a year: Spring, Summer, Fall, and winter. opinions expressed by individual authors do not officially represent positions of the California Association for the Gifted. advertis-ing: For advertising rates and information, contact the CAG office at 916-988-3999 or visit the CAG website at CAGifted.org. submissionofmaterial: to submit articles for publication, send articles by e-mail to the editor at [email protected]. All submissions will be given careful consideration. Photos and camera-ready artwork are particularly desirable. the editorial staff reserves the right to edit all material in accordance with APA style and Gifted education Communicator policy. reprint-ingofmaterials: Articles appearing in Gifted education Communicator may be reprinted as desired unless marked by © or reprinted from another source. Please credit Gifted education Communicator and send a copy of your publication containing the reprint to the editor. For electronic reprinting, please contact the editor for credit and linking protocol. Backissues: Printed back issues may be purchased (if available) for $12.00 per copy including postage. to order, contact the CAG office. Please note: GeC issues from Fall 2010 forward are available only in electronic format.

N A T i O N A L A D V i S O R y b O A R DernestoBernal,Ph.d.,ConsultantSan Antonio, tX

GeorgeBetts,ed.d.,ProfessorUniversity of northern Colorado, Greeley, Co

victoriaBortolusssi,Ph.d.,deanemeritusMoorpark College, Moorpark, CA

CarolynCallahan,Ph.d.,ProfessorUniversity of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

BarbaraClark,ed.d.,ProfessoremeritusCalifornia State University, los Angeles, CA

tracyCross,Ph.d.,ProfessorBall State University, Muncie, in

Jamesdelisle,Ph.d.,ProfessorKent State University & twinsberg, Kent, oH

MaureendiMarco,seniorvicePresidentHoughton Mifflin Co.

Jerryflack,Ph.d.,ProfessoremeritusUniversity of Colorado, Denver, Co

JudyGalbraith,M.a.,author,PublisherFree Spirit Publishing, Minneapolis, Mn

JamesGallagher,Ph.d.,seniorscientistemeritusUniversity of north Carolina, Chapel Hill, nC

JulieGonzales,ParentColorado Association for Gifted & talented

sandraKaplan,ed.d.,ClinicalProfessorUniversity of Southern California, los Angeles, CA

francesKarnes,Ph.d.,Professorthe University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesberg, MS

feliceKaufmann,Ph.d.,Consultantnew York University Child Study Center, new York, nY

JannLeppien,Ph.d.,ProfessorUniversity of Great Falls, Great Falls, Mt

elizabethMeckstroth,M.ed.,M.s.U.,Consultantinstitute of eductional Advancement, evanston, il

Maureenneihart,Psy.d.,associateProfessornational institute of education, Singapore

sallyreis,Ph.d.,ProfessorUniversity of Connecticut, Storrs, Ct

Josephrenzulli,Ph.d.,directornational research Center on the Gifted & talented, Storrs, Ct

sylviarimm,Ph.d.,directorFamily Achievement Clinic, Cleveland, oH

annrobinson,Ph.d.,director,CenterforGiftededucationUniversity of Arkansas, little rock, Ar

annemarieroeper,ed.d.,Consultant,roeper Consultation Service, el Cerrito, CA

KarenB.rogers,Ph.d.,visitingProfessor,University of new South wales, Sydney, AU

Judithroseberry,M.a.,ConsultantFountain Valley, CA

Lindasilverman,Ph.d.,director,Gifted Development Center, Denver, Co

elinorruthsmith,educationalConsultantSan Diego, CA

Joanfranklinsmutny,M.a.,director,CenterforGiftededucationnational louis University, Chicago, il

robertsternberg,Ph.d.,deanofarts&Letters,tufts University, Medford, MA

stephanietolan,M.a.,author,Consultant,institute for educational Advancement, Charlotte, nC

Carolanntomlinson,ed.d.,ProfessorUniversity of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Joycevantassel-Baska,ed.d.,Professor,College of william & Mary, williamsburg,VA

sallyWalker,Ph.d.,executivedirector,illinois Association for Gifted Children, roscoe, il

JamesWebb,Ph.d.,Consultant,President.Great Potential Press/SenG, Scottsdale, AZ


it is with sadness that we report the death of our longtime associate editor

and friend, Jim riley. He lost his battle with lymphoma on november 18, 2010.

Jim joined the editorial Board of the Gifted Education Communicator in the sum-

mer of 2001, immediately after his retirement from a long and distinguished teaching

career in the San Diego City Schools. He and his teaching partner, Ann MacDonald, were

put in charge of curriculum topics. His most visible contribution was the “Hands-on

Curriculum” column wherein he and Ann used their classroom expertise gained from

teaching highly gifted children to prepare concise and step-by-step lessons on a variety

of topics for gifted classrooms. equally important were his contributions at board meet-

ings where each issue and its specific theme were

discussed and shaped.

Jim’s contributions were not limited to the

GEC, however; his contacts and influences were

many and varied. Born in San Diego, Jim was a

long time educator in the San Diego Unified School

District where he taught 5th/6th grade seminar

classes for the highly gifted, first at McDowell and

then Hawthorne elementary schools. His intellect,

humor, and commitment to education were evi-

dent throughout his life.

Jim taught school the way he wished he had

been taught: with rigor, humor, depth, everything a

challenge, no boring repetitions. His love for the ap-

plication of mathematics through origami and the ap-

plication of logic through puzzle solution permeated

the classroom. Jim’s sharp wit, love of puns, intellect,

and artistic talent made him a natural entertainer.

when Jim was about to undergo a complete bone

marrow transplant at thornton hospital, word spread

quickly. when parents asked if there was anything

they could do, Ann suggested that they could ask

students to write him letters telling him of their path

since leaving Hawthorne and what they were doing now. And write they did. letters

poured in from all over the world—Switzerland, india, Japan, indonesia, as well as

widespread areas in this country. Space permits us to share only a few short excerpts:

I’ve had many great teachers over the years, but none as good as you. Of all my

teachers, yours is the only name my wife knows. You are the one who turned me on to

the beauty of physics. Words can’t convey how much you mean to me. Thank you, Mr.

Riley, for setting me on my path. —Yoavaltman

Your class was the beginning, for me, of a life of the mind. The books we read –

watership Down, romeo and Juliet (vs. Westside Story in the double edition), to Kill a

Mockingbird, even twelve Angry Men or the Russian stories in the high school readers,

became a part of my nine-ten-eleven year old self. —Karenhartman

Without reservation, you are the finest, most respected teacher I have ever met or

even heard of. Not a week goes by that I don’t think about what a wonderful world your

classroom was, and how lucky I am to call you my teacher. —Marctamsky

I cherished my time at Hawthorne, from the singing to the hydrology workshops and

student-staffed library, and especially balloon volleyball, square dancing, and Koosh

ball in the rain. The friends I made in Seminar are still my lifelong companions, and

we have all enjoyed our Seminar connection as we watch each other travel different

paths. —tracyBurnett

However, not only his students miss their teacher and friend; here are just a

few excerpts of the many messages conveyed at a memorial gathering at Haw-

thorne school on January 9.

With Jim Riley’s passing, we feel that we have

lost a treasured member of our family. Each of the

hundreds of students and their parents who were

touched by Jim at Hawthorne Elementary became

“family.” The uniqueness of the learning environ-

ment, the creative energy, and the camaraderie

from the shared experiences brought us all togeth-

er in an extraordinary way. Jim’s incredible dedica-

tion and limitless skill in gifted education assured

that our students became actively engaged in

learning that was as wide as it was deep. —dick

Kelly,parent

Jim began volunteering at Rady Children’s Hospi-

tal San Diego nearly 10 years ago as a self described

“magician and puzzle enthusiast.” He volunteered

1,350 hours in our Specialty Clinics…spending time

with children of all ages, their siblings and an anxious

parent or two. A lifelong teacher, Jim had the incred-

ible gift of being able to relate to children of any age,

and would mesmerize them all with his astonishing

card tricks and puzzles. —sylviesneep,Manager,

volunteerservices

GATEWAYS Summer School has been so fortunate to have Jim Riley as a

member of our staff. Beginning in 2003 and continuing for 8 years, Jim taught

our Geometry and Art class for grades 5-6 and 7-12…Students learned of the

internal and surface geometric relationships and created beautiful models

[origami] to take home. Jim’s classes were always full with long waiting lists.

—CarolynWood,director

A professional magician and member of the international Brotherhood of Magicians

and the Magic Castle, Jim put himself through college by performing magic shows for

children. He also hosted an after school magic club for students. Dick Dale, representing

the international Brotherhood of Magicians performed the “Broken wand Ceremony”

at the memorial gathering, presenting the pieces to Jim’s sister, linda Kerstens and

stepsister, Deanna Mulligan.

Jim will be missed by so many, but we are mindful of the wise words of Dr. Seuss,

“Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.”

—Margaret Gosfield & Ann MacDonald

Jim doing his magic at Children’s Hospital.

Jamese.rileyMay2,1939–november18,2010


ImportantGECUpdates:AGoodbye-Dr.NancyRobinson’sGECcolumnforthisissueisherlastinthiscapacity–Nancy,yourwitandwisdomwillbemissed!Thankyou.

Hello - WewouldliketowelcomeDr.BrianHousandas our new GEC tech columnist. Brian is assistant profes-sorinthedepartmentofCurriculumandInstructionatEastCarolinaUniversity.Look forhisnewcolumn in this issue,“TechToolsforToday’sTeachers.”

hiGhsChooL—onesizedoesnotfitaLLIt ismyprofoundlypersonalopinion that gifted children

aregettingtheshortestendoftheeducationalstick.Alltoooftentheyareleftunchallengedinovercrowdedclassroomsintheirearlierschoolyears,sobythetimemanygiftedchildrenreach high school they are either bored, acting out, under-achieving, or mentally checked out. At the very least, theyhavelostinterestintheirowneducation.Attheworst,they’vetaken their advanced cognitive abilities and applied themelsewhere—forinstance,tolessthandesirableanti-socialbe-haviors;theymayhavecompletelylostallinterestinlearning,oreventotallydroppedoutofschool.

Thegoodnewsisthatinhighschool,astudentusuallyhassome choices of curriculum and the opportunity to exploreareasofinterest.Asparents,teachers,andadministrators,weneedtodevelopstrongersupportsystemsandencouragementfor families who have children who need to reengage withtheir education and find subjects and areas that do interestthem.Andweneedtoignoreourfearswhenitcomestoout-sidetheboxsolutions;weneedtobetterprovideuniqueandcreative solutions tobringuninterestedhigh schoolers backtotheirownexcitementtowardlearning.AsNancyRobinson

states in this issue, “Most of us, alas,don’t provide such flexible, free-flow-ingconfigurationsforourchildren,orthinkoutsiderigid,age-gradedboxes.”Butwemustbewillingtostepoutsidethose“rigid,age-gradedboxesinordertofindwhatthesechildrenneed.

Fortunately, we have entered an agewhere there are more educational re-sourcesthaneverbeforetohelpuninterestedstudents.InSu-per Sources for Science,BrianHousandstatesthatacommoncharacteristicofgiftedstudents“isaninsatiablecuriosityandaneedtoanswertheendlessstreamofquestionsaseachques-tion answered leads to yet another question.” High schoolopens the doors for students to develop more tools to an-swerthosequestionsforthemselvesthroughonlineresources,mentors,clubsofspecial interest,andextracurricularactivi-tiessuchasstudentgovernment,theater,andsports.

Certainly,bothparentingand teachinggiftedhigh schoolstudentscanbequitechallenging.Inthisissue’sadministra-tor’scolumnbyCarolynCooper,shesaysitprettysuccinctly:“Teachinggiftedhighschoolstudentsisakintoherdingcats.”Butthatshouldn’tscareusoffbecausehighschool,forsome,is the make-or-break time that determines whether or nottheywillmoveforwardwiththeireducation.Clearly,asBethLittrell comments in her column, “…a one-size-fits-all ap-proachwillnotworkforhighschoolstudentsanymorethanitworksforelementaryormiddleschoolpopulations.”

HappyGiftedNewYear!

—KarenDaniels,ManagingEditor

F R O M T H E E D i T O R S

CAG offers the Communicator in two different formats: a High-tech and

low-tech version. the high-tech version is accessed via an e-mail link and

through your computer’s web browser. once the browser downloads the full

digital edition, you may page through the issue, zooming in and out using

the top menu of buttons. Using that same menu, you may also download the

“low-tech” printable PDF version.

every GeC subscriber who has submitted a valid e-mail address will receive

an e-mail with download links when a new issue is published. Clicking on

either of these links in that email will take you to one of the two versions:

High-tech (Digital edition, Flash plug-in required):

bbmd-inc.com/gec/2010_04_Winter/

low-tech (Downloadable PDF, Adobe reader required)

bbmd-inc.com/gec/2010_04_Winter/GeC_Winter_2010.pdf

havinGtroUBLeaCCessinGthediGitaLGiftededUCationCoMMUniCator?

the California Association for the Gifted wishes to note the loss of Dr.

Beverly Mirman, longtime educator and co-founder, with husband norman, of

the Mirman School for Gifted Children in los Angeles. Her efforts along with

norman and the professionals at the Mirman School have contributed much to

the development of gifted education in southern California.

A memorial fund in her name has been established at the school. For more

information, please go to the school site at mirman.org. our sympathy goes

out to the family and the school.

dr.BeverLYMirMan-1922–2010


I must confess that thehigh school level isnotmy forteandIhavefarfewercontactsforpossibleauthorsinthatarea.Fortunately I turned to formerCAGboardmem-ber, Steven Kahl, who teaches high school English in

MountainView,California.Notonlydidhepreparetheleadfeaturearticle,buthealsocollaboratedwithanumberofhiscolleaguestopresentanarrayoftopicsandissuesfacingedu-catorsandparentsofhighschoolgiftedlearners.MythankstoyouSteve;Iamconfidentthattheentirereadingaudienceofthoseparentingandteachinghighschoolstudentswillbegratefulaswell.

Steve’sarticlelaysthegroundwork,sotospeak,forthear-ticlesthatfollow.Hedemonstratestheimportanceofimple-mentingamodifiedcurriculumforgiftedstudentsinoneofhisopeningstatements:

Althoughtheelementarygradesprovideanessentialaca-demic foundation for advanced students, high school cur-riculumandinstructionbearsanequallyimportantrespon-sibility—preparing them to use their gifts and talents inadulthood.GiventhediversetypesofGATE[gifted]learn-ers,thatcanbechallenging.Kahldiscussestheimportanceof“fixed”and“growth”mind-

setsasdevelopedbyStanfordProfessorCarolDweck,andem-phasizestheneedfortieredassignmentsforadvancedlearners.

Finally,Kahlpresentsadetailed,annotated“menulist”ofpossibleprojects toaccompanythestudyofa specificnovelinhisAmericanLiteratureclass.Theideaspresentedwillnodoubtserveasexcellentexamplesorstartingpointsforteach-ers todevelop similarmenusadapted to theirown teachingcurriculum.

Author Patrick Hurley follows with an article entitled,“Academic Language: Equipping English Learners to SpeakandWriteConfidently inSecondaryClassrooms.”With thelargenumbersofEnglishlearnersinmanyofourschools,hispracticalapproachtoassistingstudentsinbecomingfamiliarwiththevocabularynecessaryforacademicsuccessshouldbewellreceived.Healsoprovidesanexampleofhowtodevelop“sentenceframes”usefulwhenworkingwithEnglishlearners.

Turningtosomethinga littlemorespecific,school librar-ian Benjamin Lundholm discusses something close to myheart—magazines! His article, “Three Wishes and a Magi-calTeachingManual:UsingMagazinesasaLearningTool,”makesthecaseformagazinesasexcellentvehiclestoencour-age“freereading”whichinturnispurportedtoleadto“im-provedreadingcomprehension,writingstyle,vocabularyde-velopment,spelling,andgrammaticalcompetence.”

Lundholmalso includesa sidebarwhereinhepresentshisannotatedlistofrecommendedmagazinesforthehighschoollibrary.Lundholmsharesthecriteriaheusestoselectmaga-zinesthathebelieveswillespeciallyattractandsuitadvancedlearners.Readon!

Steve McCue then spotlights hismethods of teaching art to advancedlearners in his article, “Using ColorEffectively: The True Test of Teach-ing Art.” He had the good fortune ofhavinghis ownhigh school teacher ashis master teacher while carrying outhisownpractice teaching.Hismentorprovidedhimwithinsightshenowusesinhisownhighschoolclasses togoodeffect.Afterdetaileddescriptionof a specific arabesque assignmenthe concludeswith, “All art students need a lot of practice and rigorousassignments that require them to visually depict anythingandeverythingtheyobserve.Makingartcreatessomanyop-portunities for expression. Color is just one aspect of thatexpression.”

Author Gordon Jack shares his experiences teaching at aspecial high school in the Mountain View–Los Altos HighSchoolDistrictthatspecificallyfocusesoncreativity.Hede-scribesthisschoolasfollows:

FreestyleAcademywascreatedin2005bytheMountainView—LosAltosHighSchoolDistrict inCalifornia toof-ferstudentsanalternativetothetraditionalschoolroutine.JuniorsandseniorsenrolledinFreestyleattendtheprogramforhalftheirdayandtakeEnglish,Design,andeitheraFilmProductionorWeb/AudioProductionclass.WhentheyarenotatFreestyle,studentsreturntotheir“home”schoolandtaketheirotherrequiredclasses.Jack’s article, “Developing Student Creativity with Real

World Applications,” illustrates what they work towardachievingattheschool.

AnotheralternativehighschooloptionispresentedbyDi-aneTavennerwhoistheFounderandCEOofSummitPublicSchools(SPS),anon-profitorganizationsponsoringSummitPreparatoryCharterHighSchoolinRedwoodCity,Califor-nia.Sheexplainsthatitistheirmissionto“…prepareeverystudent for four-year college success and a belief that everychild is capableof suchpreparationor success.”The schoolemphasizes “personal learning plans,” “advanced placementforall,”andfour-weekinter-sessionsinwhichstudentschooseanelectivetodelveintointensely.Readherarticle,“SummitPreparatoryCharterHighSchool:AnAlternativeSecondarySchoolProgram”foradditionaldetails.

Ihopethatyoufindthesearticlesasinterestingandprom-isingasIdo.ThanksonceagaintoStevenKahlandhiscol-leaguesforprovidinghighqualityandusefulinformationforteachingandlearningatthehighschoollevel.

We will be back in late spring with articles focusing onhow technology affects gifted learners—both positively andnegatively.

—MargaretGosfield,AcquisitionsEditor


G iftedstudents,regardlessoftheirintelligenceortheirdesiretoachieveinhighschool,arestillfundamentallythat:highschoolstudents.Theyarenotfinishedproducts,butinsteadrequireasmuchnurturingandattentionasstrugglingstu-

dents.Manyadvancedstudentshaveatendencytomaskinsecurities,doubts,questions,andproblemswithanoften-superficialappearanceofsuccessthatisassociatedwithdoingwellacademically.Theimageprojectedbyastudentwhoreceiveshighgradescanoftenbethatofanindividualwhoishighlymotivatedandassiduous,confidentinhisorherabilities,andsecureinallotheraspectsoflife.However,inreality,anumberofhigh-achievingstudentsusethisimagetoconvinceoth-ers—andtoalargerdegreethemselves—oftheirownsecurity.Livingalifeofself-delusionandcontinualrationalizationallowsthisimagetobeupheldindefinitelywithsometimesdireconsequences.

I oncedistancedmyself frommanyof thepeople and activitiesIhadvaluedincludingacademics,athletics,closefriends,andevenfamily. People’s positive impressions of my academic performanceonlyservedtoreinforcemyownsenseofpersonalfailure.Ibelieveitistheresponsibilityofeducatorstoremainwaryandwatchfulofalltheirstudentsandrememberthatsuccessintheclassroomdoesnotalwaystranslateintosocialandemotionalwellness.

AsIbeganninthgradeIviewedmygradesinhighschool—andasanextension,myGPA—astheultimategoal.ItwastheapexofmyambitionandaforceofmotivationsoprofoundthattopmarkscametorepresentwhoIwasnotonlyasastudent,butasan individualaswell.

Manystudentsbelievethatgradesonlybecomeimportantinhighschool;asnaïve,impressionablestudentsenteringahighschoolthatwas four times the sizeof typicalmiddle schools,weclung to thisbeliefasbestwecould.Itwasoneofthefewthingsthatstayedthesameandwassparedtheacute,occasionallydevastatinginfluenceofchangeinthetransitionbetweenmiddleandhighschool.Wefoundourselvessearchingdesperatelyforasimpletruthormethodtodeter-

minethemoresignificantdecisionsthataroseinthefollowingyears.Essentially,weweretryingtoconfinethevastcomplexityofahighschool experience into one straightforward, guiding objective: ourGradePointAverages.

Asmyfirstyearofhighschoolprogressed,Ifoundmyselfclingingtoamodifiedbelief:

My grades are my ultimate goal for they will get me into a “good college.” That, after all, is the sole purpose of attending high school. Whatever I do in high school, especially as far as academics are con-cerned, will measure my progress towards college. Anything that dis-rupts this progression must be forfeited and abandoned in the name of an improved future.Yetnothingiseverassimpleaswewouldlikeittobe.Iremember

makingdecisionsaboutwhattodoonaFridaynightaccordingtohowtheymightaffectmychancesforcollege.MoretimesthanIcaretoadmit,Ideclinedtohangoutwithfriendsinfavorofstudyingalistofforty“SATwords”foraSaturdaymorningstandardizedtestingtutorialIattendedforanentireyear.Iturnedinmyskateboardforthreescarletbooksfilledwithpracticetests;mysenseofadventureanddesiretoexploretheworldforprofoundstressonmyfuture;myabil-ityandtheopportunitytodeepenrelationshipsforbettertestscores.

ExcessiveemphasisongradeswasfurthersupportedwhenIwasin-vited tobeapartof theGiftedandTalentedEducation,orGATE,programatmyhighschool.AtnopointineithermyintroductiontotheGATEprogramorthroughoutmyfouryearsinit,havegradesbeenstressedinthemannerthatIwasstressingthem.Rather,theoppositewastrue.Therewas—andcontinuestobe—awholeheartedefforttobreakstudentsofa“FixedMindset”:Thebeliefthataperson’sintel-ligenceandtalentarefixedtraits(Dweck,2007).Thosewhoadoptafixedmindset rather thanagrowthmindset spend their timedocu-mentingtheirintelligenceandtalentsinsteadofdevelopingthem.Pro-fessorDweckadvocatestheadoptioninsteadofa“GrowthMindset,”thebeliefthataperson’sabilitiescanbedevelopedthroughdedication

S T U D E N T V O i C E SBy Julien Roth

AchievementMyFalsePretense illustration by jon pearson


andhardwork.Thisviewcanengenderaloveoflearningandaresil-iencethatisessentialfortruesuccesswithinandbeyondtheclassroom.

AlthoughthevalueofhardworkanddedicationovertalentwasemphasizedinmyGATEclasses,ItendedtoregardtheGATEstatusitselfasreinforcementofthecorrectnessofmybeliefinhighgrades.Mynomination to theGATEprogramserved to instill inme thesense that Iwas fundamentally correct inmy reasoning. If afixedmindsetwassowrong—sodetrimentaltotrueprogressionineduca-tion—howwasitpossiblethatIwasdoingsowellinmyclasses?WhowasItoquestionthecontinuedpraisefromteachersandparentsofpeers?IfthoseolderandmoreexperiencedthanIwerecommendingmyworkethicanddiligence,howcouldInotbeontheright‘track’?

Mymotivationtolearncontinuedtodependonpraisefromothersandsurpassingmyownloftyexpectationsformyself.WhiletheworkofCarolDweckwouldhavebeenquitehelpfultointernalizeatthetime,Ionlylistenedanddeprecatedthosewhofollowedit.Theideathatmistakescanbemorevaluableinthelongruntoastudent,andthatthosewholearnedfromthosemistakeswouldbebettersuitedfortheworldafterhighschool,waspushedasideandviewedassome-thingthatwastoldtothosewhocouldn’tgetitrightinanefforttoin-stillafalsehope.Iviewedmyselfassuperiortothisadvice,effectivelycondemningmyselftoalifeofcompetitionandhaughtiness,alifeofdeep-seatedinsecurityandloneliness.

AsIprogressedthroughmyfreshmanandsophomoreyears,thepraisefromimpressedteachersandparentsaswellasthesenseofac-complishmentthatcamewithreceivinghighgrades,continuedtobeenoughtokeepanydoubtaway.However,asajunior,thingschanged;Iwassignificantlychallengedinanumberofsituations.

OnesuchsituationtookplaceinmyfourthperiodHonorsAmeri-canLiteratureclass.Thehypotheticalquestionwaspresentedtotheclass:Onyourdeathbed,whatdoyouwanttorememberaboutyourlife?Althoughsomewhatmorbid,thisquestiondidforcemetoputallIwasdoinginthecontextofmylifeonamuchlargerscalethanIhaddonebefore.WhatwillIrememberandthinkpositivelyaboutwhentimebecomeslimited?WillitbetheGPAIreceivedinhighschool,mycollegediploma,thejobIeventuallyattain?

Manyofmypeerswereformingincreasinglymeaningfulrelation-shipswithothers;butwherewasI?WhocouldIturnto?WhocouldIdependon?WasthereanythingIwasdoingthatactuallymademehappy?HasanythingI’vedonetrulymademylifebetter?

Additionalquestionsaroseasadirectresultoflearningmoreabouttherichnessoflifebeyondthefourwallsofaclassroom,andthepraisethatusedtobeenoughtoallowmetoforgetsuchquestionsnolongersufficed.Theevidenceagainstmyviewofthehighschoolexperiencegrewtoaninsurmountablelevel.Therewasnoethicalescapefrommyownthoughts,andeventuallythesethoughtsturnedtoevenmorepiercingquestions—questionsthatIrefrainedfromaskingpartiallyinfearoffailingtorepresentmyGATEstatus,buttoagreaterextent,infearofrecognizingthatIneededhelpindealingwiththefactthatmyonesimplemotivationwasfaulty.

Ibegantoponder:If the fundamental truth that I based my motivation and success in school—the key factor I had used to identify myself on— is false,

what does that mean about everything else I have come to know about myself, what I’ve done, my so-called accomplishments?I recognized that Iwas lost,butwithnothing to fallbackon, I

turnedtotheonethingIknewhowtodowell:getgoodgrades.IwasdesperatetoupholdtheimagethatIhadcreatedformyself,andIwasabletousemyacademicsuccesstodoso.Iforcedmyselftolivealifeofself-delusionandcontinualrationalization,hidingbehindmygrades,unabletoescapemyownthoughts.Ievendistancedmyselffrommanyof thethingsIoncecaredaboutsuchas the loyaltyofmyteam,thecompanionshipofmyfriends,andtheempathyofmyfamily.IbecameamereshelloftheindividualIoncewas,magnificenttotheeyeyetlackinginrealsubstance.MygradesbecameaveilwithwhichIwasabletoconvinceothers,andtoalargerdegreemyself,ofmycomfortandwellbeing.Icreatedaveneerofsuccessandreapedthebenefitsthatcamewithit:Theconfidenceofothersinmycon-tentmentandthepraiseofmyteachersandelders.

Iamabletowritethisarticlenowasachangedindividual.Iameagertolearnpurelyforthesakeoflearning.IrecognizeIstillhavemuch to learn, and that inspires me. I have honestly adopted the“Growth Mindset.” I am comfortable, empathetic, and mentallyhealthy.I’mlookingforwardtocollegeasatimetobetterunderstandmyselfthroughexplorationratherthancertification.AndIhopetobeafatherwhoraiseschildrentoseethejoyoflearning.

Thischangewasbroughtaboutbyasingleteacherwhopaidatten-tiontomyemotionalstateandthemannerwithwhichIcompletedmy schoolwork. In recognizing that something was slightly amiss,and taking the time to speak—mostly listen—tome,heprovidedasafemediumformetosortthecomplexitiesandimpedimentsofmysituation.

Itismyhopethatalleducatorsbeawareandvested,notonlyaca-demicallybutalsoemotionally,inthelivesofalltheirstudents.Iusedmygradestocoverdepressionanduncertaintyaboutmyidentity,buttherearemyriadotherproblemsthatcanbeconcealedbyafaçadeofhighachievement.SomeofthemorerecurrentissuesamongGATEstudentsincludecopingwithstressandexpectation,upholdingper-sonalmotivation,anddealingwiththealienationthatcanbeinherentinbeingofahigherintelligencethanone’speers.

Wemustrememberthatthosewhoachievethemostarenotneces-sarilythosewhoarethemostsecureintheirlives.Everyonecangetlostalongtheway,andwedependoneducatorstoprovideaidtoallthosewhodo.n

referenCesDweck, C. (2007). Mindset: The new psychology of success. new York: Ballantine Books.

JULien roth is a senior at Mountain view high schoolin Mountain view, California. Beyond school Julien en-joys and devotes a significant amount of time to bothcompetitivesocceraswellasmountainbiking.healsoisconductinganumberofresearchprojectsatthelocalveterans affairs hospital. Julien has been in the Giftedandtalentededucationprogramsince theninthgrade,andisverythankfulforallithasbroughthim.


P A R E N T T A L kBy Nancy M. Robinson

T heessentialmeaningofbeing“gifted”isthat,inatleastthedomainsoftalent,achild’sdevelopmentalageexceedschron-ologicalage.Insignificantways,giftedstudentsaregrowingup faster than typical children of their age. You’re surely

awarethat,formanysuchstudents,accelerationintheformofearlyentrance,subject-advancement,orwholegradeskippingisapathwayworthyofstrongconsideration.

Butoururban,Westernsocietyhascreatedasizablebarriertothissensible solution. It needn’t be that way. As one looks around theworld,manysocietiesaremuchlessage-constrictedthanours;indeed,intimesgoneby,andinsmallruralcommunitiesevennowinourowncountry,extended familiesprovideabundantcross-ageexperi-ences;youngchildrentagalongwitholdersiblingsandcousins;smallschoolscombineseveralgrades;andevenseparate“adultworlds”and“kidworlds”hardlyexist.Mostofus,alas,don’tprovidesuchflexible,free-flowingconfigurationsforourchildren,orthinkoutsiderigid,age-gradedboxes.

If, then,you’re consideringmovingyour student ahead,youareprobablyworriedaboutacademicissuesbut,evenmore,socialissues:Willmychildmakefriends?Willtheolderkidsteasehim?Willherage-matesremainherfriends?Shouldheoptforneighborhoodsoccerwithhisagematesorhisclassmates?WhataboutSundaySchool?Whenissheoldenoughforaslumberparty?Tobabysit?Wearmake-up?Dresslikeateenager?Isitokayforhimtoridehisbikeoutsidetheneighborhood?Gotothemall?Willmydaughterstartdatingtooearly?Howwillitworkoutwheneveryoneelsestartstodrive?And what about the prom?(Intheearly-entranceprogramattheUniversityofWashington,enteringstudents,ages12-14,reportedbeingaskedthislastquestionmorethananyother.Onestudent’slovelyresponse:“Well,Iguessthey’lljusthavetohaveitwithoutme.”)

Alas,thereisnosimpleanswertothesequestions.Theyplayoutdifferentlyfordifferentstudentsandintermsoftheirfamily’sexpecta-tions.Herearesomethingstothinkabout(remember–noneoftheseisatrumpcard!):

stUdentCharaCteristiCs• How academically advanced is your child? The more ad-

vanced,themoreimperativethisstepmaybecomeaspartofthesolution.Whatfurtheropportunitiesareavailable?

• Howbalancedareyourchild’sabilities?Shouldyoubethink-ingaboutagrade-skiporadvancementinoneorafewsub-jects?

• Is your child academicallywellprepared for thenext step?Whatwouldhemissoutonnextyear?

• Isyourchildcomfortablewithhimselfandreasonablyself-confidentorpronetoanxiety?

• Hasitbecomeimportanttoyourchildalwaystobetopoftheclass?Hasshefallenvictimtoamindsetthatdictatesthatsheavoidnotappearing“smart”mostimportantly,toherself?Inamoreadvancedclass,she’snotaslikelytobetopoftheclass.Actually,thenewenvironment,afterabit,mayaffordasettinginwhichsheisabletofocusmoreonlearninganditsjoys,andlessonperforming.

• Doesyourchildmakefriendseasily?Arehissocialskills,ingeneral, at least appropriate for his age? (Don’t be fooled,however, if he hasn’t made close friends at school. Maybetheyjustdon’t“speakhislanguage.”)

• Onaplayground,withamixedgroupofcousins,orinothermixed-age groups, to whom is your child most attracted?And,inreturn,howwellacceptedisshebyolderkids?

but What About the Prom?photos by dan nelson


• What’syourchild’ssizeandstrength?Foronewhoisespe-ciallysports-minded,thismaybemoreimportantthanforothers. There are, paradoxically, some advantages to beingsmall. It helps remind others that this person actually isyounger,and“normalizes”abitofrestlessnessornaiveté.

• Whenishis/herbirthday?Obviouslyachildwithabirthdayjustbeyondthedeadlineforenteringthenextgradeusuallyhaslessadjustmenttomakethanonewhobarelymadethecut-off.

• Does this childhaveoneormoreolder siblings?Anolderbrother or sister can be a great help, giving advice that isoftenmoreon-targetthananadultcanprovide,answeringquestionsyourchildreallycan’taskyou,keepinganearoutforanythingthatmightnotbegoingwellandnippingprob-lemsinthebud.

• Onemore thing:The social scene canbe abitmore chal-lengingforboysthangirls.Thegendermaturitydifferencethatparticularlycharacterizeslateelementarythroughearlyhighschoolisarealone.Girlsaremorelikelytobecomfort-ableinthecompanyofolderboysthanboysinolderfemalecompany.Boysaremore likely tobewigglyand impulsive(butperhapsnot your son).Late-maturingboysmayhaveaparticularlydifficulttime;earlymaturinggirlsmayfinditeasiertoadaptinanoldergroupthaniftheyhadstayedwithagemates.

• Finally,whatdoesyourchildhavetosayaboutthedecision?Andwhy?Moststudentsareleeryofsuchabigstepandneedtimetoconsiderit.A“no”mayjustmean“I’mscared.”

Again,rememberthattherearenomake-or-breakelementshere.Justissuestotakeintoaccount.

faMiLYexPeCtationsandvaLUesNow,thinkaboutyourfamilyandhowcomfortableyouarewith

behaviorthatisalittleunconventional—notmisbehavior,butchal-lenging.Amongolderpeers,yourchildwillencounterabroaderspec-trumofexperiences,withsomewhatlessactivechaperoning.Canyouhandlethis?Let’ssupposethatyourseventhgraderiscontemplatinghighschoolnextyear.Areyoureadyforhertobeaskedtoamovieorclassdancebyaboy?Whatifshewantstowearstockingsandheelstoadance?Whatifheisofferedmarijuana,abeer,oracigarette?En-counterstwostudents“makingout”behindthegym?Howeveryoudecide,youwillbepreparingyourstudentatsometimetodealwiththeseticklishsituations.Canyoudoitnow?

MaKinGthedeCisionNowyoucanweightheplusesandminuses.Rememberthat,in

achildren’sworldstructuredsostrictlybyage,astudentwhoisad-vancedjustdoesn’tfitThePlan.Anysolutionisgoingtobeacompro-mise–noneisgoingtobeperfect.Youarelookingforthebestfityoucandevise,andyouwillneedtobepreparedtomakemodificationsandevenperhapsrepeattheprocessformoreaccelerationinyearstocome.Now,let’sthinkthroughthealternatives:

Just say no. Ifyourstudentisnotgoingtomovetoasettingwithstudentswhoareoneormoreyearsolder,howcanyouandtheschool

provideaconsistentlychallengingprogramthatisagoodfitforthelevelandpaceofherlearning?

Sayyes—let’sexperiment.Ifyoudoleantowardtheaccelerativestep,thenpresenttheideatoeveryoneasan“experiment,”somethingworthtrying.Thismakesiteasieronteacherswhomightbeafraidto“ruin”yourchild’slifebythisunconventionaldecision;onyourchild,whowill feelmoreempoweredduring the transition;andonyou,whoneedsometimetogetusedtohavingyourbabygrowupsofast.(I’vebeenthere,asyoucantell.)Giveyourselvesaconferencedate–perhapsacoupleofmonths,orThanksgiving,toevaluatehowthingsaregoingandfine-tune.Then:

Practice.Beforethemove,findsomesettingsinwhichyourchildcanbecomfortablewitholderstudents.Manyafter-schoolgroupsareorganizedbyskilllevels(asinsportsandthearts).Ifyourchildisoldenoughtoattendasummerprogramsponsoredbyatalentsearch,thesettingthereislikelytobemulti-age.Tryplacingyourchildinregularsummercampwithsomewhatoldercabinmates.

Prepare.Thinkthroughwhatyourchildwillneedtobesuccessfulinthenewsetting.Wouldthisstepcreatesomeskillorknowledgegaps?Thesecanprobablybefilledrelativelyeasily.Borrowandreviewschooltextsfortheclassthatwillbemissed.Asummerclassmightbehelpful,fillinggapsormakingupforarequiredcourse.(Statehistoryrequirementscansneakuponyou.)Besurethatyourstudent’stypingandlibraryskillsareuptospeed.

Talkwithyourstudentaboutstrategiestohandlethedifferenceslikelytobeencounterednextyear.Ifschoolisstillinsession,visitingthenewsettingforafewhoursmaybereassuring.Trytomeetoneormore receiving teachersaswellas the schoolcounselor. Is theresomethingspecificyourstudentisworryingabout?Remindhimthat,whenvisitingthenextclasslateintheschoolyear,thosestudentsarealleightorninemonthsolderthantheywereinSeptember!

Reviewfamilyexpectationsanddeveloprules.Withinanyclass,childrenarefollowingrulestheirownparentshavelaiddown,aswellasthoseoftheirpeersandtheschool.Whileyoudon’twanttoisolateyourchild,trytoprovideyourchildwithguidelinesyoucanaccept.Buttrynottobetoorestrictive;studentsneedroomtoexperiment,andtomakemistakes.

Acceptan imperfectworld.Don’t think therewon’tbebumpsalongtheway.Therewillbeproblemstosolve,whetherstayingputormoving,theywilljustbedifferentproblems.Fortunately,nobodysaidastress-freechildhoodwasthebestpreparationforadulthood!

ThiswillbemylastcolumnintheGifted Education Communicator.It’sbeenapleasure,butI’mrunningoutofideas,I’mafraid.Pleasefeelfreetousemye-mail:[email protected]!n

nanCY M. roBinson, Ph.d., is Professor emerita ofPsychiatryandBehavioralsciencesattheUniversityofWashingtonandformerdirectorofwhatisnowknownas the halbert and nancy robinson Center for Youngscholars. her research interestshave focusedonef-fects of marked academic acceleration to college,adjustment issues of gifted children, intellectual as-sessment, and verbal and mathematical precocity in

veryyoungchildren.


T hiscolumnwillbeabitdifferentfromthepreviouscol-umnsIhavewrittenaboutthebrainanditsfunctionsthathaveappearedinthisjournal.Irecentlyreadabookthatso cleverlypresentedvery currentmaterial on thebrain

thatIwouldliketobeginwithabookreviewandusesomeoftheinformationtosuggesthowknowledgeofbrainfunctionscanbeimportanttoimprovingteachingandlearning.

Thebookisentitled,The Scientific American Brave New Brain, writtenbyJudithHorstman. It isapartof theScientific Ameri-can Mind series.Oneof itsbest features is itsorganization.Theauthorbeginseachchapterwithasectionthatinafewsentencesstateshowtheinformationsheisabouttosharewas,is,andwillbeviewedbyourculture,“Then,Now,andTomorrow.”Thisin-formation ispresented inclear,brief sentencesandprovides themindsetforwhatistofollow.

Forexample,thefirstchapterbeginswithreviewingsomeofourbasicbeliefsaboutthebrain,

Then: Your brain is hardwired and unchangeable, andyou’re born with all the brain cells you’ll ever have. Goodluck,becausewhenthey’regone,they’regone.

Now:Whoknew?Yourbraincreatesnewneuronsinsomeareas andnewnetworks, even intoold age, and it changesphysically in response to your actions, thoughts, and emo-

tions. Your genes are not your destiny—or at least not all ofit.

Tomorrow:We’llbeabletodirectchanges:stimulatenewbraincellsandnetworkswhereandwhenweneedthem;turngenesoffandonatwilltorepairbraindamage,restorefunc-tion, and optimize performance; and rewire our brains tomanipulatememoryandevenreversedementiaandmentalretardation.Horstman,2010,p.8Inaddition,throughoutthebookthereareboxedentriesthat

expandonaparticularlyinterestingideaorfinding.Thesectionsofthechaptersareshort,nomorethanapageortwo,keepingtheinformationanddiscussiontothepointandtheideasmoving.

exCitinGneWfindinGsInadditiontotheformatofthebookyouwillfindthroughout

itspagesawealthof factsandresearchfindingsthatwilladdtoyourunderstandingofthebrainandhowitfunctionswhenyouarelearning.Fascinating!

Forexample:Didyouknowthat,• your brain is changing every microsecond in response to

experiences, both external and internal, with the changescomingfromthegrowthofnewconnectionsandnetworks

brave New brain

T H E A M A z i N G b R A i NBy Barbara Clark

photo by dan nelson


amongneurons?Evenwhatyouthinkandfeelcanphysicallychangeyourbrain.Repetitionandboredomalsomakechang-esyouwouldnotwanttoconsider.Itiscalledneuroplasticity.

• new brain cells are born every day and must be challenged and exercised by learning something new or they will disappear.Thisfindingishugelyimportantforlearners,especiallygiftedlearners.Theyare toooftennotchallenged inregularclass-roomswhere theymayalreadyknowthe ideasandcontentbeingpresentedattheirgradelevel.Newisthekeytoexercis-ingthenewbraincells.Justrepeatingoldactivitiesandinfor-mationwillnotsupportthesenewbraincells.

•themoreengaging,challenging,andjustplainfunthetask,themoreneuronsthelearnerwillgrow.

• your actions, thoughts, feelings, or environment can deter-mine whether certain genes will be expressed or not. Thisprocesscanalterbrainfunction,charactertraits,theriskyou

haveforcertaindiseases(e.g.,cancerorschizophrenia).Thatprocessiscalledepigenetics.Thesefindingschangethediscus-sionofnatureandnurture;itcannolongerbe“or.”Itisnow“and”withbothnatureandnurtureininteraction,withbothseenasvitallyimportant.

reMeMBerinGWhatWas“Learned”Ithardlymakessensetospendtimeandefforthelpingyourown

childrenoryourstudentstolearnrequiredmaterialiftheydonotrememberanyoftheideas,strategies,orsubjectmatter“taught.”Testingwillnotshowsuccessfullearningifalloftheskillsorcon-ceptsareforgottenbyexaminationtime.Ourpastmethodsofus-ing“skillanddrill”withitsboringrepetitionandmindlesspracticeneedtobereplacedbyothermethodsthatincludeintegrationofphysical,emotional,andintuitivestrategiestosupportthememoryofthecognitivelearning.

Brainresearchshowsthatphysicalexerciseisoneofthebestwaystoenhancememory.Byintegratingphysicalandmentalactivitieswhilelearning,understandingofconceptsandideasareheightenedandmemorycanbeenhanced.Environmentswithinterestingandchallengingmental andphysical activities, alongwith theuseofactivitiesthatrelievestress,producethehighestlevelsofretentionandunderstanding.Evaluationsoflearninginsuchenvironmentsconsistentlyshowmeasurablybettergrowthinlearningandhigherlevelsofretention.

Horstmanincludesactivitiesforboostingbrainpower,aswellasunderstanding and improvingmemory.Among them:playwithideas,havethelearnerschallengethemselves,andbesuretheyhavethe experience of evaluating themselves. It is important to pro-videchoice—letthemchoosehowtheywanttolearnfromseveralmethodsandpracticesyoufindacceptable,also,considerchoiceofthewaytheywanttobeevaluatedamongseveralpossibilitiesyoupresentortowhichyoucanagree.

theeffeCtsofteChnoLoGYontheBrain,theGoodandtheBad

Includedinthediscussionsofour“newbrain”isanimportantsectiononunderstandingtheeffectsoftechnologyonthelearner.Researchindicatesthatthedigitalworldhasmanybenefits,how-ever“itisolatesusandourchildrenfromphysicalinteractionandfromthephysicalworldaroundus:theworldofsocializing,touch,

texture,color,movement,taste,andscent.Researchisshowingthatface-to-faceisstillbestformuchlearning.”(Horstman,p.64).TheauthorexploreslearningissuesinvolvedintheuseofTV,videos,andtheInternetregardingbabies,smallchildren,olderchildren,andevenyoungadults. It seemsthatbydiminishingthehumanconnectionandinteractivitythereisapotentimpactonthebrainsofyoungchildren.

For teachers at home or at school, understanding a bit moreabouthowthebrainlearnsismorethanuseful.Howsuchknowl-edgecanleadtoanenvironmentandteachingmethodsthatcanmakelearningmorepowerfulisinvaluable.Brave New Braincanbepartofthatknowledgebase.n

referenCeHorstman, Judith. (2010). The Scientific American Brave New Brain. Hoboken, nJ: Josey-

Bass.

BarBara CLarK, ed.d., is a Professor emeritus atCalifornia state University, Los angeles. dr. Clarkis the author of the widely used text, Growing Up Gifted, now in its seventh edition (2008), publishedbyMerrill/Prentice-hall.sheisapastpresidentoftheCaliforniaassociationfortheGifted,thenationalas-sociationforGiftedChildren,andtheWorldCouncilforGiftedandtalentedChildren.sheistheadvisingedi-torforGifted Education Communicator.

Brainresearchshowsthatphysicalexerciseisoneofthebestwaystoenhancememory.Byintegratingphysicalandmentalactivitieswhilelearning,understandingofconceptsandideasareheightenedandmemorycanbeenhanced.


A D M i N i S T R A T O R T A L kBy Carolyn R. Cooper

M issCooper,pleasedon’tcallonmethismorning.Mybody’sherebutnotmymind.Getmydrift?”Thinner,tallerthanhisclassmates,andsportingthebushyheadofcurlyhairinvoguethesedays,Adamispossiblythe

most intelligentstudent inmyEnglishclassofgiftedteens.Hisrequesttellsmehe’scomingdownfromadrug“high”heexperi-encedlastnightandtrustsmetoignorehimtoday.Relievedthathe’ssafeandhereinclass,anyway,IsaynotawordbutgentlyplacemyhandonhisarmforonlyasecondtoassurehimIvaluehimandtrulycare.

Ifthissoundssomewhat“schmaltzy,”letmeexplain.Theyearis1969.We’reanewstaffinanewhighschool.Ourstudentbodyisanamalgamofteenagersfromtwohighschoolsnotonlylongtimesportsrivalsbutcompletelyoppositesocioeconomically,aswell.

ResistancetotheVietnamWarcontinuestorage,causingstu-dents’ and teachers’ nerves to jangle as tensions rise to unprec-edentedlevelsthroughoutAmerica.Students,fiercelyangryaboutourcountry’smilitaryinvolvement,protestfrequentlytoexpresstheirfearsandideals.

A young teacher, I silently empathize with the gifted youngadults who meet with me daily. That they’re hurting from notknowing how to impact the war effort constructively, registersontheirfaces.They’refeelingcompletelyhelpless,asensationnotveryfamiliartogiftedyoungsterswhodelightinsolvingreal-worldproblemsbutareatalossfordirectionatpresent.

ManaGinGasUddenoUtBUrstfroManUnexPeCtedsoUrCeWehave justfinished readingGeorgeOrwell’s1984, andAl-

dousHuxley’sBrave New World Revisited,controversialblockbust-ersthatthesehighly-intelligentstudentshavepracticallyinhaled!Now,we’reanalyzingthesetwoworksbycomparingandcontrast-ingkeyconceptsandrelatingthemto…

“Iusedto love reading,butall this analyzing and dissectingoftheauthors’ideasmakesmesick!”Mary,avoraciousreaderwithanexceptionally-keenmindandhernosealmostalwaysinabook,ishavingabadday,apparently.Strong-willedbutusuallypolite,she’snotherselfthismorning.Isuspectheroutburstispersonal:herbrotherleftforVietnamlastweek.Moreover,althoughshe’sasuperiorreaderwithdeepinsightandcomprehension,herout-burstisherwayofventingherangeraboutthewarandfearforherbrother,too.Besidesthat,Marytrulydoesnotenjoyanalyzingliteraryworks.Shedoesitsubconsciously,however.

ForthesecondtimeinthisclasstodayI’vemadenocommenttoastudenterupting.Adamisslowlycomingaround,Inotesi-lently,andMaryhasburiedherheadinhercrossedarmsnowonher desk. She has elected to silently disengage herself from ouranalysis,but,asIknowherwellandunderstandgiftedstudents,I’mconfidentthatshe’shearingeverywordofthediscussionherclassmatesarecontinuingwithouther.

The buzzer sounds. Class is over. As Mary passes me in theclassroom doorway, she gives me a quick hug and whispers, “I

Please Don’t Call On Me

This Morning

HowAdministratorsCanMaximizeLearning

forHighSchoolGiftedStudents

photo by dan nelsonphoto by dan nelson


loveyou.”Ismilesilently,theonlyvalidationsheneedsjustnow.Adam, too, is grateful for my low-key response to his near co-matosestate.Asheexits,hetellsmehe’sreadbothbookstwicealreadyandthinksthey’re“groovy.”

adMinistrators’tiP#1:BaLanCinGCoMPassionWithCUrriCULUM

High school gifted students function within a world of ex-tremes.Theseyoungstersarenotcutfromthesamecloth,sotospeak,asmoststudentstheirage.Theynotonlyareexperiencingthesamegrowingpainsofadolescenceastheiragematesbutarealsosignificantlyadvancedintellectually.Theircomplexthoughtprocessescanbeabane,orabenefit.

Teachersneedtounderstandthegiftedstudentsintheirclass-es—theirsocialbehavior,theirshiftingemotions,theiroccasionalneedtobe“likeotherkids,”andtheirimpressivegraspofknowl-edgeinoneormorefieldsoftheirinterest.Totrytomoldgiftedstudentsintoaprototypeistodenythemtheopportunitytousetheirhighly-advancedmentalability;conformity isnofriendtogiftedindividuals.

Teaching gifted high school students is akin to herding cats!Giftedstudents’dispositionscanbemercurial:onedayStudentXisliterallyyearningtolearn,buttwodayslater,thesamestudentisirritableandaggressive.Moodswingscanfrightenteacherswhodon’thavetheknowledgeandexperiencetoworksuccessfullywithgiftedyoungsters.

How can administrators help teachers work effectively withgiftedstudents?Professionaldevelopmentfocusedonspecifictop-icsingiftededucationisa“must.”Instructionisneededonbothcognitiveandaffectivebehaviorsofgiftedstudents.Asfewclass-roomteachershavehadtrainingineducatingthispopulation,ad-ministratorsneedtoinviteawell-respectedprofessionalingiftededucationtodevelopaplanforanentiresemesterofsessionsonkeyissuesthatpertaintoteachinggiftedstudents.Besuretoar-rangeforadequatemeetingtimeandcollegecredit.

BriLLiantthinKers—WithasPrinKLinGofCreativitYandfUnIn comes my next class, equally brilliant thinkers but some-

what more abstract than the previous group. Instinctively, theyapply their natural curiosity to Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mock-ingbird. These gifted students express their individual, some-what unorthodox views as they examine the story’s issues frommultipleperspectives.

Asusual,thisclassiseagertochallengeassumptionsmadebytheauthor,reviewers,andtheirclassmates.Giftedstudentsare naturally argumentative, although some refrain fromdemonstratingthistrait.Richardisonesuchstudent.Quietandreserved,hehaslearnedtostretchhisself-confidencesoastoparticipateinthedebateshisclassmatesenjoyasawayto clarify the author’s views. It’s a treat for me to observeRichard’sgrowthasadebater.

Asa teacherofgiftedyoungsters, Iunderstandthat if themodeofexpressionitselfisn’taspecifiedcurriculumrequire-ment,thesestudentsenjoythefreedomtocommunicatekey

elements of the literature we’re studying without my hav-ing to dictate how to do so. This openness, reflecting thehighly-developed moral judgment that extremely-intelligentstudentspossessaswellas theirability to solveproblems, isparticularlyhelpfultonotonlyRichardbuttoTom,aswell.Thesetwoyoungmenpossessstunningbrainpower,genuinethoughtfulness, and a bit of shyness.They’re also indepen-dentandshareasophisticatedsenseofhumor.

AlsointhisclassisHannah,whoseartistictalentisextraordi-nary.Becomingherartpersona,completewithpseudonym,sheisnowfinishinganotherofherfavoritelarge,dramaticblack-and-whitepaintingstoillustratesomeofthesubtleundercurrentsthatpoetswe’vestudiedhavewovenintotheirwork.

Eye-popping, busy, and angular, Hannah’s work conveyscomplex relationships she perceives clearly, but that only afewofher classmates see the sameway, another traitof thehighly-intelligentstudentsIworkwithdaily.Theseyoungstersautomaticallyunderstandandaccepteachother’suniqueness,anothertreatformewhileobservingtheseextraordinaryhu-manbeings.

adMinistrators’tiP#2:CreatinGaPartnershiPWithYoUrteaChers

Gifted youngsters are magnificently original as they connectthekeyideaswe’restudying.They’realsotinkererswhoembracethe unique, challenging them to stretch their thinking to solveproblemscreatively,aprocessthatbringsthemgreatsatisfaction.Unlessclassroomteachersare taughtspecificallyhowgiftedstu-dentsthinkandwork,however,seriousdamagecanresult.Giftedstudents,wemustremember,haveunique learning needs.

Thispartnershipshouldalso include instruction intheuseofhigher-orderthinkingskills(HOTS),withfrequentreminderstouse themwithall students.Theseskillsareessential toproblemsolving,workingonexperiments,andproficientwriting,forstart-ers.Irecommendgivingeveryteacheracleverly-designedhandoutthatmatchestheseskillswithproductstheycreate.Example:“in-vent”(aHOTS)mightproducea“newgame.”

Second,yourteachersofgiftedstudentsmustbeintegratedintoyour school thoroughly and must be a part of—and not apartfrom—therestofthestaff.Workingasteammatesbothstrength-enstheinstructionofallyourstudents,andincreasesyourteach-ers’proficiencyinworkingwithyourgiftedstudents.Thebenefitsareenormous!

asKaGiftedteenaBoUttheMeaninGofLife,BUtBePrePared...

David,builtlikethewrestlerheis,isthemostversatileyoungmanIteach.Histalents,abilities,andinterestsaremanyanddi-verse.David,whohasapilot’slicense,tempershisfearlesssenseofdaringwithsensible-but-divergentthinking,astrongcharacteris-ticIrespectinhim.Creative,inventivegiftedhumanbeingsoftenmanifestthesetraits.Anaccomplishedartist,too,heisamasterproblem-solver;nochallengegoesunmetwhenDavid’saround!

“What is the meaning of life?” is a question often posed by


highly-giftedstudents.Davidasksthequestionbecausehewantsto engage in a seriousdiscussionof this esoteric topicwith theperson he’s addressing. At times, however, his brilliant sense ofhumorcatchesoffguardthoseindividualswhointeractwithhiminmoreformalsituations.TheyknowDavidasayoungadultwhoislevel-headed,abletocopewiththeunexpected,andwhomani-fests an ease of performance that makes whatever he does looksimple.Thisyoungmanbalanceshisemotionaland intellectualdevelopmentevenly.AsIseeDavidinmyclasseachday,whatIobservebeyondhisnumeroustalentsarehisimpressivepatienceandevennessoftemperament,traitsthatservehimwellasamosteffectiveleader.

adMinistrators’tiP#3:aMistaKeadMinistratorsCan’taffordtoMaKe

Problems relating to gifted students predictably arise whenteacherslacktheformaltrainingnecessaryforworkingeffectivelywith this population. Issues mentioned in this article are bothgenuineandtypicalofexceptionally-brightyoungsterswhothinkaltogetherdifferentlyfromtheiragemates.

Thesestudents,asillustratedabove,functionwithaheightenedsensitivity;moodswingsarenotuncommon.Giftedteensoftendisplayanunevendistributionoftheirownability;needvarietytopreventboredom;challengeassumptionsofteachers,classmates,andothers; and expressopinions farmore advanced than thoseofmoststudentstheirage.Theypreferbrief-but-clearinstructionand generally welcome options for meeting an assignment’s re-

quirements.Agiftedstudent’sintellectandindependencecanbechallengingtoteachersexperiencedinworkingwiththeseextraor-dinaryyoungsters;hence, thecriticalneed foradministrators tosecurespecialtrainingforteacherswholackthispreparation.

Withoutfirsthandtraininginhowgiftedteensapplytheircre-ative thought processes to new information, as compared withhowotherhighschoolstudentslearn,acriticalmistakewilllikelybemadebydistrictandschooladministrators.Thiserroristhatall students, including those with the brightest minds, will be-comenothingmore thananameand identificationnumberontheschool’smasterroster.

Inshort,byrecognizingthegiftedstudentsinyourschoolyouwillopenawindowofopportunity foryou, theadmin-istrator, to understand what makes these youngsters “tick.”Don’t be afraid to engage them in topics of their interest;theyarewellversedonsubjectsrangingfromAtoZ.Ipredictthatyou’llbeamazedtolearnwhat’sswirlingaroundintheirheadsatafranticpace!Anddon’tforgettoenjoytheirhumor.

Thesekidscanbeveryamusing!n

CaroLYnr.CooPer,Ph.d., isaretiredassistantsu-perintendent and served as the specialist in giftededucation with the Maryland state department ofeducationforseveralyears.aseasoneddistrict-levelcoordinator of gifted education, she is active in thenationalassociationforGiftedChildrenandconsultswithschooldistrictsandotherorganizationsonedu-catinggiftedandtalentedyoungsters.


Y ou mean I’m still gifted?” asked Yvonne, an astonishedninth grader, at her high school’s Gifted AndTalentedEducation(GATE)orientationworkshop inSeptember.“I figured that someone had gotten disappointed with

myworkatsomepointandjusttookmeoffthelist.Wehaven’thad any GATE activities since fifth grade.OMG, will there befieldtrips?!”

GATEstudentstypicallyreachhighschoolsixyearsaftertheirinitialidentificationinthethirdgrade,bringingwiththemcom-plexacademic,social,andemotionalneedsthatsometimes—de-pendingonwheretheyattendedelementaryandmiddleschool—havenotpreviouslybeenaddressed.Manyofthemhaveforgottenthattheywereevenidentified.

Althoughtheelementarygradesprovideanessentialacademicfoundation for advanced students, high school curriculum andinstructionbearsanequallyimportantresponsibility—preparingthemtousetheirgiftsandtalentsinadulthood.GiventhediversetypesofGATElearners,thatcanbechallenging.

thediversitYofhiGhsChooLGiftedstUdentsSomeofthepreviouslyidentifiedGATEstudentsquicklydistin-

guishthemselvesastopachieversinmultiplesubjectareas.Otherspromptlyearnthestatusof“teacherpleasers”fortheirmasteryofthegameof school.A fewdemonstrateaparticularareaofaca-

demicstrength,suchasbiologicalsciences.Andmanyhavegoneunderground,hopingthatnoonewillnoticetheirexceptionality.

Anothergroupofgiftedandtalentedstudents—thosewhowereneverofficiallyidentifiedbecausetheiradvancedreadinessdevel-oped sometime after the third grade—believe that they shouldnotenrollinadvancedclasses,evenwhenoffered“openaccess”tothem,becausetheyfigurethosecoursesarereservedforthedesig-natedsmartkids.

Athirdgroup,composedofstudentsfromsocio-economicandrace groups underrepresented in GATE programs, enters highschoolwithtremendousacademicpotentialthathasyettobenur-tured.Ricardo,forexample,engagesinsophisticatedthoughtbutlackstheacademicvocabularyandsyntaxtobetakenseriouslyasascholarlywriterorSocraticseminarparticipant.

LiMitedserviCesandPersPeCtivesUnfortunately,atmanyhighschools,GATEservicesareoften

limited to enrollment in accelerated courses: advanced place-ment (AP), honors, or International Baccalaureate (IB) wherecurriculum and instruction can be uniform. Some educatorsmake the assumption that differentiated curricula and instruc-tion are unnecessary in advanced courses simply because thosecoursesarealreadydistinguishedincontentfromthenormalhighschoolcurriculum.

Still Gifted After All These years

TeachingGiftedandTalentedKidsinHighSchool

By Steve Kahlphoto by dan nelson


In too many classrooms, teachers view GATE students (andsomeoftheirnon-identifiedyethighachievingcounterparts)asself-sufficient learners,andtheycountonGATEkids tomasterthe standards without any specialized instruction. In the era ofstandardizedtesting,proficiencyreignssupremewhenthegroupstargetedforcarefullyscaffoldedinstructiontendtobeonlythosewhofallshortofproficientstatusfortheirgradelevels.

These attitudes and practices limit the potential of our mostpromisingyoungminds,allowingmanystudentstocoastthroughyears of instruction in which they complete their assignmentsandsuccessfullyplaythepointsgame,aimingfortheAsandBstheyhavealwaysreceivedbydoingthework,butnotnecessarilybeingchallenged.

fixedandGroWthMindsetsStudents with high grade point averages can develop what

StanfordProfessorCarolDweckdefines as a “FixedMindSet,”believing that they are naturally smart—and that smart people

shouldn’thavetoworkhardinordertobesuccessful.Notsurpris-ingly,whenstraightAhighschoolstudentsgainadmissiontotoptieruniversities,theyoftenflounderwhenfacedwiththerigorofuniversitycourses,sometimescomingtobelievethatthey’renotasintelligentastheyhadalwaysthought.

Todevelopthe“GrowthMindSet”thatDweckadvocates,stu-dents, parents, and educators must recognize that intelligence,likemuscle,growsonlythroughrigorouschallenges.Ratherthanrewardingstudentsfordemonstratingproficiencytheymightal-readyhavehadatthebeginningofacourse,effectiveteachersusepre-assessmentandformativeassessmenttomonitorstudents’aca-demicreadinessforhigherorderconceptandskilldevelopment—andthendeveloprigorousassignmentsdesignedtopushstudentstothenextlevelofmasteryinthesubjectarea.

KeYProfessionaLGroWthIndeed,highschoolGATEprogramsworkbestwhentheyfocus

almostentirelyonqualityprofessionaldevelopmentandcoachingthatprepareteacherstodifferentiatecurriculumandinstructioninallclasses.WhethertheybeAP,IB,honors,collegepreparatory,orremedialclasses,basinginstructionaldecisionmakingonthevari-ousacademicreadinesslevels,learningprofiles,andinterestsoftheirstudentsismosteffective.

Formative assessment. Although many teachers express con-cernthatweassessstudentstoofrequently,giventheabundance

ofstandardizedtestinginpubliceducation,educationalscholarRobertMarzanoarguesthatwedonotassessstudentsfrequentlyenough. In fact, he emphasizes that quick, five-minute checksforunderstanding canoccur several times eachweek, allowingteacherstorecognizewhenstudentshaveachievedproficiencyanddemonstratereadinesstomoveontobiggerchallenges.

Formativeassessmentsincludesummaryactivitiessuchas3-2-1cards,onwhichstudentsidentifythreeconceptsorskillstheylearnedinclassthatday,twoquestionstheyhaveaboutthesub-jectbeingtaught,andonewaytheywillusetheskillorconceptintheirownlives.Aftercollectingthesecardsfromstudentsastheyexit the classroom, teachers can identify the studentswhoneedmoreinstructionintheinstructionalobjectivewhilerecognizingthosestudentswhomightbereadyforacademicchallengesrequir-inggreaterlevelsofdepthorcomplexityinsubsequentlessons.

Formativeassessmentcanalsocomeintheformofchallengeor“bonus”questionsattheendofaquizwhichseektoidentifythestudentswhocangobeyondwhathasalreadybeentaughtinclass.

Students can also demonstrate their readiness to move forwardbydemonstratingtheirabilitytoengageinhigher-orderthinkingaboutinstructionaltopicswhenpromptedtodosoinroutineclassactivities:predicting,judgingwithcriteria,applyingaprincipletoanunusualcircumstance,speculating.

Pre-assessment.Pre-assessmentsurveysthatcheckforprereq-uisitelearningbeforeaninstructionalunitoftenidentifythestu-dents who will need some gaps filled in before they can begintomasterthegradelevelobjectives;additionally,thesepre-assess-mentsfrequentlyindicatethatseveralstudentshavealreadymas-teredmostoralloftheconceptsandskills,compellingtheteachertoenrichthecurriculumandinstructionfortheseadvancedlearn-ers so that theyarenot subjected to the re-teachingofmaterialalreadylearned.

Theidentifiedadvancedlearnersforaparticularunitofinstruc-tionmaynotbethesamestudentsidentifiedasadvancedlearnersin a previous unit. For example, sophomores who already havemasteredbasicpunctuationbeforeformalinstruction—andwhostandreadyforinstructioninthewaydashes,colons,andsemi-colonscontributetosophisticatedsyntax—mayconverselydem-onstrate limitedproficiency inspeechcommunication, anotherlearningstandardinthesamecourse.

Infact,aninstructor’spre-assessmentandformativeassessmentresultsmaysuggestthatalthoughmanyofthealreadyidentifiedGATE students prove to be ready for advanced challenges in a

indeed,highschoolGateprogramsworkbestwhentheyfocusalmostentirelyonqualityprofessionaldevelopmentandcoachingthatprepareteacherstodifferentiatecurriculumandinstructioninallclasses.


particularhighschoolcourse,severalmightnotbe.Interestingly,several students who were never identified GATE may demon-strate readiness for greater rigor. Secondary teachers cannotde-pendonthevalidityofearlyGATEidentificationwhendecidinghowtoappropriatelychallengeagroupofhighschoolstudents.Instead,theywillfindopportunitytobuildstrongerpedagogicalprescriptionsfortheirstudentsbyroutinelyassessingindividuals’readinessbothbeforeandduringeachunitofinstruction.

tieredassiGnMentsforadvanCedLearnersTo develop appropriately rigorous intellectual challenges for

advancedstudents,effectiveteachersoftengeneratetieredassign-ments,alteringthedirectionsofsciencelabs,essays,projects—andeven tests—to engage students.These activities require them toprocessconceptsandskillsata levelthat leavesthemsomewhatuncomfortablewithwhattheyareaskedtodo.

For example, one teacher requiresmost ofhis students in anAmericanliteraturecourse,afterstudyingtheliteratureanddocu-mentsfromtheAmericanAgeofReason,towriteanewspapercolumn—orproduceavideotapedcommentary—thatdiscussesarecentcontroversialevent.ThecolumnadoptsaperspectivefromtheAmericantraditionsofreasonandlogic,citingPatrickHenry,ThomasJefferson,PhillisWheatley,ThomasPaine,orBenjaminFranklininthedevelopmentofanoriginalargument.Theassign-ment requires students tomakeuseof theelementsof effectiverhetoric (taught in class) to advanceanargumentabout the se-lectedincident.

Althoughthisassignmentpromisestoengagemoststudentsinthe class, several students will find it too difficult, while a fewotherswill require agreater challenge inorder tobe stimulatedintellectually.Theteacher’spre-assessmentsurveyandroutinefor-mativeassessmentsofstudentprogressintheinstructionalunit’sobjectiveshasdemonstratedawiderangeofstudentcompetenceinrhetoricalwritingandspeaking,eventhoughallofthestudentsintheclassarejuniors.

So while most students are required to research and select acontroversialeventontheirown,theteacherprovidesstrugglingstudentswithapoliticallyneutralnewsreportaboutasignificantrecentcontroversy;thosestudentsthencanfocusonsimplywrit-ingtheargument—themainobjectiveoftheassignment—ratherthangettingboggeddowninfindingatopictowriteabout.Theteacher also provides the struggling students with step-by-stepheuristicguidelinesforwritingandrevisingtheargument,alongwithseveralmodels.Thisapproachallowsstudentstosummarizetheincident,developanopinionaboutit,anduseevidencedi-rectlyfromthenewsarticletosupportthatperspective.

Foradvancedstudentswhomightfindtheassignmenttooru-dimentary,theteacherintroducesthemtothepublishedworkofseveralcontemporarypundits, suchasLeonardPittsJr.,GeorgeWill,GlennBeck,SarahPalin,JonStewart,ThomasFriedman,Laura Schlessinger, Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow, StephenColbert, BillO’Reilly,AndrewSullivan,LauraIngraham,BillMaher, andMichaelMoore. Theadvanced learners are invitedtowriteacolumnthatcapturesthejournalisticstyleandsocial-

politicalperspectiveofoneofthepunditswhileconstructingtheargumentintheformatofacommentaryappropriateforanews-paper,magazine,cablenewsnetworkmonologue,orblog.

The advanced studentsmust complete the same basic assign-mentastheir“gradelevel”classmates—writingacarefullycraftedargument—but they are required to use a perspective differentfromtheirown.Thestudyandimitationofanaccomplishedwrit-er’srhetoricalstrategiessupporttheadvancedstudents’growthaswritersinawaythatwritinginone’sownvoicecouldnot.

Everystudent intheclasswritesanewspapercolumnorpro-ducesavideocommentary,butatdifferentlevelsofcomplexity.Advanced students receive top grades on the assignment onlywhentheargumentissoundandwhentheargument’stone,voice,and perspective capably capture the selected pundit’s voice andprobableperspectiveontheissue.Theargumentmustalsodem-onstrate skill and accomplishment that exceed what is typicallytaughtineleventhgradeEnglishclasses.

Thevalueofrevision.Inthefirstiterationofthisassignment,theproductsofadvancedstudentsoftenfallshortofproficiency,letalonemastery,evenwhenplentyofresourcesandinstructionalscaffoldinghavebeenprovided to them.Typically, this iswherethe most powerful learning comes in. After a critique and ap-propriate coaching fromthe teacher, students revise theirwork,documentingtheirimprovementsindiction,detail,organization,syntax,coherence,tone,imagery,claims,evidence,commentary,andclarity.Witheachrevisioncomesmorelearning.

Meanwhile,theirclassmatesalsoengageinrevisionoftheirargu-ments,movingaheadintheirrhetoricalcompetence.Allstudentsfindtheirassignmentsrigorous;allstudentsengageinmeaningfulandappropriatework;allstudentproductsreflectdevelopingpro-ficiencyandmasteryofgradelevelstandards.

Meeting students where they are. These tiered assignmentschallengeallstudentsappropriatelybecausetheyrejecttheassump-tionthatallstudentsarereadyforthesameacademicchallengesjust because they happen to be the same age. The assignmentsavoid overwhelming struggling students while also preventingthosereadyforgreaterrigorfrombeingunderwhelmed.Thisap-proachallowstheteachertomeetindividualstudentswheretheyareacademicallyandthenmovethemforward.TheemphasisonrevisiontreatsassessmentaswhatMarzanocallsa“diagnosisrath-erthananautopsy.”Itdocumentsaseriesofindicatorsofrelativeprogressontheroadtoeachstudent’sproficiencyorevenmastery;italsogivestheteachervitalinformationhecanusetoprepareforsubsequent instructiontostudentsbeforetheyrevise theirworkonceagain.

In more traditional classrooms, students typically all get thesame assignment, which they complete and submit once. Theteachergradestheassignment,andthegradeservesnotasanin-dicatorofwhatelsetheteachermightdotoinstructthestudents,butasanindicatorofhowwelleachstudentdidinhisoneshotatshowingmasteryofthetask.Itmaybethattheadvancedstu-dentslearnedlittlebutstillearnedtopmarksbecausetheassign-mentwassomethingtheyalreadycoulddowithease.Meanwhile,itcouldbethat that thestrugglingstudents triedtheirbestbut


fellshort,afailurethatgetsdocumentedinapermanentgradeastheteachermovesontothenextlearningobjective,leavingthesestrugglingstudentsundereducatedinargumentation.

ProJeCtMenUsWhile tiered assignments promote GATE students’ cognitive

advancement by responding to their academic readiness levels,another instructional strategy—project menus—complementstieredassignmentsbyhonoringstudents’variedlearningprofiles,professionalinterests,andtalents.Menusallowstudentschoiceintheirassignment, leadingthemtodevelopcreativityandinsightnottypicallygeneratedbymoretraditionalassignments.

Althoughreading,writing,andcalculatingcontinuetobeim-portant foundations for public education, Daniel Pink, authorofA Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future, trumpetsthearrivalofaneweraintheAmericanworkplace.Itwillbeone inwhichthosewhonarrateengagingstories, relatemeaningfully toothers, andcreate innovativedesignsaremorelikelytofindworkthanthosewhosecollegeeducationshaveledthem to more conventional, more “left brained” lines of work.Thosejobshavebeenlargelyshippedoverseas,wherecompaniescanpayworkerswhofollowroutinesmorecheaply.Themiddlemanagerandtheaccountant,explainsPink,willfindlessprofes-sionalopportunityintheUnitedStatesoverthenextfewdecadesthanwill the innovativeengineer.MarktheriseofAppleCom-puterandFacebook—andtheempathetichealthcareworker.

Topreparestudentsforemploymentopportunitiesofallkinds,projectmenuchoices reflectnotonly theenduringunderstand-ings targetedby the instructionalunit,but emphasize creativityandpersonalizationaswell.

OneAlgebra II teacher, for example,hasdeveloped aprojectmenuforeachofherinstructionalunits,askingstudentstochal-lenge themselvesbyapplying theprinciplesandskills theyhavelearnedtorealworldproblems;theymaybeinengineering,sci-ence,medicine,surveying,andtechnology—careersforwhichthestudentshave expressed an interest. In completing theprojects,the students come to see algebranot as an austere and abstractsubjectmatter,but as adisciplinewithmeaningful applicationsthathavethepotentialtoimprovelives.

After engaging her students in a study of acids and bases, achemistryteacheratthesameschoolassignsstudentstoselectaprojectthatrelatestochoicestheywillneedtomakeintheirownlives—frompreparingsoilfortheirgardenstoselectinganappro-priateshampoofortheirtypeofhair.

Please see a detailed project menu example on page 19 foradditionalideas.

ProJeCtPresentationandrevision.Studentspresenttheirprojectsatasilentprojectfair,withex-

hibitssetupatstudentdesks,completewithvisitors’logsandself-generatedrubricsthatevaluatetheproject’sdemonstrationof

•higherorderthinkingskills•cause-effectrelationships•useofappropriateresearch•useofresources•overallqualityofcraftsmanship.

Eachstudentvisitsseveralotherprojects,notinginhisjournalwhathehaslearnedaboutcause-and-effectprinciplesfromeachproject.Aswithtieredassignments,theteacherrequiresstudentsto revise theprojectwhenevernecessary, as thedevelopmentofcreativityshouldbenolessdemandingthanthedevelopmentoflogicalthinking.

theProMiseofassessMent-BaseddifferentiationThrough the balance of formative assessment, tiered assign-

ments,andprojectchoices,highschoolteacherscanenhancethelearningoftheirmostadvancedstudentssothatnostudenteverbelievesheissimplygoingthroughthemotionsofearningahighschooldiploma.Ouradvancedstudentsdependonustorecognizetheirreadinessformoreengagingintellectualchallenges,andoursocietycountsonustopreparethenextgenerationofcitizensandworkerstoexcelatcriticalandcreativethinking.

Theultimatefocusofgiftededucationatthehighschoollevelshould be in the GATE student’s classrooms, where gifted stu-dentsaregiftedeveryday—notjustonspecialGATEdays—andwherewell-trainedteacherscannurturethosegiftswiththought-ful,deliberateinstructionandassignments.n

referenCes:Dweck, Carol (2007). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. new

York: Ballantine.

Marzano, robert J. (2006). Classroom Assessment & Grading That Work. Alexandria,

Virginia: ASCD.

Pink, Daniel (2006). A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brain-

ers Will Rule the Future. new York: Penguin Books.

stevenKahL,M.a.,teachesenglishandavidatMoun-tainviewhighschoolinMountainview,Ca,wherehealso coordinates the Gate and avid programs. stevepresents workshops on differentiated instruction forschool districts throughout California and at variousnational Conferences. he can be reached at [email protected].

thedevelopmentofcreativityshouldbenolessdemandingthanthedevelopmentoflogicalthinking.


Sophomores in a language arts class study the John Knowles novel, A Sepa-

rate Peace—along with several thematically relevant essays, short stories and

poems—as part of an intensive five-week unit on cause and effect argumenta-

tion. enriched by an introduction to psychology, the class’s study of the novel

leads students to consider in depth the novelist’s implied questions: why do hu-

man beings so frequently choose to go to war—sometimes even against those

they love? And how can an awareness of this tendency help an individual to

avoid belligerence?

the novel features two high school boys who are best friends. one’s jealousy

of the other leads him to endanger his friend’s life by the end of chapter four,

and that character, Gene, spends the rest of the novel trying to figure out why

he did so.

Students write one expository essay on the novel’s themes, and yet another

original cause and effect essay (tiered for academic readiness levels); they are

then assigned to complete a project selected from a list of more than thirty

that the teacher has designed for them, based on their varied interests and

learning profiles. while the tiered essay assignment nurtures the GAte students’

academic gifts, the projects are designed to further develop their interests,

learning profiles, and talents.

• sculpture:Create a series of sculptures that explore psychological cause

and effect themes from the novel. Put your sculptures on display (on a

table) and serve as the curator and docent of your own exhibit, explain-

ing on several placards how each piece captures or reflects a central

cause and effect idea illustrated by the novel. For each sculpture’s plac-

ard, also include a textual passage that develops the same theme as your

sculpture and explain how it does so.

• tableau: Perform three “freeze frame” tableau scenes from interest-

ing passages in the novel. each scene must exhibit causes of the ef-

fects depicted in the subsequent scene. Actors will stand for at least

three minutes for each scene, frozen in action and facing the audi-

ence. Actors will also use appropriate facial expression and stance to

reflect the thoughts and emotions of the characters they are playing.

the dramatic representation should be believable, and the scenes

should insightfully interpret the selected passages from the novel. Be

certain to practice the scenes several times so that none of the actors

breaks character.

• Literaryallusion: in a 2–3 page typed essay, relate the Biblical stories

of Adam, eve, Cain, and Abel (and the life and teachings of Jesus) to the

themes and images of the novel, focusing especially on the causes and

consequences of sin. Use plenty of evidence from the text to prove that

John Knowles alludes directly and indirectly to the themes and stories in

the book of Genesis and in the Gospels.

• PopularMusic: listen to at least eight songs that examine the causes

and/or effects of enmity and/or war, study the lyrics, and relate the

themes of the songs to the themes of the novel in a 2-3 page typed essay

(or a mock television documentary) supported by textual evidence from

the novel and from the songs themselves. the essay should answer the

question: what do popular music and A Separate Peace teach us about

the causes and effects of war? For each song, identify at least one pow-

erful image in its lyrics. (Your teacher has a four page list of songs from

which you may choose.)

• Mapmaking:Using details from the novel, draw a detailed map (at least

24x24 inches) of Devon Prep including natural geography and buildings.

Highlight and interpret locations of symbolic and sentimental impor-

tance, using specific textual citations in a dialectical journal format with

a key that explains each location on the map. Use your imagination to fill

in the rest of the map with appropriate points of interest not mentioned

in the novel. Make a special effort to show how the natural setting affects

the characters—and how the characters affect the natural setting.

• theater: write and perform a ten to fifteen minute scene in which Gene

and Phineas meet in the afterlife. Make your scene a (super?) natural

extension of their relationship as depicted in the novel. in the scene,

Gene and Phineas should discuss the causes and effects of several of

their most significant thoughts, feelings, and deeds. You will submit a

script complete with stage direction. As a result of the conversation, they

should agree to treat one another differently in the afterlife. Your scene

must be memorized, blocked, well rehearsed, and competently directed.

• filmstudy: Find a film in which the cause and effect relationship of the

central characters mirrors that of Gene and Phineas. write a 2–3 page

typewritten essay in which you draw out this comparison and explain, us-

ing plenty of textual evidence from both sources, the benefits and draw-

backs of friendship. Films you may wish to consider include Dominick and

Eugene, Rain Man, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Swing Kids, and Of Mice and

Men. You may also wish to consider classic movies from the era in which

the novel was first published.

• Medical science: write a detailed explanation of how Finny probably

died by documenting what you learn about setting broken bones, bone

marrow, the heart, and the blood stream in a paper or documentary.

adetailedProjectMenuexample


Academic Language

EquippingEnglishLearners

toSpeakandWriteConfidently

inSecondaryClassrooms

By Patrick Hurley

investigate the methods doctors use to keep such deaths at a minimum.

what has changed in this medical procedure since the time of the book’s

publication? Cite your sources.

• MathematicalProbability: we are more likely to die at the hands of

someone we know than from the actions of a stranger. Finny would

never have guessed that his best friend might have it out for him.

Many of us don’t realize that much of what we do is dangerous. re-

search and calculate the probability of death from at least ten seem-

ingly innocuous events that might prove to be fatal. (Make sure that

these events could conceivably take place in your life during the next

five years.) rank these events according to their probability for lead-

ing to your death. explain how you (or experts) figured out that prob-

ability. For these items, create a pamphlet explaining to individuals

how they might best avoid that deadly fate. explain also in that pam-

phlet to what degree someone like Finny tempts fate when he jumps

from trees, swims in the ocean, sunbathes, plays rough sports, rides

a bike without a helmet, and volunteers (or wants to volunteer) for

the military.

• dance: Create and perform—or videotape—an original, carefully cho-

reographed dance that represents a character or pivotal scene from the

novel and demonstrates a cause and effect relationship. Submit a 2–3

page essay explaining your work and relating it to the text. Be certain to

choose incidental music appropriate for the dance. You must work for at

least one hour with a dance instructor or a dance student who has more

experience with choreography than you do. Please come prepared with

that person’s name and contact information.

• Web design: Create a personal web page, as it would be created by

either Gene or Phineas, to demonstrate the causes of the particular char-

acter’s philosophy of life and/or significant behaviors. this page should

reflect the character’s personality, interests, and experiences. include

plenty of references to the text, as well as useful and relevant links to

other pages. (You must reveal to us at least ten new aspects of Gene’s

character or at least ten new aspects of Phineas’s character.) these

should not necessarily alter our understanding of the two boys, but they

should add to our understanding of each boy’s complexity. (these could

take the form, for example, of excerpted diary entries, pictures of secret

hiding places, inclusion of an expunged police record, a story about a

kindergarten friend, a confession about a romantic liaison, a letter to a

former neighbor.)

• sports: Consider the effects of sports and athleticism in the novel, par-

ticularly in how characters view themselves and others. Use the follow-

ing set of questions to interview several athletes at this school. in a

3—4 page typewritten essay, relate your findings to your thoughts about

sports and athleticism in the novel. what motivates you most when you

are playing a sport? Do excelling in sports and excelling in academics

affect your self-esteem in different ways? would you rather that other

people see you more as a fine athlete or a fine student? why? Are you a

different person when you play sports? (Are you more of your true self

or less like your true self when you play sports?) How does dominance

in a sport affect the personal relationships of those who play that sport

together? what does winning mean to you and what does losing mean

to you?

• Psychology: research the psychology of Sigmund Freud to produce a

psychoanalytical report on one of the major characters in the novel. why

does the character behave as he does? incorporate your understand-

ing of the Freudian psyche, including defense mechanisms. Document

your conclusions using evidence from the novel and from the writings of

Freud himself.

• fineart:Create one representational and one abstract painting, draw-

ing, or sculpture that reflects a particular cause and effect relationship

chain reflected in the novel. write a detailed explanation of your artwork

as well. the art should be original and carefully crafted. Avoid hackneyed

imagery.

• Motifs: explore Knowles’s use of motifs in the novel. Consider how his

references to summer and winter, light and dark, or war and peace serve

to reinforce the themes of the novel, documenting your conclusions in a

carefully created series of annotated charts.

• Personality type and relationships: Use the same set of resources

listed above to learn about the opposite of your personality type. Given

that opposites often do attract, how can you and future friends, col-

lege roommates, and romantic interests with opposite personality types

make the most of your differences? write your conclusions in a letter to a

current or future friend or boyfriend/girlfriend, explaining your personal-

ity type, his/her type, and how best you can get along and grow together.

Although the tone of your letter should be friendly, the content should be

academic.

• therapy: After studying the Jungian personality types and Jungian ther-

apeutic techniques, write a dialogue in which you, the therapist, listen

to and then counsel Gene, the client, about how to make the most of his

relationship with Finny. Be certain to include substantial research in your

response to Gene’s commentary about his relationship with Finny. You

might want to interview a real Jungian therapist for ideas, suggestions,

and other guidance.

Prepared by Steven Kahl


F requently,teachersrecognizethattheyhaveEnglishlearnersintheirclassroomwithexceptionalcuriosity,experience,andin-terests.Manynewlyarrivedstudentsandthosewhohavebeeninthecountryforseveralyearsdemonstratethecharacteristics

ofexceptionallearners.However,insecondaryclassrooms,theseex-ceptionallearnersarefrequentlyunderservedasaresultoftheirin-abilitytospeakandwriteinawaythatcommunicatesthecomplexityoftheirthinking.

EveryOctoberIseemtohavethesameconversationswithteachersatmyhighschoolconcerninglanguageminoritystudents.Thefirstisusuallyasuccessstoryfromacontentareateacherabouthowheorsheadaptedanassignmentthatallowedstudentstodemonstratetheirunderstandingoftheskillsandconceptsinawaythatdidn’trequireasmuchlanguageasusual.Afterall,thisisastrategythatmanyofuslearnedwhenattendingprofessionaldevelopmentaboutEnglishLearners.Thesecondconcernsthestudentsintheclasswhoinitiallyseemedfluentwhentheyspoke;howeveruponexaminingtheirwrit-tenworkandpayingcloser attention to theiroralproduction, theteacherbeginstothinktheyneedtobeplacedinanELDclassroomformoreEnglish.

BotharelegitimateresponsestostudentswhostrugglewithEng-lish.It’simportantthatteacherscontinuetodifferentiateforlanguageminoritystudents,andthereisaneedforadditionalsupportclassesforstudentsstrugglingwithEnglish.Inbothcases,teachersbelieve

thattheirstudentsarelearningthecontentbutarehavingdifficultyproducingwrittenandoralresponsesthatshowunderstanding.How-everIusuallyrespondwiththisquestion:Areyouequippingthemwiththelanguagetheyneedtoadequatelysaywhatthey’velearned?

Formostofus,thisisunfamiliarterritory.Weunderstandhowtoaskthequestionsthatrequirecomplexthinking,butweexpectourstudentstocometouswiththevocabularyandsyntacticstructuresnecessarytorespondadequately.WeworrythattoomuchpressureonanEnglishlearner,eventhoseinwhomwerecognizeexceptionaltalent,will result inembarrassmentandpotentially threaten futuregrowth. Inclassdiscussionsandgrouptasks,werelyonthose stu-dentswhoarecapableofexpressingthemselvesusingacademiclan-guageandhopethat theEnglish learners,bybeingexposedtothesmarttalkofothers,willsomedaybeabletoexpressthemselvesusingsimilarsyntacticstructuresandacademicvocabulary.Howeverrecentresearchsuggeststhatteachersneedtoidentifythecomplexlanguagethatisneededtoexpressexceptionalthinkingandexplicitlyteachthestructuresandvocabularynecessarytodoso.

In Improving Education for English Learners: Research-Based Ap-proaches,theCaliforniaDepartmentofEducationinits2010publi-cationrepeatedlyemphasizesthedeliberateandexplicitinstructionofacademiclanguage.Theydefineacademiclanguageas“thespecializedvocabulary,grammar,discourses/textual,andfunctionalskillsassoci-atedwithacademicinstructionandmasteryofacademictasks.Inthe

Academic Language

EquippingEnglishLearners

toSpeakandWriteConfidently

inSecondaryClassrooms

By Patrick Hurley

photo by dan nelson


simplestterms,academiclanguageisthelanguagethatisneededinac-ademicsituationssuchasthosestudentsencounterduringclassroominstruction(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation58).”Accordingtothesamepublication,themosteffectivewaytoimprovethisacademiclanguageisthroughfrequentopportunitiesfororalpracticeintheclass-room.Afterall,thisishowmostofourstudentsinitiallyacquiredtheacademicregister.

hoWisaCadeMiCLanGUaGeintrodUCedandreinforCedInmanyhomes,academiclanguageisintroducedandreinforcedas

familiesreadanddiscussmagazinestogether,takedaytripstozoosandmuseums,andtraveltoplaceswherediscussionandexplanationofim-portantsitesarecommon.AtriptothenewCaliforniaAcademyofSciencesinSanFranciscoprovidesampleopportunitytoobservetheintroductionand reinforcementof academic language.For instance,prominentlydisplayedandattractingasizablecrowdatmanysciencemuseumsacrossthecountryistheFoucaultpendulum.Thisverylargependulumissuspendedfromtheceilingaoflargeexhibithall,swingingbackandforthasvisitorswaittoseeitslowlyknockoverpegsarrangedinacircle.Forseveralminutes,parentsandchildrenarestaringinaweasthependulumgetscloserandclosertothepeg.Andduringthistime,acuriouschildandinformedparentwillhaveadiscussion.

Whenaskedbyachild“What’sthat?”aparentmayattempttoex-plainhowtheFoucaultpendulumillustratestheearth’srotation.Aspartofitsexplanationtohelpparentswiththisquestion,themuseum’swebsite(whichparentscanaccessontheirIphones!)discussesthehistoryofthependulum’simportance:

“Copernicus presented the idea of the earth rotating daily on itsaxisaspartofhisgeneraltheorythattheearthrevolvesaroundthesunyearly.InthenextthreecenturiesafterCopernicus,scientistscametoacceptthisideaandlookedfordemonstrationsthatcouldactuallybeperformedonearth.”

Inthisexplanation,aparentwouldintroducethefollowingelementsofacademiclanguage:

GeneralAcademicVocabularyWords:demonstration, theoryContentSpecificVocabularyWords: idea, axis, Copernicus, daily,

earth, general, scientist, sun, century.

aCadeMiCLanGUaGefUnCtionsTosynthesizeandintegrateinformation:______(nameofscientist)

presentedtheideathat______(theory1)aspartofthisgeneraltheorythat______(theory2).

Tosequenceinformation:Inthenext______(timeperiod),scien-tistscametoaccept______(theory).

Assuming there is a discussion between parent and child aboutthistopic,theparentmaybegintodiscussotherwaysthatsciencere-quiressignificantpassageoftimebeforepeoplebelievewhatascientistthoughtwastrue.Inthesamemuseum,anexhibitattemptstoexplaintheimpactofhumanactivityonthedepletionoftherainforest.Apar-entcouldtalkaboutdecadesofwarningsandcontinueddebatesaboutclimatechangeandhumanactivity.

Realistically, the child is more interested in the 3D movieabout insects and the giant aquarium! However, the kind of talkthat takes place in contexts like these is precisely the manner in

which an academic language is developed. Additionally, many el-ementary and middle school teachers continue to include les-sons in academic language and require classroom talk that includes“smartwords.”

But many of our students, particularly under-schooled newcom-ersandlong-termEnglishlearnershavenotbeenexposedtothislan-guage.NotonlyaretheyunfamiliarwithAcademicEnglish,theyhavenotlearnedacademiclanguageintheirhomelanguage.WeareoftenamazedatthestudentswhoquicklylearnacademicEnglishafterbe-ingintheU.S.forsuchashorttime.Almostalways,thesenewcomerscometoourschoolsystemswithastrong,academicbackgroundandthereforeacademiclanguage.WhilestillreceivingintensiveinstructioninELD,thesestudentsfrequentlythriveincontentareaclasses.

WhoareoUrLonG-terMenGLishLearners?ManystudentsinsecondaryclassroomsseemtobefluentEnglish

speakers based on initial oral interactions. They participate in classdiscussionsandfrequentlyhavegreatinsightsduringgrouporpartnertasks.TeachersoftenwonderwhythesestudentsarestillclassifiedasEnglishLearners,especiallywhentheywerebornintheU.S.andhavereceivedalloftheireducationinU.S.schools.Uponexaminingtheirwritingandreflectingcarefullyonoralinteractions,teachersbegintoseethatwhattheyproducedoesn’treflectthecomplexityoftheirthink-ing.Thesestudentsarefrequentlylong-termEnglishlearners.

Accordingtotherecentreport,Reparable Harm: Fulfilling the Unkept Promise of Educational Opportunity for California’s Long Term English Learners (Olsen,2010), thisgroupof studentsmay representnearly59%oftheEnglishLearnerpopulationinCalifornia.Roughly10%ofthestate’s secondarystudentshavebeen living intheU.S. forsixyearsormoreandhavenotmettheredesignationcriteriaestablishedbytheschooldistrict.Anadditional10%ofCalifornia’ssecondaryschoolstudentsingrades6-12areconsideredreclassifiedEnglishlearners(p.10-11).HoweverthecriteriainCaliforniaforreclassificationaredeter-minedbyeachschooldistrict.Duetothisvariation,theteachercannotrelyonthelanguagedesignationcodetodeterminethelevelofinter-ventionastudentmayneed.AsaresultofReparable Harm,moreatten-tionisbeingpaidtohelpingteachersunderstandwhothesestudentsareandhowtohelpthem.

Withalackofaprecisedefinitionsorlanguagedesignationsforlong-termEnglishlearners,teacherscanstillidentifythesestudentsquiteeas-ilyandbeginaddressingthe languageneeds.AccordingtoReparable Harm,whilethesestudentsareseeminglyfluentinmanyinformalandorsocialinteractions,“thelanguagelong-termEnglishLearnerstendtouse,andthevocabularytheydrawuponisanimprecisesociallanguage(p.23)Forexample,areclassifiedEnglishlearnerinaContemporaryWorldIssuescourserecentlywrote,“ItwasrudefortheSovietUniontogointoAfghanistan.”Whiletheideamaybecorrect,“rude”and“gointo”areexamplesofthisimprecision.

iMPoverishedvoCaBULariesEnglish Learners who come from a strong academic background

mayhaveanextensivevocabularyintheirhomelanguage.TransferenceoflanguagefromhomelanguagetoEnglishoftencomesquickly.Thesestudentsarefrequentlyskilledatusingelectronictranslatorstoaccess


vocabulary;theyknowthewordintheirownlanguageandcanfindEnglishwordsthatwork.Frequently,thisresultsinamorepreciseandacademicwordthanthatoftheirEnglishonlypeers!

However, for under-schooled newcomers and long-term EnglishLearners,thereislittleacademicvocabularyfromwhichtodraw.Foradolescentnewcomerswhohavebeenenrolled inEnglishLanguageDevelopmentclasses,theiracademiclanguagedevelopmentmayhavebeenhalted as they learned someof the survival languagenecessaryinbeginninglevelcourses.Long-termEnglishlearnersmayhaveex-perienced inconsistent programs where academic language was notproperlydeveloped.Studentsinbothgroupswillexhibitsignsofun-derstanding,oftenduetowell-designedinstructionalactivitiesthatdonotrequireanextensivevocabularyandsophisticatedsyntacticstruc-turestocommunicateunderstanding.Manyteachers inthe lasttwodecadeshavebeentrainedtocreateoptionsforstudentstousetime-lines,diagrams,dioramasandothernon-linguisticrepresentationstodemonstrateunderstanding.Whiletheseproductsareexcellentwaystogatherandorganizeinformationandcanoftenencourageandconveycomplexthinking,wearefrequentlydisappointedbyoralandwrittenexplanationsoftheseproducts.Often,thisisduetothelackofgeneralacademicvocabularynecessarytoadequatelycommunicatetheircom-plexthinking.

Researchon theeffectivenessofdirectandexplicitvocabulary in-structioncontinuestoconfoundteachers;howevertherelationshipbe-tweenacademicsuccessandanextensivevocabularyisundeniable.Formanylong-termEnglishLearnersandnewcomers,vocabularydevelop-mentisessential.However,forthesestudents,acquiringanextensivevocabularythroughwidereadingandmultipleexposuresisnotlikelytooccur.

Direct vocabulary instruction of content-specific terms occurs inmost high school classrooms. Content-specific words are typicallyboldedinatextbookandrepresentthemostimportantterminologyinthediscipline.Thesewordsaresometimesreferredtoas“bricks.”Robert

Marzanoencouragestheexplicitteachingofthesewordsusingasix-stepprocessasawayofbuildingbackgroundforstudents.InBuilding Academic Vocabulary, Marzanoincludesanextensivelistofthesewordsinallofthecontentareas.School-wideeffortstoexplicitlyteachthemost important of thesewordshave resulted in impressive gains inachievement.

However,manyEnglishlearnerslackthevocabularynecessarytotalkaboutthese“bricks”inanacademicway.Theymayusetheimprecise,social language inanattempttoansweraquestionifnecessary,buttheyarefrequentlyandpainfullyshyaboutsayinganything, fearingthattheywillnotsoundassmartastheotherstudentsintheclass.

direCtinstrUCtionofGeneraLaCadeMiCvoCaBULarYThegeneralacademicvocabularywordsneededtoexpressacomplex

thoughtarerarelytaught,especiallytolong-termEnglishlearnerswhoarenotreceivinganyadditionallanguagesupport.AccordingtoRepa-rable Harm, allclassesneedtofocusnotonlyonthecontent-specificvo-cabularylike“axis”and“Copernicus”butonhigh-yieldwordssuchas‘demonstration’and‘theory’thatareusedwhendiscussingthecontent.

Alistofgeneralacademicvocabularywords,compiledbyAverilCox-headcanbefoundonlineatuefap.com/vocab/select/awl.htm.Thislistcontains570wordsthatareconsiderednecessaryforunderstand-ingacademictextsandparticipatinginacademicdiscourse.(Andyes,there’s anApp for that! “FlashcardsDeluxe”)An increasingnumberofELDteachershavebeenincorporatingexplicitinstructionofgen-eralacademicvocabularyintotheircurriculum.TextbookcompaniesarebeginningtoincludethisvocabularyintheirmaterialsforEnglishLearners.

Additionally,manyschooldistrictsseethenecessitytofocusonthisvocabularyformiddleschoolstudents.TheStrategicEducationalRe-searchPartnership(SERP)developed“WordGeneration,”anonlineprogram that takes a school-wide approach to instruction of these

photo by dan nelson


vocabularywords.“WordGeneration”isaseriesof72short,weeklyunits that includehigh-interestarticlesontopicssuchascyberbully-ing,thehighsalariesofathletes,andgreentechnologies.Eacharticleinthisthree-yearseriesincludesfivegeneralacademicvocabularywords,withlanguageartsteachersintroducingthewordsandthearticleonMonday.Thearticlesareaccompaniedbyamathproblem,ascience‘thoughtexperiment,’ashortdebatetobeconducted insocial stud-iesclassrooms,andanessaythatasksstudentsquestionslike“Shouldschoolsprotectkidsfromcyberbullying?”Ineachofthese15-20min-utelessons,teachersacrossthecontentareasaretakingresponsibilityforreinforcingstudentuseofthesegeneralacademicvocabularywords.Thisdownloadableprogramisfreeuponregistrationandcanbefoundonlineatserpinstitute.org.

AmoreintensiveapproachtoteachinggeneralacademicvocabularycanbefoundinImproving Education for English Learners: Research-Based Approaches(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation,2010).SusanaDutroandKateKinselladescribeaprocess,primarilyintendedforELDclass-rooms,thatisdesignedsothatstudentswillnotonlyrecognizethesegeneralacademicvocabularywordswhenencounteredinreadingbutusethemintheirownspeakingandwriting.Thisprocessincludesin-troducingtheword,providingastudent-friendlydefinition,modelinguseinasentencethat“showsyouknow”themeaning,andprovidingin-classtimeformultipleopportunitiesforstudentstousethewordsorallyandinwriting.Whilethisprocessmaynotbepracticalforaclass-roomwheremoststudentsarealreadyfamiliarwiththesewords,somevariationofitcouldbeusefulasaspecificinterventionforstudentswhocontinuetousean“imprecise”and“social”languagethatisinadequateforcommunicatingcomplexthinking(p.156).

Wordsift.comfunctionsasusefultooltodeterminethegeneralaca-demicvocabularyusedinanygiventext.Bycuttingandpastingatextintoabox,itwill‘sift’thewordsintovocabularycategories,includingcontentspecificwordsaswellasgeneralacademicvocabularywords.

ProvidinGtheMortarNewcomers and long-term English learners benefit greatly from

carefullydesignedsentenceframesthatserveasascaffoldfortheso-phisticated language functions that students are expected to executeinsecondaryclassrooms.InImproving Education for English Learners,SaundersandGoldenbergprovidealistofsomeofthesesophisticatedlanguagefunctions:

• arguepersuasivelyfororagainstapointofview• analyze,compare,andcontrast• evaluatealternativepointsofviewandfactualinformation• justifyapointofviewortodebatedifferentpointsofview• synthesizeandintegrateinformation• followorgivecomplexdirections• hypothesizeaboutthecausalrelationshipbetweenevents• justifyaprediction,asinascienceexperiment• presentalogicalargument• questionanexplanation(50-51)

A teacher familiar with gifted education doesn’t need to look fartofindmoreconcreteexamplesofthesesophisticatedfunctions.TheDepth and Complexity icons and Content Imperatives developed

by Kaplan & Gould (2003) are an excellent resource for creatingsentenceframes.

For example, a high school English class may be learning aboutargumentative writing by examining details, patterns, and trends inopinion-editorialsthatappearinnewspapers.Afterreadingafewnewsstoriesabout“hottopics”suchasbuildingamosqueneargroundzero,studentswillpreparetoreadanop-edpiecebyaneditorialwriterwithwhomtheyarefamiliar.Duringtheunit,studentswillbeaskedtore-spondtothefollowing:

•identifythecharacteristicsofopinion-editorial•determinethepatternsinnewsitemsthatwillbeeditorialize•predicttheopinionofafamiliarwriter(LeonardPittsJr.)andjus-

tifyyourprediction

Inrespondingtotheseprompts,studentswhouseanimpreciseandsociallanguagewilltypicallyrespondwith:

•Theygotanopinionandtryandmakeyoubelievethem.•Therewerealotofstoriesinthenewsaboutbuildingamosque

bygroundzero.•Ithinkthatguywilltalkaboutthatit’sgoodtobuildthemosque

becauseoffreedomandstufflikethat,kinda’liketheotheroneshewrote.

Inmanycases,whenaskedtosharealoud,Englishlearnersareawarethattheydon’tsoundlikemanyoftheirpeersandtypicallydonotre-spond.However,iftheyaregivenasentenceframethatincludessomeofthe“mortar”languagenecessarytorespondinanacademicway,theyfeelmoreconfidenttosharetheirideas.Keepinmindthatthebestwaytobuildacademiclanguageisthroughfrequentoralpractice.Tocreateasentenceframe,writetheresponseinthewaythatyouwouldwantastudenttowrite(seeexamplesonpage25).

In aheterogeneous classroom, a teacher canprepare these framesaheadoftimeanddistributethemtostudentswhomayneedthem.Another approach is to createmultiple frames, eachwith increasinglevelofcomplexity.Evenstudentswhocometousfamiliarwithandusingacademiclanguagecanalwayslearnnewandmoresophisticatedwaysofthinkingandthelanguagenecessarytoexpressthesethoughts.

neWCoMersWithverYLiMitedenGLishAdolescentEnglishlearnerswithlittleornoEnglishlanguage

backgroundaretypicallyplacedintohighschoolclasseswheretheyencounterverylittleacademicrigor.Traditionally,theseintroduc-toryandbeginninglevelELDclassesfocusonsurvivallanguage,withanincreasingattentiontomuchoftheacademiclanguagede-scribedearlier.Becauseofthelanguagedemandsinsomesecond-arycontentareaclasses,mostnewcomersarenotplacedinSocialScienceorScienceclassesuntiltheyreachanintermediatelevelofEnglishproficiency.

Whilemosthighschoolteacherswhogettoworkwithnewcom-ersmakeeveryattempttoengagethesestudentsinacademicrigor,itcontinuestobeachallenge.Bilingualclassesinthecontentareasusedtobeaplaceinthenewcomer’sdaywhereshecouldexerciseherbrainbyexpressingcomplexideasinherhomelanguage.Indoingso,stu-dentswerenotonlylearningcontent,buttheywerealsolearningthe


academiclanguageofthedisciplineintheirhomelanguage.Studentslearnedhowto think, talk, read,andwrite likea social scientist, fa-cilitatingtransferenceintoEnglish.Intheabsenceofstrongbilingualprograms,ELDteachers—oftenwiththetremendouseffortsofmath,PE,andartteachers—lookforinnovativewaystoengagethethinkingofnewcomers.

Onewayistostrategicallydesignopportunitiesforstudentstousetheirhomelanguage.Somehighschoolsofferanativelanguagecourse,typicallyofferedthroughtheforeignlanguagedepartment.Forexam-ple,a“SpanishforSpanishSpeakers”programcanengagenewcomerstudentsinthesamerigorousstandardsasanEnglishlanguageartspro-gram.Studentsinthisclasscanlearnhowtostructureanargument,identifythetoneofanessay,andunderstandliterarytermssuchasironyandconflict.Indoingso,theyarelearningacademiclanguageintheirhomelanguage,makingtransferenceintoEnglishpossible.

Newcomerscanalsobeprovidedopportunitiesintheirdaytousetheirprimarylanguagewithadultsorotherbilingualstudentswhoencourage themtomake linguistic stretches in theirhomelanguage.Forexample,aschoolcandedicateresourcestohiringinstructionalaideswhoworkwithnewcomersinbothEnglishandthehomelanguage.HighSchoolprogramslikeAVID(Advance-mentViaIndividualDetermination)can“adopt”anELDclass-room.ManyAVIDprogramshavebilingualstudentswho,withthepropertraining,canengageinacademicconversationsinthehomelanguage.ThisaffordsthenewcomertheopportunitytotalkinbothEnglishandhisprimarylanguage.n

referenCesCalifornia Department of education. Improving Education for English Learners: Re-

search-Based Approaches. Sacramento: CDe, 2010. Print.

Gilltett, Andy. “Selecting Vocabulary: Academic word list.” Using English for Academic

Purposes. the British Association of lecturers in english for Academic Purposes, 29

oct. 2010. web. 31 oct. 2010.

Hakuta, Kenji. Wordsift. n.p., 2010. web. 31 oct. 2010.

Kaplan, Sandra & Gould, Betty. (2003). Depth and Complexity Icon Cards. Calabasas,

CA: educator 2 educator.

Marzano, robert. Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement. Alexan-

dria, VA: ASCD, 2004. Print.

olsen, laurie. reparable Harm: Fulfilling the Unkept Promise of Educational Opportu-

nity for California’s Long-Term English Learners. long Beach: Californians together,

2010. PDF file.

SERP Institutute (Strategic Educational Research Partnership). n.p., 5 Apr. 2009. web. 5

Apr. 2009. serpinstitute.org.

“what is a Pendulum?” California Academy of Science. n.p., May 2009. web. 31 oct.

2010. calacademy.org/products/pendulum/index.html.

PatriCK hUrLeY is an english and eLd teacher atMountainviewhighschoolinMountainview,Ca.hewill be presenting at the academic success for eng-lishLearnersconference inMarchat thesantaClaraCountyofficeofeducation.hecanbereachedatPat-rick.hurley@mvla.net.

identifYtheCharaCteristiCsofoPinion-editoriaLs:opinion editorials, also known as op-eds, typically address the most controversial

news issues of the week. An op-ed writer often summarizes the news item and the

controversy surrounding the issue. She usually acknowledges that there are oppos-

ing viewpoints about the news story but makes a particular claim about the contro-

versy. then, she supports her argument with reasons and examples. An effective

op-ed writer will include stylistic devices such as figurative language and analogies,

as well as elements of ethos, pathos, and logos.

to make the frame for the response, remove words or phrases strategically.

the words or phrases that must be generated by the students should be those that

demonstrate understanding and should not be limited to only one right answer. For

example, the frame for the above might look like:

opinion editorials, also ______ op-eds, typically ______ the most

controversial news ______ of the week. An op-ed writer often ______ the

news item and the controversy surrounding the issue. She usually acknowledges

______ but makes a particular ______ about the controversy. then, she sup-

ports her ______ with ______ and ______. An effective op-ed writer will

include stylistic devices such as ______ and ______, as well as elements of

ethos, ______ , and logos.

teachers can differentiate these frames by excluding more for students with more

academic language skills. A frame requiring more output from the student might be

as follows:

Predict the opinion of leonard Pitts Jr., and justify your prediction using evidence

from past articles.

An academic response might read as follows:

Based on opinions in past articles, leonard Pitts Jr. will most likely defend the

rights of those who want to build a mosque near ground zero. He will ac-

knowledge that there are reasonable voices from the opposition but will say

that this country must stay true to its values of diversity and freedom. His

opinions often voice his concern about protecting the rights of citizens, such

as those that are placed on no-fly lists due to mistaken identity.

A sentence frame may look like:

Based on opinions in ______ articles, leonard Pitts Jr. will most likely

______. He will acknowledge that ______ but will argue that ____________. His opinions often voice ______, such as when he ______.

Prepared by Patrick Hurley.

examplesofUsefulsentenceframesWhenWorkingWithenglishLearners


I magine that therewasa surprise inyourmailbox,andwhenyouwenttoreachfortheGifted Education Communicator,youfoundamagiclanterninstead.Actually,Iknowthisisapublica-tionforparentsandeducatorsofthegifted,solet’sbereal:In

themodernworld,whowouldeverfindalanternintheirmailbox?Forthesakeofsuspendingourdisbelief,let’simagineitwasaspecialkindofmagiclanternwithadifferentformthantheoneintheAra-bianNights.Let’ssayitwasamagicalteachingmanual,goldenandglowingandsinginga little songwhenyoupicked itup.Itwouldstillgiveyouthreewishes,buttheywouldhavetobeusedtoeducateyoungpeopleinsomeform.

Whatwouldyouwishfor?Likea lotofparentsandeducators, I’dwish for something that

wouldgetmystudentsfiredupaboutlearning,somethingmodernandcutting-edge,perhapssomethingfromanexpertoraleaderinaparticularfield,withelementstoengagethemonanumberoflev-els—and ideally, something they’d remember forever. In a perfectscenario,itwouldalsohavesomethingtodowithliteracy.ButhowwouldItranslatethisintowishes?Andwhatwouldthemagicalteach-ingmanualbringme?Ithinkitwouldlooksomethinglikethis…

AfterrealizingwhatIheldinmyhandsIchose:Wish#1:Oh, Magical Teaching Manual, please bring me something

that will stimulate my students’ curiosity!Wish#2:Magic Teaching Manual, please help me reach the students

where their interests are at: technology, science, art, photography, video games, dreams, relationships, current events, literature, his-tory, economics, religion, the environment, music, education, and so on—with the aid of experts in those fields!

Wish#3:Great Magic Teaching Manual, I know this is a lot to ask, especially after I’m already asking for so much, but … please bring me something that will enhance literacy and learning for my most advanced students while throwing in things like higher-order think-ing, background knowledge of all sorts, and non-fiction reading with photographs, maps, charts, and graphs!

Now,youmightthinkthattheMagicTeachingManualwouldjuststartlaughing,butthestrangestthingaboutthisscenarioisthatitac-tuallycontainslessofthesupernaturalthanyoumightimagine.WhatIthinkwouldhappenafterI’dthrownoutmythreewishesisthatthe

magicteachingmanualwouldrespondinasomewhatpuzzledbutcompletelyseriousfashion.“Idon’tunderstandwhyyou’retalkingtomelikeI’msomesortofGod,”he’dsay.“Thisrequestisn’tevenallthatmagical.Yourwishesshallallbegranted!”Afteraflashoflightningandsomeheavenlyharpstrokesfromthesky,hewouldthenturnintoastackofmagazines.They’dbethecurrentissuesofabroadselectionoftitles.

BenefitsofMaGazinesIfyoutakeaminutetoconsiderit,you’llseewhythemagicalteach-

ingmanualwassounimpressed.Afterall,he’sright:acarefullyse-lectedbatchofmagazinescontainsalltheelementsIdescribedearlier.AllthethingsIwishedforareinthere:engagingtopicsofallsorts,aformthatdrawsstudents,non-fiction,goodwriting,literacyenhance-ment,andexpertsfromavarietyoffields.Itseemssoordinary,andyetwhenI’mintheschoollibraryworkingeveryday,Iconstantlyseethemagicinmagazines.Alltypesofstudentschoosetoreadmagazines.Andplentyofevidencesuggeststhatoneofthebestthingswecandoistodifferentiateforgiftedstudents,offeringthemmaterials,ontheirlevel,thattheywillfindpersonallymeaningful.Justasimportantly,this typeof freereadinghasanumberofprovenbenefits.StephenKrashenfound“freereading”tobethemajorsourceofliteracydevel-opment(1993),andhestatedthatan“enormous”bodyofresearchshowsthatfreereadingresultsin“improvedreadingcomprehension,writing style, vocabulary development, spelling, and grammaticalcompetence.”Othershavereportedfindingssuggestingthatstudents’readingfluency,competence,andengagementincreaseasfreeread-inglevelsrise(Schoenbach,etal.1999).ReadingexpertKyleneBeersreinforcedthatnotionwithasimpleassertion,“Thesinglebestwaytoimprovereadinginterestandreadingabilityistoread.”

Thegreatestthingisthatthisalsopassesthedailyexperienceandcommonsense tests.Frommyexperienceas a former literacyandEnglishteachertomycurrentexperienceasalibrarian,thesearesomeofthemagicalqualitiesofmagazinesandsomeofthereasonswhyweshouldkeeptheminourstudents’hands:

• Magazinescoveraswideavarietyoftopicsasyoucanimagine—alltheonesmentionedearlierandthensome.

• Magazinesarebuildersofbackgroundknowledge.Whereelsecanyoulearnaboutsomuchinsuchacompactspace?

Three Wishes and a Magical

Teaching ManualUsingMagazinesasaLearningTool

By Benjamin Lundholmillustration by jon pearson


• Therightmagazinesmeetstudentswherethey’reatintermsoftopicsandinterest,yethaveawayofstretchingthembeyondtheirnaturalfocus.Forexample,ifIpickeduptheSeptember2010NationalGeographictoreadaboutthebigoilspillintheGulfofMexico,I’dprobablyhaveahardtimeskippingthear-ticleaboutthefamousphotographerWilliamAlbertAllard,theworldmapthatshowswherehailfallsmostfrequently,thex-rayimagesofNickVeasey,thesnippetabouttheefforttocleanupthetrashonMountEverest,ortheoverviewofthehugeinter-nationalten-yearstudyinvolving2,700scientistsfromover80countriesthatattemptedtocataloguealllifeintheoceans.

• Thecombinationofreadingandstudentinterestfostersaloveoflearning.Andthedatasuggeststhatallstudentsneedasmuchexposuretonon-fiction,maps,graphsandchartsastheycanget.

• Articlesrangeinsizefromtheveryshorttothesomewhatlong,perfect for any amountof time.This ishelpful especially forthoseGATE(GiftedAndTalentedEducation)studentswhoaresobusytheyoftenreportthattheydon’thavetimetoreadontheirown.

• Magazines expose students to the voices and viewpointsofexperts.

• Magazinesoftenforcestudentstousetheirhigher-orderthink-ingskillsastheyconfrontmultipleviews,considerethicalissues,evaluatesituationsandarguments,andthinkthroughprovoca-tivequestions.

• Magazinesaregoodforsocialinteraction.Thereissomethingintheengagingtopicsandthevisualandtactilenatureofmaga-zinesthatseemstoencouragesharing.Ifrequentlyseetwoorthreestudentssharingasingleissue.

• Eventhoughreadingmagazinesdoesn’thavethesamereputa-tionasreadingMoby Dick,magazinesenhanceliteracyinallthewayspointedoutabove.

• Duetothescopeoftopicscovered,magazinescanbeinvalu-ableintermsofbuildingbackgroundknowledgeandallowingstudentstoseeconnectionsacrossvarioussubjects.

• Magazines areportable and silent, and theydon’tneed tobepluggedin,sotheycanbeutilizedjustaboutanywhereaGATEstudentmighttravel.

• Readingmagazines is a relaxing experience, andwhatGATEstudentcouldn’tuseabitofrelaxation?

• Magazinesareentertaining.Whenstudents in the library tellme,“Mr.Lundholm,I’mbored!”IoftenhandthemamagazinethatIknowisveryinterestingandchallengethemtolookveryslowlyateverypagewithoutstopping.Ibetthemtheycan’tdoit.Nostudenthaseverwonthatbet.ItmaynotsurpriseyoutolearnthatGATEstudentsseemtobeatadisadvantageinthiswager.Sometimes,I’lltellthemthatIhaven’tbeenboredsince1983,whenIwasnineyearsold,partlybecauseIcarryamaga-zinewithmewhereverIgo.

sUGGestedtitLesRecently,acolleagueinspiredmetodoa“magazinetalk”forhis

class.Theideawastopointouttitlesofinterestingbutoftenneglectedmagazines that studentswouldfindenjoyable.Tocomeupwitha

goodlist,Ireadall69subscriptionsinmyschoollibrarycollectionaroundSeptember2010.Thelistingonp.28 includesmyrecom-mendationsforteachersorparents,basedonthatreading,forawell-roundedmagazinecollectionforGATEstudents.Itriedtochooseabout10magazinesthatwouldofferalittlesomethingaboutalotofdifferentthings.

First,adisclaimer:Idon’tthinkthereisanysuchthingasa“bad”magazine.Infact,I’drecommendfirstandforemostthemagazinesthat students are most interested in. However, I left out specialtymagazines(videogamemagazines,skateboardingmagazines,sportsmagazines, teen magazines) because students have a way of find-ingthoseontheirown.IalsoleftoutoneslikeThe New YorkerandHarper’s,eventhoughIfindthemuseful forGATEstudents; theydon’tusuallyhavethekindofimmediate,educator-freeimpactastheotherchoices.

I’m recommending those that I think have undeniable valueand are broadly interesting for even advanced students. I triedto include ones that students may not automatically pick upon their own. In short, my goal was to pick a balanced collec-tion of 8-10 magazines for any classroom or household afterlooking through all of the current issues of our magazines fromaround September. I’ve listed them in no particular order in theaccompanyingsidebar.

ConCLUsionsAccordingtoresearchdonebytheALA,evenourbrightest stu-

dentsarereadinglessthanever.Inanagewhenliteracyismorecrucialthanever,inaworldwherehugeglobalchallengeswillrequireeverybitoflearningourstudentscanmuster,thisisclearlysomethingthatshouldalarmus.Atleastpartofthesolution,inmymind,isreach-ingstudentswherethey’reatwiththingsthatinterestthem.Amongthemostimportantbenefitsofreadingmagazinesisthatthetypeoflearninginvolvedcouldwellbethebeginningofalife-longloveaf-fairwith thevery typeofmaterial thatour studentsmostneed tobeexposedto.Iwouldgosofarastosaythatthemagazinesofferamagicalsolution.n

referenCes:Beers, K. (2003). When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, nH: Heine-

mann.

Brandt, r. (1998). Powerful Learning, Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision

and Curriculum Development.

Krashen, S. (1993). The Power of Reading. englewood, Co: libraries Unlimited.

Schoenbach, r., Greenleaf, C., Cziko, C., & Hurwitz, l. (1999). Reading for Understand-

ing. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

BenJaMinLUndhoLMhasbeenaneducator for12years.forthelastsevenyears,hehasbeenthelibrarianatMoun-tainviewhighschoolinMountainview,California.Beforethat,hewasateacherofliteracy,english,spanish,andjour-nalism,mostlyatthehighschoollevel.


ThE WEEkthis magazine covers all the current events, nationally and internationally,

from the previous week, from a variety of perspectives. Major stories cover

multiple viewpoints about what happened and what people on different sides

of the issue said or wrote about it. Also included are timely interviews, interest-

ing stories from around the world, engaging questions and short answers from

columnists, editorial cartoons, book lists and reviews, foreign views on what’s

happening in the United States, travel, and television and film reviews.

this title was originally recommended by a gifted student who was a library

tA. He asked me why we didn’t have it. when i asked him what he liked about

it he said, “Because i can get all the information in the shortest amount of time

and i like how it includes different perspectives.” there are, of course, other

weekly news magazines that are similar—replacing this one with either time

or newsweek would be appropriate; the main idea is to have a quality weekly

news magazine on the list.

NaTioNal GEoGraphiCthis is probably the most obvious selection. included in every issue are

popular science, history, culture, current events, and photography. the issue

i read focused on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but it also contained one-

page snippets about x-ray photography, clean-up of all the garbage left on

Mount everest, the location of hail around the world, an effort to do a census of

all ocean life, the origins and the truth behind the myth that humans need eight

8-ounce glasses of water a day, coverage of “crisis cartography” in Haiti, the

largest beaver dam in the world, and preservation of vulnerable “cultural heri-

tage sites” around the world with portable 3-D laser scanners. Also included

were articles about over fishing, huge animals that once lived in Australia,

Jane Goodall’s 50 years in Gombe, and the photographer william Albert Allard.

Coverage of the oil spill was more thorough than i found anywhere else, includ-

ing a look at the story from a variety of angles. i can imagine certain students

spending hours just studying the various maps and pictures.

SmiThSoNiaNthis is another well-known magazine that i couldn’t leave out. Billing itself

as a magazine “created for modern, well-rounded individuals with diverse in-

terests,” it includes arts, history, sciences, and popular culture. i looked at two

issues since there was a special edition in the summer. the special issue, “40

things You need to Know About the next 40 Years,” was the magazine’s 40th

Anniversary edition, and it covered 40 predictions from experts in 40 fields.

Just showing students a list of the “40 things You need to Know…” including

predictions like “Sophisticated Buildings will Be Made of Mud,” “world war

iii will Begin. in Space,” and “electricity will Be Harvested From Your Skin”

encouraged several students to ask for it later. Among the subjects included

in the “regular” issue (from September): the response of Haiti’s artists to the

earthquake; a leading researcher who spent 30 years studying chimpanzees;

the story of what was known as “shell shock” in world war i; a program to

help people with post traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries; the Brazilian

city rio; the sport of camel-jumping as practiced in Yemen; and an author who

attributed her novels, poems, and plays to a ghost who she claimed she chan-

neled through a oujia board.

recommendedMagazinesforahighschoolLibrary photo by dan nelson


oneofseveraLsCienCeMaGazines:SCiENTifiC amEriCaN miNd, SCiENCE NEWS, popUlar SCiENCE, NEW SCiENTiST, pSyCholoGy Today,and/ordiSCovEr

i know i’m sort of cheating here by including so many titles. i also recognize

that there are several other quality science magazines you could choose. the

point is to have at least one from this genre in your collection, given how im-

portant science is to the modern world, how much science is involved in almost

every other topic, and how interesting science is to our students. each of these

magazines is good for a different reason, and i think the best idea would be to

match the magazine with the students.

Scientific American Mind: Psychology, neuroscience, and related fields.

Popular Science: Science and technology for the general reader.

new Scientist: Covers recent developments in science and technology—lo-

cally and globally.

Discover: Science for a general audience. this one covers science news,

health, medicine, brain science, and science in popular culture.

Psychology today: All aspects of psychology for the general reader. Cover-

ing topics such as relationships, love, social dynamics, and understand-

ing the self, this one has obvious “hooks” for adolescents.

odEthe tagline for this magazine says that it is “for intelligent optimists”—a

group that includes many of our young adults. this magazine is a sort of anti-

dote for all the negativity our students find as they read through most current

events. it’s great not because it avoids problems or challenges, but because it

contains articles about intelligent people who are working to find solutions.

Part of its mission is to “invite [readers] to make their own contributions to a

more just and sustainable world.” the issue i read covered environmentally

responsible business, work being done in Haiti, more effective management

techniques, organizations working for the greater good, coverage of how

obama’s background shapes his politics, universal human rights, creative

solutions to environmental problems, soil, well-being, music in medical treat-

ments, and focus.

yES!Similar to ode, the stated purpose of this magazine is to support active en-

gagement in building a just, sustainable, and compassionate world. each issue

focuses on a single theme from various angles. the issue i read, for example,

was focused on race in America. the titles of some of the articles speak for

themselves: “our Future as a Multiracial Society,” “Building Beyond racism,”

“what Do You Say to a Screaming Bigot?” “Generation Mixed,” “what white

People Fear,” and “Progress toward a Multiracial nation.” it also contained an

interview with a nobel Prize winner who worked on the idea that the “com-

mons” can work better than private property, an article about a sustainable

village in Colombia, and a review of a book telling how we will have to alter

our ideas and our society to survive in a changing climate.

ThE aTlaNTiCthis magazine offers a variety of viewpoints about timely issues. it includes

in-depth coverage and a nice “back-and-forth” about the ideas presented. the

thoughtful editorials, especially the unique chance that the author gets to have

the last word, are great for students. they offer access to an ongoing “con-

versation” that invites students to an understanding of the grey areas in the

topics covered. the feature article in the September issue attempted to answer

the question, “is israel getting ready to bomb iran?” other topics included the

stock market, anti-Semitism, social networking, the survival of the right whale,

new ideas for monitoring prisoners, and tabloid news. while i don’t think that

all the articles will interest students, each issue has a handful of topics that are

undeniably high-interest. in the issue i read, for example, one article about a

Facebook relationship and another about changes in the way society incarcer-

ates people would clearly interest many adolescents.

mENTal floSSthis magazine might offer the most entertaining way to accumulate facts

and build background knowledge. A number of my gifted students regularly

read, discuss, and share this magazine with its fascinating facts and trivia pre-

sented in clever ways. the September issue was called “the 10 issue.” Just

reading the article titles gives you the urge to read on: “10 Provocative Ques-

tions About raising Chickens,” “10 works of literature that were ridiculously

Hard to write,” “10 Prostitutes who Altered the Fate of the Universe,” “10 out-

sider Artists worth Knowing,” “10 things You Don’t Know About Afghanistan,”

“10 Amazing ways Video Games Can Change Your life,” and “10 not-So-Bright

ideas in Science.” other articles involved the cameos that Alfred Hitchcock

made in his movies, fun facts about west Point, and the story of three foods

that were invented in the American west.

WirEdwired is about technology and how it affects everything—news, everyday

life, the environment, the arts, entertainment, and so on. it is immediately

interesting to most students. examples of fascinating subjects in the Septem-

ber issue: a do-it-yourself satellite; the history of emoticons; a breakdown

of all the ingredients in Preparation H; a technology-related advice column

entitled “Dear Mr. Know-it All,” a new U.S. embassy building in london that

has defenses reminiscent of a medieval castle; everyday hackers; video calls;

classic video games; the changing nature of the web; the earliest prototypes

of everyday products like supersoakers, cell phones, and computers; and the

few people remaining in a former mining town that became so polluted that it

turned into a virtual ghost town.

ThE fUTUriSTthis selection might seem a little off-the-wall, and i wouldn’t recommend it

for all students, but i think advanced students will enjoy it. it’s a publication of

the world Future Society, which is a nonprofit educational and scientific asso-

ciation “dedicated to promoting a better understanding of the trends shaping

our future.” Many of the people who contribute to articles are “futurists” who

spend time thinking about the future of particular fields or topics, and the ar-

ticles cover “forecasts, trends, and ideas about the future.” the issue included

articles about the future of music, robots, health, building design, environmen-

tal legal battles, Asia, corporatism, community, the “green” revolution, and

“future consciousness.” —Prepared by Bejamin Lundholm


Alongtimeago,whenIwasayoungblossomingartist,Ibe-lievedthatmyhighschoolartteacherwasthemostgiftedartistIhadevermet.Hecouldsitacrossfromanystudentinourclassandwithinfifteenminutes,renderinpencil

aphotographiclikeportraitoftheperson.Hehadakeeneyeforshape,form,texture,andcolor.ImarveledathisartisticabilitiesanddideverythingIcouldtopleasehim.WhenIenteredthestu-dentteachingphaseofmycredentialprogram,IknewthatIhadtoworkundermygreathighschoolartteacher.Luckilyforme,heacceptedmyrequesttolearnhowtoteachhighschoolartstudentsunderhisguidance.

Tomysurprise,whenIenteredintohisclassroomtobeginmytraining,Iquiteinstantlyrevertedbacktothatfifteen-year-oldboywhowassoexcitedandterrifiedofhisartisticabilities.Iwasdeter-minedtobecomejustlikehimineveryway.Icarefullylistenedtohisresponsestoeveryquestionasked,frombeginningtoadvancedlevelartstudents.Itriedtoformulateananswerofmyownbefore

heofferedhis,justtoseeifIhadabsorbedhismagic.Hisunendingpassionforartanddedicationtoeverystudentfueledmyrespectforhimandmydesiretostandnexttohiminteachingaspiringartists.

Attheendofouryeartogether,hepassedalongwordsofadvicethatdidnotsitverywellwithmeatthetime.Heemphasizedthatteaching studentshowtodrawwasquite easy in thatoneneedsto learnhow to seefirst,before learninghow todraw;however,teaching studentshow touse color effectively—both realisticallyandintheabstract—isthetruetestofteachingart.Ididn’tfullyunderstandwhathewastellingmebecauseIhad,foraslongasIcanremember,acomfortablerelationshipwithcolor,usingiteffec-tivelyinavarietyofartprojects.WhatIrealizenowisthatalthoughIwasnotidentifiedasgiftedduringanygradelevel,Ididinfactpossessadvancedlevelsofartisticskill.

AndsoIbeganmyteachingcareerwithpureadrenalinandafairamountoffear;however,Ihadaselectionoftoolslearnedduring

Using Color Effectively TheTrueTestofTeachingArtBy Stephen McCue photo by dan nelson


studentteachingwhichhelpedinmyeffortstomakeeverystudentinmyclassanaccomplishedartistbytheendofhisfirstyearinart.

PublichighschoolartteachersinCaliforniainstructacomplexmix of students who range from students who have never beentaughthowtoholdapencilcorrectlytostudentswhohavemas-teredthetechniqueofdrawingingradeschoolandwhoarenowhungryforadvancedlevelartinstruction.Thetrickistoassessev-eryone’sartisticabilityandthenserveallthosedifferentlevelssi-multaneouslyinthesameclasswiththefirstproject.Ideally,allartprojectsshouldbestructuredinsuchawayastobedifferentiatedforbothstudentswithlittletonoartexperienceandstudentswhoarereadytoadvancetheirartistictechniques.

In anArtOne course, I begin the yearwith foundational in-struction on the elements and principles of design. During thistwo-weekassignment,Iamabletoassesstheskilllevelofeachstu-dent as they complete a series of worksheets that requires them

tocreate lines, shapes,andtextures todeveloporiginalcomposi-tions. Although I discuss color theory and display visual aidsthat illustrate the relationship between primary, secondary, andtertiarycolors, studentsarenotrequiredtousecolorduringthisfirstassignment.

Keeping beginning art students in black and white sets themup for successwithout theworry of color complicating the vastamountof choices theyneed tomakewhencompleting theele-mentsandprinciplesofthedesignassignment.Bytheendofthisfirstassignment, Ihaveaclear ideaofwhomyartisticallygiftedstudentsare,andImakeamentalnoteofthoseindividualssothatIampreparedtoappropriatelylaunchthematthebeginningofoursecondassignment.

The second assignment is called an “Arabesque Design” basedupon Arabic decorative art. This assignment can be consideredabstract inthat thefinalpiecedoesnotdepictanything literal. Istarttheassignmentbyteachingeachstudenttheskillsnecessarytodevelopaneffectivecompositionthatincorporatesbothorganicandgeometricshapes.Thefirstphaseoftheprojectistocompleteapencilcompositionoftheseshapesthatformacirculardesignthatthenwillbepainted.Beforemakinganycolorchoices,wecoverthebasicsofcolorbypaintingacolorwheelwhichallowsmetoseemystudents’uniquerelationshipwithcolor.Everyone’sideaof“blue”

certainlydoesnotfitintoonespectrumofblue.Mygoalistoassesstheiruniqueinterpretationsofcolorandthenestablishabaselineofred,yellow,blue,andsoon.Whencompletingacolorwheel,itisimportanttoalignstudentswithastandardforthetwelvecolorsthatmakeupacolorwheel.

ThesecondphaseoftheArabesqueDesignprojectistoestablishacolorschemeofbothwarmandcoolcolors.Idiscussthebasictheoretical phenomenon of warm colors advancing towards theeye,whereascoolcolorswillrecede.Ialsodiscusstheemotionsat-tachedtospecificcolorssuchasredsymbolizinglust,passion,andaggression; complimentary colors are discussed in terms of theirabilitytovibratewhenplacednexttoeachotherinacomposition.

Armedwiththisknowledge,studentscreateninetotwelvecol-orsthatresonateastheir“favoritecolors.”Thisphasemaybecomeproblematicifastudentdoesnothaveacollectionoffavoritecol-ors—or if theyhavenevermixedtwocolors together tocreatea

blendedcolor.Iofferaseriesofpaintingdemonstrationsthatallowthestudentstoseemecombiningtwoorthreecolors(primaryand/orsecondarycolors)togethertocreateacolorthatIlike.Afteracolorhasbeencreated,detailednotesaretakeninregardstohowmuchred,yellow,andwhiteareusedtocreate“myfavoriteversion”oforange.Thenotesarebrokendowntopercentages.Atthebot-tomofeachcompletedcolorswatch,thereisalistinpercentagesofhowmuchofeachcolorwasusedsothataspecificcolorcanbemixedonadailyandweeklybasis;thepaintingprocessfortheAra-besquedesigncantakeuptoeightweeks.Attheendofthecolorscheme phase, students are ready to start painting their originalArabesquedesigns.(seep.32)

Thegoalofusingcolormaybeharmony,conflict,orsomethingin-between,butregardless,ithastohaveaflowthatmakessensebasedonwhatwelearnedaboutcolortemperature,vibration,andthe emotional aspects of what different colors represent. I havefound that even students who demonstrated advanced levels ofdrawinginthefirstassignment(whichremainedblackandwhite),somestudentsmayfinditdifficulttofindacolorflowanddirec-tionat thebeginningof thepaintingprocess.Rather thanmak-ingthechoicesforthem,Irepeatedlyenforcetheideaofmakingchoicesbasedonwhatoneknowsaboutcolor,andthenIsuggesttheyusetherightsideoftheirbraintointuitivelyplaceallofthe

ideally,allartprojectsshouldbestructuredinsuchawayastobe

differentiatedforbothstudentswithlittletonoartexperienceand

studentswhoarereadytoadvancetheirartistictechniques.


colorstogethertocreateaneffectivepainting.Thewordintuitioncanhavemultiplemeaningsforstudents,so

it is important for me to clearly model the practice of steppingback—literally—fromapaintingtogetasense,anemotionalreac-tion,andanintuitivefeelforhowthecolorsarereactingwitheachotherintheircompositions.Onmorethanafewoccasions,someofmygiftedstudentsmakemultiplecopiesoftheircompositionandthenspendhoursusingcolorpencilstotrytocapturetheper-fectplacementofcolor.Usuallythisleavesalotofgiftedstudentsfeelingfrustratedbecausethelookofcolorpencil isnothinglikethelookcreatedbytemperapaintusedforthefinalproject.Andso, teaching effectiveuseof color to gifted students requirespa-tience—onbothourparts—andfindingaplaceofcalmnesssothatyourmindallowsyoureyestoseeandyourintuitionallowsyoutoknowwhenthecolorplacementfeelsright.Theendresultcanbeapiecethatreflectscompleteharmonyorcompletechaos.However,iftaughtproperlyeverypiecereflectsbothapurposeandanintentregardingtheuseofcolor.

Asstudentsbegintopaint,Icalluponmymentalnotesofthegifted learners inmy class, and I first observe themvery closelytoseeiftheyfitintoapatternthatIhaveseenrepeatedformanyyearsingiftedstudents.Theyusuallyfinishtheircolorschemeveryquickly,andtheircolorswatchesreflectthemixingofprimarycol-orswithsecondarycolorsandthenenhancingeachcolorwithater-tiarycolor.Ireviewtheirpencilcompositionstoensurethattheirdesignisworthyoftheiradvancedlevelcolorchoices.Ifthedesignistooweakvisually(e.g.,lackingacombinationofsmall,medium,and large shapes; inclusion of organic and geometric shapes; orcenterofinterest)Ihavethemtweaktheircompositiontocreateamorecomplexdesign.Andthenhonestly,atthispoint,Ihavetodoalotofone-on-oneinstructionwithmygiftedstudents.

Idemonstratethedifficultprocessofblendingoneoftheircolorswatchesfromtheoriginalversiontoabrightwhite,withnosignsof brushwork in-between. I am advancing their artistic abilities

throughtheprocessofcreatingsmoothgradationswithcolor.Thisiscompletedonaseparateboardsothattheoriginalpieceremainsuntouchedas theygainmore confidence in theirblending tech-nique. If atanypoint Ihear themuse theword“perfect,” I im-mediatelychallengetheideaofpaintinga“perfect”anything.Per-fectionismforamateurandprofessionalartistsis,inmyopinion,crippling.Literal“hand-freezing”and“brain-lock”occurswhenartismixedwiththeanxietyofmakingsomethingperfect.Hand-eyecoordinationisimportantwhendrawinga“perfect”peach,butIdonotletmystudentsbelievethatperfectionismleadstoeffectiveartgiventhecomplexreactionweeachhavetoanxiety.Verbalre-inforcementofthisopiniontomygiftedstudentsusuallydoesthetrick;however,somegiftedstudentsneedtoberelaxedonadeeperlevelinorderforthecreativeprocesstooccur.

Tocreateasenseofcalmness,Idiscussthefactthatnothingtheypaintissetinstone.Wecanusepracticeboardsforaslongasnec-essary andonly after they feel comfortablewith their skill level,shouldweproceedtotheoriginaldesignwithcolor.Fortunately,myartprogramdoesnotfollowatextoratest,sotimeisonoursidetohoneourartisticskills.Allstudentsappreciatethisfact.

Forme,thegreatestthingaboutteachingartisthateverythingIteachcanbe—andcertainlyneedstobe—differentiatedforeachandeverystudent.Becauseofthevastrangeofsolutionstothesameartisticchallenge,itisimportanttoencourageandnurtureevery-one’sartisticideas,andatthesametime,establishaclearbaselineofcraftsmanshipusingvisualexamplesofeffectivearttechniques.

The process of using color effectively becomes more in-tuitivewith third-and fourth-year art students due to a se-ries of skill building assignments.Toward the end of theirfourthyear I spendvery little timetalkingaboutcolorandtechnique and much more time discussing the importanceofmakingartinwhichtheycandiscoverpersonalrelevance.Myfocuswithadvancedlevelstudentsandbeginninggiftedstudentsarediscussionsaboutbecomingvisualcommunica-torsthroughthecompletionofseveraldrawingandpaintingassignments that do not use photographs as a visual refer-ence.High school studentsapplying tocollegeswithartordesignastheirdeclaredmajorneedtogointotheirfirstyearwiththeabilitytoseewhatisinfrontofthemandthenrec-reate three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional sur-face—paper,board,orcanvas.

Allartstudentsneedalotofpracticeandrigorousassignmentsthatrequirethemtovisuallydepictanythingandeverythingtheyobserve.Makingartcreatessomanyopportunitiesforexpression.Colorisjustoneaspectofthatexpression.n

stePhen MCCUe teaches beginning to advanced leveldrawing and painting courses at saratoga high schoolinsaratoga,California.inadditiontoteachingdrawingandpainting,stephenalsoteachesdigitalphotography.he graduated from san Jose state University in 1989withaB.a.inart,withaconcentrationinphotography,and he received his teaching credential from san JosestateUniversityin1998.


I twas pretty easy forme to see that Rachelwas a creativeperson.Firstwereher socks.On thefirstdayof class, sheentered wearing knee high, rainbow striped socks, despitethefactthatitwasover90degreesoutsides.“I’vegottwenty

morepairslikethisathome,”sheproudlyannouncedbeforetak-ingherseat.

AsIgottoknowRachel,therewereothertellingsignsthatshewasahighlyoriginalthinker.Ineverybrainstormingactivity,shewasfullofideas.Duringcritiquesofstudentwork,shewasalwaysraisingherhandandofferingsuggestionsbeginningwith,“Whatif…?”WhenIlearnedthatshehadbeenidentifiedasGATE(Gift-edAndTalentedEducation)sinceelementaryschool,itcameasnosurprise.

RachelenrolledintheFreestyleAcademyofCommunica-tionArts andTechnology inMountainViewCalifornia be-cause she thought she might be interested in making films.Shealsothoughttheinterdisciplinary,project-basedcurricu-lum would be different from normal school.When I askedherhowshedefinednormalschool,sherespondedwith“Youknow, going to classes, getting all your requirements done,stuffyou‘have’todo.”

Unfortunately,Rachel’scommentsreflectacommonassessmentoftraditionalschooling.Intoday’scurrentstandards-based,test-driven educational culture, educators have been encouraged toemphasizecoverageoverdepth,muchtothedetrimentofstudentslikeRachel.“Inregularhighschoolthingsmovemorequickly,es-peciallyinthemoreadvancedclasses,”Rachelsays.“Ifyou’remore

advanced[theythink]youcanlearnmoresotheygiveyoumore;butitshouldn’tworkthatway.Theyshouldgiveyoulessandgiveyoumoretimetoconsiderit.”

InarecentNewsweekarticletitled,“TheCreativityCrisis,”PoBronsonandAshleyMerrymanexaminetheroleschoolsplayinencouraging or discouraging a student’s creative thinking skills.“There’snoconcertedeffort tonurture thecreativityofallchil-dren,” theyconclude; this is anespecially troublingpronounce-mentgiventhatarecentIBMpollof1,500CEOsidentifiedcre-ativityasthenumberone“leadershipcompetencyofthefuture”(Bronson,Merryman).

AccordingtoBenjaminBloom’staxonomyoflearningdomains,“Creating” is themost challenging intellectual taskwe cangiveourstudents.However,becausecreativetasksarecomplicatedandtimeconsumingintheirdesign,execution,andassessment,theyareoftenavoidedorwatereddown.

“It’slikeasugarcoatedpill,”ishowRacheldescribesatypical“creative”assignmentshereceivesinschool.“[Teachers]trytoseeifyouunderstandtheirsubjectmaterialbygivingacoloringas-signmentsothatmaybeyou’llhavesomefunwhileyoudoit.Thepointisn’ttobecreative;it’samoreinterestingwaytoshowthatyouunderstandwhatyou’relearning.”

Noonearguesthatsummarizingandcriticalthinkingarenotimportant.Buthowcaneducatorsprovidestudentswithoppor-tunitiesforcreativeworkwhiledevelopingcoreskills?HowcanschoolsbetterengagestudentslikeRacheltomovebeyond“doingschool”andbecomeactiveandengagedlearners?

Developing Student Creativitywith Real World ApplicationsBy Gordon Jack photo by dan nelson


freestYLeaCadeMYFreestyleAcademywascreatedin2005bytheMountainView¬–

LosAltosHighSchoolDistrictinCaliforniatoofferstudentsanalternative to the traditional school routine. Juniorsandseniorsenrolled in Freestyle attend the program for half their day andtakeEnglish,Design,andeitheraFilmProductionorWeb/AudioProductionclass.WhentheyarenotatFreestyle,studentsreturntotheir“home”schoolandtaketheirotherrequiredclasses.

TheclassesatFreestylemakelearningmoremeaningfulbyfol-lowing three core principles in its curriculum design. For eachproject,thegoalistoprovide:

•integratedcurriculum•personalizedlearning•authenticaudiences

AdheringtotheseideasallowsteacherstocovertheCaliforniaStateStandardsforLanguageandVisualArts,whilemakingthestudents’workmorerigorousandrelevant.

inteGratedCUrriCULUMIfitistrue,asGuntherKressarguesinLiteracy in the New Me-

dia Age, that “language-as-writingwill increasinglybedisplacedbyimageryinmanydomainsofpubliccommunication”(Kress,2003),thendevelopingstudents’visualliteracythroughtasksthatrequirethemtoproducemultimodaltextsisaworthyendeavor.AtFreestyle,theinterdisciplinarycurriculumisdesignedaroundspecificforms,ratherthancontentthemes,whichallowsstudentstobuildtheircommunicationskillsinavarietyofmedia.

This integrated curriculum creates cohesion in the students’learningandaddsdepthtowhattheystudy.Forexample,inthe2ndquarterNarrativeunit,studentsmusttelloriginalstoriesinwriting,photography,film,andanimation.Manyeducatorsdis-miss storytelling as a less rigorous task than analytical writing;however, comingupwith anoriginal idea for a story and thenexecutingitinawaythatappealstoareader’slogicandemotionisoneofthehardest,andmostimportant,assignmentswecangiveourstudents.

DanielPink,inhisrecentbookA Whole New Mind,singlesoutstorytellingasoneofthecoreskillsofthisnewConceptualAge.“Whenfactsbecomesowidelyavailableandinstantlyaccessible,eachonebecomes less valuable.Whatbegins tomattermore istheabilitytoplacethesefactsincontextandtodeliverthemwith

emotionalimpact”(Pink,2005,p.103).DuringthenarrativeunitatFreestyle,studentsareconstantly

revisingtheirstories,justasprofessionalwritersdo.Theymaybeginwithaconcept for theircharacterandcreateaportraitphotographofhimorherintheirDesignclass.ThentheywillfleshoutthedetailsofplotinEnglishbeforetakingittoFilmorWebandturningthestoryintoashortfilmoranimation.Throughout the process, the students are receiving frequentcritiques on their ideas andwork frompeers and teachers inordertocreateabetterproject.

The curriculum integration also allows students with strongvisual intelligence touse that strengthto improve theirwriting.Manystudentscanproduceconcreteimageswhenaskedtopho-tographordrawbutstrugglewhenaskedtodothesamethingintheirwritingbecauselanguage,unlikepictures,issoabstract.

I’venoticedthatstudents’thinkingandwritingimprovewhentheyarewritingaboutanimagetheyhavecreated.Forexample,inourSelfPortraitunit,studentsoftenstrugglewithfindingmeta-phoricor symbolicwaysof representingtheir ideas inwritingapersonalessay.WhentheyusearepresentationalimagetheyhavecreatedinDesign,theirwritingbecomesmorespecificandevoca-tiveasinthefollowingexample:

As I strolled through the neighborhood park a couple of weeks ago, I passed a newly renovated playground filled with young and vibrant children, three to four-years-old. From the huge smiles planted on their faces and their laughter singing through the park, it was obvious these jubilant children were enjoying them-selves. Watching these kids play, it occurred to me how much I missed being a carefree child. I suddenly missed the life I used to live.

When I look upon my experience at the park, I realize that I do not appreciate what my past experiences have pro-vided me until they are gone. I am beginning to recognize how important it is for me to acknowledge the present before it disappears.

In my diptych, I depict how meaningful this loss of my past is to me. The petite white shoes from my toddler years are a symbol of my past. They are empty, with nothing in them, to represent my vanished baby-sized feet that used to fit inside of them. The shoes are left behind and I disregard them, just as I did the mem-orable years of my childhood. Yet today, fifteen years after I had worn the white shoes, I start to see meaning in them. My other picture of the branches depicts this realization. I focus on the front branches and use a shallow depth of field as a way to blur the past, which is no longer with me. Just as leaves have fallen off this branch, leaving it only as bare wood, I grew out of my white lace up shoes.

—Ally Watanabe


PersonaLizedLearninGBecause theprojects are focusedon form, rather than spe-

cificcontent,studentshavemorecontroloverwhattheystudyand produce. This is especially true during the three-monthlong Documentary Unit in which students conduct primaryandsecondaryresearchonatopicoftheirchoice.Studentsusethisresearchtowriteaten-pageresearchpaper,createabookofphotographsontheirsubject,andmakeeitheradocumentaryfilmoraudioslideshow.

Lastyear,Rachelchose to focusherDocumentaryprojectontheSanFranciscoGayMen’sChorus.Eversinceshewasafresh-man,Rachelhasbeenanactivemember in the school’smarch-ingbandandhadexperiencedfirsthandhowcommunitiesformaroundmusic.InselectingtoprofiletheGayMen’sChorus,Ra-chelwascurioushowthemusicalensemble’spolitics influenceditsperformances.

Fortwomonths,RachelandanotherstudenttraveledtoSanFranciscotointerviewthedifferentmembersofthechorus.Ingettingtoknowhersubjects,Rachelbecamelessinterestedinthegroup’spoliticalmessageandmoreinthestoriesofhowthechorussaveditsmembersduringtimesofcrisis.Thesestoriesbecamethefocusofherfilmandmadethedocumentarymorehonest and compelling. Writing a traditional research paperalonewouldnothavegivenRachelthisexperience.Theread-inggaveRachelthefacts,buttheinterviewsprovidedthetruthabouthersubject.

In addition to improving their research,writing, artistic, andtechnicalskills,studentspracticenecessaryworkskillssuchascol-laboration,timeandprojectmanagement.Indiscussingherexpe-riencewith thedocumentaryproject,Rachel states, “Coordina-tionandplanningandactuallygettingthingsdonewasthehardpart.Ihadtoplanmylifearoundit.”Theteacheractsasanadvi-sorduringthisprocess,butthestudenttakesontheresponsibilitytomakethingshappen.

aUthentiCaUdienCeSomuchoftheworkthathappensinhighschoolisdonefor

thegrade,ratherthanforthelearningexperience.Onereasonforthisisbecausemostschoolassignmentshaveanaudienceofone:theteacher.Oneofthemostsignificantdifferenceswe’veseeninstudents’attitudestowardtheirworkatFreestylehascomeaboutbygivingthemanauthenticaudiencefortheirprojects.

EveryyearatFreestyleweholdthreeexhibitionsofstudentworkthat allow students todisplay theirwriting,photography,films,websites, and music to a larger audience. Because the studentsknowtheirworkwillbeseenbyfriends,family,andcommunitymembers, theyworkhard tomake itprofessionalandpolished.Thehonorofhavingyourfilmincludedintheselectionthatgetsshownattheseexhibitionsismoreimportantthananygradewecouldgivethem.

Havinganauthenticaudiencealsoincreasestherelevanceoftheworkbeingdone.Throughoutthebrainstormingprocessofcom-ingupwithprojectideas,weareconstantlyaskingthestudents,

“Sowhat?”Theyneedtobeabletoidentifythereasonwhyanyonewouldcareaboutthisideaortopicbeforetheyinvestthetimeandeffortrequiredfortheirprojects.

NobelPrizeWinnerIsaacBashevisSingeroncerespondedtoastudent’squestionaboutthepurposeofliteraturebysayingsim-plythatthepurposewasto“entertainandinstruct.”Tooofteninschool assignments, students are focusingon the latter andnottheformerwhentheformerisjustas,ifnotmore,important.(Es-peciallyintheageoftheInternetwhenmostoftheinformationinstudentreportscanbefoundthroughaquickGooglesearch).Inadditiontoconsideringtherelevanceoftheirtopics,studentsmustmaketheirworkengaging for someonetoread,watch,orlistento.

fosterinGindePendenCeandresPonsiBiLitYPioneeringeducator,DeborahMeier,inThe Power of Their Ideas

(2002)writes,“Agoodschoolforanyoneisalittlelikekindergar-tenandalittlelikeagoodpost-docprogram—thetwoendsoftheeducational spectrum—atwhichweunderstand thatwecannottreatanytwohumanbeingsidentically;wemusttakeintoaccounttheirspecial interestsandstylesevenasweholdall tohighandrigorousstandards”(p.49).

RachelechoesMeier’scommentswhenshetalksaboutherfa-voriteyearinschool.“Iwasinafourthandfifthgradecombina-tionclass.Whentheteacherwasworkingwithanotherclass,shetrustedyoutoworkonyourownstuff.Therewasmoreindepen-dence.Itwasnicetonotalwayshavestructuredlearningtime;youcouldworkatyourownpace.”

AtFreestyleAcademy,studentsaregiventheindependencetopursue their unique interests. More importantly, they are giventheresponsibilitytotakecontroloftheirownlearningandfindmeaningintheworktheydo.Thisapproachmakesschoolmorechallenging, but according to students like Rachel, ultimatelymorerewarding.n

referenCes:Bronson, Po, and Ashley Merryman (10 July 2010). “the Creativity Crisis.” Newsweek

Magazine

Kress, Gunther (2003). Literacy in the New Media Age. london: routledge Press.

Meier, Deborah (2002). The Power of Their Ideas. Boston: Beacon Press.

Pink, Daniel (2005). A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future.

new York: riverhead Books.

Gordon JaCK is the program coordinator and eng-lishteacheroffreestyleacademyofCommunicationarts and technology in the Mountain view-Los altoshigh school district. Last year, he received the ful-bright distinguished award in teaching for his workindevelopingstudents’crossculturalunderstandingthroughvisualexchangeprojects.Priortodevelopingandteachingatfreestyleacademy,heservedashisdistrict’sBeginningteachersupportandassessment(Btsa)coordinatorandcoach.


R ecently, Emily Jones, a sophomore at Summit PrepwalkedintotheOvalOfficewhereshewas introducedtoPresidentObamawhopromptlyaskedherhowthingsweregoingatSummit.Afewweeksearlier,Emilywas

asked the same question by Oprah Winfrey during an appear-anceonhershow.AsthefilmWaiting for Superman makesitswaythroughtheatersacrossAmerica,Emily,oneoffivestudentspro-filedinthefilm,andSummitPrep,theschoolsheattends,havebeenthrustintothepublicspotlight.

Asaresult,peopleareaskingtheobviousquestions:“Ofallthepublicschools inourcountry, isSummitreallyoneofthebest?Andifso,why?”

While there is precious little data to compare high schoolsin America, on the few measures that exist, Summit does well.Newsweek ranks Summit in the top 1% of public high schoolsandninthinCaliforniawhereitistheonlyschoolinthetoptenwithastudentpopulationthatmirrorsthatofotherlocalschoolsonsuchkeydemographicindicatorsasrace,ethnicity,socio-eco-nomicstatus,andstudentswithdisabilities.

SummitPrephasgraduatedfourclassesofseniors.Eachgradu-atehasexceededthefour-yearcollegeentrancerequirements,and96%havebeenacceptedtoatleastonefour-yearcollege,includ-ingthemostselectiveschoolsinournation.Inthesurroundingpublichighschools,only40%ofthestudentsgraduatemeetingtheminimumentrancerequirementstoapplytoafour-yearcol-lege.Perhapsmostimportantly,Summit’s9thgradestudentsen-tertheschool,onaverage,lessacademicallyproficientthantheirpeersinthosesamelocalschools.

WhatisSummitdoingtoachievesuchdifferentresultswiththesamestudents?TheanswerliesinSummit’sabilitytoidentifyandhelpdevel-optheacademicgifts,talents,andpotentialineverystudentregardlessofhisorherpriorpreparation,performance,orbackground.

Summitisonlyeightyearsoldsowehadtheluxuryofdesigningtheschoolfromscratch.Ourstartingpointwasaveryclearmis-siontoprepareeverystudentforfour-yearcollegesuccessandabeliefthateverychildiscapableofsuchpreparationforsuccess.Itisthismissionandbeliefthatdriveseverydecision,everyinterac-tion,andeveryoutcomeofSummit.

Summit Preparatory Charter High SchoolAnAlternativeSecondarySchoolProgramBy Diane Tavenner

photo by dan nelson


EverypublicschoolinAmericahasamissionstatementorvisionforitslearners.Theyarefilledwithloftygoalsandidealisticimagesof loving learning and realizingpotential;but inmyexperience,schoolsrarelytrulyembraceandrelentlesslypursuetheirmissionandbeliefsabout students in thewaywedoatSummit.Forus,thesestatementstranslateintoactions.

PersonaLizedLearninGPLansEverysinglestudentwhoenrollsinourschoolwillgraduatewith

therealoptionofgoingtoafour-yearcollege,andformany,thatgoal isavery steepclimb.Over60%ofour studentsenterhighschoolwithfewifanyalgebraskills;manyofthemhavelearningdisabilities,andabout40%willbethefirstintheirfamilytoattendcollege.Thus,itiscriticalthatfromthefirstdayourstudentscom-mittolong-termgoalsoffouryearsandbeyond.Whenpossible,parentsorotherfamilymembersareincludedinthegoalsettingthatisdocumentedinaPersonalizedLearningPlanthatiswrittenandmonitoredbythestudent’sfacultymentor.

Next,thestudent,mentor,andfamilymembersagreetoannualacademic,character,andpersonaldevelopmentgoals.Finallytheydevisearealisticplanforthestudenttoachievethegoalsthatin-cludesadailyandweeklyschedule.Eachstudent’sscheduletakesintoaccounthisorherpersonalgoalsandneedsandincludestheright amount of additional supports, such as regular attendanceat teacher’sofficehours, involvement inpeer tutoring, anddailyhomeworkchecks.

Thestudentandhisorhermentorregularlyrevisit theannualplanaspartofdaily10-minutechecksandweekly90-minuteses-sionswiththementor’sgroupof16students.Ifastudentbeginsto lose pace with meeting personal goals, the mentor checks-in,helps to identify the issues and supports the student in correct-ingor revisingbehavior. If thatdoesn’twork, the supports esca-late to full-scale interventions with the student, family, and allhis or her teachers. All of these steps are put into place quicklybefore a student can fall so far behind that recovery is unlikelyoroverwhelming.

advanCedPLaCeMentforaLLIn most high schools, students are tracked into different

course sequences, often based upon their middle school perfor-mancebutrarelyupontheirlifetimegoalsandpotential.Asare-sult, a relatively smallpercentageof studentsenroll inAdvancedPlacementcourses.

Summit offers only one curricular track. Our school operatesonacohortmodelwitheverystudentenrollinginthesamesetofrigorouscoursestaughtinfivesubjectareas:history,English,math,

science,andSpanish.Eachsubject-areasequenceculminatesinatleast one if not two Advanced Placement courses offered in thejuniorandsenioryear.Webelieveinsettinghighexpectationsforeverystudentandthensupportingthemtoachieve.

Our faculty members work in vertical and grade level teamstoensurethattheentirecurriculumismappedtothesamehighexpectationsforstudentperformanceandcollegereadinessupongraduation.Academicskillsrequiredforsuccessincollegeareex-plicitlytaught,beginningasearlyasthefirstweekofninthgrade.Studentsareimmersedinclassesandaschoolenvironmentthatisfocusedonthesameenrichedcontentthatisskillfullydifferenti-atedtoensuremaximumstudentengagement.

foUrLife-ChanGinGWeeKsPerhaps themostuniqueandprofoundelementofSummit is

whatwecallintersession.ForfourweeksinbothJanuaryandMay/June,studentsengageinanelective.Eachmonth-longperiodisafull-timecourse, internship,or journey.Students immerse them-selvesinsubjectsaboutwhichtheyarepassionate,learnfrompro-fessionalsinthesefields,andemergewithanewperspectiveoftheworldandtheir futureplans; thisdirectly translates tohowtheyview school and the importance of developing lifetime optionsthroughacademicsuccess.

At this same time, teachersundergo40daysof intensivepro-fessionaldevelopment,preparation,andplanningfocusedonim-proving studentperformance.Everyone returns to theclassroomreinvigoratedandpreparedtotacklethechallengesahead.

Summit’s success isderived fromaclearmission,afirmbeliefinevery student’spotentialandan innovative schooldesign thatintentionally supports teachers to succeed with every single stu-dent.Mostimportantly,SummitoperatesonCalifornia’sperpupilexpenditure.Summit isonlyoneexampleofhowpublic schoolscan apply innovative designs to re-engineer schools and supportthemajorityofourstudentstofullyrealizetheirpotential.Ihopethatbeforethespotlightfades,Summitinspireseducatorsandpar-entsinCaliforniatodreamoftheschoolstheywant,andtomakethemexist.n

diane tavenner is the founder and Ceo of summit Pub-lic schools (sPs), a non-profit organization committed topreparingallstudentsforsuccessincollegeandcareer.in2003,sheopenedsummitPreparatoryCharterhighschoolinredwoodCity.Previouslyshespenttenyearsasapublicschoolteacher,administrator,andleaderintraditionalur-banandsuburbanpublicschoolsthroughoutCalifornia.shehasaMaineducationaladministrationandPolicyanalysisfromstanfordUniversityandaBainpsychologyandsociol-ogyfromtheUniversityofsouthernCalifornia.

everysinglestudentwhoenrollsinourschoolwillgraduatewiththerealoptionofgoingtoafour-yearcollege,andformany,thatgoalisaverysteepclimb.


M y84-year-oldmotherforwardedane-mailfromalong-timefamilyfriendthatincludedapictureofacellphoneshethoughtshecouldoperate.Itwasa flipphonesimilar tomyseven-year-oldmodel,

exceptthat ithadarotarydial.The irony,ofcourse, is thather claims to technological illiteracy were disproven by herabilitytoopen,read,andforwardthemessage,andthencallme from her cell phone to laugh about it. My mom is oneofthemostgiftedpeopleIknow.Shethinksmetaphorically,laughs at humor that would escape many, and her pictureshould be the illustration next to the dictionary entry for“perfectionism.” But asynchrony is the best way to describeherapproachtotwenty-firstcenturytechnology.

As Iwas thinkingabouthow toaddress theneed for richlearningexperiencesforgiftedyoungadults,itoccurstome

thatgiftednessmanifestsinmanyways,andaone-size-fits-allapproach will not work for high school students any morethan it works for elementary or middle school populations.WhileAdvancedPlacement(AP)andhonorsclassesarewon-derfulopportunitiesforastudentwhoisgiftedinaparticulardiscipline,howdowecatertoand createintellectualcapacityfor students who either do not choose the AP path, or forwhom that path is inappropriate? How do I engage giftedteenagers,youngadults(orseniorcitizens)inadisciplinethattheywouldrathernotlearn?

This article continues the first article in this series, em-phasizingagaintheimportanceofintegratingofbrainfunc-tions—this time in the context of a high school classroom.Dr. Barbara Clark suggests that gifted students can becomeefficient, self-actualized learners when four brain functions

R t i 2 F O R G i F T E D L E A R N E R SBy Beth Littrell

Appropriate instruction and

intervention for Gifted Students

photo by dan nelson


areintegrated:Emotional,Sensory,Cognitive,andIntuitive.TheCaliforniaStandardsfortheTeachingProfession(CSTP),revisedin2009,alsoprovideablueprinttosuccessfullessonplanning and assessment that ensures active engagement ofallstudents,includingthosewhoaregiftedortalented.ThisarticleconcentratesontheintersectionofIntegrativeEduca-tion(Clark),andCSTP.

1: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning.Thestandardoutlinessixelementsthatmustbepresent:

(1.1)using knowledge of students to engage them inlearning

(1.2) connecting learning to students’ prior knowledge,backgrounds,lifeexperiences,andinterests

(1.3) connecting subject matter to meaningful, real-lifecontexts

(1.4)using a variety of instructional strategies, resourc-es, and technologies to meet students’ diverse learningneeds

(1.5)promoting monitoring student critical thinkingthroughinquiry,problemsolving,andreflection

(1.6) learningandadjustinginstructionwhileteaching

Aproposedlessonplanattheendofthearticleoffersonepossibilityforintegratingbrainfunctionsinanenvironmentthatdifferentiatesforawiderangeofstudentinterest,priorknowledge,andneedfordepth,complexity,novelty,andac-celeration.The lesson discusses and reflects on “Balance ofPower”intheUnitedStatesGovernment.Thistopicwascho-senforseveralreasons:

• Socio-Political literacy is oneofthekeycomponentsintheCaliforniaHistory/SocialSci-ence Framework under theGoal ofKnowledge andCul-turalUnderstanding.

• Constitutional Heritage iskeytotheGoalofDemocrat-ic Understanding and CivicValues

• ParticipationSkillsareoneofthreeskillsintheGoalofSkillAttainmentandSocialParticipation.

• USGovernmentispartofthecontentstandardsforfifthgrade (Standard 5.7.3), eighth grade (Standard 8.2.6),andtwelfthgrade(12.1.5)

eMotionaLfUnCtionActiveengagementinthelearningprocessbeginswithanen-

vironment thatpromotesemotional safety. I recentlywatchedacolleagueas she frantically lookedfor somepaperworkthatwasneededforameeting.Asshebecamemoreandmorepanic-strick-enbecauseshecouldn’tfindthepaper, the tension intheroombecamepalpable.Iwalkedovertoherfilecabinet,lookedattheplaceinalphabeticalorderwherethefileshouldhavebeen,andpulled the papers in a matter of seconds. My friend could not

seeafile thatwas rightbeforehereyesbecauseof the stress in-ducedwhenshemisseditonherfirsttry.Stresscausescognitiontocease,andweretreattoour“fightorflight”reptilianbrainstem.Sincethatexperience,Ihavebeenabelieverthattheenvironmentmustbewarmandwelcoming,withrelationshipsfosteredbytrustand connection to prior knowledge and real-life contexts. Les-sonshavetomakepersonalconnectionsinasafeenvironmenttobeeffective.

The advisory board to the Commission on Teacher Cre-dentialing proposed several reflective questions that helpto develop the optimum environment for learning. Amongthose questions, some are particularly essential to optimizethelearningexperienceforgiftedstudents.Whetheryouarefacilitatinglearningathomeoratschool,itisimportantto

• knowstudentsaspeopleandaslearners• buildtrustwithstudentsandfosterrelationshipssothat

studentscanthriveacademically• adaptteachingtoreflectknowledgeofstudents• differentiate instructionbasedonwhat isknownabout

thestudents

I am reminded of a dinner-table conversation when mychildren were younger. My younger son loved a particularcourseinhighschool,butmyolderhadadisastrousexperi-ence in that class. I’ll never forget my son’s wisdom, “Thedifference,”heexplained,“wasthatyourteachertaughtstu-dents, andmine taughthistory.”Reluctance in learningcanoftenbeovercomewhenpersonalconnectionsaremade.

CoGnitionIn fifthandeighthgrade, the standard thatdiscussesbal-

anceofpowerexpectsknowledgeandcomprehensionofthethreebranchesofgovernment, their interrelatedness toeachother,andthepowersthateachbranchhasinrelationtotheother two. But knowing and understanding are completelydifferent.Iknowthenamesofthesymbolsfromanalyticge-ometrythatmysonusesinhisengineeringcoursework,butI do not understand analytic geometry. In the CSTP docu-ment,educatorsareaskedtoreflectonwaystoconnectsub-jectmattertomeaningful,real-lifecontentincluding:

• establishing a connection between subject matter andpurposeforlearning

• making connections between subject matter and real-lifecontexts

• seeking feedback fromstudents regarding the relevanceofsubjectmattertotheirlives

• engaging students in a variety of learning experiencesthataccommodatethedifferentwaysthattheylearn

Toooften,wethinkofcognitionaswhatwewantstudentsto know instead of what we can learn about our students,theirpriorknowledge,andtheiruniquepathwaytoknowing,understanding,applying,analyzing,synthesizing,andevalu-atinginformation.


sensorYinteGration“IhearandIforget.IseeandIremember.IdoandIunder-

stand.”—Confucius(551-479BCE)Oneofthedifferencesingiftedstudentsisthattheycanmovemuchmorequicklytotheabstract.Yourmostgiftedstudentsprobablyenjoyparticipatinginandcreatingmetaphors,analogies,simulations,orallegoriesthat illustrateaconcept.TheCSTPcalloneducators touseavariety of instructional strategies, resources, and technologies(Standard1.4).ThemostcommonlearninginAmericanclass-rooms involves sight and sound.Touch, movement, olfactory,andtasteareusedsorarelythatstudentsarelikelytorememberlessonsthataccessthesesenses.Participationinreal-life,multi-sensoryactivitiesthatexplaincomplexconceptswillcreatedeeplearning. Gifted students usually respond positively when of-fered a choice in the strategy, resource, or technology used tolearnandrelatelearning.

intUitionIn1986,Dr.BarbaraClarkwroteOptimizing Learning.Inthat

book,shementionedseveralwaystodeveloptheintuitivesense.Includedinthatlistarerelaxation,centering,imagery,andposi-tive energy. The CSTP, revised in 2009, include some of thesesameideas.CSTP1.5callsforcriticalthinkingthroughinquiry,problem solving, and reflection. Reflective questions encourageCaliforniateachersto:

• encouragestudentstousemultipleapproachesandsolutionstosolveproblems

• encouragestudentstoaskcriticalquestionsandconsiderdi-verseperspectives

• provideopportunitiestothinkabout,discuss,andevaluatecontent

• facilitatediscussion,clarify,andextendstudents’thinking• supportthinkingandcommunicatingwithclarityandpreci-

sion,and• encouragestudentstocreate,imagine,andinnovate

CSTP1.6challengesustomonitorandadjustinstructionwhileteaching.Reflectiveactionsinclude:

• systematicallycheckingforstudentunderstandingandrevi-sionofplansaccordinglyusingavarietyofstrategiestocheckforunderstanding

• monitoringandadjustingthepaceofthelessonplantoac-celerateinstruction,

• providing additional support and opportunities for stu-dentstolearnwhensomestudentshavemasteredthelessonobjective(s)andothershavenot

• making“onthespot”changestoalessonbasedonstudents’interestsandquestions

While intuition is an ancient art, it was omitted or eveneditedoutofAmericanclassroomsinthetwentiethcentury.Asyouembarkonlearning,considerstrategiesforaccessingthe intuitive for both students and educators. Electric mo-mentsarecreatedwhenwedevelopandfollowourintuitive

photo by dan nelson


sensitivitytotheemotional,cognitive,andsensoryneedsofourselvesandourstudents.

Whetheryouarereadingthisasateacher,aparent,oragiftedstudent,Iencourageyoutotryatleastonenewstrategytoengageyourselfinlearningsomethingnew.Ibeganthearticlewithanil-lustrationaboutmymother,whomIadore.Shearguedalittlethatshewasn’taperfectionist—thatvery fewthings shedidactuallyturnedouttobe“perfect.”(ItoldherthatIwouldbeexplainingperfectionismtoherinournextlesson.)Butthenshesaidsome-thingprofound.“IfIjustwasn’tsoignorantabouttechnology,Iwouldunderstandit.”

Forthisreluctantlearner,Idecidedtotrythesuggestionsfromthisarticle.First,weestablishedalistofallthenewtechnologiesshehasmasteredinherlifetime:electricity,runningwater,refrigerators,elec-tricovens,microwaves….Usingthesameproblem-solvingskillssheonceusedtoprogramherVCR,shevisualizedherselftryinganewap-plicationonthecomputer,andgaveherselfmentalaffirmationforthejobwelldone.ItwasatthatpointthatIgavehertheinformationsheneededtositandworkthroughtheproblemshewantedtosolve.HadIgivenherastep-by-stepprocess,shewouldhavesuccessfullycom-pletedonetask,butwouldhavebeen“ignorant”againwhenthenextchallengepresenteditself.Byteachinghertotrustherinstincts,applypriorknowledge,andknowthatshewasgoingtosucceedbeforeshestarted,shefeelsconfidenttocommunicatewiththefamilyinawholenewmedium.

Highschoolstudentswillnotneedthesestrategiesappliedtonewtechnologies.Theyhavegrownupinaculturewhereintuition,cognition,andhands-onapplicationinwhatwehopearesafeen-vironments,areessentialfortwenty-firstcenturycommunication.Ifwewanttoreachthemintheclassroom,wewillhavetorespondtotheirinstructionalneedsbyapplyingthesameprinciplestocoreinstructionandintervention.RtI2(ResponsetoInstructionandIntervention)isthecurrentpopularframeworkthatweusetodis-cussmaximizedlearningforallstudents.If“all”reallymeansall,thenitisimperativethatweprovideappropriateinstructionandin-terventionforbothhigh-achievingandreluctantgiftedstudentsbycreatingaresponsiveenvironment,integratingallbrainfunctions,andcreatingopportunitiesforchoiceandreflection.Theresponsetothiskindofinstructionandinterventionwillbeself-actualized,autonomouslearners.n

Beth LittreLL, M.ed. is the resource specialist forGate,Btsaadvisor,andrti2MiddleschoolfacilitatorinthesanMateo-fosterCityschooldistrictinCalifor-nia. she has worked with gifted students and theirteachersfor26years.sheservesasassociateeditorforCurriculum& instructionfor theGifted Education Communicator

Standard 12.1.5 Describe the systems of separated and shared powers, the role

of organized interests (Federalist Paper number 10), checks and balances (Federal-

ist Paper number 51), the importance of an independent judiciary (Federalist Pa-

per number 78), enumerated powers, rule of law, federalism, and civilian control

of the military.

Begin by giving the pretest for this unit, which will be the same information

(possibly different format) as the final exam. Use the data gathered on student

entry-level knowledge to differentiate instruction.

opening: Ask students to decide on some issue using the rock – Paper – Scissors

game. Begin by asking them which element in the game is most powerful? what

strategies do they use to decide which element to assert? Ask students to keep a

simple tally of which element won in each round. rock__ Paper__ Scissors __.

Government, like this game, is made of three parts. while each branch has some

power over the other, each branch is limited by the other two as well. in this simula-

tion, you will be assigned one of three branches: executive, Judicial, or legislative.

(For advanced classes, you might assign some students to the House of representa-

tives and others to the Senate.)

You will have __ days to research your branch of government individually. Find

information in primary sources (the Constitution), in secondary scholarly sources,

in current events, and in a source that shows obvious bias (e.g. political cartoon).

At the end of __ days, you will write what you know about that branch of govern-

ment, and then you will share your information with a partner, and listen to your

partner’s findings about the same branch. You will work with your partner to write

a description of the roles, responsibilities, and limitations of your branch of govern-

ment. that information will be shared with other partnerships.

the class will then participate in a simulation in which classmates will pose a

problem or issue from the era in history that we are currently studying. Your small

group will have to work collaboratively to answer questions from the perspective of

your assigned branch (legislative, executive, or judicial).

Groups may use a string to tug at a branch that is overstepping its realm of influ-

ence, or ring a bell, or use some other signal to show that you have the power to

limit that branch, but only if the constitution has granted you that right. Be prepared

to justify your actions with evidence from a credible source.

throughout the process, we will be reflecting on the historical decisions made by

each branch of government in reaction to the fundamental issues that span decades

(or centuries). we will be hypothesizing about the effects on history if that decision

had been more or less regulated by another branch of government.

in the end, you will take a final exam that will have multiple choice questions

about each branch of government, along with an essay that discusses the concept of

checks and balances. You will have the opportunity to create a metaphor for checks

and balances that is better than the rock-paper-scissors game that we used in the

beginning of this lesson cycle.

ChecksandBalanceswould we want a System of Government that had no Strings Attached?


rti2resPonsetoinstrUCtionandintervention

aPProPriateinstrUCtionandinterventionforGiftedstUdents

LearningGoalsandoutcomes: 12.1.5 Describe systems of separated and shared powers; checks and balances Whatwillstudentsknoworbeabletodoafterthislesson? think critically about each branch of government.

evidenceofLearning:Whatproductorassessmentwillshowthatthestudentgoalismet? Students will partici-pate in a simulation in which scenarios are presented to teams representing the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Discussion and reflection (formative assessment) will be documented in a summative test.

Pre-assessment:Whatproductorassessmentwillshowyouwhatstudentsalreadyunder-stand? Students will take the post-test as a pre-test. this test will ask students to describe the systems, show evidence of comprehension of each of the elements of standard 12.1.5 (note: You should write the test to reflect the prior learning in your district or classroom)

anticipatedchallengesinthelesson:Whatconceptsmightbedifficult?Whichstudent(s)willneedadditionaldepthorcomplexity? Some students will already know the three branches of government and the enumerated checks and balances written in the constitution and reported in the textbook. Some students will know about current events and ongoing political arguments about those balances of power. the more complex questions might include: what patterns and trends (if any) are present in the history of the US? How do the political majorities in the executive and legislative branches relate to the impact of decisions by the Supreme Court? How has the balance of power changed over the decades of US history?

opening:howwillyouengagestudents?Connectionstopriorknowledge,expertise,interest,ortalent: Play a game of rock, Paper, Scissors and ask students to collect data on which element wins in each round. look for trends, and ask if there is actually one choice that is most powerful over the entire data sampling. Discuss how this game is similar to and different from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. who has power over whom in the constitution?Show the students a mari-onette and discuss how politics resemble and are different from a puppet pulled by strings.

social-emotional(responsiveenvironment):Whatevidenceexistsofasafe,welcomingenvironment?howhaveyouencour-agedintellectualrisk-taking?howwillyouincorporateappropriatehumor? establish procedures and routines for forming groups and gathering information. these group procedures will improve the efficiency and intellectual safety of the group. each group will work individually, then in pairs, then in a small group to define the individual and shared responsibilities of a branch of government that has been assigned. each student will also find a relevant issue in current events that will be posed to each branch of government. Students will share their information with a partner, and the partners will share with the group. By sharing what they heard instead of what they said, partners will be more invested in hearing each other.

sensoryengagement:howwillyouusemusicandothersounds,movement,texture,orothertactileinputstasteand/orolfac-torysenses? Find a news, music, television or movie clip that shows the balance of power, or a discussion of the separated and shared powers. (it is important to cue the movie to a 20-second to 2 minute clip). By high school, students can often find these clips indepen-dently and bring them to present to the class. the clip can relate to a current event that evokes political controversy among the branches of government. later in the lesson, depending on your own population, students can wear wrist bands with strings that connect them to someone in another branch of government, or can have a bell or buzzer. Power is shown by a slight tug on the wrist band or by ringing the bell to “check” the power of one of the branches. (know your audience to know whether or not this will be safe and effective).

intuitivefunction:howwillstudentsmakeintuitivepredictions?howwillyouincorporateimaginationandvisualization?howwillstudentssharetheirinsights? At the beginning of the lesson, ask students who is most powerful in government, and ask them to write a brief reflection on their reasons for making that prediction. After the simulation, ask them to revisit their earliest predictions and add to them. in the simulation, students will assume the role of the branch of government they have been assigned. they should use an appropriate intellectual register in vocabulary and personal decorum as they share their insights about how these branches of govern-ment should work.

resourcesandMateri-als:Primary and second-ary sources to gather information about the roles, responsibilities and limitations of the branch of government they have been assigned.

Cognitivefunction:Whatinformationdoyouwantstudentstoknow?Whatinformationorprocessesdoyouwantstudentstoap-plyfrompriorlearningorexperience?howwillstudentsanalyze,synthesize,andevaluate?Knowledge:roles, responsibilities, and limitations for each branch of government Comprehension,application: Students will apply their understanding that comes from an analysis of the roles of government as they respond to various historical, economic, political, or socio-cultural scenarios from the current curriculum. analysis,synthesis: reflective and peer evaluation are built into any simulation as students respond to each other using stems like “building on the statements made by (name of colleague or branch of government), (state-ment that expands a position),” or “(citation of evidence) contradicts the comments made by (name) from the ( branch).” evaluation:responses are a synthesis of understanding, proven with evidence (evaluation).

ProgressMonitoring:howwillyoumonitorprogressthroughoutthelesson? Monitoring and support should be given during the research phase. As the moderator of the simulation, it is the teacher’s job to be sure that fallacies in reasoning or information are corrected. this can be done by citing evidence, or by asking students to cite evidence for their information or conclusions. in a simulation, it is important to track who is participating, how they participate, and how students interact respect-fully with each other.

reflectionsandself-evaluation:howwillyourstudentsreflectontheirsuccessesandchallengesinthislesson? in each phase of the lesson (research, sharing information, and the simulation), take some time to ask students both process and content questions. “Describe the reliability, bias, and underlying assumptions of the source you are using?” “How do the dynamics of group work impact your work both positively and negatively?” “what surprised you in the findings?”


C A R P E D i E MBy Elaine S. Wiener

I suppose it is naïve of me to thinkthatbecauseweaddressanissuere-peatedly inwriting, itwillbecuredordissolveordisappearsimplyfrom

wishing.ButIcan’tbetheonlyeducatorwhoiswearingthinfromDabrowski’sthe-oryofoverexcitabilitiesingiftedpersonali-ties.Itisn’thistheorythatistiring;itisourpaltrypileofsolutionsthatwearusdown.

Fouryearsago, thisverycolumnstartedwithLindaSilverman’sstatement:

It’s emotionally damaging to be unac-ceptable in the place you spend six hours of every day for 13 years.I want to hide in the corner with guilt

whenmymindentertainssuchblasphemousandun-poeticthoughtsas“Getover it”or“Allkids—people—haveproblems.”

I am very sympathetic toward our mostgiftedstudents,butIamstilltiredoftheissue.

AndIamalsoprobablytritewhenIsaythat abest friendwouldgo a longway toallowingtheseshiningstarstosolvesomeoftheir own issues. However, the best friendsolution is more powerful than we mightrealizebecausetodoanythinginlifewithasidekick isverypowerful.Mostofusdon’tneed a gathering to make us happy; justonepersonwhounderstandsourinnersoulwilldo.

“Whengiftedchildrenareaskedwhattheymost desire, the answer is often ‘a friend.’Thechildren’sexperienceofschool iscom-pletelycoloredbythepresenceorabsenceofrelationshipswithpeers.”(Silverman,1993,p.72.SENGNewsletter).

Weknowthatourchildrenseekoutpeers

ofsimilarmentalageratherthanchronologi-calage,andoftenthatmeansthatourgiftedchildrenwill“hangout”witholderchildren.As adults, have you ever had lunch withsomeone who chattered on about banali-ties—aboutwhere the latest saleswere (adinfinitum)whenyouwantedtotalkaboutthelatestpoliticaldisagreements?

MaracaU.M.Gross,aprofessorofGiftedEducationat theUniversityofNewSouthWales in Sidney, Australia, studied 700highly gifted children aged 5-12 to deter-minewhetherornotchildren’sexpectationsof friendship are decided by chronologicalageorbymentalage.

And, indeed, the study confirmed thatchildren’sfriendshipsbecomemore“sophis-ticatedandcomplexwithage.”Grossidenti-fiedfivestagesoffriendship:

Stage1:PlayPartner.Intheearlieststageof friendship, the relationship is based onplay-partnership. Afriendisseenassomeonewhoengagesthechild inplayandpermitsthechildtouseorborrowherplaythings.

Stage2:PeopletoChatto.Thesharingof interestsbecomesan importantelementinfriendshipchoice.Conversationsbetweenfriends are no longer related simply to thegameor activity inwhich the children aredirectlyengaged.

Play PartnerorSure Shelter:Whatgiftedchildrenlookforinfriendship.

Stage3:HelpandEncouragement.Atthisstagethefriendisseenassomeonewhowill offerhelp, support or encouragement.However,theadvantagesoffriendshipflowinonedirection;thechilddoesnotyetsee

himselfashavingtheobligationtoprovidehelporsupportinreturn.

Stage 4: Intimacy/Empathy. The childnow realizes that in friendship the needandobligationtogivecomfortandsupportflowsbothwaysand, indeed,thegivingofaffection,aswellasreceivingit,becomesanimportantelementintherelationship.Thisstageseesadeepeningofintimacy;anemo-tionalsharingandbonding.

Stage 5: The Sure Shelter. The titlecomesfromapassageinoneoftheapocry-phalbooksoftheOldTestament.“Afaithfulfriendisasureshelter;whoeverfindsonehasfoundararetreasure”(Ecclesiasticus,6:14).Atthisstagefriendshipisperceivedasadeepandlastingrelationshipoftrust,fidelity,andunconditionalacceptance.

“Asahighlygifted12yearolddescribedit:‘Arealfriendisaplaceyougowhenyouneedtotakeoffthemasks.Youcansaywhatyouwanttoyourfriendbecauseyouknowthatyourfriendwillreallylistenandevenifhedoesn’tlikewhatyousay,hewillstilllikeyou.Youcantakeoffyourcamouflagewitharealfriendandstillfeelsafe.’”

Thatsaysitall!n

eLaine s. Wiener isassociate editor forBook reviews for theGifted Education Com-municator. she is re-tired from the GardenGrove Unified schooldistrict Gate program.she can be reached [email protected].

Friendship, Friendship Just a Perfect blendship illustration by jon pearson


T E C H T O O L S F O R T O D A y ’ S T E A C H E R SBy Brian C. Housand

SuperSources for Science

A commoncharacteristicofgiftedstudentsisaninsatiablecuriosi-tyandaneedtoanswertheend-lessstreamofquestions,aseach

question answered leads to yet anotherquestion.Manyofyoureadingthishaveundoubtedly had a similar experiencewhile growing up, exhausting all thatcouldbe learned fromtheencyclopediaand then desperately needing someoneto drive you to the nearest library sothatyoucouldcontinueyourpursuitofknowledge. Fortunately for today’s stu-dents,informationgatheringhascomea

longway and looks verydifferent fromhowitlookedinthepast.Nolongerdostudents need the mobility of a car tofind information because the Internetputstheworldattheirfingertips.There is so much information available to them, that you, as their guide, may feel unsure of how to help your students; you may not even know where to begin the search for high quality science con-tent on the Internet. So, here you go! Below is a selection of resources that will pique the interests of your budding young scientists.

Science Buddies (sciencebuddies.org) Rather than simply offering a listofprojectstochoosefrom,ScienceBud-diesattemptstocreateamatchbetweentheinterestsofthestudentandaproject.Studentsfirstcompleteasurveyregard-ingwhetherornot they like todo cer-tain science related activities, and thenafewadditionalconfirmatoryquestionsare asked.What results is a customizedlist of project ideas with complete in-structions,backgroundinformation,ad-ditional resources,andacareerconnec-tion section. Whether your science fair

photo by dan nelson


projectisdueinamonth,ortomorrow,ScienceBuddieshas a recommendationforyou!

Khan Academy (khanacademy.org)Created by Salman Khan, with themission of “providing a high qual-ity education to anyone, anywhere,”the Khan Academy hosts over 1800videotutorialsprovidingjust-in-timeknowledgeonawidevarietyofscienceand math topics. Each video is cre-atedtoprovideindividualinstruction,ratherthanusedasafullclasslecture.Content is made in “digestible 10-20minutechunks.”

iTunesU(tinyurl.com/sciencetunes)In the science section of iTunesU, youwilluncoveratreasurechestoffreeaudioand video recordings for you to down-load to your computer or iPod. Fea-tured content comes from projects liketheMITOpencourse initiative,OxfordUniversity,andStanfordUniversity.Stu-dentsareabletoviewactuallecturesfromtheseuniversitiesandhundredsmoreattheirconvenience.

Nobelprize.org (nobelprize.org/edu-cational)Thissiteoffersacollectionofover40 simulations andgames that arebased on Nobel Prize awarded achieve-ments. Young scientists will find inter-active activities in the area of physics,chemistry,andmedicinethatserveasanintroduction to the topic. As studentssolve the challenge, they are reviewingcontent. At the end of each game, ad-ditional content and resources are pro-videdforfurtherexplorations.

While you may not be able to takeyour students to actually visit a science

museum,youcanhavethemvisitvirtu-ally.Mostfeatureinteractiveversionsoftheirexhibitsandprovideonlinevisitorswiththeopportunitytolearnbydoing.

The Exploratorium in San Francisco(exploratorium.edu/explore) This sitefeaturesacollectionofover500“Thingsto Make and Do,” as well as 145 web-siteversionsoftheirexhibits.Nomatterwhatareaofscienceyoumightbeteach-ing, there is anonlineactivity thatwillhelpsupport the learning inyourclass-room.Thissiteisaboutascloseasubsti-tuteforactuallyvisitingamuseumasyouwillfind.

The London Science Museum (sci-encemuseum.org .uk/onl ines tuf f .aspx) The London Science Museumhas an assembly of online games de-signed to teach science topics. Stu-dents can learn about physics conceptswhile solving puzzles of increasingcomplexity when playing Launchball,or help rid the world of excessive car-bon dioxide emitters while playingEnergyNinjas.

TheFranklinInstituteinPhiladelphia(fi.edu/learn/index.php) The FranklinInstituteoffersacollectionof resourcesforsciencelearning.Otherthanthetyp-ical curriculum companions, they alsopresenta seriesentitledTheCaseFiles.Thesefilespresentthehistoryofscienceand use primary source documents totellthestorybehindfamousscientists.

Most likely you have had an experi-ence when a gifted student has askedyouasciencequestionthatwasbeyondyourunderstanding.Nowyoucanhaveyour students submit their questions

using sites such as theHowardHughesMedicalInstitute’sAskaScientist(aska-scientist.org) or Ask a Biologist fromArizonaStateUniversity(askabiologist.asu.edu).Bothoftheseresourcesinvitestudents to submit their questions on-line and have their questions answeredbyrealscientists.

Most of the resources that have beenpresented in this column serve as con-tent resources. While many of themfeature some type of interactive com-ponent for students, what we reallywant for our gifted students is to havethem actively participate in knowledgeconstruction and creative productivity.TheNationalSTEMVideoGameChal-lengeatstemchallenge.org,invitesstu-dents ingradespre-K through8 tonotonlylearnaboutscience,butchallengesthem to design an original video gamethat focusesonscience, technology,en-gineering, and math. What better wayto learn thanby creating, constructing,anddoing?n

BrianhoUsandisanassistantprofessorinthedepart-ment of Curriculum and instruction at east CarolinaUniversity.heearnedaPh.d.ineducationalPsycholo-gyattheUniversityofConnecticut’snationalresearchCenter, Gifted and talented, with a dual emphasis in

gifted education and in-structional technology.heiscurrentlyexploringways in which technol-ogy can enhance thelearning environmentand striving to definecreative-productive gift-edness in a digital age.hiswebsiteis:brianhou-sand.com.

Whileyoumaynotbeabletotakeyourstudentstoactuallyvisitasciencemuseum,youcanhavethemvisitvirtually.Mostfeatureinteractiveversionsoftheirexhibitsandprovideonlinevisitorswiththeopportunitytolearnbydoing.


the smart teens’ Guide to LivingWithintensity

ByLisaRivero(2010) Great Potential Press Press paperback,$14.49online,129pp.ISBN978-1-935067-00-9

R e V I e W e d by e l a I n e W I e n e R

Myfavoritewaytoresearchistostartwithachildren’sencyclo-pedia,progresstoamid-rangeencyclopedia, and gloriously

end with my beautiful special edition oftheEncyclopediaBritannica.IfIfindsuf-ficient informationalongtheway, Icon-tinue the search to satisfycuriosity…andtoavoidneglectingthecollections.

This kind of evolution applies toLisaRivero’sThe Smart Teens’ Guide to Living with Intensity. It has a match-ing book for parents titled A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Teens: Living with In-tense and Creative Adolescents. Startwith the book for teens. It’s easy liv-ing;easytalking.Itspoilsyoubecausewhen you read the book for parentsyou want that same relaxed format.However, theadultbookhasvery im-portant information, treats you like aclear thinking adult, and is very easytoread.

The Smart Teens’ Guide to Living With Intensity is a personal conversa-tion that is “teen-speak”butdoesnotspeak down to the reader. Lisa Rive-ro is a an experienced educator. Shesays…“Idon’twantyoujusttosurviveasastudent;Iwantyoutothriveasalearner.”

The book starts with what it won’tdoandthentellsyouwhatitwilldo.

It eases the expectations of whatgiftedness is and allows the reader tohavedoubtsandtoavoidlabels.

Thisbookisfullofchartsandintro-spective questions the reader can ask

aloud with no audience. Many chap-ters address “intensities” and casuallyeducate young readers to well-knownnames in gifted education withoutsoundingtooacademic.

Creativityisdescribedwithactivitiesanddefinitionsthatdon’tfallintothe“boring”areathatitcanbecome.Andallalong,definitionsareblended intothetext.Someveryimportantcatego-ries are: Creative Discipline; Procras-tination; Perfectionism; Becoming aSelf-DirectedLearner;

Home schooling; College and Be-yond: Non-traditonal Paths; and AConclusioninWhichNothingisCon-cluded:WeavingYourOwnEducationTapestry.

For experienced educators, it is alovely reminder, and for new parentsandteachers,itisapainless,thorough-ly enjoyable read…not to mention aterrificeducation.

eLaines.WienerisassociateeditorforBookreviewsfor

theGiftededucationCommunicator.she is retiredfrom

the Garden Grove Unified school district Gate program

[email protected].

ParentingGiftedChildren

By Jennifer L. Jolly, Donald J. Treffinger,TracyFordInman,andJoanFranklinSmut-ny(Eds.)(2011) Prufrock Presspaperback,$21.95,570pp.ISBN978-1-59363-430-8

R e V I e W e d by e l a I n e W I e n e R

570pages!Thisisaverythickbook.Thetableofcontentsusestypicalcategories:

Nature and Assessment, Char-acteristics and Development, Diversity,Programming Options, Family Dynamics,Advocacy, Twice-Exceptional, and Socialand Emotional Needs. However, Parenting Gifted Children isanythingbuttypical.Thisisatreasurechestofthebestarticles,writtenbythemostinfluentialleadersingiftededu-cationandhandchosenbytheeditors,whothemselves,arewellknown.

Don’t let the title mislead you: this isnotabookjustforparents.Everyeducatorneedsthisbookinhisorherlibrary.Youmight use this as an encyclopedia of de-

b O O k R E V i E W S

photo by dan nelson


tailedsuggestions,andjustasyouareread-ingaboutonespecificsubject,youreyewillmeander toward other topics. You couldeasily read the whole book in this man-ner…withgreatpleasure.

The followingare somehighlights fromParenting Gifted Children:

BarbaraClark,inherchaptertitled“NoChildisJustBornGifted:CreatingandDe-velopingUnlimitedPotential,”hasaperfectlistofactivitiesforbabies.(Iwantedtorun

outandfindababytoplaywith.)Inaddi-tiontothatlist,thereisanotherdetailedlistofactivitiesforgiftedchildrenofallages.IfIwereayoungmother,Iwouldprinttheselists, laminatethem,andputthemonthewalltoseeeveryday.

Robert Sternberg provides seven strate-gies for helping your child in his chaptertitled,“DevelopingYourChild’sSuccessfulIntelligence.” This list is so powerful andhassuchclaritythatthetopleadersofourcountryshouldreadit,too.

BenParistellsyouexactlywhyourchil-drenmaynotdowellontestsinhischapter“WhyGiftedChildrenMayNotTestWell.”Everyteacherandparentwhohasanunder-achieverwillfindanswershere,andweallcanrelatethisarticletosomeofourownquirksorissues.

In“AGlossaryofTermsUsedinEduca-tionalAssessment,”MichaelFreedmanandJohn Houtz list our in-house vocabulary.It’salittleembarrassingtoseehowverboseweeducatorscanbe,butitiscomfortingto

knowthereisalistincaseweneedit,nottomentionparentswhowant toknowwhatallthosewordsmean.

Never in my wildest dreams wouldI ever want to homeschool a child.However,Ihavealwayswonderedhowitisaccomplished. If you are curious or reallywanttoknowhowtodoit,read“IsHome-schoolingRight forYourChild” byVickiCaruna.Shedispelsthemyths.

Therearesomanyimportantideascon-tained inthisonebookthat isamust foryour library. If you can spare the money,buy extras to give to your school districtand teachers. Send a few to board mem-berswhomaynotknowenoughaboutourgiftedstudents.TheauthorsweresmarttotitlethisParenting Gifted Children.

Itmakeseveryonewanttoreadittoseeifitreferstothem.

eLaines.WienerisassociateeditorforBookreviewsfor

theGiftededucationCommunicator.sheisretiredfromthe

Garden Grove Unified school district Gate program and

[email protected].

photo by dan nelson


teachersnewtoGiftededucation,takenote

WatchforCAG Cubed (C)3inthenextGifted Education Communicator,dueoutinapril.

Manuscriptdeadlines:

spring summer fall Winter

Jan. 1 Apr. 1 Jul. 1 oct. 1 toeditor

Jan. 15 Apr. 15 Jul. 15 oct. 15 todesigner

Mar. 1 Jun. 1 Sep. 1 Dec. 1 toPrinter

Apr. 1 Jul. 1 oct. 1 Dec. 30 tosubscriber

YearlyCycles-oneeachperyear

fromthefollowingcategories:

• Program feature

• Special population

• Content area (interdisciplinary Studies)

• wild card (editorial board choice)

Articles should be about 2500 words and must pertain

to the issue theme. if you have questions and to submit

manuscripts, please contact Margaret Gosfield, Acquisitions

editor, at [email protected]. Please make your first query

at least a month in advance of the manuscript deadline.

Beginning with the Spring issue, 2011, Gifted Education Communicator will feature a new ongoing column just for you.

the column will be called CAG Cubed (C)3 representing Commitment, Communication, and Collegiality.

the goal of the writers, Jennifer Hazelton, Jessica Manzone Cole, and Michelle McGuire is to offer you information and ideas:

• a support group to network, advocate, and contribute to change • a digital social network • a new CAG blog with resources and lessons

Vol. 42, no. 1 Spring 2011 effects of technology…on gifted children

Vol. 42, no. 2 Summer 2011 when school doesn’t fit: Alternative options

Vol. 42, no. 3 Fall 2011 the thinking curriculum & mental development

Vol. 42, no. 4 winter 2011 the economy of Giftedness (include globalization)

Vol. 43, no. 1 Spring 2012 Creating learning environments for gifted children

Vol. 43, no. 2 Summer 2012 identifying gifted learners

Vol. 43, no. 3 Fall 2012 interdisciplinary studies: Social Studies

Vol. 43, no. 4 winter 2012 equity & excellence: twice-exceptional gifted learners

Vol. 44, no. 1 Spring 2013 Giftedness for life

Vol. 44, no. 2 Summer 2013 Parenting gifted learners

Vol. 44, no. 3 Fall 2013 interdisciplinary studies: language arts

Vol. 44, no. 4 winter 2013 Productive assessment and evaluation

Vol. 45, no. 1 Spring 2014 Underachievement (include homework)

Vol. 45, no. 2 Summer 2014 Creativity and gifted learning

Vol. 45, no. 3 Fall 2014 Visual & Performing Arts

Vol. 45, no. 4 winter 2014 nature and nurture of brain development

interestedinwritingforGEC?hereareourprojectedfeaturetopics.

GifTEd EdUCaTioN CommUNiCaTor: fUtUretheMes2011-2014

Name:laitinI elddiMtsriFtsaL

Preferred Mailing Address:

:ytnuoC .filaC: piZ / etatS / ytiC

:enohP derreferP :sserddA liaM-E ( ) School District:

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Please mail with check or charge information to:California Association for the Gifted, 9278 Madison Avenue, Orangevale, CA 95662Phone: 1-916-988-3999 e-mail: CAGO�[email protected] website: www.CAGifted.org

If you are not already a CAG member, please use the application below to become a continuing supporter of gifted education. CAG is active in lobbying e�orts to

promote appropriate education for gifted and talented students and assigns $5.00 of each membership to CAG/PAC, CAG’s Political Action Committee. Dues pay-

ments are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

M E M B E R S H I P A P P L I C A T I O N

California Foundation for Gifted Education was formed in July of 2006 to make a positive di�er-

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ment, scholarships, and gifted education projects. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation.

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