Teaching Gifted Children in Today's Preschool and Primary Classrooms
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Praise for Teaching Gifted Children in Today’s Preschool and Primary Classrooms “A wonderful new book that contains a vast amount of helpful, practical information for anyone interested in gifted education. It will serve as a great resource for teachers, administrators, counselors, and parents of young gifted students who want to learn new and innovative ways to spark imagination and learning.” — Patricia Hollingsworth, Ed.D., director, University School at the University of Tulsa “A ‘must have’ for every early childhood and primary teacher’s educational library. Through their collective wisdom and clear understanding of the needs of the whole gifted child, the authors provide a plethora of strategies . that any primary teacher could use the next day with his/her gifted and talented students.” — Julie A. Brua, Ed.D., assistant superintendent, Curriculum and Instruction; director of the Gifted and Talented Education Program for Aptakisic-Tripp School District No. 102, Illinois “I enthusiastically applaud this update of the already impressive original version. Teachers will find this book both a classic and an inspiration toward teaching with creativity and innovation in today’s classroom.” — Dina Brulles, Ph.D., director of Gifted Education, Paradise Valley Unified School District, Arizona “This engaging and informative book is filled with current information on meeting the needs of young children with gifts and talents. Practical strategies and examples are given for implementing the ideas . a must-have resource for educators and families.” — Mary Ruth Coleman, Ph.D., senior scientist, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill © 2015 Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. TEACHING Gifted Children IN TODAY’S Preschool AND Primary Classrooms Identifying, Nurturing, and Challenging Children Ages 4–9 Joan Franklin Smutny, M.A. Sally Yahnke Walker, Ph.D. Ellen I. Honeck, Ph.D. © 2015 Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2016 by Joan Franklin Smutny, Sally Yahnke Walker, and Ellen I. Honeck Copyright © 1997 by Joan Franklin Smutny, Sally Yahnke Walker, and Elizabeth A. Meckstroth All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Unless otherwise noted, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations or critical reviews. For more information, go to www.freespirit.com/permissions. Free Spirit, Free Spirit Publishing, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Free Spirit Publishing Inc. A complete listing of our logos and trademarks is available at www.freespirit.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Smutny, Joan F. author. [Teaching young gifted children in the regular classroom.] Teaching gifted children in today’s preschool and primary classrooms : identifying, nurturing, and challenging children ages 4–9 / by Joan Franklin Smutny, Sally Yahnke Walker, and Ellen I. Honeck. pages cm Revised edition of : Teaching young gifted children in the regular classroom. 1997. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-63198-023-7 (soft cover) 1. Gifted children—Education (Preschool)—United States. 2. Gifted children—Education (Primary)—United States. 3. Gifted children—Education— Curricula—United States. 4. Gifted children—United States—Identification. 5. Early childhood education—Parent participation—United States. 6. Classroom management—United States. I. Walker, Sally Yahnke, 1942– author. II. Honeck, Ellen I., author. III. Title. LC3993.218.S68 2016 371.95—dc23 2015025978 Free Spirit Publishing does not have control over or assume responsibility for author or third-party websites and their content. At the time of this book’s publication, all facts and figures cited within are the most current available. All telephone numbers, addresses, and website URLs are accurate and active; all publications, organizations, websites, and other resources exist as described in this book; and all have been verified as of July 2015. If you find an error or believe that a resource listed here is not as described, please contact Free Spirit Publishing. Parents, teachers, and other adults: We strongly urge you to monitor children’s use of the Internet. Permission is granted for individual teachers to reproduce the pages included in the “List of Reproducible Pages” (page viii) for individual, classroom, or small group work only. For other uses, contact www.freespirit.com/permissions. Edited by Christine Zuchora-Walske, Marjorie Lisovskis, and Pamela Espeland Cover illustrations by Jackie Stafford; Cover design by Michelle Lee Lagerroos; Interior design by Colleen Rollins; Interior production by Emily Dyer Photo Credits: page 6, © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com; page 25, © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com; page 41, © Robert Kneschke | Dreamstime.com; page 57, © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com; page 80, © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com; page 96, Anna Baburkina | Dreamstime.com; page 113, © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com; page 133, © Petro | Dreamstime.com; page 142, © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com; page 154, © Andres Rodriguez | Dreamstime.com; page 173, © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America Free Spirit Publishing Inc. 6325 Sandburg Road, Suite 100 Golden Valley, MN 55427-3629 (612) 338-2068 [email protected] www.freespirit.com Free Spirit offers competitive pricing. Contact [email protected] for pricing information on multiple quantity purchases. © 2015 Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. Dedication To all the teachers and families who shared their lives so generously with us and inspired this revision. And to all the young gifted children in our classrooms and homes who hunger for new discovery and creative challenge. Acknowledgments We would like to acknowledge the extraordinary support and expertise shown by Margie Lisovskis, Christine Zuchora-Walske, and many others on the edito- rial and production staff at Free Spirit Publishing. Their careful guidance and meticulous attention to detail were critically important in the process of revising this book. For their many kindnesses, we cannot thank them enough. We also wish to thank Sarah von Fremd for her invaluable assistance in the evolution of this new edition. © 2015 Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. Contents List of Tables and Figures � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �viii Chapter 5 Promoting Imagination in the List of Reproducible Pages � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �viii Language Arts Curriculum � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �80 Introduction � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 Creative Learning as a Link to Creativity and a Sense of Wonder . 1 Imaginative Thinking . 80 Teaching Young Gifted Children in a A Map of Imaginative Activities ����������������������������������������� 83 Standards-Driven Era ����������������������������������������������������������� 2 Sharing Creativity with Others ������������������������������������������� 94 About This Book . 3 Questions and Answers ������������������������������������������������������� 94 Chapter 1 Conclusion . 95 Identifying the Young Gifted Child � � � � � � � � � � � 6 Chapter 6 On Being a Pioneer Teacher ������������������������������������������������� 6 Promoting Discovery and Higher-Level Getting to Know Your Students . 9 Thinking in Math and Science � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 96 Enlisting Parents as Colleagues . 14 Creative Learning as a Link to What About Testing? ����������������������������������������������������������� 15 Higher-Level Conceptual Thinking ����������������������������������� 97 Questions and Answers ������������������������������������������������������� 16 Discovering Properties . 98 Conclusion . 17 Discovering Processes . .105 Chapter 2 Questions and Answers �����������������������������������������������������111 Creating the Learning Environment � � � � � � � � � 25 Conclusion . .112 Why Is the Environment Important? ������������������������������� 25 Chapter 7 The Challenge of Designing Your Classroom .........25 Assessing and Documenting Responding to Children’s Needs. 29 Development � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 113 Making Every Child Feel Welcome and Valued ��������������� 32 The Assessment Conundrum �������������������������������������������113 Questions and Answers ������������������������������������������������������� 38 IQ Testing . .116 Conclusion . 39 Using Portfolios to Document and Chapter 3 Evaluate Progress ................................120 Planning Curriculum and Documenting Development Through Observations . .122 Extending Learning � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 41 Questions and Answers �����������������������������������������������������123 Time and the Gifted Child: A Banking Metaphor ����������� 41 Conclusion . .123 Extending Curriculum for Young Children Chapter 8 Working in Groups . 43 Flexible Grouping to Help All Extending Curriculum for Young Children Children Learn � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 133 Working Independently. 45 Grouping for Learning �������������������������������������������������������133 Documenting Mastery and Planning Extensions . 47 Drawbacks of Traditional