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After school schedule coming soon...check back here soon for dates at Carlson Elementary (Thursday) and King-Murphy (Monday) This year's  themes are: Super Scientists, Creative Pursuits, Math Olympians, & CC Detectives.

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Mt. Evans BOCES

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Time Management and Organization

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December, 2019 Padlet: Student Opportunities

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December, 2019 Padlet: Student Opportunities

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October, 2019 Padlet: College and Career  Ready

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October, 2019 Padlet: College and Career  Ready

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A collection of resources for students on how to be a great leader.

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Quarter 2 2019-2020

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Quarter 2  2019-2020 Gifted Education Newsletter

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Quarter 1  2019-2020 Gifted Education Newsletter

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This link too-- https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/

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NASA encourages you to visit NASA Kids' Club and use its games and activities to inspire the next generation.

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I've told you before how my son is hoping to be an architect when he grows up. From what I've been told it's a difficult career to get started in and the collegiate program is both difficult to enroll in and challenging to say the least. But, I'm a firm believer in the " If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." mentality.
This post contains affiliate links to 3rd party sites where products purchased may result in paid compensation to this blogger.

He's certainly set his mind to it, as he hasn't wavered from this particular desire for many years now. So as he heads into his high school years next year I want to ensure he's been given a good architectural engineering foundation, pun intended, as possible. Which is going to mean lots of math, science and physics. Which just happen to be his favorites.

I'm pulling together a listing of resources not only so I'll have a handy place to come back to time and again, but so that you too will be able to find learning resources for engineering minded kids.

Must Have Architectural Engineering Books - 8

Architectural Websites for Kids to Explore

1. Arch for Kids

2. Architecture is Fun

3. CUBE - Center for Understanding the Built Environment

4. KidSearch - Wiki - Architecture

5. Kids Think Design - Architecture

6. Science & Kids - Structure Images

10 Architects to Study

Free Cad and Drawing Programs

1. 3D Slash App - A free PC download, but you do need to register.
3D Slash Web Version - Free use, but there are more limitations due to web browser functionality than the app.

2. 3D Tin - Afree use, web based program, all you need is Google Chrome or Firefox with WebGL support

3. Blender - A free open source, 3D creation software.

4. FreeCAD - an open source, customizable, parametric 3D modeler.

5. Gimp - (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) a free software downloadable open source image editor.

6. Inkscape - a free downloadable vector graphics editor.

7. Kerkythea - a freeware software that allows you to produce

8. Sketchboard - free download, sketch oriented cad program.

9. SketchUp - Choose SketchUp Make for Educational Purposes, a free download.

10. TinkerCad - a free online browser based 3D Design and modeling tool.

Architectural Engineering Building Toys & Games

I'm a firm believer in learning through play. I think the more hands on a person can be the more they'll learn how to use, create and adapt. Through play children learn to not be afraid to try new things. They aren't afraid of failure when the goal is fun. As such, I offer you these options to introduce your children to concepts in architecture as well as some options for older kids to explore in a hands on way.

For Teens

Curriculum & Activities for Architectural Engineering

1. American Institute of Architects - Triangle, Architects in the Classroom

2. ArKIDecture Lessons for Kids

3. Architecture & Structures - Pitsco Education

4. Architecture! It's Elementary Lesson Plans

5. Building Architectural Models

6. Discovery Kids - Amazing Skyscrapers

7. Frank Lloyd Wright Education

8. FUPA Architecture Games

9. Earthquake-Proof Engineering for Skyscrapers

10. Learn 4 Good - Building Games & Construction Simulation Games

11. PBS Building Big

12. Squaring the Circle: Geometry in Art and Architecture (Mathematics Across the Curriculum)

13. Teach Children Well - Architecture

14. Castle Lesson Plans (Blick Art)

Architectural Engineering Videos

1. A Master Architect asks, Now What?

2. Ancient Roman Architecture

3. Architecture Size Comparison, 3D

4. Building Foam Board Models

5. Citibloks Construction

6. DIY Cardboard House

7. Popsicle Stick Mansion

8. Gothic Architecture

9. How to Build a Wooden Model House

10. Introduction to Greek Architecture

11. Keva Plank Construction

12. Modern Architectural Building

13. Paper House

14. Skyhouse, An Architect's Version

15. Why Buildings of the Future will be Shaped by You

16. Sketches of Frank Gehry

17. Great Minds of Design

18. Most Famous Buildings in the World

19. Tallest Building Concept Never Built

Architectural Engineering Drawing Supplies

Of course the best way to build skill is through practice. Letting a child explore their interests can't get more simple than giving them the tools needed and then getting out of their way to let them explore their ideas. With pencil and paper a simple sketch can grow to a model which just might become the next most beautiful structure the world has ever seen.

I'll be the first to admit that I personally don't know a lot about architecture. I'm learning as I watch my son with fascination. I've developed a love for the beauty that exists in the geometric and design aspects of buildings. But, I can't for the life of me imagine how one goes from a mental concept to the incredible structures that are works of art. But, I also realize, it's not for me to know and understand those things. It's for those who have the kind of visionary minds to see beyond the page to what can become reality.

Do you have a child who sees structures forming in his/her head, then draws it with a few short geometric patterns? How do you help them to foster their interests?

I'm joining this post with the iHomeschool Network 100 Things post.
You may Also Like:

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100+ Architectural Engineering Resources for Smart Kids

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I've told you before how my son is hoping to be an architect when he grows up. From what I've been told it's a difficult career to get started in and the collegiate program is both difficult to enroll in and challenging to say the least.

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https://enjoy-teaching.com/fun-mystery-activities-kids/
https://allesl.com/detective-activities/

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These detective activities for kids are ideal for children who enjoy a good mystery story. The literary tradition is full of great sleuths like Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and the Hardy Boys. Immerse yourself in all of the fascinating aspects of a classic mystery with these indoor activities.

So get ready to peak around corners and over tabletops, write secret messages in invisible ink, and reinvent your favorite classic mystery story. You may also want to dress up as your favorite sleuth -- just to get yourself in the right frame of mind. And then, as Sherlock Holmes would say ... the game is afoot!
Secret Message-Making Activity
Try this secret message-making activity and write messages in secret ink for your closest friends and family.
Periscope Activity
Peak around corners and from behind tabletops with this periscope activity. The object is to see without being seen.
Mystery Story Activity
Do you enjoy a good mystery? If you do, then try this mystery story activity. You'll have so much fun creating new twists and turns for your favorite characters.

Or, you can jump right in and begin with our secret message-making activity on the next page. Continue reading to find out more.

For more fun activities and crafts, try:

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These detective activities for kids are ideal for children who enjoy a good mystery story. The literary tradition is full of great sleuths like Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and the Hardy Boys. Immerse yourself in all of the fascinating aspects of a classic mystery with these indoor activities.

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Strategies that support math fact fluency.

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National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.

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National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.

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These activities are designed to capture your curiosity and engage you in the scientific thinking process; while having fun! They are based on classic scientific discoveries; some dating back over 200 years. Scientists have used these activities to engage audiences around the world. They might not overwhelm you, but we predict you just might be whelmed!

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These activities are designed to capture your curiosity and engage you in the scientific thinking process; while having fun! They are based on classic scientific discoveries; some dating back over 200 years. Scientists have used these activities to engage audiences around the world. They might not overwhelm you, but we predict you just might be whelmed!

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Great Websites for Kids: Astronomy & Space

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Great Websites for Kids: Astronomy & Space

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Check out the listings for animals, arts, history/biographies, literature/language, social sciences, mathematics/computers, sciences, and the reference desk.

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Sponsored by the ASSOCIATION FOR LIBRARY SERVICE TO CHILDREN a division of the American Library Association

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The City X Project uses Stanford’s d.school Design Process to empower kids to be changemakers.

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Elementary School Science Fair Guide | Science Fair Project Ideas & Tips

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Science fair projects are activities that are both fun and educational for students. They can pick topics that pique their curiosity, test their hypotheses by creating their own experiments and learn how to use the scientific method - a practice used by professional scientists around the world.

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Forward Thinking Science- Science Fair Research 

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Forward Thinking Science- Science Fair Research 

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Energy sources are either renewable, meaning they can easily be replenished, or nonrenewable, meaning they draw on finite resources.

Learn more about renewable energy resources and how we can use nonrenewable energy sources more efficiently.

Visit the U.S. Energy Information Administration Energy Kids website and the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network for energy-related games and activities, educational resources for teachers, and more energy basics information.

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Energy sources are either renewable, meaning they can easily be replenished, or nonrenewable, meaning they draw on finite resources. Learn more about renewable energy resources and how we can use nonrenewable energy sources more efficiently. Visit the U.S.

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Do you have a talented young artist, photographer, designer, or illustrator in your life? It's never too early to start helping them get their work out there! We've rounded up the top art contests for kids and teens that can help these budding creators share their first masterpieces with the world. Best of all? Most of them are totally free to enter!

International Art Contests (Open To All Nationalities)

Age: 25 and under
Open to: Current students
Medium: Digital design

This is an awesome opportunity for newbie digital artists looking to showcase their creative skills. SpaceTime is on the hunt for youngsters to design themed posters ("thrive" was a recent prompt). Entries will be judged by international jurors on their execution of the theme, artistic merit, design, originality, technical excellence, and content.

Ages: 16 and under
Mediums: Drawing, painting

Global Canvas is all about the environment. (One recent theme? "Habitats for the world.") Launched by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, this art competition wants to inspire the next generation to be more mindful of how we take care of the earth. The judges are looking for artists to capture the weird and wonderful places that wildlife call home.

Ages: Four to 15
Mediums: Drawing, painting

Time to design a dream car! Toyota wants to get junior artists thinking about what the future of transportation might look like. Prizes at stake include cash and a chance to tour one of the Toyota manufacturing plants.

Ages: 10 to 14
Mediums: Drawing, painting

Kids 4 Human Rights has a great cause and wants to recruit some talented young artists to join. For this art contest, your creative kids can either draw or paint a picture showing what we can do to defend or promote human rights, a picture of a human rights defender who they admire, or a picture depicting a human right which they feel strongly about. Amazing!

Ages: Six to 17
Mediums: Drawing, painting

This art competition for kids runs all year long-and has no theme! The organization just wants the blossoming artists to draw whatever they feel like drawing, or paint whatever they feel like painting. Their one request is that the piece demonstrates the artist's originality and style.

Ages: 15 and under
Mediums: Drawing, painting

Advena World's art competition aims to promote creativity and self-expression. Instead of a theme, they ask the participating artists to simply express their feelings-anything from sadness or joy to anger or excitement-through their chosen medium,.

Ages: 14 and under
Mediums: Drawing, painting

Now, this is an interesting one: it blends the visual arts with aeronautics, encouraging burgeoning artists to innovate through artistry. Applicants are tasked with thinking about flight, and can expect skyward-related themes like "my dream to fly!"

Ages: All ages
Mediums: Painting, photography

Want a chance to win $3000 USD? This is one of the big-money options on our list. Embracing Our Differences is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on diversity. And what better way to bring people together than through art? A recent theme, for example, was "enriching lives through diversity and inclusion." Applicants are judged by a panel based on artistic excellence and originality.

Ages: 25 and under
Mediums: Drawing, painting

One of the most prestigious art competitions for kids on this list! Its goal is to promote the arts amongst young people all around the world; one recent theme was "traces and writings in history." With this competition, encourage your loved one to think broadly and really take the theme and run with it.

Ages: 13 to 19
Open to: All international applicants
Mediums: Painting, drawing, photography, mixed media, sculpture
Cost to enter: $5 USD

PYAA is all about expressing and celebrating progressive values. So, if there is a creative teen in your life who wants to do good in the world, sign them up for this art contest for teens. The prize is an art scholarship which they can put toward their post-secondary schooling.

Ages: 31 and under
Medium: Photography

This art contest is quite the opportunity for a fledgling photographer. It was started by The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) to aid in the development of up-and-coming documentary photographers and photojournalists. This one is most likely for mature teens only, as their themes can be a little on the edgier side; one recent one was "fearful futures."

Ages: 12 to 19
Mediums: Photography

The objective of this art contest for teens is to help beginner photographers take the next step in their careers. The WPO is looking for applicants to capture the essence of the theme word in a single image, whether it's a culture or an environment. One past theme? "Diversity." So there's lots of room for interpretation!

United States Art Contests

Ages: 12 and under
Open to: US applicants
Mediums: Drawing or painting

The rookie artist in your life now has a chance to get their work on the cover (!) of U.S. Kids Magazine. This publication is for artistic children and aims to make learning fun. Their annual art contest for kids encourages grade-schoolers to get those creative juices flowing. One recent theme was "going places".

Ages: Five to 19
Open to: US applicants
Mediums: Drawing or painting
Cost to enter: $8 (USD)

Is the developing artist in your life also an animal lover? Encourage them to submit to the Ned Smith Center's Youth Art Contest, which wants to cultivate the next generation of wildlife artists. There are a fair number of rules for this contest, so make sure to review them with your applicant before they start creating.

United Kingdom Art Contests

Ages: Four to 19
Open to: Students in the UK
Mediums: Drawing or painting
Cost to enter: £2.00

The finalists' work for this art contest will be displayed at the 29th Young Art Exhibition at the Royal College of Art. All proceeds from the final exhibit will go toward cancer research in the UK. Themes like "the moment" are totally up to the interpretation of the young artist, so they can just grab that easel and have at it!

Ages: 16 and under
Open to: UK and Ireland applicants
Mediums: Painting or photography

Whether they're a painter, drawer, or burgeoning photographer, all kinds of wee artists are welcome in this green art competition (themes are along the lines of "the environment and the home"). Sponsored by Worcester and Bosch, it looks to foster eco-friendly thinking in our kids.

Ages: 15 or under
Open to: UK and Ireland applicants
Mediums: Drawing, painting, photography, installation, digital art
Cost to enter: £5

This art contest for kids looks to pave the way for the next generation of artists. Their mandate is to promote, improve, and advance the arts, while simultaneously encouraging youngsters to cultivate their artistic abilities and choose the artist's path. Hopefully winning this contest will set them on the right path!

Canada Art Contests

Ages: 30 and under
Open to: All eligible applicants from the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and PEI, and the territories of Nunavut and the Yukon
Medium: Drawing or painting

The Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) is on the lookout for budding artists to help raise awareness of health services available to young Canadians. Themes for this art competition are along the lines of "youth health and community," "community empowerment," and "community support." The winner could take home a cash prize of $1000!

Ages: Grades four through 12
Open to: All eligible applicants from the province of Ontario, Canada
Medium: Drawing or painting

The Ontario government is looking for little artists within the province to draw either a channel catfish or an Atlantic salmon. This is part of the government's efforts to help young Ontarians learn more about Ontario's native fish and their habitats. The rules and guidelines are pretty extensive, so make sure you go over everything with your artist before they start on their submission.
Want to help the kid or teen artist in your life create a head-turning art portfolio website? They can curate their work and design their website exactly the way they want it. Start a free trial with Format today!
Art competitions aren't just for kids! Check out some amazing prizes grownups can go for here:
The Best Fine Art Contests and Prizes
The Best Photography Contests and Prizes
The Best Design Contests and Prizes
The Best Illustration, Design and Art Contests for Students

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The Top 19 Art Contests for Kids and Teens

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Do you have a talented young artist, photographer, designer, or illustrator in your life? It's never too early to start helping them get their work out there! We've rounded up the top art contests for kids and teens that can help these budding creators share their first masterpieces with the world.

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NREL hosts car competitions for student-built solar- and battery-powered model vehicles. Middle school teams across Colorado are invited to participate in this fun, educational, and exciting event every May.

2020 Car Competition - Postponed

In close consultation with the U.S. Department of Energy, we have decided to postpone the middle school car competition due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). As with every event we hold, we place paramount importance on the health and safety of participants. Thank you for your commitment to this valuable educational activity and for your patience as we navigate the developing situation. We will follow up soon with additional information.

What Is the Middle School Car Competition?

Every year, teams of middle schoolers compete for the title of fastest car and best design. Goals of the program include:

Generating enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)

Improving students' understanding of scientific concepts and renewable energy technologies

Encouraging young people to consider technical careers at an early age.

Teams work together to build cars with guidance from a parent, teacher, or coach to compete in race and design categories. A Spirit Award is also presented to one team to recognize good sportsmanship.

Registration Requirements

Teams must be composed of two to four middle school (6th-8th grade) students from the same school.

Each team needs one coach associated with the students (teacher, coach, parent, etc.).

Each school may send up to four teams (two teams for solar-powered and two for battery-powered).

Download the Competition Rules
Solar-Powered Car Rules Electric Battery Car Rules
Resources and Supplies

From the suppliers listed here, you can order kits containing solar cell modules and electric motors, surplus motors, and gears. Download the kit and component supplier list PDF for solar- and Li-Ion battery-powered cars. (Note: This supplier list is not exhaustive.) Review the above competition rules for details on car specifications and required parts.

Li-Ion Battery Safety, Testing, and Compliance
Coach Compliance Form Material Safety Data Sheet Lithium Polymer Battery
Contact

For more information or questions about NREL's middle school car competition, contact NREL's Education Center, 303-275-3047.

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NREL hosts car competitions for student-built solar- and battery-powered model vehicles. Middle school teams across Colorado are invited to participate in this fun, educational, and exciting event every May. In close consultation with the U.S. Department of Energy, we have decided to postpone the middle school car competition due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

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So, you want to go on a treasure hunt?...

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So, you want to go on a treasure hunt?...

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Get the free Official Geocaching app and join the world's largest treasure hunt.

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There are millions of geocaches worldwide, just waiting for you to find them. There are probably even some within walking distance of where you are right now. Visit Geocaching.com to see just how many geocaches are nearby and to learn how to start finding them.

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National Geographic Competitions for Kids

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National Geographic Competitions for Kids

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Are you ready to win BIG? Then check out our awesome competitions for kids!

This is where you'll find our biggest, newest and craziest competitions. From terrific toys, brilliant book bundles, movie merch and much more, you'll find exciting new competitions for kids each and every month.

It's also where we host our super UK photo competition - where you could bag a dream trip to destinations such as Costa Rica and The Bahamas!

Wondering if you're one of our lucky winners? We'll be in touch via the email you used to register if you've won.

Good luck, gang!

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Competitions for kids! | National Geographic Kids

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Are you ready to win BIG? Then check out our awesome competitions for kids! From terrific toys & brilliant book bundles to movie merch & more - good luck!

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Researching book award contests can be overwhelming. I started with a Google search and spent hours drilling down into contest rules and requirements. My first book, Sunbelievable, was published by my own publishing company and therefore qualified as a "self-published" versus a print-on-demand "self-published" book. The distinction is important to keep in mind when sorting through submission guidelines.

The list below represents my first-hand knowledge and experience as an awards applicant, since I submitted both of my books - Sunbelievable and - to most of the contests. Each book received several awards, but I'm most proud of the IndieFab finalist award - nominated for best early reader picture book 2015. This was a huge surprise, following a terrific review from the prestigious Foreword Reviews.

I hope you'll find this list useful - it's one of my most read posts. Take a careful look at the contest links I've provided and select ones you think may be a good fit. And please do consider leaving a comment about your own book award contest experience!

2. The Moonbeam Children's Book Awards: http://www.moonbeamawards.com/ "Designed to honor the year's best children's books, authors and illustrators. The Moonbeam Awards program is open to authors, illustrators, and publishers of children's books written in English or Spanish and intended for the North American market. ISBNs are not required. Presented by Jenkins Group and Independent Publisher magazine, the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards are designed to bring increased recognition to exemplary children's books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading. Awards are given in 38 categories covering the full range of subjects, styles and age groups that children's books are written and published in today." Click here for information about the 2018 entry guidelines.

5. The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards: https://www.dragonflybookawards.com/ This contest is also sponsored by Story Monsters LLC (formerly Five Star Publications, Inc.). "The Royal Dragonfly Book Award contest honors excellence in all types of literature and book marketing, recognizing creativity and hard work for a comprehensive list of genres in 68 categories. A Royal Dragonfly Book Awards seal on your book's cover, marketing materials, or website tells readers and industry professionals they are reading a highly acclaimed publication. Contest winners garner instant credibility, attention from the media, and an opportunity to increase sales." Click here for more information about the awards and submission dates.

6. Cybils Children's and Young Adult Literary Blogger Awards: http://www.cybils.com/ "Our purpose is two-fold: Reward the children's and young adult authors (and illustrators, let's not forget them) whose books combine the highest literary merit and "kid" appeal. Foster a sense of community among bloggers who write about children's and YA literature, highlight our best reviewers (and shamelessly promote their blogs) and provide a forum for the similarly obsessed. You (and you can be anybody, even you) may nominate any book published in the contest year in English." Nominations open October 1 and close October 15 of each calendar year.

9. Next Generation Indie Book Awards®: http://www.indiebookawards.com/ This contest is open to independent authors and publishers worldwide who have a book written in English and released in 2016, 2017 or 2018 or with a 2016, 2017 or 2018 copyright date. Entries are being accepted for the 2018 contest. Click here for the submission guidelines.

10. Benjamin Franklin Awards™: http://ibpabenjaminfranklinawards.com/ This award "recognizes excellence in independent publishing. Publications, grouped by genre are judged on editorial and design merit by top practitioners in each field. Includes fifty-five categories recognizing excellence in both editorial and design, and is regarded as one of the highest national honors in small and independent publishing. The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards program is unique in that entrants receive direct feedback from decision makers in the industry." Click here for more information: deadlines are First Call from May 1 - September 30 and Second Call from October 1 - December 15 each year for titles published in that year.

12. The Rubery Book Award: http://www.ruberybookaward.com/ "The International Rubery Book Award is the longest established book award based in the UK for independent and self-published books. We receive entries from all over the world. The key to our success is having a keen eye for quality from distinguished and reputable judges. We pride ourselves on judging thoroughly which can certainly be seen in the quality of the books that have won over the years. This is an award to be proud of winning!" The 2018 International Rubery Book Award is now open for self-published and independently published books. Click here for information about submissions: the deadline is March 31, 2018.

13. Readers Choice Awards: https://www.tckpublishing.com/2017-readers-choice-awards/ "TCK Publishing recognizes indie, self-published, and traditionally published authors. Self-published and indie authors may submit one book in any of the given categories for no fee, with a limit of one free entry per author and per email address." Click here to enter the 2017 contest: the deadline is December 10, 2017. **Please note: I've just learned about this award and would appreciate feedback from anyone who applies. Thanks!

More award contests will be included as the list grows. I welcome your additions and suggestions!

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10 Children's Book Award Contests: A List for Self-published Authors - Story Quest Digital Art Education

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Just updated all content and added three new contests! Researching book award contests can be overwhelming. I started with a Google search and spent hours drilling down into contest rules and requirements. My first book, Sunbelievable, was published by my own publishing company and therefore qualified as a "self-published" versus a print-on-demand "self-published" book.

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Gifted and Talented Academic Competitions | Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

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Academic competitions are designed to inspire and enlighten. You can choose math, science, humanities, or multidisciplinary events. You might work on your own or as part of a team. Some competitions require you to answer rapid-fire questions in front of an audience, while others don't even require you to leave home.

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To Access the GT student, referral and evaluation page please contact Mrs. Lupinacci at heidi.lupinacci@ccsdre1.org for the password.

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Anxiety in Gifted Children: 3 Simple Steps Parents and Educators Can Take

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Anxiety in Gifted Children: 3 Simple Steps Parents and Educators Can Take

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Anxiety in Gifted Children: 3 Simple Steps Parents and Educators Can Take

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Gifted children and anxiety often seem to go hand in hand. Experiencing their world more intensely as well as having a more intuitive understanding of complex connections and interactions in their ...

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List of available print resources for parents of gifted and talented learners. Contact your Gifted Coordinator for check out procedures.

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A great resource for supporting students' affective needs.

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Reading Lists for High level Ready Readers

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Reading Lists for High level Ready Readers

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Need more to do after reading?

To help reader stay engaged while reading, we've compiled a variety of activities that can be done at home or in the classroom.

These activities are designed to get kids thinking critically and creatively about the books they read.
Elevate Your Reading

To encourage the joy of reading, the Foundation has developed the Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Program. Earn a commemorative certificate in recognition of your outstanding achievement and get an Excellence in Reading T-shirt, too!

The Mensa Foundation recognizes and encourages education, gifted youth, and lifelong learning through resources like the Mensa for Kids website and other programs for youth and those who support them. This program is open internationally to any and all readers under 18 years of age, their teachers, and librarians.

Acknowledging the value of the National Endowment for the Humanities' appreciation of classic literature for young people, the Mensa Foundation is providing a year-round challenge to kids of all ages based on the NEH's Summertime Favorites and Nonfiction Favorites reading lists, with some alterations.

To participate in the Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Program, follow these steps:

1. Select a list from the grade level bands listed below. Remember to read to the level of your ability or interest, regardless of your age or grade level.

2. Print the appropriate list and track each book you read by checking it off and recording the date it was read, along with a rating. Electronic signatures and check-offs are not permitted. The form must be completed by hand. We operate on the honor system, and we encourage honesty in this way.

3. Please submit the original form used, even if it is very messy. Copying the form over to make it neater may result in rejection of the form. We reserve the right to request additional confirmation of completion of the program and/or to refuse to grant recognition.

4. Once you've completed an entire list, both the reader and an adult will need to sign the list as verification and return it and the order form to the Mensa Foundation at the address provided. Once we've received your signed list and verified it, we'll send you a recognition certificate and T-shirt. Please allow 6 weeks for delivery.

5. You may use five nonfiction books to replace any five books from the same grade-level segment.

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Through the Excellence in Reading program, the Mensa Foundation offers gifted youth the opportunity to read a list of age-appropriate books and earn a certificate and free T-shirt. The books on each list are selected by librarians across the U.S.

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Don't lose track of what's due, when. Use a tool you like so you can keep on top of it all! :)

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NAGC- TIP Sheet- Asynchronous Development

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NAGC- TIP Sheet- Asynchronous Development

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NAGC- TIP Sheet- Talking with Your Child About Giftedness

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NAGC- TIP Sheet- Talking with Your Child About Giftedness

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4 Ways to Support Gifted Children with Anxiety

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4 Ways to Support Gifted Children with Anxiety

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We often associate anxiety with giftedness but whether there is a causal relationship is not definitive. Because gifted children experience the world intensely, they may show a heightened level of behaviors that are associated with anxiety. Children who are acutely aware of the world around them may develop anxiety over worrying about global and local problems, perfectionism in themselves, and general fears regarding situations out of their control.

A 2009 study from Hungary's Semmelweis University found an association between high academic performance, creativity, and the T/T genotype, a gene that's been linked to an increased risk of psychosis - all of which may help to explain why we often associate anxiety and stress with gifted children. Anxiety affects about 18% of Americans, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. Certainly, the care of mental health professional should be sought if anxiety issues are a concern at school or home. But, as parents and educators, we can be aware of behaviors that suggest anxiety is a problem and be aware of ways we can assist in reducing anxiety.

Here are just a few of the common ways that anxiety in gifted children might manifest:

Tension

Irritability

Separation from peers

Health complaints, seemingly to avoid situations or tasks

Changes in temperament or attitude

Unprompted or inappropriate outbursts, tantrums or withdrawal

Insomnia or excessive sleeping

Lack of enthusiasm or carelessness

Inability to concentrate, fidgeting and other "hyper" behavior

Persistent worrying

If your student is dealing with anxiety or stress, consider contacting a professional, and be aware of these potentially supportive suggestions:

1. Teach coping and relaxation skills such as deep breathing, muscle tension and relaxation, and practice techniques for overcoming fears.

2. Encourage positive social interactions by role playing social situations, teaching positive affirmations, and preparing students ahead of time for anticipated events and presentations.

3. Stimulate creativity to help students find tools for feeling successful, self-expressive, and stress-free. Encourage exploration in creative arts fields, teaching the skills of creative problem solving, modeling creative thinking and engaging in imaginative activities, and deferring judgment of the students' ideas and products.

4. As we do here at SIG, emphasize the dual importance of emotional well-being as well as cognitive excellence. Express feelings; engage in explorative extracurricular activities without pressure, and accept and love our children for just being themselves.

This post gives a very quick overview of a potentially complex and serious topic. Those adults experiencing intense levels of anxious behavior in children are encouraged to delve more deeply into this important topic or to seek the expertise of a mental health professional. If you have additional ideas you'd like to share with our readers, we encourage you to do so!

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4 Ways to Support Gifted Children with Anxiety

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We often associate anxiety with giftedness but whether there is a causal relationship is not definitive. Because gifted children experience the world intensely, they may show a heightened level of behaviors that are associated with anxiety.

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5 Tips for Helping Gifted Children Make Friends

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By Colleen Kessler. Making friends can be hard for any child, but for socially awkward gifted children or twice-exceptional kiddos, the challenge is only multiplied.

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The Procrastinator's Guide to the Galaxy,and Other Important Spots in the Universe

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The Procrastinator's Guide to the Galaxy,and Other Important Spots in the Universe

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A Procrastinator's Guide to the Galaxy is vitally important since otherwise few of them would ever get there, having left it to the last moment to find out where they are going. Oh, they have the general big picture. They are going somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse. It's just the details that escape them. Somehow Procrastinators fail to appreciate that it's a big universe out there, no matter how many times they are told. So, they never make a plan.

Procrastinators actually come from an alternate universe, one in which time is elastic. In their universe, time infinitely expands to allow them to complete things whenever they get to them. It also contracts allowing them to actually experience little pain from negative consequences. In this universe, there is always reward and never much punishment. Thus, they can play the day away, confident that they will be able to get that report finished before bedtime, and will suffer absolutely no agony in doing it. The Procrastinators Universe is a happy one.

When Procrastinators emigrated to Earth though, they found very different conditions. Time here is laid out in a linear sequence. Things take a long time to accomplish. Elasticity is different too. Instead of infinite expansion when there is a deadline, time instead speeds up. It also speeds up when there is anything fun happening. Time only slows down when something distasteful or negative is going on, like actually doing a report, or suffering a consequence for not doing a report. Naturally the Procrastinators took a long time to cotton onto this state of affairs. Sadly, they were unable to adjust because the Procrastinators' sense of time is built into their genes. So, while they were able to note that everyone else got their reports done on time, and handed in, the Procrastinators, despite massive efforts to become linear thinkers just could not do it. More unfortunately, there was no going back. They were stranded on Earth, having to live among the efficient people, and make the best of it. Worse still, they could intermarry with the Earth people. The gene was dominant, so a high percentage of children in succeeding generations of Procrastinators were also so afflicted. And so it is today.

People from the Procrastination Universe always put off what they should do today. They are both short sighted and long sighted. That means that they cannot give up the immediate pleasure of the moment to engage in work that would be useful later on. This is shortsighted. On the other hand, they can see the end point of a project, envision the whole thing and have great passion about the meaning of the project. Some are able to parlay their thoughts into new and useful insights. This is long sighted.

There are many ways in which the Procrastinators differ from more conventional Earthlings.They still believe that time is elastic. Because of their genetic endowment, they still feel like they live in a universe where time will infinitely expand to allow them to do the task required after they have spent all their time doing other things. Each time, they are surprised when time runs out. Some learn to work well at deadline. The pressure helps them organize their energy and overcome the time barrier. Then, they work quickly and well. However, they only can produce a first draft. Each time they tell themselves that if they had started earlier, they would have done a better job. Teachers and parents recognize this too. Unfortunately it is not easy to do a better job because doing so requires learning a whole new set of principles. In effect, the Procrastinator needs to set several deadlines and convince him or herself that they are the real ones and so can react with more energy. Teachers can help these students by actually setting smaller goals and mini-deadlines. Over time the teachers help the Procrastinators to modify their thinking so they meet these deadlines more or less accurately and begin to see how to break up big projects and tasks into smaller ones.

Procrastinators feel that details are less important than the vision they have formed of the whole. In fact, the details interfere with the vision so it is best not to focus too much on them. Details require a painful maneuver called attention shifting. Procrastinators have trouble shifting attention from one aspect to the next. Instead, they get fascinated by one detail and try to go further in exploring it. Thus, they also miss the main point of the project or task. These Procrastinators tend to do projects that are approximations of what was needed. Larry, for example, a 10 year old Procrastinator, turned in an original science fair project two days late. He just made the science fair, but he didn't have the required poster, and his report was sketchy. He had put all his time into a working model he had developed the final weekend. He received a grade of "C" and was outraged, especially when the winner of the science fair had a mundane project that was not original but had all the required parts.

It would have helped Larry to have worked with an adult who could have added some structure to his work on the project. Another thing that might help Larry would be to have him complete the project even though he was late, and allow him to improve his grade by doing so. Getting a "C" did not teach Larry what he needed to know: how to divide his time to get all the parts done.

Procrastinators have difficulty sustaining attention for any period of time on material that is not fascinating. Doing an ordinary, mundane task, like taking out the trash, is not fascinating so it isn't done until the deadline: bedtime, or as the trash people are already coming down the block. Because they are big picture people, Procrastinators need to find unique ways to stop themselves and remember to do small, mundane, but necessary tasks. In these days of hand help computers and calenders, making lists of such chores is easier than it used to be. Also, Procrastinators are more likely to look at their mechanical calender than to check a paper and pencil list. Procrastinators like technology because it is stimulating and they are good at figuring it out.

Procrastinators feel negative vibes from projects that ordinary Earth people can tolerate, and even find pleasurable. To the Procrastinators, the negative vibes come from the task like an evil miasma. It takes so much effort to overcome the negative vibes, and focus on the task that even when it is done, there is little satisfaction in it. All Procrastinators feel is relief that it is over. Other people feel rewarded by the combination of using skills and meeting a challenge. The accomplishment of the goal is rewarding and pleasurable. Because painful effects come from doing the task for the Procrastinators, the consequences of not doing the task are much less painful. There is a nagging guilt, or a sense of impending doom when the moment of judgment comes, but these are so much less painful than the negative vibes of doing unstimulating tasks, that Procrastinators never learn from their mistakes. Consequences rarely teach them anything positive.

Dealing with the negative vibes that emanate from unstimulating tasks is very difficult because ordinary Earth people do not feel them. It seems to the ordinary people that the Procrastinators are blaming the task for being unpleasant instead of themselves for not getting it done and over with. Ordinary Earth people have absolutely no appreciation for how bad the actual doing of unpleasant tasks feels. Some of them, in fact, try to convince Procrastinators that the tasks aren't so bad, and even are "fun". Maybe they are to Earth people...

Sometimes, it helps Procrastinators if the task is changed in some way. Giving them some choice about how and when to do it in a short time frame can decrease the negative vibes. Making the task more of a game or more of a challenge can also help. Procrastinators love novelty, so if a novel aspect can be introduced, they may respond. For some tasks though Procrastinators need support and structure to learn to get through the negative vibes. Lisa, for example, hated doing homework and put it off as long as possible. Her homework was somewhat boring, but it also felt extremely negative to her. When she thought about doing the social studies questions she actually felt sick to her stomach. Math, on the other hand wasn't so bad. It was more like a puzzle which she liked doing. She could convince herself that math answers were like murder mysteries, and so she could try to find out who did it. The social studies questions though required that she look for the information in the book, and write out a whole sentence or more. Some required her to think up an original answer or to find information in two different sections These made her feel like throwing up. So, she rarely did any social studies questions. It would be have most helpful to Lisa if she had a different type of social studies, more hands on and visual, without the need for integrating all that information in written form. Over time, Lisa could be taught to dictate answers that incorporated opinions and facts. Having a different type and less homework might have helped Lisa to procrastinate less because it would not have felt so negative to her.

Some Procrastinators do not do tasks unless they want to, that is, only certain tasks feel rewarding and those are the ones they will do. These people have tried to eliminate the negative vibes of tasks by not doing them. Other Procrastinators feel so anxious about the task: getting it done, doing it well enough, dealing with the obstacles, that they are overwhelmed by anxiety. This also keeps them paralyzed from action, and they do not do the task. Instead they worry, or do a lot of other things to use as an excuse, "Well, I didn't get the room cleaned up, but see I did all this other stuff, so I really am not lazy or anything." Anxious Procrastinators worry secretly that they are not good enough, that they will fail to measure up, and so they don't try unless they are absolutely sure they can do the task. This type of Procrastinator only wants to do easy, short tasks that require little effort and little organization. Then they feel less overwhelmed, less afraid and can try.

Anxious Procrastinators may also be perfectionists. They want to do short, easily accomplished tasks perfectly to reassure themselves that they are in control and are really smart. Look, after all, they just did a perfect paper. This sort of Procrastinator waits until the last moment to do the project, but then panics. He or she uses up so much emotional energy there isn't any left for the task. Then, this Procrastinator refuses to go to school or plays sick to stay home. Sometimes the tantrum that resulted from not enough time and panic actually does make the child sick. Given the reprieve of a day at home, they finish up and bring the project to school a day later, but perfectly done, and with a perfect excuse too. They were sick, so it took longer.

Helping an anxious Procrastinator requires that teachers and parents help decrease expectations by giving smaller goals and building up to the bigger end point. As with the time-is-elastic Procrastinators, introducing smaller deadlines and more structure is helpful. Parents also need to set limits on when tasks can be done. That is, they need to set a homework time, dividing it into ordinary homework time and project time. When the time is over, the child has to stop. Naturally this will bring tantrums at first, but eventually the Procrastinating child will get used to the structure and work more easily and well. Panic will decrease.

There are Procrastinators who put off certain tasks because they don't like them and refuse to do them. This is not a form of procrastination so much as defiance in a passive resistant form. It is easier to say "I forgot." than to admit one had no intention of ever doing the the task. It can be difficult to tell if a Procrastinator is really a refuser in disguise because many Procrastinators refuse tasks they cannot do. One clue is how the Procrastinators feel when the task is not done. If they feel guilty or upset, they are likely from the Procrastination Universe and need help. If they feel they outsmarted the adults, or that they shouldn't have to do things they don't like, they may be refusers.

People who came to us from the Procrastination Universe are special. They have many gifts they have given to humanity. For one thing, they allow us to understand the preciousness of the moment, and to see that we need not be productive and efficient all the time. They have also given us an appreciation of how time can feel different to different people. Some cultures on Earth have differing ways of thinking about time. It is not linear to everyone. Thus, those from the Procrastination Universe remind us to be tolerant and helpful. People from the Procrastination Universe are creative. They are apt to go off on an interesting tangent and see things in a new way just because they were not so overly focused on getting the job done. Indeed, if all we Earthlings ever did is finish jobs, we'd still be scurrying around in the mud, never having made any evolutionary advances. Change happens because of those who deviated from the accepted path, not because of the plodders.

Nevertheless, despite the advantages of Procrastination, it is a big problem when trying to live on a planet like Earth, especially in the United States. Because of that, people from the Procrastination Universe need a Guide Book so they can navigate the customs of our strange world where time is different, and things are done because someone said so. Maybe writing such a Guide Book will help us when we are the explorers into outer space, and we are the ones who have to adjust to strange ideas and customs.

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The Gifted Resource Center of New England

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A Procrastinator's Guide to the Galaxy is vitally important since otherwise few of them would ever get there, having left it to the last moment to find out where they are going. Oh, they have the general big picture. They are going somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse.

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Here are the most popular articles, listed by year. You can also: * [Check out my personal favorites here]( * [Crawl through the dusty ol' archives]( ### 2019 1

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Gifted Children and Sensitivity

Your gifted child may very well be both emotionally sensitive and intellectually sensitive; that is, acutely aware of everything in his environment and within himself.

Intellectual sensitivity refers to an openness to ideas, which allows your child to be receptive to his own imaginative creativity and that of others. Emotional and social sensitivity -- an acute awareness of other people and the environment -- allows a child to sense the emotional temperature in a room, heightened tension, for example.

Heightened emotional and social sensitivity affects your child's perception of expectations from peers, parents, and other adults, and may be accompanied by heightened vulnerability to criticism, suggestions, and emotional appeals from others. One problem is that well-meaning parents, relatives, friends, siblings, and teachers are often eager to add their own expectations to the bright child's own dreams, plans, and goals. Sometimes, the greater the child's talent, the greater the expectations and outside interference.

Keep in mind that although your child may be emotionally sensitive, it does not make him emotionally mature. His reactions and behavior to people and events may be age appropriate but seem immature when compared to his sophisticated intellectual and emotional awareness.

When we understand just how much gifted children absorb from every environment, we can support them in times of stress.

This quote from Pearl Buck helps me understand a gifted child's sensitivity.

"The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.

a touch is a blow,

a sound is a noise,

a misfortune is a tragedy,

a joy is an ecstasy,

a friend is a lover,

a lover is a god,

and failure is death.

Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - - - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating."
-Pearl Buck-

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Your gifted child may very well be both emotionally sensitive and intellectually sensitive; that is, acutely aware of everything in his environment and within himself. Intellectual sensitivity refers to an openness to ideas, which allows your child to be receptive to his own imaginative creativity and that of others.

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"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." You may recognize the words of Thoreau, the quintessential divergent thinker of the 19th century.

Every so often we hear about someone who has taken an extraordinary stand about a belief in the face of what would seem to be all common sense. Why would someone go to jail for a belief? Isn't it better to just go along with things and not cause trouble? After all, look what happened to Galileo.

Nurtured on tales about saints and heroes who gave up their lives for their beliefs, one might come to see that such people have exceptional passion and courage, and a very strong will. Dedication to the belief and what it represents may bring the courage to act on it. However, rarely do we wonder where the belief came from in the first place, and how it developed into a system of belief that is then acted on with such passion.

When an idea develops, it is counter to the status quo. For example, the ideas in the Declaration of Independence were radical thoughts for their time. They arose from extremely radical writings by Thomas Paine and the Sons of Liberty. These in turn, were based on writings of earlier philosophers. Today we accept these ideas as part of our heritage: they have become the status quo.

History is full of divergent thinkers. Thoreau and his unusual ideas about freedom and responsibility have yet to become the status quo, but the ideas of others have changed the very way we view reality. For example, while we view Thoreau as a divergent thinker, we might not think of Einstein in quite the same way. Yet, because of his thinking, fundamental tenets about the universe have changed. In his own way, Einstein was a much greater threat to the status quo than Thoreau could ever be.

Divergent thinkers come in both adult and child sizes. Some are obvious eccentrics, but others are so quiet that one would never suspect - until they share their opinion about something.

Divergent thinkers tend not to think first of the most commonplace response; many do not seem to understand how to conform. Often they start off thinking they are just like everyone else, but at some point discover this is not the case. This first awareness often occurs in school.

Divergent thinkers have a real preference for unusual, original and idiosyncratic responses. They are different in what they think about, and how they express this difference. Some can turn off the divergent thinking at times, but others cannot.

Divergent thinkers can be exceptionally creative. If the ability to think divergently is related to being creative, then all creative people are divergent thinkers, but not the other way around. It's the ability to direct the divergent ideas into something else that makes a person creative. Creativity is not just making something though. It can also be the process of enabling others to see one's vision of how things ought to be. All great philosophers are divergent thinkers, and many of those who protest injustice. What motivates the action taken to protest injustice though determines whether the divergent thinker turns out to be a Gandhi or a Unabomber.

People who are divergent thinkers are novel thinkers. This means that they do not first think of the common assumptions most others use in making decisions. Because they think differently, they act differently. What seems to be common-sense to most people does not seem so to the divergent thinker.

Being a divergent thinker irritates and upsets other people who often feel the divergent one should sit down and shut up, and wonder why he or she can't just be like everyone else. It does not occur to most people that the divergent thinker can't stop being divergent. In fact, it might not matter if he or she did sit down and shut up - everyone would still know how the divergent thinker felt. One cannot blend into a crowd if the crowd is so different from oneself that it is not camouflage. It's like trying to hide an elephant in a flock of chickens by telling the elephant to squat down and cluck a lot.

People have trouble with divergent thinkers because the essence of divergent thinking is rebellion. While we might admire the person who stands up for his or her beliefs to the government, who goes to work in a relief agency abroad and gives up the good life here, or who creates a wonderful piece of art, we rarely admire the divergent thinking child or adolescent who wants to say "No." Divergent thinkers cannot accept authority just because it exists, as other people do. They need to test it out for themselves, to find out if it is true. This does not mean a lifelong bad attitude about authority. Creative rebellion is not about confronting rules, but about confronting ideas. This distinction is difficult for most young people to make, so they challenge rules too.

It is particularly hard to be a divergent thinker when a child. While adults may value the finished creative product, they rarely value the rebellion necessary to create the product. Yet, to be original means looking beyond what is commonly accepted. Most adults, especially those in authority would rather divergent thinkers would turn it off except when creating in very circumscribed ways, for example for a set topic they have assigned.

Divergent thinking children have a number of particular learning problems that are rarely recognized. For one thing they are often immersion learners. This means that they learn best by immersing themselves in their passion and working only on that passion until it is done. They see ordinary tasks as interference with their creative time. For example, exceptionally talented young painters or writers often only want to paint or write and do nothing else. Homework is a waste of time to this sort of student.

The thoughts, impressions and feelings of divergent thinkers are interconnected. Some have trouble with organizing thoughts or starting a project just because they cannot set priorities since everything is interconnected. It appears to them as if there were no good starting place and that no one piece can be used without all other pieces. This makes step-by-step learning, the type of learning expected in most schools difficult for these young people. Since they cannot turn off their thinking to conform to the teacher's way of doing things, they are less apt to get good grades than other children even if they are extremely intelligent. In fact, step-by-step learning makes no sense to them, since the material, as presented, has no connection to other parts. In a regular school academic program, these elephant children feel as if they are being fed one blade of grass at a time. They never get enough to fill them up and starve to death as a result.

In addition, the divergent thinker in school, particularly in the upper grades, has trouble with analysis of material. Often this skill is taught in junior high and high school by having the student read a work and find the parts the teacher thinks are important or that the curriculum guide has selected as valuable. Divergent thinkers may be original in their analyses, but they do not come up with teacher approved insights. Many really do not see or understand what the teacher wants, and cannot produce it. Others may understand what the teacher wants but feel that they cannot give that answer because it is not honestly their own opinion. One of the problems for many such students is asking for their own opinion in contexts that really want a particular point of view for an answer.

Divergent thinking students may see different interconnections between the material and other material than does the teacher or classmates. Original ideas are labeled as "wrong" for these students. Some write papers based on these wrong opinions or go off on interesting tangents. They then find themselves marked down for not keeping to the point. To the student it comes to feel as if no one values the true feelings or thoughts and that no matter what education is supposed to be, only "right" answers count. To them the most valuable parts of themselves do not count, are not valued and are actively criticized.

The divergent thinker is a unique self. If he or she can find value in uniqueness, and some tolerance from society, a strong sense of self can develop. In fact, if we consider a self/society dichotomy, the more a divergent thinker a person is, the more likely he or she is to find a unique self. Unfortunately also, the more likely he or she is to have to hide it. Because of the way society views conformity, girls who are highly divergent and creative are often at special risk for social censure and isolation. Many retreat into books, or develop a "thorny" exterior in order to hide their vulnerability to social rejection.

Children who are extreme divergent thinkers tend to have emotional issues related to feeling different. Both self image and interconnectedness to others can be problematic. These children can feel entirely alone, with no one to understand them, and they are at risk for depression and other emotional disturbances.

The goal of parents, teachers, and counselors is to help the child find some validation for the different self, while helping him or her to learn how to handle living in a less than appreciative world. Since, to the child, the ideas they have, their feelings, and what they can do are the unique self, valuing these as well as the child, means the child feels wholly valued. This valuing helps the divergently thinking child to feel connected to at least some other people, so that he or she feels sometimes understood, and not entirely alone. Even children can face great rejection and stress if they feel that there is at least one person who truly cares about them.

The long term task for divergent thinkers is to find a work to love, to develop a sense of self that the person can like and trust even if few others do, and to find some sources of validation that do not depend on conformity to an outside standard. To find and mold a suitable home and school environment, that nurtures the person as well as the talents, is an important goal for these children.

It is not easy to be a divergent thinker in a conformist society. But thorns and all, the divergent thinkers are the ones who cause change to occur. We need their ideas and their passion, but it is up to us what use we make of them. Divergent thinkers can give us the keys to the universe, and the keys to world destruction. What is done with either is up to the status quo.

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The Gifted Resource Center of New England

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"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." You may recognize the words of Thoreau, the quintessential divergent thinker of the 19th century.

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Nurturing Gifted and Talented Children- A parent-teacher partnership

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Nurturing Gifted and Talented Children- A parent-teacher partnership

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There are a number of reasons for considering gifted children with AD/HD. The dual exceptionality of being both gifted, and AD/HD, often means that such children are not recognized as having either exceptionality, and thus, their needs for an appropriate education are not met. AD/HD, in this paper, refers to the mixed type, those children with symptoms of both inattention, and hyperactivity. AD/HD is considered to be a deficit in ability to inhibit responding with consequent deficits in self regulation and self monitoring of behavior. The underlying deficit in AD/HD is hypothesized to be biological, and based on differences in neurotransmitter regulation of dopamine. Most affected are the areas of the brain that deal with the executive functions, that is the ability to regulate, modulate, produce on demand, organize, and sustain focus.

Giftedness, for the purpose of this paper, is defined as an IQ of 120+ or outstanding achievement in one or more academic areas. However, it should be noted that some children with full scale IQs in the average range may also be gifted but AD/HD can decrease some scores enough that giftedness may not be readily expressed in this way, especially in older children with years of failure behind them.

Gifted children with AD/HD differ from more average children with AD/HD in a number of ways that impact assessment of both giftedness and AD/HD, and which affect planning and treatment for these children. Based on years of assessments of several hundred gifted children with AD/HD at the Gifted Resource Center of New England, data have been collected on both an anecdotal and more formal basis. Anecdotal data have led to conclusions about the social, emotional and cognitive status of gifted children with AD/HD. More formal data explore how these children differ from other gifted children and from average children with AD/HD on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and on neuropsychological assessments (Lovecky, 1999).

Gifted Children with AD/HD Differ from Average Children with AD/HD in Cognitive, Social and Emotional Variables

On tests of intelligence and achievement, gifted children with AD/HD, mixed type, show a greater degree of inter- and intra-test variability. They miss many easier items and are correct on much more difficult items. They have greater amounts of scatter with performance usually ranging from average to highly gifted. In addition, highly gifted children (IQ 150+), particularly those who are mathematically gifted, are so adept at recalling, using and hearing numbers that arithmetic and digit span subtests may be among their highest scores. For these children, the freedom from distractibility factor of the WISC-III scale simply does not measure the problems they do have with sequential processing. Thus psychologists who rely exclusively on the Wechsler tests to determine AD/HD patterns will miss many gifted children (Lovecky & Silverman, 1998).

The gifted AD/HD child is also likely to show higher level functioning in at least one subject area. Abstract reasoning ability in particular is often well developed and in advance of other more basic skill levels.

Gifted children with AD/HD, while deficient in many of the supporting work skills needed to succeed in school (note taking, outlining, organization of ideas, writing skills), are often more proficient at learning things rapidly than age peers. Compared with age peers with AD/HD, these gifted children also exhibit more mature use of metacognitive strategies such as grouping by category, using mnemonic devices, using recall of one thing to trigger another, organizing by pattern or spatial characteristics. What gifted children with AD/HD have trouble doing, compared to other gifted children, is using these strategies as efficiently. They know them; they forget to use them. When they remember to use these strategies, their work is outstanding. When they forget, their work quality drops. This produces some of the variability seen across tasks and on different days with gifted children with AD/HD.

Gifted children with AD/HD may also differ from more average children in the greater degree of asynchrony (differences in degree of development across cognitive, social and emotional areas compared to age and IQ) they show. They may behave less maturely than average peers some of the time, but more maturely at other times, for example, making airplane noises in school at age 7 and 8, but on the other hand, having advanced ideas about how to play complex games. They also can be far more emotional than age peers with AD/HD. Sensitivity is an important aspect of giftedness, and gifted children with AD/HD show their sensitivity in awareness of the external environment, internal states and feelings, projective identification with aspects of their field of interest, in empathy and compassion for others and in passionate feelings for people and causes. When feelings are negative, gifted children with AD/HD can become overwhelmed by worries that would never occur to the more average child.

Gifted children with AD/HD often have more specialized interests than age peers, and perform similar activities in more complex ways. Gifted children with AD/HD need and like more complexity than age peers, and seek it out in activities and interests. Interests may be pursued over a number of years and to an intense degree. Some also pursue many activities over the course of years, and become proficient in several diverse areas of accomplishment.

Friendships tend to reflect both the giftedness and the AD/HD of the child. These children have advanced needs for complexity in friendships, want to share complex interests, and have more advanced understanding of rules, games and strategies than age peers; however, they also exhibit deficits in social behavior, misreading social cues and showing poor timing and lack of understanding of group goals and group dynamics. Often concerns about fairness are paramount and reflect the gifted children's advanced moral reasoning ability, while immature emotional development is shown in the children's inability to act on these same moral issues. Thus, the child insists on fairness in game rules, until he or she starts to lose. Then fairness becomes less salient than winning.

Gifted Children with AD/HD Differ from Other Gifted Children

These children show a greater degree of asynchrony among cognitive, social and emotional areas of development, and much greater variation in their ability to act maturely. Cognitive deficits, compared to other gifted children, are shown in less ability to think sequentially, to use working memory adequately, to solve problems using part to whole relationships, and to reason inductively especially since they have trouble picking out the main or salient feature among data. Gifted children with AD/HD, compared to gifted peers, complete less work, tend to try to hurry through it, often change topics on projects, or take inordinately long to complete simple exercises. They find it particularly difficult to work in groups, even groups of gifted children. Gifted children with AD/HD also find completing tasks less rewarding than do other gifted children, that is, for many, the intrinsic reward of completion is not as satisfying to them. On the other hand, when working on a self-chosen activity, gifted children, with and without AD/HD, are able to immerse themselves in the task and work for long hours without much external reinforcement. This ability to hyperfocus, the falling into "flow" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996), is what makes creative work so satisfying to so many gifted children, whatever their other problems.

In terms of social and emotional development, gifted children with AD/HD tend to show more difficulty with self-control and self-monitoring of behavior, less ability to judge situations for their salient features, less ability to predict cause and effect in behavioral situations and difficulty inhibiting action.

Assessment of Gifted Children Needs to Be Done by Those Knowledgeable About Both Giftedness and AD/HD

Misdiagnosis of AD/HD can occur in two directions. Highly energetic gifted children can be seen as AD/HD, and some gifted children who can concentrate for long periods of time on areas of interest may not be seen as AD/HD even when they are. Thus, knowledge about what is giftedness and what is AD/HD is vital in assessing AD/HD, and in ensuring that gifted children are not misdiagnosed. This is particularly the case for those children who are very inappropriately placed academically and who receive little academic stimulation (Baum, Olenchak, & Owen, 1998). For many gifted children with mild AD/HD, a stimulating school environment coupled with small classes will significantly decrease symptoms of AD/HD (Hartmann, 1996). In fact, for some children with very mild AD/HD, the stimulation of a specialized gifted class may help them organize their energy significantly. These children can utilize the stimulation of the class, with their own abilities to hyperfocus, well enough so that they can achieve impressive results. Many of these children have the ability to self-reflect on their own behavior, something more severely affected AD/HD children do not have. This reflection can allow mild AD/HD gifted children to compensate for deficit areas while using their AD/HD abilities to their advantage.

Children with AD/HD symptoms at moderate to severe levels are unlikely to be helped enough if the only intervention is changing classroom parameters to more meet their stimulation needs. AD/HD is not only a school problem. It often affects social and emotional areas as well. Children may need multiple interventions in all of these areas in order to function better. This is particularly the case for those AD/HD gifted children whose asynchrony is much greater than that of other gifted students, because the ability to meet demands across a variety of situations is diminished by the greater asynchrony. Changing the school environment then is necessary, but not sufficient for gifted children with moderate to severe AD/HD. It is also not sufficient to meet the needs of even mildly affected children who lack the skills to learn compensatory mechanisms themselves. Often these are students whose AD/HD will show as more involved than previously thought as the demands of academic requirements increase.

In assessing AD/HD, gifted children need to be compared to gifted peers in a stimulating environment rather than average children in regular classes. Checklists and teacher observations need to be considered in the context of the type of classroom in which the child is placed. Thus, a profile of strengths and weaknesses needs to be collected from various sources including home, school and other activities. These then should be compared to the children's own mean, rather than to absolute age norms. Deficit areas of gifted children with AD/HD can be overlooked if only age norms are used as a measure of ability or achievement. This applies also to tests of executive functions, memory and processing when used to determine areas of strength and weakness. Furthermore, intelligence should not just be based on the Wechsler scores. Use of the Stanford-Binet LM as a supplementary test should be considered when two or more verbal subtests of the Wechsler are in the SS 17+ range. Use of the Stanford-Binet LM in this manner provides a better estimate of intellectual potential since the Wechsler test may have too low a ceiling for some gifted children (Silverman & Kearney, 1992). The Stanford-Binet V, when available, will provide a better assessment of strengths and weaknesses of gifted children in general.

Recommendations About IEP or 504 Planning Need to Consider Both the AD/HD Problems and the Effect of Being Gifted

School programs need to consider both strengths and weaknesses, and work to provide environments that maximize stimulation and interest at the appropriate level for children. This is because gifted children with AD/HD have underlying deficits in executive functions that require intervention, but accommodations needed will be different from those recommended for more average children with AD/HD. A good example is acceleration. Gifted children with AD/HD may need acceleration at the same time that they need to learn metacognitive skills that will support the higher level of functioning required. Thus, they will need a differentiated program, not just placement in an advanced class. Gifted children without AD/HD may pick up the support skills quickly, can skip ahead and keep up with older students. Average children with AD/HD will not need this kind of accommodation but may need resource help to build skills to function in the regular classroom doing the regular work.

Gifted children with AD/HD will need academic programs that allow them to go ahead in areas of strength while building on weaker areas. They may need to be specifically taught study and organizational skills, in the context of higher level work, that gifted peers acquire without difficulty. Also, gifted children with AD/HD need access to mentors to work in areas of strength. Without work that meets their cognitive needs for stimulation and complexity, gifted children with AD/HD develop less ability to focus and sustain attention, poorer work habits and less advanced achievement. They also may lose their interest in learning and develop behavioral and emotional problems secondary to their lack of investment in achievement. Thus, working with gifted children with AD/HD requires a team approach in which specialists with expertise in both giftedness and AD/HD pool resources to meet these children's unique needs.

References

Baum, S.M., Olenchak, F.R., & Owen, S. V. (1998). Gifted students with attention deficits: Fact or fiction? Or, can we see the forest for the trees. Gifted Child Quarterly, 42, 96-104.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper Collins.

Hartmann, T. (1996). Beyond ADD: Hunting for reasons in the past and present. Green Valley, CA: Underwood Books.

Lovecky, D. V. (1999). Gifted children with AD/HD. Presented at the 11th Annual CHADD International Conference, October 8, 1999, Washington, DC.

Lovecky, D.V. & Silverman, L.K. (1998). Gifted children with AD/HD. Paper presented to the Panel of the NIH Consensus Development Conference on Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Bethesda, MD, November 16-18,1998.

Silverman, L.K. & Kearney, K. (1992). The case for Stanford-Binet L-M as a supplemental test. Roeper Review, 15, 34-37.

Author Note: This article was published in a slightly different form as a handout in the Program of the CHADD 11th Annual CHADD International Conference, October 8, 1999, Washington, DC, pp. 162-167.

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The Gifted Resource Center of New England

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There are a number of reasons for considering gifted children with AD/HD. The dual exceptionality of being both gifted, and AD/HD, often means that such children are not recognized as having either exceptionality, and thus, their needs for an appropriate education are not met.

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Social Emotional Needs of the Gifted  Resources for Parents 

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Social Emotional Needs of the Gifted  Resources for Parents 

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Articles on parenting gifted, talented, and twice-exceptional kids, or being a GT/2E parent.

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The Gifted Parent Online: Totally Free Internet Tools for Parent Support & Advocacy

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The Gifted Parent Online: Totally Free Internet Tools for Parent Support & Advocacy

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The Gifted Parent Online: Totally Free Internet Tools for Parent Support & Advocacy

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©2008 C. Kottmeyer & K. Kearney The Gifted Parent Online: Totally Free Internet Tools for Parent Support & Advocacy By Carolyn Kottmeyer and Kathi Kearney ©20...

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Have a fast reader?

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The Gifted Guru has Resources for Parents

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The Gifted Guru has Resources for Parents

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Parents of gifted kids tend to be information junkies. We want to know everything we can about how our kids think and how we can help them.

These resources are just a few suggestions for launching places. You could get an unofficial Ph.D. in giftedness if you read everything that was available (and maybe you want to!). If what you want is to know the fundamentals, this is where to start.

Of course I'd recommend my books:

I recommend a number of other books as well, including these:

Living with Intensity is the bible for those of us who know gifted kiddos or adults with intensities.

Susan Daniels and Michael Piechowskil edit this book on the often misunderstood issue of intensity in gifted children. If you buy one book for grandparents, this is the one. If you have a child who can't stand tags in clothes or seams in socks and feels everything more deeply than the average bear, this is the book for you.

This slim volume focuses on getting your gifted child's needs met. It is 80 pages of practical advice, and since it's so short, it's a great tool. Published by Prufrock, a leader in GT books, it has a companion volume specifically geared to secondary students.

This book is nearly 600 pages of fabulous. It is written for parents to help them guide their gifted children to books they may enjoy. You can select books by subject or area, and the annotations are thorough. A must have.

This book (a total bargain at less than fifteen bucks on Amazon) compiles years of top articles from NAGC's publication "Parenting for High Potential." It's a great reference book, but it can also just be read straight through. It's a thick book, and a good starting point.

Other Sources I recommend:

This page at the website of the Texas Association of the Gifted and Talented shares information from the Parent Division of TAGT, which has a nice list of resources.

Check out the movies suggestions with movies for and about gifted kids. You don't even have to feel guilty about vegging and watching them. Call it research!

If you have (and can prove it) a profoundly gifted child, then the Davidson Institute is a great resource for you. Their database is my favorite.

The MensaforKids site has parent resources (including my award-winning lesson plans that can be done without a teacher at home or at school), so check that out.

The National Association for Gifted Children and SENG (Social and Emotional Needs of the Gifted) are two must-belong organizations. SENG doesn't have a typical membership structure, but you can join local parent groups.

If you're homeschooling or have a child interested in the brain, check out Eric Chudler's wonderful neuroscienceforkids website. It's as amazing as he is!

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Parents of gifted kids tend to be information junkies. We want to know everything we can about how our kids think and how we can help them. These resources are just a few suggestions for launching places. You could get an unofficial Ph.D. in giftedness if you read everything that was available (and maybe you ...

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The NNAT-3 Test will be given to all Second Graders this year. The universal screener is given annually as a screening tool to assess students as a first step in potentially identifying gifted learners within the student population. More information will be shared with parents as the assessment approaches and afterwards.

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The Dimension of Depth and Complexity.
The Icons below are a visual framework that teachers can use with all students to build a deeper understanding of complex content by having them develop their higher order thinking and questioning skills through the use of the  dimensions of depth and complexity.
Ever thought about why technology changes over time, what the technology trends are, or about the unanswered questions you have about technology, or about ethics in technology? This is just one of a myriad of conversations that can come from a depth and complexity driven lesson. When we engage in content using different lenses, our thinking and understanding becomes deeper and more complex. Would you like to know more? Let Mrs. Lupiancci know.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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The Schoolwide Enrichment Model Executive Summary

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The Schoolwide Enrichment Model Executive Summary

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Joseph S. Renzulli and Sally M. Reis
University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA

Enrichment programs for gifted and talented students have been the true laboratories of the world's schools because they have presented ideal opportunities for testing new ideas and experimenting with potential solutions to long-standing educational problems. Programs for high potential students have been an especially fertile place for experimentation because such programs are not usually encumbered by prescribed curriculum guides or traditional methods of instruction. It was within the context of these programs that the thinking skills movement first took hold in American education, and the pioneering work of notable theorists such As Benjamin Bloom, Howard Gardner, and Robert Sternberg first gained the attention of the education community. Other developments that had their origins in special programs are currently being examined for general practice. These developments include: a focus on concept rather than skill learning, the use of interdisciplinary curriculum and theme-based studies, student portfolios, performance assessment, cross-grade grouping, alternative scheduling patterns, and perhaps most important, opportunities for students to exchange traditional roles as lesson-learners and doers-of-exercises for more challenging and demanding roles that require hands-on learning, first-hand investigations, and the application of knowledge and thinking skills to complex problems.

The Schoolwide Enrichment Model¹ (SEM) is a detailed blueprint for total school improvement that allows each school the flexibility to allow each school to develop its own unique programs based on local resources, student demographics, and school dynamics as well as faculty strengths and creativity. Although this research-based model is based on highly successful practices that originated in special programs for the gifted and talented students, its major goal is to promote both challenging and enjoyable high-end learning across a wide range of school types, levels and demographic differences. The idea is to create a repertoire of services that can be integrated in such a way to create "a rising tide lifts all ships" approach. This approach allows schools to develop a collaborative school culture that takes advantage of resources and appropriate decision-making opportunities to create meaningful, high-level and potentially creative opportunities for students to develop their talents. SEM suggests that educators should examine ways to make schools more inviting, friendly, and enjoyable places that encourage the full development of the learner instead of seeing students as a repository for information that will be assessed with the next round of standardized tests. Not only has this model been successful in addressing the problem of students who have been under-challenged but it also provides additional important learning paths for students who find success in more traditional learning environments.

The present reform initiatives in general education have created a more receptive atmosphere for enrichment approaches that challenge all students, and accordingly, the Enrichment Triad Model has evolved over the last 20 years based on the previous experiences and current changes in general education. The evolution of the Enrichment Triad Model will be described in this chapter as well as the newest adaptation of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model including a description of the school structures upon which the model is targeted and the three service delivery components.

The original Enrichment Triad Model (Renzulli, 1976) was developed in the mid-1970s and initially implemented by school districts primarily in Connecticut in the United States. The model, which was originally field tested in several districts, proved to be quite popular and requests from all over the United States for visitations to schools using the model and for information about how to implement the model increased. A book about the Enrichment Triad Model (Renzulli, 1977) was published, and more and more districts began asking for help in implementing this approach. It was at this point that a clear need was established for research about the effectiveness of the model and for practical procedures that could provide technical assistance for interested educators to help develop programs in their schools. We had become fascinated by the various kinds of programs being developed by different types of teachers. In some programs, for example, teachers consistently elicited high levels of creative productivity in students while others had few students who engaged. in this type of work. In some districts, many enrichment opportunities were regularly offered to students not formally identified for the program, while in other districts only identified 'gifted' students had access to enrichment experiences. We wondered how we could replicate the success of one teacher or one district in implementing the model. For example, if one teacher consistently produced high levels of creative productivity in students, how could we capture that technology and replicate it in other teachers? And if certain resources proved to be consequential in promoting desirable results, how could we make these resources available to larger numbers of teachers and students?

In the more than two decades since the Enrichment Triad Model has been used as the basis for many educational programs for gifted and talented students, an unusually large number of examples of creative productivity have occurred on the parts of young people whose educational experiences have been guided by this programming approach. Perhaps, like others involved in the development of theories and generalizations, we did not fully understand at the onset of our work the full implications of the model for encouraging and developing creative . productivity in young people. These implications relate most directly to teacher training, resource procurement and management, product evaluation, and other theoretical concerns (e.g. motivation, task commitment, self-efficacy) that probably would have gone unexamined, undeveloped, and unrefined without the favorable results that were reported to us by early implementers of the model. We became increasingly interested in how and why the model was working and how we could further expand the theoretical rationale underlying our work, and the population to which services could be provided. Thus, several years of conceptual analysis, practical experience, and an examination of the work of other theorists, has brought us to the point of tying together the material in this chapter, which represents approximately twenty years of field testing, research, evolution and dissemination.

In this chapter, an overview of the conception of giftedness upon which this model is based is presented, and a description of the original Enrichment Triad Model is provided as is a chronology of how the model has expanded and changed. Research about the model is presented as is a brief summary of research dealing with selected studies about student creative productivity. In the final section, new directions for the model are presented along with suggestions for future directions for research on creative productivity.
A Broadened Conception of Giftedness
The field of gifted education, like any other specialized area of study, represents a spectrum of ideologies that exists along a continuum ranging from conservative to liberal points of view. Conservative and liberal are not used here in their political connotations, but rather according to the degree of restrictiveness that is used in determining who is eligible for special programs and services.

Restrictiveness can be expressed in two ways; first, a definition can limit the number of specific performance areas that are considered in determining eligibility for special services. A conservative definition, for example, might limit eligibility to academic performance only, and exclude other areas such as music, art, drama, leadership, public speaking, social service, creative writing or skills in interpersonal relations. Second, a definition can limit the degree or level of excellence that one must attain by establishing extremely high cutoff points.

Although liberal definitions have the obvious advantage of expanding the conception of giftedness, they also open up two theoretical concerns by introducing: (1) a values issue (How do we operationally define broader conceptions of giftedness?) and (2) the age-old problem of subjectivity in measurement. In recent years the values issue has been largely resolved. Very few educators cling tenaciously to a 'straight IQ' or purely academic definition of giftedness. 'Multiple talent' and 'multiple criteria' are almost the bywords of the present-day gifted education movement, and most people have little difficulty in, accepting a definition that includes most areas of human activity which are manifested in socially useful forms of expression.

The problem of subjectivity in measurement is not as easily resolved. As the definition of giftedness is extended beyond those abilities that are clearly reflected in tests of intelligence, achievement, and academic aptitude, it becomes necessary to put less emphasis on precise estimates of performance and potential and more emphasis on the opinions of qualified persons in making decisions about admission to special programs. The crux of the issue boils down to a simple and yet very important question: How much of a trade-off are we willing to make on the objective to subjective continuum in order to allow recognition of a broader spectrum of human abilities? If some degree of subjectivity cannot be tolerated, then our definitions of giftedness and the resulting programs will logically be limited to abilities that can be measured only by objective tests.

It is generally accepted that intelligence is not a unitary concept, but rather there are many kinds of intelligence and therefore single definitions cannot be used to explain this multifaceted phenomenon (Neisser, 1979). The confusion and inconclusiveness about present theories of intelligence has led Sternberg (1984) and others to develop new models for explaining this complicated concept. Sternberg's 'triarchic' theory of human intelligence consists of three subtheories: a contextual subtheory, which relates intelligence to the external world of the individual; a two-facet experiential subtheory, which relates intelligence to both the external and internal worlds of the individual; and a componential subtheory, which relates intelligence to the internal world of the individual. Gardner (1983) proposed seven distinctive types of intelligent behavior which he called linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and the recently added naturalist intelligence.

In view of these recent works and numerous earlier cautions about the dangers of trying to describe intelligence through the use of single scores, it seems safe to conclude that this practice has been and always will be questionable. At the very least, attributes of intelligent behavior must be considered within the context of cultural and situational factors. Indeed, some of the most recent examinations have concluded that "[t]he concept of intelligence cannot be explicitly defined, not only because of the nature of intelligence but also because of the nature of concepts" (Neisser, 1979, p. 179).

There is no ideal way to measure intelligence and therefore we must avoid the typical practice of believing that if we know a person's IQ score, we also know his or her intelligence. Even Terman warned against total reliance on tests: "We must guard against defining intelligence solely in terms of ability to pass the tests of a given intelligence scale" (as cited in Thorndike, 1921, p. 131). E. L. Thorndike echoed Terman's concern by stating "to assume that we have measured some general power which resides in [the person being tested] and determines his ability in every variety of intellectual task in its entirety is to fly directly in the face of all that is known about the organization of the intellect" (Thorndike, 1921, p. 126).

The reason we have cited these concerns about the historical difficulty of defining and measuring intelligence is to highlight the even larger problem of isolating a unitary definition of giftedness. At the very least, we will always have several conceptions (and therefore definitions) of giftedness. To help in this analysis, we will begin by examining two broad categories of giftedness that have been dealt with in the research literature: 'schoolhouse giftedness' and 'creative-productive giftedness'. Before describing each type, we want to emphasize that:

1. Both types are important.

2. There is usually an interaction between the two types.

3. Special programs should make appropriate provisions for encouraging both types of giftedness as well as the numerous occasions when the two types interact with each other.

Schoolhouse giftedness might also be called test-taking or lesson-learning giftedness. It is the kind most easily measured by IQ or other cognitive ability tests, and for this reason it is also the type most often used for selecting students for entrance into special programs. The abilities people display on IQ and aptitude tests are exactly the kinds of abilities most valued in traditional school learning situations. In other words, the tasks required in ability tests are similar in nature to tasks that teachers require in most lesson-learning situations. A large body of research tells us that students who score high on IQ tests are also likely to get high grades in school, and that these test-taking and lesson-learning abilities generally remain stable over time. The results of this research should lead us to some very obvious conclusions about schoolhouse giftedness: it exists in varying degrees, it can be identified through standardized assessment techniques, and we should therefore do everything in our power to make appropriate modifications for students who have the ability to cover regular curricular material at advanced rates and levels of understanding. Curriculum compacting (Renzulli, Smith, & Reis, 1982; Reis, Burns, & Renzulli, 1992) is a procedure used for modifying standard curricular content to accommodate advanced learners. Other acceleration techniques should represent essential parts of every school program that strives to respect the individual differences that are clearly evident from classroom performance and/or scores yielded by cognitive ability tests.
Creative-Productive Giftedness
If scores on IQ tests and other measures of cognitive ability only account for a limited proportion of the common variance with school grades, we can be equally certain that these measures do not tell the whole story when it comes to making predictions about creative-productive giftedness. Before defending this assertion with some research findings, we briefly review what is meant by this second type of giftedness, the important role that it should play in programming, and, therefore, the reasons we should attempt to assess it in our identification procedures-even if such assessment causes us to look below the top 3 to 5% on the normal curve of IQ scores.

Creative-productive giftedness. describes those aspects of human activity and involvement in which a premium is placed on the development of original material and products that are purposefully designed to have an impact on one or more target audiences. Learning situations that are designed to promote creative-productive giftedness emphasize the use and application of information (content) and thinking skills (process) in an integrated, inductive, and real-problem oriented manner. The role of the student is transformed from that of a learner of prescribed lessons to one in which she or he uses the modus operandi of a firsthand inquirer. This approach is quite different from the development of lesson-learning giftedness, which tends to emphasize deductive learning, structured training in the development of thinking processes, and the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of information. In other words, creative-productive giftedness is simply putting one's abilities to work on problems and areas of study that have personal relevance to the student and that can be escalated to appropriately challenging levels of investigative activity. The roles that both students and teachers should play in the pursuit of these problems have been described elsewhere (Renzulli, 1977, 1982), and have been embraced in general education under a variety of concepts such as constructivist theory, authentic learning, discovery learning, problem based learning, and performance assessment.

Why is creative-productive giftedness important enough for us to question the "tidy" and relatively easy approach that has traditionally been used to select students on the basis of test scores? Why do some people want to rock the boat by challenging a conception of giftedness that can be numerically defined by simply giving a test? The answers to these questions are simple and yet very compelling. A review of the research literature (Renzulli, 1986) tells us that there is much more to identifying human potential than the abilities revealed on traditional tests of intelligence, aptitude, and achievement. Furthermore, history tells us it has been the creative and productive people of the world, the producers rather than consumers of knowledge, the reconstructionists of thought in all areas of human endeavor, who have become recognized as "truly gifted" individuals. History does not remember persons who merely scored well on IQ tests or those who learned their lessons well. The definition of giftedness (See Fig. 1) which characterizes creative productive giftedness and serves as part of the rationale for the Enrichment Triad Model is the three-ring conception of giftedness (Renzulli, 1978, 1986), in which giftedness: . . . consists of an interaction among three basic clusters being above average general ability, high levels of creativity. Gifted and talented capable of developing this composite set of potentially valuable area of human performance or capable of developing an interaction among these require a variety of educational opportunities and services those not normally through regular instructional programming. (1978, p. 6)

We have advocated that gifted behaviors can be developed through systematic enrichment opportunities described in the Enrichment Triad Model (Renzulli, 1977, 1978, 1988b).
An Overview of the Enrichment Triad Model
The Enrichment Triad Model was designed to encourage creative productivity on the part of young people by exposing them to various topics, areas of interest, and fields of study, and to further train them to apply advanced content, process-training skills, and methodology training to self-selected areas of interest. Accordingly, three types of enrichment are included in the Triad Model (see Fig. 2).

Type I enrichment is designed to expose students to a wide variety of disciplines, topics, occupations, hobbies, persons, places, and events that would not ordinarily be covered in the regular curriculum. In schools - that use this model, an enrichment team consisting of parents, teachers, and students often organizes and plans Type I experiences by contacting speakers, arranging minicourses, demonstrations, or performances, or by ordering and distributing films, slides, videotapes, or other print or non-print media.

Type II enrichment consists of materials and methods designed to promote the development of thinking and feeling processes. Some Type II training is general, and is usually carried out both in classrooms and in enrichment programs. Training activities include the development of. (1) creative thinking and problem solving, critical thinking, and affective processes; (2) a wide variety of specific learning how-to-learn skills; (3) skills in the appropriate use of advanced-level reference materials; and (4) written, oral, and visual communication skills. Other Type II enrichment is specific, as it cannot be planned in advance and usually involves advanced methodological instruction in an interest area selected by the student. For example, students who become interested in botany after a Type I experience might pursue additional training in this area by doing advanced reading in botany; compiling, planning and carrying out plant experiments; and seeking more advanced methods training if they want to go further.

Type III enrichment involves students who become interested in pursuing a self-selected area and are willing to commit the time necessary for advanced content acquisition and process training in which they assume the role of a first-hand inquirer. The goals of Type III enrichment include:

providing opportunities for applying interests, knowledge, creative ideas and task commitment to a self-selected problem or area of study,

acquiring advanced level understanding of the knowledge (content) and methodology (process) that are used within particular disciplines, artistic areas of expression and interdisciplinary studies,

developing authentic products that are primarily directed toward bringing about a desired impact upon a specified audience,

developing self-directed learning skills in the areas of planning, organization, resource utilization, time management, decision making and self-evaluation,

developing task commitment, self-confidence, and feelings of creative accomplishment.

The Revolving Door Identification Model
As our experience with Triad Programs grew, our concern about who was being identified to participate in these programs also grew. We became increasingly concerned about students who were not able to participate in enrichment programs because they did not score in the top 1-3% of the population in achievement or intelligence tests.

Research conducted by Torrance (1962, 1974) had demonstrated that students who were rated highly on creativity measures do well in school and on achievement tests but are often not selected for gifted programs because their scores are often. below the cutoff for admission. Some of our own research (Reis, 1981) indicated that when a broader population of students (15-20% of the general population called the 'talent pool') were able to participate in Types I and II enrichment experiences, they produced equally good Type III products as the traditional 'gifted' students (the top 3-5%). This research produced the rationale for the Revolving Door Identification Model (RDIM) (Renzulli, Reis, & Smith, 1981) in which a talent pool of students receives regular enrichment experiences and the opportunity to 'revolve into' Type III creative productive experiences. In RDIM, we recommend that students be selected for participation in the talent pool on the basis of multiple criteria that include indices of creativity, because we believe that one of the major purposes of gifted education is to develop creative thinking and creative productivity in students. Once identified and placed in the talent pool through the use of test scores, teacher, parent, or self-nomination, and examples of creative potential or productivity, students are observed in classrooms and enrichment experiences for signs of advanced interests, creativity, or task commitment. We have called this part of the process ,action information' and have found it to be an instrumental part of the identification process in assessing students' interest and motivation to become involved in Type III creative productivity. Further support for expanding identification procedures through the use of these approaches has recently been offered by Kirschenbaum. (1983) and Kirschenbaum. and Siegle (1993) who demonstrated that students who are rated or test high on measures of creativity tend to do well in school and on measures of achievement. The development of the RDIM led to the need for a guide dealing with how all of the components of the previous Triad and the new RDIM could be implemented and the resulting work was entitled The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) (Renzulli & Reis, 1985, 1997).
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM)
In the SEM, a talent pool of 15-20% of above average ability/high potential students is identified through a variety of measures including: achievement tests, teacher nominations, assessment of potential for creativity and task commitment, as well as alternative pathways of entrance (self-nomination, parent nomination, etc.). High achievement test and IQ test scores .automatically include a. student in the talent pool, enabling those students who are underachieving in their academic school work to be included.

Once students are identified for the talent pool, they are eligible for several kinds of services; first, interest and learning styles assessments are used with talent pool students. Informal and formal methods are used to create or identify students' interests and to encourage students to further develop and pursue these interests in various ways. Learning style preferences which are assessed include: projects, independent study, teaching games, simulations, peer teaching, programmed instruction, lecture, drill and recitation, and discussion. Second, curriculum compacting is provided to all eligible students for whom the regular curriculum is modified by eliminating portions of previously mastered content. This elimination or streamlining of curriculum, enables above average students to avoid repetition of previously mastered work and guarantees mastery while simultaneously finding time for more appropriately challenging activities (Reis, Burns, & Renzulli, 1992; Renzulli, Smith, & Reis, 1982). A form, entitled The Compactor (Renzulli & Smith, 1978), is used to document which content areas have been compacted and what alternative work has been substituted. Third, the Enrichment Triad Model, offers three types of enrichment experiences. Type I, II, and III Enrichment are offered to all students; however, Type III enrichment is usually more appropriate for students with higher levels of ability, interest, and task commitment.

Separate studies on the SEM demonstrated its effectiveness in schools with widely differing socioeconomic levels and program organization patterns (Olenchak, 1988; Olenchak & Renzulli, 1989). The SEM has been implemented in several hundred school districts across the country (Burns, 1998) and interest in this approach continues to grow.
Newest Directions for the Schoolwide Enrichment Model
The present reform initiatives in general education have created a more receptive atmosphere for more flexible approaches that challenge all students, and accordingly, the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) has been expanded to address three major goals that we believe will accommodate the needs of gifted students, and at the same time, provide challenging learning experiences for all students. These goals are:

To maintain and expand a continuum of special services that will challenge students with demonstrated superior performance or the potential for superior performance in any and all aspects of the school and extracurricular program.

To infuse into the general education program a broad range of activities for high-end learning that will: (a) challenge all students to perform at advanced levels, and (b) that will allow teachers to determine which students should be given extended opportunities, resources, and encouragement in particular areas where superior interest and performance are demonstrated.

To preserve and protect the positions of gifted education specialists and any other specialized personnel necessary for carrying out the first two goals.

A graphic representation of the newest adaptation of the model is presented in Figure 3.

The Regular Curriculum
The regular curriculum consists of everything that is a part of the predetermined goals, schedules, learning outcomes, and delivery systems of the school. The regular curriculum might be traditional, innovative, or in the process of transition, but its predominant feature is that authoritative forces (i.e. policy makers, school councils, textbook adoption committees, state regulators) have determined that the regular curriculum should be the 'centerpiece' of student learning. Application of the SEM influences the regular curriculum in three ways. First, the challenge level of required material is differentiated through processes such as curriculum compacting and textbook content modification procedures. Second, systematic content intensification procedures should be used to replace eliminated content with selected, in-depth learning experiences. Third, types of enrichment recommended in the Enrichment Triad Model (Renzulli, 1977) are integrated selectively into regular curriculum activities. Although our goal in the SEM is to influence rather than replace the regular curriculum, application of certain SEM components and related staff development activities has resulted in substantial changes in both the content and instructional processes of the entire regular curriculum.

The Enrichment Clusters
The enrichment clusters, one component of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, are non-graded groups of students who share common interests, and who come together during specially designated time blocks during school to work with an adult who shares their interests and who has some degree of advanced knowledge and expertise in the area. The enrichment clusters usually meet for a block of time weekly during a semester. All students complete an interest inventory developed to assess their interests, and an enrichment team of parents and teachers tally all of the major families of interests. Adults from the faculty, staff, parents, and community are recruited to facilitate enrichment clusters based on these interests, such as creative writing, drawing, sculpting, archeology and other areas. Training is provided to the facilitators who agree to offer the clusters, and a brochure is developed and sent to all parents and students that discusses student interests and select choices of enrichment clusters. A title and description that appeared in a brochure of clusters in a school using the SEM follows:

Invention Convention
Are you an inventive thinker? Would you like to be? Brainstorm a problem, try to identify many solutions, and design an invention to solve the problem, as an inventor might give birth to a real invention. Create your invention individually or with a partner under the guidance of Bob Erikson and his students, who work at the Connecticut Science Fair. You may share your final product at the Young Inventors' Fair on March 25th, a statewide daylong celebration of creativity.

Students select their top three choices for the clusters and scheduling is completed to place all children into their first, or in some cases, second choice. Like extracurricular activities and programs such as 4-H and Junior Achievement, the main rationale for participation in one or more clusters is that students and teachers want to be there. All teachers (including music, art, physical education, etc.) are involved in teaching the clusters; and their involvement in any particular cluster is based on the same type of interest assessment that is used for students in selecting clusters of choice.

The model for learning used with enrichment clusters is based on an inductive approach to solving real-world problems through the development of authentic products and services. Unlike traditional, didactic modes of teaching, this approach, known as enrichment learning and teaching (described fully in a later section), uses the Enrichment Triad Model to create a learning situation that involves the use of methodology, develops higher order thinking skills, and authentically applies these skills in creative and productive situations. Enrichment clusters promote cooperativeness within the context of real-world problem solving, and they also provide superlative opportunities for promoting self-concept. "A major assumption underlying the use of enrichment clusters is that every child is special if we create conditions in which that child can be a specialist within a specialty group" (Renzulli, 1994, p. 70).

Enrichment clusters are organized around various characteristics of differentiated programming for gifted students on which the Enrichment Triad Model (Renzufli, 1977) was originally based, including the use of major disciplines, interdisciplinary themes, or cross-disciplinary topics (e.g. a theatrical/television production group that includes actors, writers, technical specialists, costume designers). The clusters are modeled after the ways in which knowledge utilization, thinking skills, and interpersonal relations take place in the real world. Thus, all work is directed toward the production of a product or service. No lesson plans or unit plans are created in advance by the cluster facilitator; rather, direction is provided by three key questions addressed in the cluster by the facilitator and the students:

1. What do people with an interest in this area (e.g. film making) do?

2. What knowledge, materials, and other resources do they need to do it in an excellent and authentic way?

3. In what ways can the product or service be used to have an impact on an intended audience?

Enrichment clusters incorporate the use of advanced content, providing students with information about particular fields of knowledge, such as the structure of a field as well as the basic principles and the functional concepts in a field (Ward, 1960). Ward defined functional concepts as the intellectual instruments or tools with which a subject specialist works, such as the vocabulary of a field and the vehicles by which persons within the field communicate with one another. The methodology used within a field is also considered advanced content by Renzulli (1988a), involving the use of knowledge of the structures and tools of fields, as well as knowledge about the methodology of particular fields. This knowledge about the methodologies of fields exists both for the sake of increased knowledge acquisition, and also for the utility of that know-how as applied to the development of products, even when such products are considered advanced in a relative sense (i.e. age, grade, and background considerations).

The enrichment clusters are not intended to be the total program for talent development in a school, or to replace existing programs for talented youth. Rather, they are one vehicle for stimulating interests and developing talent potentials across the entire school population. They are also vehicles for staff development in that they provide teachers an opportunity to participate in enrichment teaching, and subsequently to analyze and compare this type of teaching with traditional methods of instruction. In this regard the model promotes a spill-over effect by encouraging teachers to become better talent scouts and talent developers, and to apply enrichment techniques to regular classroom situations.

The Continuum of Special Services
A broad range of special services is the third school structure targeted by the model; a diagram representing these services is presented in Fig. 4. Although the enrichment clusters and the SEM-based modifications of the regular curriculum provide a broad range of services to meet individual needs, a program for total talent development still requires supplementary services that challenge young people who are capable of working at the highest levels of their special interest and ability areas. These services, which cannot ordinarily be provided in enrichment clusters or the regular curriculum, typically include: individual or small group counseling, direct assistance in facilitating advanced level work, arranging for mentorships with faculty members or community persons, and making other types of connections between students, their families, and out-of-school persons, resources, and agencies.

Direct assistance also involves setting up and promoting student, faculty and parental involvement in special programs such as Future Problem Solving, Odyssey of the Mind, the Model United Nations program, and state and national essay, mathematics, art, and history contests. Another type of direct assistance consists of arranging out-of-school involvement for individual students in summer programs, on-campus courses, special schools, theatrical groups, scientific expeditions, and apprenticeships at places where advanced level learning opportunities are available. Provision of these services is one of the responsibilities of the schoolwide enrichment teaching specialist or an enrichment team of teachers and parents who work together to provide options for advanced learning. A schoolwide enrichment teaching specialist in Barrington, Rhode Island, estimates she spends two days a week in a resource capacity to the faculties of two schools, and three days providing direct services to students.
Service Delivery Components
The Total Talent Portfolio
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model targets specific learning characteristics that can serve as a basis for talent development. Our approach to targeting learning characteristics uses both traditional and performance-based assessment to compile information about three dimensions of the learner-abilities, interests, and learning styles. This information, which focuses on strengths rather than deficits, is compiled in a management form called the 'Total Talent Portfolio' (see Fig. 5) which is used to make decisions about talent development opportunities in regular classes, enrichment clusters, and in the continuum of special services. The major purposes of the Total Talent Portfolio are:

1. To collect several different types of information that portray a student's strength areas, and to regularly update this information.

2. To classify this information into the general categories of abilities, interests, and learning styles and related markers of successful learning such as organizational skills, content area preferences, personal and social skills, preferences for creative productivity, and learning-how-to-learn. skills.

3. To periodically review and analyze the information in order to make purposeful decisions about providing opportunities for enrichment experiences in the regular classroom, the enrichment clusters, and the continuum of special services.

4. To negotiate various acceleration and enrichment learning options and opportunities between teacher and student through participation in a shared decision making process.

5. To use the information as a vehicle for educational, personal, and career counseling and for communicating with parents about the school's talent development opportunities and their child's involvement in them.

This expanded approach to identifying talent potentials is essential if we are to make genuine efforts to include more under-represented students in a plan for total talent development. This approach is also consistent with the more flexible conception of developing gifts and talents that has been a cornerstone of our work and our concerns for promoting more equity in special programs.

Curriculum Modification Techniques
The second service delivery component of the SEM is a series of curriculum modification techniques designed to: (1) adjust levels of required learning so that all students are challenged, (2) increase the number of in-depth learning experiences, and (3) introduce various types of enrichment into regular curricular experiences. The procedures that are used to carry out curriculum modification are curriculum compacting, textbook analysis and surgical removal of repetitious material from textbooks, and a planned approach for introducing greater depth into regular curricular material. Due to space restrictions, curriculum compacting is described in depth here and other modification techniques are described in detail in other publications (see, for example, RenzuIli, 1994; Reis et al., 1993).

How to Use the Compacting Process
Defining goals and outcomes. The first of three phases of the compacting process consists of defining the goals and outcomes of a given unit or segment of instruction. This information is readily available in most subjects because specific goals and outcomes can usually be found in teachers' manuals, curriculum guides, scope-and-sequence charts, and some of the new curricular frameworks that are emerging in connection with outcome based education models. Teachers should examine these objectives to determine which represent the acquisition of new content or thinking skills as opposed to reviews or practice of material that has previously been taught. The scope and sequence charts prepared by publishers, or a simple comparison of the table of contents of a basal series will provide a quick overview of new vs. repeated material. A major goal of this phase of the compacting process is to help teachers make individual programming decisions; a larger professional development goal is to help teachers be better analysts of the material they are teaching and better consumers of textbooks and prescribed curricular material.

Identifying students for compacting. The second phase of curriculum compacting is identifying students who have already mastered the objectives or outcomes of a unit or segment of instruction that is about to be taught. This first step of this phase consists of estimating which students have the potential to master new material at a faster than normal pace; knowing one's students is, of course, the best way to begin the assessment process. Scores on previous tests, completed assignments, and classroom participation are the best ways of identifying highly likely candidates for compacting. Standardized achievement tests can serve as a good general screen for this step because they allow us to list the names of all students who are scoring one or more years above grade level in particular subject areas.

Being a candidate for compacting does not necessarily mean that a student knows the material under consideration. Therefore, the second step of identifying candidates consists of finding or developing appropriate tests or other assessment techniques that can be used to evaluate specific learning outcomes. Unit pretests, or end-of-unit tests that can be administered as pretests are readymade for this task, especially when it comes to the assessment of basic skills. An analysis of pretest results enables the teacher to document proficiency in specific skiffs, and to select instructional activities or practice material necessary to bring the student up to a high level on any skill that may need some additional reinforcement.

The process is slightly modified for compacting content areas that are not as easily assessed as basic skills, and for students who have not mastered the material, but are judged to be candidates for more rapid coverage. First, students should have a thorough understanding of the goals and procedures of compacting, including the nature of the replacement process. A given segment of material should be discussed with the student (e.g. a unit that includes a series of chapters in a social studies text), and the procedures for verifying mastery at a high level should be specified. These procedures might consist of answering questions based on the chapters, writing an essay, or taking the standard end-of-unit test. The amount of time for completion of the unit should be specified, and procedures such as periodic progress reports or log entries for teacher review should be agreed upon. Of course, an examination of potential acceleration and/or enrichment replacement activities should be a part of this discussion.

Another alternative is to assess or pretest all students in a class when a new unit or topic is introduced; although this may seem like more work for the teacher, it provides the opportunity for all students to demonstrate their strengths or previous mastery in a given area. Using a matrix of learning objectives, teachers can fill in test results and establish small, flexible, and temporary groups for skill instruction and replacement activities.

Providing acceleration and enrichment options. The final phase of the compacting process can be one of the most exciting aspects of teaching because it is based on cooperative decision making and creativity on the parts of both teachers and students. Efforts can be made to gather enrichment materials from classroom teachers, librarians, media specialists, and content area or gifted education specialists. These materials may include self-directed learning activities, instructional materials that focus on particular thinking skills, and a variety of individual and group project oriented activities that are designed to promote hands-on research and investigative skills. The time made available through compacting provides opportunities for exciting learning experiences such as small group, special topic seminars that might be directed by students or community resource persons, community based apprenticeships or opportunities to work with a mentor, peer tutoring situations, involvement in community service activities, and opportunities to rotate through a series of self-selected mini-courses. The time saved through curriculum compacting can be used by the teacher to provide a variety of enrichment or acceleration opportunities for the student.

Enrichment strategies might include a variety of Type I, II, or III or a number of options included on the continuum of services. Acceleration might include the use of material from the next unit or chapter, the use of the next chronological grade level textbook or the completion of even more advanced work. Alternative activities should reflect an appropriate level of challenge and rigor that is commensurate with the student's abilities and interests.

Decisions about which replacement activities to use are always guided by factors such as time, space, and the availability of resource persons and materials. Although practical concerns must be considered, the ultimate criteria for replacement activities should be the degree to which they increase academic challenge and the extent to which they meet individual needs. Great care should be taken to select activities and experiences that represent individual strengths and interests rather than the assignment of more-of-the-same worksheets or randomly selected kits, games, and puzzles! This aspect of the compacting process should also be viewed as a creative opportunity for an entire faculty to work cooperatively to organize and institute a broad array of enrichment experiences. A favorite mini-course that a faculty member has always wanted to teach, or serving as a mentor to one or two students who are extremely invested in a teacher's beloved topic are just a few of the ways that replacement activities can add excitement to the teachers' part in this process as well as the obvious benefits for students. We have also observed another interesting occurrence that has resulted from the availability of curriculum compacting. When some previously bright but underachieving students realized that they could both economize on regularly assigned material and 'earn time' to pursue self-selected interests, their motivation to complete regular assignments increased; as one student put it, "Everyone understands a good deal!"

The best way to get an overview of the curriculum compacting process is to examine an actual example of how the management form that guides this process is used. This form, 'The Compactor', presented in Fig. 6, serves as both an organizational and record keeping tool. Teachers should fill out one form per student, or one form for a group of students with similar curricular strengths. Completed Compactors should be kept in students' academic files, and updated on a regular basis. The form can also be used for small groups of students who are working at approximately the same level (e.g. a reading or math group). The Compactor is divided into three sections:

The first column should include information on learning objectives and student strengths in those areas. Teachers should list the objectives for a particular unit of study, followed by data on students' proficiency in those objectives, including test scores, behavioral profiles and past academic records.

In the second column, teachers should detail the pretest vehicles they select, along with test results. The pretest instruments can be formal measures, such as pencil and paper tests, or informal measures, such as performance assessments based on observations of class participation and written assignments.

Specificity is extremely important; recording an overall score of 85% on ten objectives, for example, sheds little light on what portion of the material can be compacted, since students might show limited mastery of some objectives and high levels of mastery on others.

Column three is used to record information about acceleration or enrichment options; in determining these options, teachers must be fully aware of. students' individual interests and learning styles. We should never replace compacted regular curriculum work with harder, more advanced material that is solely determined by the teacher; instead, students interests should be taken, into account. If for example, a student loves working on science fair projects, that option may be used to replace material that has been compacted from the regular curriculum. We should also be careful to help monitor the challenge level of the material that is being substituted. We want students to understand the nature of effort and challenge and we should ensure that students are not simply replacing the compacted material with basic reading or work that is not advanced.
Rosa: A Case Study in Curriculum Compacting
Rosa is a fifth grader in a self-contained heterogeneous classroom; her school is located in a lower socio-economic urban school district. While Rosa's reading and language scores range between four or five years above grade level, most of her 29 classmates are reading one to two years below grade. level. This presented Rosa's teacher with a common problem: what was the best way to instruct Rosa? He agreed to compact her curriculum. Taking the easiest approach possible, he administered all of the appropriate unit tests for the grade level in the Basal Language Arts program, and excused Rosa from completing the activities and worksheets in the units where she showed proficiency (80% and above). When Rosa missed one or two questions, the teacher checked for trends in those items and provided instruction and practice materials to ensure concept mastery.

Rosa usually took part in language arts lessons one or two days a week; the balance of the time she spent with alternative projects, some of which she selected. This strategy spared Rosa up to six or eight hours a week with language arts skills that were simply beneath her level. She joined the class instruction only when her pretests indicated she had not fully acquired the skills or to take part in a discussion that her teacher thought she would enjoy. In the time saved through compacting, Rosa engaged in a number of enrichment activities. First, she spent as many as five hours a week in a resource room for high ability students. This time was usually scheduled during her language arts class, benefiting both Rosa and her teacher, since he didn't have to search for all of the enrichment options himself. The best part of the process for Rosa was she didn't have make-up regular classroom assignments because she was not missing essential work.

Rosa also visited a regional science center with other students who had expressed a high interest and aptitude for science. Science was a second strength area for Rosa, and based on the results of her Interest-A-Lyzer, a decision was made for Rosa to proceed with a science fair project on growing plants under various conditions. Rosa's Compactor, which covered an entire semester, was updated in January. Her teacher remarked that compacting her curriculum had actually saved him time-time he would have spent correcting papers needlessly assigned! The value of compacting for Rosa convinced him that he should continue the process. The Compactor was also used as a vehicle for explaining to Rosa's parents how specific modifications were being made to accommodate her advanced language arts achievement level and her interest in science. A copy of The Compactor was also passed on to Rosa's sixth grade teacher, and a conference between the fifth and sixth grade teachers and the resource teacher helped to ensure continuity in dealing with Rosa's special needs.

The many changes that are taking place in our schools require all educators to examine a broad range of techniques for providing equitably for all students. Curriculum compacting is one such process. It is not tied to a specific content area or grade level, nor is it aligned with a particular approach to school or curricular reform. Rather, the process is adaptable to any school configuration or curricular framework, and it is flexible enough to be used within the context of rapidly changing approaches to general education. The research study described above, and practical experience gained through several years of field testing and refining the compacting process have demonstrated that many positive benefits can result from this process for both students and teachers.

Enrichment Learning and Teaching
The third service delivery component of the SEM, which is based on the Enrichment Triad Model, is enrichment learning and teaching which has roots in the ideas of a small but influential number of philosophers, theorists, and researchers such as Jean Piaget (1975), Jerome Bruner (1960, 1966), and John Dewey (1913, 1916). The work of these theorists coupled with our own research and program development activities, has given rise to the concept we call enrichment learning and teaching. The best way to define this concept is in terms of the following four principles:

1. Each learner is unique, and therefore, all learning experiences must be examined in ways that take into account the abilities, interests, and learning styles of the individual.

2. Learning is more effective when students enjoy what they are doing, and therefore, learning experiences should be constructed and assessed with as much concern for enjoyment as for other goals.

3. Learning is more meaningful and enjoyable when content (i.e. knowledge) and process (i.e. thinking skills, methods of inquiry) are learned within the context of a real and present problem; and therefore, attention should be given to opportunities to personalize student choice in problem selection, the relevance of the problem for individual students at the time the problem is being addressed, and authentic strategies for addressing the problem.

4. Some formal instruction may be used in enrichment learning and teaching, but a major goal of this approach to learning is to enhance knowledge and thinking skill acquisition that is gained through formal instruction with applications of knowledge and skills that result from students' own construction of meaning (Renzulli, 1994, p. 204).

The ultimate goal of learning that is guided by these principles is to replace dependent and passive learning with independence and engaged learning. Although all but the most conservative educators will agree with these principles, much controversy exists about how these (or similar) principles might be applied in everyday school situations. A danger also exists that these principles might be viewed as yet another idealized list of glittering generalities that cannot be manifested easily in schools that are entrenched in the deductive model of learning; developing a school program based on these principles is not an easy task. Over the years, however, we have achieved success by gaining faculty, administrative, and parental consensus on a small number of easy-to-understand concepts and related services, and by providing resources and training related to each concept and service delivery procedure. Numerous research studies and field tests in schools with widely varying demographics have been carried out (Renzulli & Reis, 1994). These studies and field tests provided opportunities for the development of large amounts of practical know-how that are readily available for schools that would like to implement the SEM. They also have shown that the SEM can be implemented in a wide variety of settings and used with various populations of students including high ability students with learning disabilities and high ability students who underachieve in school.

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¹Research for this chapter was supported under the Javits Act Program (Grant No. R206R00001) as administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. Grantees undertaking such projects are encouraged to express freely their professional judgment. This report, therefore, does not necessarily represent positions or policies of the Government, and no official, endorsement should be inferred.

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The Schoolwide Enrichment Model Executive Summary | Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development

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This article may be reproduced and distributed without permission. Electronic reproduction is not permitted. Joseph S. Renzulli and Sally M. Reis University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA Introduction Enrichment programs for gifted and talented students have been the true laboratorie ...

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Dear Clear Creek School District Parents and Students,

Welcome to The Accelerator for Parents and Students.   The Accelerator is a collection of resources that:

support the academic and  social emotional needs of gifted and talented learners,

support parents of gifted and talented learners,

provide students with goal setting, reflection, and post secondary / career ready resources

highlight  and provide information about the variety of enrichment opportunities available in CCSD through the  gifted education department

highlight the gifted programming options that CCSD has to offer is students at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

inform parents, students, and community members about the identification process from pre-referral through identification

However, as you will see you will  also find a variety of resources here that can benefit ALL students.

If you've stopped by to check it out... thank you so much for visiting! I'm so glad that you did!  If you are looking for something specific for yourself or for your student please scroll to the right to view the headings for each column.  If you are looking for something specific and don't see it here,  please do let me know at heidi.lupinacci@ccsdre1.org or 303-567-3855 and I would be happy to help you find what you are looking for.

Again, welcome and enjoy!,
Mrs. Lupinacci

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Executive Functioning Skills and Gifted Learners

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Executive Functioning Skills and Gifted Learners

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Nurturing Wisdom's Executive Functioning Articles | Nurturing Wisdom Tutoring

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Nurturing Wisdom's executive functioning articles address a variety of topics from organization to building routines to time management!

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Academic Challenge Groups Annual Focus Goal 

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Academic Challenge Groups Annual Focus Goal 

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This year the academic challenge groups at both elementary schools will focus on growth and achievement in Math.  In an effort to challenge the highly capable students in both schools, students will be exposed to a variety of upper level mathematics concepts through fun and engaging lessons with Mrs. Lupinacci.

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Teaching for High Potential article from May 2017.

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Gifted students need rigorous and challenging instruction in order to continue to grow.

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Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented

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Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented

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It is CAGT's belief that all humans have an inherent right to develop their full potential. The Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented fosters an understanding of all gifted children and their exceptional needs, and advocates for appropriate education and affective support through partnerships with educators, families, students, administrators, legislators, and the general public. Learn more >>

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It is CAGT's belief that all humans have an inherent right to develop their full potential. The Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented fosters an understanding of all gifted children and their exceptional needs, and advocates for appropriate education and affective support through partnerships with educators, families, students, administrators, legislators, and the general public.

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Helping Gifted Students with Stress Management

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Helping Gifted Students with Stress Management

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National Association for Gifted Children

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Educational Advocacy for Gifted Students

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Educational Advocacy for Gifted Students

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This article by Julia Osborn is the third in a series of three articles on the processes parents go through in raising an exceptionally gifted child. This article, based upon a study of 12 exceptionally gifted students, discusses the experiences of these parents in advocating for appropriate school placement for their children.