Gifted Child Today articles from June 2004

Gifted Child Today archives from June 2004

National standards for teachers of gifted and talented students: becoming involved.(From the Editor)(Editorial)
June 22, 2004... In May, the National Association for Gifted Children and The Association for the Gifted, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children, invited higher education institutions to discuss national teacher standards in the field of gifted...

Discover engineering http://www.discover engineering.org/home.asp.(On the Web)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... So just who is Boing Boing the Bionic Cat? You can find out at the Discovery Engineering site. Aside from learning about Boing Boing, visitors will find links to other sites that show them how to build virtual bridges and design roller...

The Franklin Institute http://sln.fi.edu/learning.html.(On the Web)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... This is the Web site for the Franklin Institute Science Museum, which was founded in honor of the scientific inventiveness of Benjamin Franklin. The site includes information on the museum's various exhibits, as well as a number of online...

The magic of math http://www.magicofmath.org.(On the Web)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... This kid-friendly site introduces visitors to the world of math. The site includes fun math problems that ask visitors to use math to figure out how to feed a village, create a calculator in their head, or design a beautiful fractal. There is...

Delaying entrance into kindergarten.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... School children today are older than school children were 30 years ago (Bounds, M. C. [2004, April 25]. Older (but smarter?). New York Times, Section 4A, 16-17). According to the Census Bureau, 22% of first graders were 7 or older in October...

Standards for college readiness.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has generally been administered at grades 4 and 8, with results in mathematics and reading available by state. The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) recently recommended that a...

Differentiation in the general education classroom.
June 22, 2004... A survey of classroom instructional practices was initially administered to more than 7,000 third- and fourth-grade teachers throughout the country to determine the extent to which high-ability/gifted students receive curriculum and instruction...

The Geonet Game http://www.eduplace.com/geonet.(On the Web)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... If you are a geography whiz or just want to be one, this is the site for you. The Geonet Game allows visitors to choose a region in the U.S. and answer geography questions about that region. There is also a map reference section that has a...

Kidsweb Japan http://web.jpn.org/kidsweb.(On the Web)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Would you like to tour a Ninja village? Or perhaps you'd like to learn how to say "How do you do?" in Japanese? If so, this is the site for you. The Kidsweb Japan site allows visitors to take online Japanese reading and writing lessons, learn...

Help teachers understand "scientific evidence.".(Notable)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has recently published The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research to help teachers understand "scientific evidence." The book costs $29.95 and may be ordered at http://www.brokes...

Standards for gifted educators.(Notable)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) has just published the fifth edition of What Every Special Educator Must Know: Ethics, Standards, and Guidelines for Special Educators. This publication contains a complete set of all CEC standards,...

SAT tutorial that can be used on a cell phone.(Notable)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Mobile-Mind, Inc., based in Watertown, MA, and Number2. com, a division of the Los Angeles-based XapCorp, have developed an SAT tutorial that can be used on a cell phone. For $5 to $6 per application, students can learn new vocabulary, take...

Rated each state's assessment.(Notable)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and Accountability Works recently published a report, Grading the Systems: The Guide to State Standards, Tests, and Accountability Policies, which rated each state's assessment according to standards, content,...

Selecting curricula for gifted programs.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... In Tempo, Joyce VanTassel-Baska offers some useful guidelines for selecting and using exemplary curricula for gifted learners (VanTassel-Baska, J. [2004]. The case for a systems approach to curriculum differentiation. Tempo, 24(1), 5-6, 21-24)....

No Child Left Behind leaves out gifted students.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... No Child Left Behind calls for all public school students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014 (Golden, D. [2003, December 29]. Educators divert resources from classes for smartest to focus on basic literacy. Wall Street Journal)....

Valuing the arts.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... In spite of tight school finances, New Mexico recently passed a law that earmarked $4 million to help create elementary school arts programs in dance, music, theater, and visual arts (Mien, R. [2004, spring]. In the front row: The arts give...

50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.(Notable)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was May 17. Oxford University Press has recently published Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform and Random house has republished...

400 test items in math and science.(Notable)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The American Association for the Advancement of Science will spend $4.1 million over 5 years to produce a collection of about 400 test items in math and science for grades 6-10. They will be assembled in an item bank that will be linked...

In high-quality professional development or implementing innovative ideas that raise student achievement.(Grants and Awards)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The National Education Association Foundation provides $2,000-$5,000 grants to teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff in public schools, colleges, and universities for the purpose of engaging in...

To K-6 math and science teachers.(Grants and Awards)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The National Science Foundation Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching gives $10,000 to K-6 math and science teachers from each state. The program seeks to identify outstanding mentoring efforts that enhance the...

Pioneer new methods and techniques that improve student learning.(Grants and Awards)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... ING Financial Services' Unsung Heroes Awards recognize educators who pioneer new methods and techniques that improve student learning. Educators submit applications describing projects they have initiated or would like to create. Their...

ThinkQuest.(Contests)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... ThinkQuest is an international competition sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation. Teams of students and teachers are challenged to build Web sites on various topics. Competitions begin every 6 months and are open to students and teachers...

Destination imagination.(Contests)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Destination Imagination is one of the world's largest creativity and problem-solving programs for youth of all ages. The Destination Imagination program helps kids build important lifelong skills such as problem solving, teamwork, and divergent...

ExploraVision.(Contests)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... ExploraVision is a competition for all students in grades K-12. It is designed to encourage students to combine their imagination with their knowledge of science and technology to explore the future. Teams of students are asked to select some...

JMW Publishing Company poetry contest.(Contests)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The JMW Publishing Company is sponsoring a free poetry contest with cash rewards and possible publication in their nationally distributed REFLECTIONS poetry anthology series. JMW Publishing has been a poetry publisher since 1988 and seeks all...

Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) student competitions.(Contests)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Founded in 1876, the MTNA is the oldest professional nonprofit music teachers association in the United States. Each year, the organization holds three contests to encourage creativity and self-expression in talented student musicians through...

The Academic Games Leagues of America (AGLOA) national tournament.(Contests)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Each year, AGLOA sponsors a national tournament for students in grades 4-12. Participants have the opportunity to compete in academic games in mathematics, language arts, or social studies. There are four different age divisions (elementary,...

Link local history and community service learning activities.(Grants and Awards)
June 22, 2004... The National Council for the Social Studies program "CiviConnections: Constructing the Past, Creating the Future" enables teacher teams and students to link local history and community service learning activities. Grants of $7,500 will be...

Initiatives to improve student achievement, teacher preparedness, minority student success, and increased use of new technologies.(Grants and Awards)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The Southwestern Bell Corporation Foundation supports initiatives to improve student achievement, teacher preparedness, minority student success, and increased use of new technologies. In particular, the sponsor supports K-12 and higher...

Enhance the Refuge System's education priorities.(Grants and Awards)
June 22, 2004... U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Department of the Interior supports grants of up to $5,000 for projects designed to establish a process and framework that organizes and mentors local partnerships to enhance the Refuge System's education...

Meetings.(Calendar)
June 22, 2004... AUGUST 20-21 Realizing the Potential of Gifted and Talented Learners conference at the Ellerslie Convention Center, New Zealand. For more information, visit http://www.waec.ac.nz/shared/products/productConference.aspx?id=GIFTED04. ...

Did you know ...(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Of freshman in college... ... 79.5% estimate their chances are very good that they will get a bachelor's degree. ... 7.2% estimate their chances are very good that they will develop close friendships with other students. ... ...

A devolving field: an interview with myself.(Au Contraire)(Interview)
June 22, 2004... All educators I respect share one ultimate goal: to enhance the lives of students in their care. Few make impacts that get lauded worldwide; instead, most of us are content to know that, at day's end, one child is more knowledgeable, more...

Dear diary: don't be alarmed ... I'm a boy.
June 22, 2004... What image immediately comes to mind when the word diary or journal is mentioned? Do you think of a little girl such as Anne Frank with a small, flowered book under lock and key kept secretly under her bed? Do you think of an adolescent girl...

A challenge for culturally diverse families of gifted children: forced choices between achievement or affiliation.(Multicultural)
June 22, 2004... I have enjoyed having my son and daughter in the inner-city elementary schools, and they were quite successful, but I chose different options for middle/high schools. I know there are stereotypes about all schools, but what I don't seem to be...

The Atterbury Files: an extra curricular inquiry project illustrating local history.
June 22, 2004... The people in the rural farmlands and villages of Brown, Bartholomew, and Johnson counties of south central Indiana had been hit hard first by the agricultural depression of the 1920s and then by the Great Depression. But, the bitterest pill to...

Wasting bright minds.(New Products)
June 22, 2004... With increasing global competition, our nation's need for intelligent, creative people has never been greater. But, for many of our most brilliant youngsters, school is an environment that fosters boredom, behavioral problems, and lost...

Recognizing the talents of young gifted children.(New Products)
June 22, 2004... In Early Gifts: Recognizing and Nurturing Children's Talents (ISBN 1-88266491-4), parents of young gifted children are provided with information from leading experts in the field on factors that contribute to the development of talent. Home,...

Creating Math Rubrics.(New Products)
June 22, 2004... Emphasizing the importance of standards in mathematics, the author of Designing Rubrics for Mathematics (ISBN 157517-389-8) gives step-by-step instruction on how to design rubrics for the classroom. This book explains the purpose of rubrics,...

Sharing in the drama of standardized testing.(New Products)
June 22, 2004... Do you know any older elementary and middle school students who are tired of standardized testing in the school setting? If so, they will easily relate to the novel Story Time (ISBN 0-15-204670-4) by Edward Bloor. Through an engaging storyline,...

Working with young writers.(New Products)
June 22, 2004... Teaching Young Writers: Strategies That Work (ISBN 0439-26083-3), written by Lola Schaefer, presents lessons and strategies that teachers of grades K-2 can use to give students the tools needed to become independent writers at a young age....

Assessing student performance.(New Products)
June 22, 2004... This book is written for teachers, administrators, and other practitioners who need to know, understand, and use best practice in assessing the work of students. In Solving the Assessment Puzzle Piece by Piece (ISBN 1-880505-98-3), the authors...

The senior project and gifted education.
June 22, 2004... During his senior year in high school, Carl (not the student's real name), "an uncommonly serious, attentive, and cooperative student" Rod Harkins, personal communication, December 10, 1997), undertook an independent study project reflecting...

Using learning-strategies instruction with students who are gifted and learning disabled.
June 22, 2004... Julia is a third-grade student who participates in the gifted program at her school. Although she appears to work hard, she rarely finishes assignments and her desk is always a mess. She likes to write, but the teacher often has problems...

Using their words to support our advocacy efforts.(Advocacy)
June 22, 2004... It is not difficult in today's political climate to understand that good campaigning is redefining the common language of the times for your own political benefits. There are common threads that weave through political arguments. These common...

The application of an individual professional development plan to gifted education.
June 22, 2004... Research indicates that ongoing, high-quality staff development is essential to achieving significant standards-based reform (Sparks, 2002). Currently, the majority of teachers do not regularly participate in staff development practices in the...