Teaching Advanced Learners in the General Education Classroom

Joan Franklin Smutny is founder and director of the Center for Gifted, a Northern Illinois University Partner. She directs programs for thousands of bright, talented, and gifted children in the Chicago area annually. She also teaches creative writing in many of these programs as well as courses on gifted education for graduate students at the university level. She is editor of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children Journal, contributing editor of Understanding Our Gifted, and a regular contributor to the Gifted Education Communicator, Parenting for High Potential, and the Gifted Education Press Quarterly. Smutny has authored, co-authored, and edited many articles and books on gifted education for teachers, parents, and administrators, including Challenging High Potential Spanish Speaking Students (2012), Teaching Advanced Learners in the General Education Classroom (2011), Manifesto of the Gifted Girl (2010), Differentiating for the Young Child, Second Edition (2010), Igniting Creativity in Gifted Learners, K-6 (2009), Acceleration for Gifted Learners, K-5 (2007), Reclaiming the Lives of Gifted Girls and Women (2007), Designing and Developing Programs for Gifted Students (2003), Underserved Gifted Populations (2003), Gifted Education: Promising Practices (2003), Stand Up for Your Gifted Child (2001), The Young Gifted Child: Potential and Promise, an Anthology (1998), and Teaching Young Gifted Children in the Regular Classroom (1997). In 1996, she won the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contribution to the field of gifted education. S.E. von Fremd is an independent scholar, writer, and editor with a background in education, cultural studies, and dance. She performed with the Never Stop Moving Dance Company in Chicago under the direction of Reynaldo Martinez and taught creative dance and theater to children in the city and surrounding areas. Her interest in creativity and culture eventually led her to do a doctorate in performance studies at Northwestern University. This included a year's research in Uganda, where she focused on the role of popular theater and dance in reviving cultural identity and educating children and young people throughout the country. She has written several book reviews on African musical traditions, a monograph on the cultural legacy of Kenyan novelist Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka, another monograph on refugees in Africa, and an article on the performing arts as a popular forum for education in Uganda. She has also given presentations on Uganda's creative artists under the reign of Idi Amin and on dance movements throughout the continent of Africa.

Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction 1. Understanding Advanced Learners 2. Making the Most of Your Resources 3. Creating Appropriate Goals for Advanced Students 4. Meeting the Needs of Advanced Students: Strategies to Begin 5. Meeting the Needs of Advanced Students: Strategies to Extend Learning 6. Teaching Advanced Students in Language Arts and Social Studies 7. Teaching Advanced Students in Science and Mathematics 8. Keeping Yourself Inspired Resources References Index

"The book's major strength lies in its ability to remind the reader that there are many resources that educators may have forgotten about or not even thought of. The discussions about student interests, human resources, community resources, and open-ended presentation are a great aspect of this book." -- Scott Currier, Mathematics Teacher "This book is pertinent and relevant to today's classroom. Teachers face many demands to meet the needs of struggling students. We sometimes focus so much on the low-achieving students that we run out of time to address the needs of the gifted and above-average students. This book focuses on the issue with examples a teacher can use right now, with little prep. The author absolutely understands the issues teachers face in the classroom today." -- Shelly Docherty, 5th Grade Teacher "This book provides practical suggestions for utilizing and improving your own professional practice to more fully support advanced learners." -- Marcia Carlson, 6th Grade Teacher "This book will assist any educator in their quest to provide their students with high quality instruction, without much hassle." -- David Callaway, 7th Grade Social Studies Teacher "By discussing major areas of education, the authors have provided an excellent resource for helping to overcome various obstacles. The book can help to improve instruction for the gifted in the regular classroom." -- Maurice D. Fisher, Publisher * Gifted Education Press Quarterly, Spring 2012, Vol. 26 *