Prufrock Press Inc.

Effective curriculum for underserved gifted students; a CEC-TAG educational resource.

CEC-TAG stands for the Council for Exceptional Children, Association for the Gifted. Based on an examination of curriculum interventions found to be effective with underserved talented and gifted students, Stambaugh (Vanderbilt U.) and Chandler (College of William and Mary) demystify misconceptions about such learners — often the culturally or linguistically diverse, and present a research-based model of curriculum development and instruction to promote achievement. Related topics discussed include alternative identification methods, mentors, and school reform. Further resources include websites and an annotated bibliography. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Gifted education programming standards; a guide to planning and implementing high-quality services.

Johnsen (educational psychology, Baylor U.) and a group of gifted studies, education, and educational psychology scholars from the US outline six standards from the National Association for Gifted Children/Council for Exceptional Children, The Association for the Gifted and provide suggestions for implementing each. They focus on student outcomes in learning and development, assessment, curriculum planning and instruction, learning environments, programming, and professional development. They discuss how each standard relates to specific focus areas and are supported by research and effective practices, and how teachers, schools, and school districts can use them and assess student outcomes. Other chapters introduce the standards and their context and development and compare them with the 1998 Program Standards, and discuss creating environments for social and emotional development, using the standards to create programs and services for culturally and linguistically diverse gifted students, differentiation, action plans and state models for implementation (Alabama, Maryland, and Texas), and advocacy strategies. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Julius Caesar.

Duggan, former director of education for the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, provides ideas for teaching Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to advanced and gifted high school students. Activities and assignments can also be adapted to teach mainstream students. The book does not simply offer a unit plan with sequential lessons; it presents many options for teachers to choose from for a 3-6 week unit. The book includes pre-reading activities, a scene-by-scene reading guide, and ideas for discussion, performance, and writing, aligned with the standards of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the International Reading Association (IRA), and Common Core Standards. Of special interest is a chapter of theater games and ideas for staged readings, choral readings, and multimedia performances. Numerous journal exercises, writing prompts, and student worksheets are included. An extensive resource list compiles books on Shakespeare's life and works, teaching and study guides, essay collections, historical works, online resources, and film adaptations. Duggan coordinates the Secondary Education Program at Northeastern Illinois University. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

King Lear; advanced placement classroom.

This resource for teachers offers hands-on ideas for teaching Shakespeare's King Lear to honors, pre-AP, and AP students, students in International Baccalaureate programs, or students in other advanced English and literature courses. The book's activities and assignments can also be used to teach nongifted students. The book's contents are aligned with the standards of the Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The author provides ideas for reading, understanding, performing, and talking about King Lear, and includes quizzes, worksheets, lesson plans, and ideas for debates and discussions. Five distinct types of writing assignments are provided: argument essays, analytical essays, analyses of complex issues, independent research projects, and original creative-interpretive projects. For each of these types of assignments, the author includes writing prompts, questions, and evaluation rubrics. An appendix offers notations on King Lear's literary devices for the first 400 lines of the play. There is also a list of books for teachers, film adaptations, and Internet resources. Lampert is affiliated with the College of William and Mary's Center for Gifted Education. He chairs the English department at Jamestown High School in Williamsburg. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Project-based learning for gifted students; a handbook for the 21st-century classroom.

Stanley, a teacher who created a gifted program for third and fourth graders, shows how project-based learning can be used in the gifted classroom. He describes how projects can be planned using state and national standards as guidelines, first detailing the rationale behind project-based learning, then applications for gifted classrooms. He discusses how to find, vary, and implement a structure to match the teaching and student situation; how to train students to use rubrics for self-empowerment and deeper learning; the importance of the classroom setup, including the use of technology and resources; and the role of the teacher in acting as a coach; with reproducibles of rubrics and learning contracts and lessons for sample projects. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Seize the story; a handbook for teens who like to write.

This guide for teens is written in an encouraging, sympathetic, inspirational tone. The book's b&w layout has been made visually appealing for teens with chapter-opening fantasy illustrations and quotations from famous authors and others, plus frequent headings, tip boxes, brief exercise suggestions, and many examples from the work of published YA writers. Coverage encompasses voice and style, creating characters, setting, dialogue, plot, point of view, and getting past writer's block. The book includes one-page interviews with 19 YA authors, plus a section in which this book's author answers questions about her writing process. Hanley has written YA novels. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)