Can anyone recommend me books, blogs, journals, essays, links, sites, etc. on nurturing natural giftedness in kids? What about advanced learners? Thanks in Advance... .
The only one that comes to mind is a book called "A Nation Deceived" (free eBook... you can google it). Not sure exactly what you mean by nurture, I suppose.
By nurture I simply mean "proper handling of naturally bright children." What I'm assuming is that giftedness is a "condition" if you will with a broad spectrum of abilities and aptitudes. For example, some children may be fairly normal in all but one way (a piano or chess prodigy) while other children excel at everything they try (music, art, drama, reading, math, etc..) Some children maybe gifted in all subjects but to varying degrees. (IE a 5yo who reads on a 10th grade level, does math on a 6th, performs music on a professional level and is a masterful artist) What I'm looking for are 2 types of books/resources: Books that address these types of children, and defines them, categorizes them, has some sort of "rating system" so you can determine what sort of child you're looking at/dealing with. and books that talk about What should/can parents and teachers do with children who are just plain gifted. Children who may or may not have a place in many traditional or typical school settings simply because they are such square pegs that dont fit in any of the round or oval holes society has for most students to fit. I know there has to be something out there, I'm just not sure what to search, or which authors to look for...
www.hoagiesgifted.org the source of tons of articles, book suggestions, and links for your researching pleasure. http://www.educationaloptions.com/ Deborah Ruf has a qualitative 'levels' of giftedness based on developmental milestones. Note - they are based on observations of about 200 gifted kids. Useful but not necessarily comprehensive. Not all gifted kids will fit her categories well. www.davidsongifted.org also has an excellent database of articles. Creative Homeschooling for Smart Families by Lisa Rivero - great homeschooling book for gifted kids. My daughter is profoundly gifted and part of the Davidson Young scholar program, if I can answer any questions for you.
I was also going to suggest Dr. Ruf. She used to have the 5 levels on her website, but she's taken them down now that she has a paid site for "testing". Her work isn't accurate, of course. It's just a guideline based on her observations. A child's background (as well as other factors) play a huge role in whether or not one would line up with her characteristics. Here's a site that lists the levels and what to look for. Her book goes into much greater detail. I have the older version, but I would get the newer one if I were you. http://www.dirhody.com/discanner/levels.htm SENG is also a great site for articles about the emotional dealings of gifted children. Also look at the work of Dabrowski. He studied 5 areas of behavior related to giftedness (over-excitabilites). The Gifted Development Center in Denver is also a great resource.
Here is a site I found today that I liked. http://giftedkids.about.com/ I always find what I'm looking for on about.com! http://www.nagc.org/ And one more....
