This book provides ideas and strategies for developing verbal talents in elementary and middle school students. Chapters include: (1) "The Process of Talent Development" (Joyce VanTassel-Baska); (2) "Talent Identification and Development in the Language Arts" (A. Harry Passow); (3) "Reading, Writing, and the Construction of Meaning" (Nancy Nelson Spivey); (4) "Mentors on Paper: How Classics Develop Verbal Ability" (Michael Clay Thompson); (5) "The Study of Literature: Insights into Human Understanding" (Barbara Allen Taylor); (6) "Literacy Development in Verbally Talented Children" (Jane M. Bailey); (7) "Oral Communication: Thinking in Action" (Ann L. Chaney); (8) "Teaching Discourse through Writing" (Colleen Kennedy); (9) "Formal Language Study for Gifted Students" (Michael Clay Thompson); (10) "Reflections on Foreign Language Study for Highly Able Learners" (Michael Clay Thompson and Myriam Borges Thompson); (11) "Creating a New Language Arts Curriculum for High-Ability Learners" (Joyce VanTassel-Baska); (12) "Evaluating Language Arts Materials" (Phyllis W. Aldrich); (13) "Assessment in the Language Arts Classroom" (Dana T. Johnson); (14) "In the Big Inning Was the Word: Word Play Resources for Developing Verbal Talent" (Linda Neal Boyce); (15) "Windows and Mirrors: Gender and Diversity in the Literate Classroom" (Penny Kolloff); (16) "Constructing Meaning through Interdisciplinary Instruction in the Middle Schools: A Blueprint" (Becky M. Crossett and Connie W. Moody); (17) "Enhancing Oral Communication for Intermediate Students" (Sandra Coleman and Chwee Geok Quck); and (18) "Constructing Meaning through Shared Inquiry" (Carol Cawley and Jan Corbett). (Individual chapters contain references.) (DB)