Addressed to those who teach social sciences to gifted students in grades 4-6, the booklet elaborates upon suggestions made in the proposed framework on the social sciences for California public schools. Concepts, generalizations and themes of the social sciences are examined as they relate to principles of teaching social science to gifted…

GRADES OR AGES: Grades 6-8. SUBJECT MATTER: Reading. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The guide is divided into seven color-coded sections covering program organization, diagnosis, basic skills, advanced skills, reading taste, spelling, and material selection. It is mimeographed and spiral-bound with a paper cover. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES:…

Numerous studies of verbal creativity indicate that idea originality increases progressively as more ideas are produced. The present study tested the effects of practice upon nonverbal creativity. Thirty-two fifth grade children were administered Form A and/or Form B of Torrance's picture completion task for 5 consecutive days. Figural originality…

Covered in the short discussion of Project Gifted for Intermediate grade children are program description, instructional strategy, classification of question categories to cue various levels of thinking, traits common to intellectually gifted students, and procedure for selection of students participating in Project Gifted. Project Gifted is…

The John Ball Zoo School was created during the summer of 1973 in an effort to develop a more stimulating educational program for talented sixth-graders. It uses "structured freedom" and individualized instruction to teach the basic skills expected of all sixth-graders and environmental studies. (Author/IRT)

Presents a dialogue between a student and an examiner that demonstrates the difficulty of diagnosing a comprehension problem. (MKM)

To examine various aspects of using small unit study guides, two experiments were conducted with 24 fifth-grade students. (Author/SBH)

Blue Jeans Baseball, for eight- to twelve-year old children, is based on the concept that everyone plays. No coaches are allowed; everyone bats once per inning; defensive players rotate positions. These and other rules reduce the emphasis on competition and increase the emphasis on skill development. (MJB)

After participating for 14 weeks in the Purdue Creative Thinking Program (which fosterd divergent thinking abilities), behaviorally-disordered 11- and 12-year-olds (N=24) scored significantly higher on verbal (written expression) subtests of the Torrance Tests of Creativity than a control group of behaviorally-disordered peers (N=24). (Author/CB)

Describes a program which was designed to improve the reading skills and broaden the reading interests of fifth grade students. Critical and higher-level thinking skills were stressed in the program, which included a reading list divided by genre and such activities as group discussions and a contest. (MES)

Investigated how eight teachers untrained in holistic scoring rated elementary school students' compositions about baseball. Teachers varied in knowledge level about baseball and were classified as having either an academic or a cognitive-developmental teaching approach. Findings are discussed in terms of a classroom competence model of writing.…

Uses a photograph of Michael Heizer's earthwork sculpture "Double Negative" to encourage students in grades 4-6 to discuss ways in which an artist may communicate ideas by creating ultra-large "landscape sculptures." Provides student objectives, background information on the artwork, instructional strategies, and evaluation criteria. (GEA)

Analysis of scores on three divergent production tests taken by 59 gifted students (grades 4-6) sought to isolate three variables assumed to be factors of divergent production: ideational fluency, spontaneous flexibility, and originality. Results cast doubt on the existence of spontaneous flexibility and originality as valid cognitive factors.…

This study tested the effects of three teaching styles on the motor skill acquisition of fifth grade children from low and high socio-economic status. Results revealed that, while one style was most productive with average children, exceptional children prospered under another style. (Author/MT)