Effective Resources for Able and Talented Children (The Resource Collection)

250 Pages·1999·8.96 MB·English

by  Barry Teare

Effective Resources
for
Able & Talented
Children
Barry Teare
network
continuum
Continuum International Publishing Group
The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London SE1 7NX New York NY 10038
© Bill Lucas 2005
ISBN 1 85539 104 X Paperback
ISBN 1 85539 163 5 Hardback
The right of Bill Lucas to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with Sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publishers. This book may not be lent, resold, hired out
or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other
than that in which it is published, without the prior consent of the publishers.
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of materials reproduced
in this book. The publishers apologize for any omissions and will be pleased to
rectify them at the earliest opportunity.
Managing editor: Dawn Booth
Design & layout: Neil Hawkins
Illustrations: Dave Thompson
Cover design: Paul Keen
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to:
My family, especially Henrietta for her active encouragement and support.
My publisher and all the editorial and design team. The expert panel who
guided me throughout the process of writing and re-writing - Professor
Guy Claxton, Professor Louise Stoll, Professor Elizabeth Leo, Dr Peter Honey,
Mike Leibling and Octavius Black. Special thanks to Guy, without whose
rigorous feedback the book might not be in the shape it finally is now!
Continuum International Publishing Group
The Tower Building
11 York Road
London SE1 7NX
80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704
New York, NY 10038
First published 2005
© John Davitt 2005
ISBN 1 85539 131 7
The right of John Davitt to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in
accordance with Sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any other means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publisher.
This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by the way of trade in
any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, without the prior consent
of the Publisher.
Every effort has been make to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this book. The
publishers apologize for any omissions and will be pleased to rectify them at the earliest
opportunity. Please see page 131 for a comprehensive list of acknowledgements.
Managing Editor: Sarah Nunn
Technical Editor: Mike Bostock
Cover design: Neil Hawkins, NEP
Layout: Marc Maynard, NEP
Illustrator: Katherine Baxter (pages 9, 13, 23, 53, 68, 69, 73, 78, 85, 89, 97, 121, 123, 125)
Illustrator: Spike Gerrell (pages 28, 29, 37, 42, 49, 87, 101)
Printed in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall
Contents
Using this book 4
Section One Ten tools to build a curriculum for the more able 7
Section Two Being resourceful 21
Section Three Resources for enrichment and extension 39
Theme One: Literacy 41
Theme Two: Language Across the Curriculum 65
Theme Three: Reading 75
Theme Four: Writing 89
Theme Five: Numeracy, Mathematics 103
Theme Six: Science 125
Theme Seven: Logical Thought 149
Theme Eight: Codes 167
Theme Nine: Humanities 183
Theme Ten: Detective Work 197
Theme Eleven: Alternative Answers, 219
Imagination, Creativity
Effective Resources for Able and Talented Children © Barry Teare (Network Education
Using this book
This book, 'Effective Resources for Able and Talented Children', stands in its own right, but
to some extent it is also a companion volume to 'Effective Provision for Able and Talented
Children', by Barry Teare (Network Educational Press, 1997). In that first book, chapters
were devoted to background theory, policy, the target group, identification strategies,
school ethos, pastoral care, personnel issues, provision in the classroom, enrichment
activities, monitoring and evaluation, and resources. This second book, in Sections One
and Two, develops ideas surrounding curriculum provision for able children much
further, thereby providing extension to particular chapters of 'Effective Provision for Able
and Talented Children'.
The great majority of this book, though, is devoted to materials that can be used directly
with able children (Section Three). This hopefully answers the oft-heard plea from
teachers for more ready-to-use resources of this kind. The materials are targeted mainly
at Key Stages 2 and 3 of the National Curriculum and P3 to S2 in Scotland. However,
chronological age is not a very good guide where able children are concerned, so
flexibility is an important consideration.
The materials are grouped into themes for convenience, but this is only a general
indication of use. Some pieces of work could equally well have appeared in other
themes. The chart on page 5 indicates where each piece of work has relevance, and there
is additional guidance on cross-referencing within the commentaries at the start of each
theme. These commentaries also provide background thinking to the themes and
indicate how items fit into the requirements of the National Curriculum and the Scottish
5-14 Guidelines, as well as providing for the more general needs of able pupils. This is a
very important feature of the book, as interesting and challenging delivery of set content
is a key element in providing for able children.
Each piece of work is followed by either a 'solution', or teaching notes, or both. On
many occasions there is guidance on the thinking skills involved and the different ways
in which the pieces can be used. It is essential to read the teaching notes carefully to get
the best out of the materials. Every effort has been made to suggest alternative methods,
as variety is tremendously important.
Those who have seen the model for the target group in the author's 'Effective Provision
for Able and Talented Children' will realize that only some of the suggested groups have
been catered for in this book. Other children, with physical talents and mechanical
ingenuity for example, require suitable opportunities that are beyond the scope of this
text. Even so, the materials included here are very varied and they do address the
preferred learning styles of many children. Outcomes vary considerably, as is
appropriate.
Within Section Three there are eleven important themes but others could be developed.
The pieces can be used directly, or teachers, on some occasions, may wish to make their
own amendments to suit local conditions. Whichever is the case, teachers are urged to
use these tried and tested materials and enrich the lives of able children.
4 Effective Resources for Able and Talented Children © Barry Teare (Network Educational Press, 1999)
Use of materials
r 1^ i i * sio! i If! s t-s j* i I I -STJ ,is , $$S M n n « u t>$ w-SK H
J i ll i in i j 1 I i 1 i ii li 11 il u I ii iii
Carp
Ant
Lemon Sole
The Missing Letter
Doing the Proverbial
The Full Monty
Poetic Licence
Depict
Quintessential Qualities
Four
Mole, Rat, Badger, Toad and Who?
The Bare Bones
Tangled Tales
And That's the End of the Story
Straight from the Horse's Mouth
The Man in the Van
Mouthwatering
Opening Up a New Chapter
Acute
A Calculated Risk
Board with Numbers?
In the Balance
The Year of the Dragon
Lucky Programme
Property To Let
Professor Malaprop
Ruby Red
In the Swim
Field and Track
Food for Thought
According to the Book
Radio Six
Lucky the Cat
Mosaic
Crossedwords
The Way the Wind Blows
Decision Makers
Eyam
On the Map
Seeing is Believing
According to the Evidence
An Arresting Problem
Vital Evidence
The Question Is
Or
Who Am I?
Now You See It
Just Imagine
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Section One
Ten tools to build a curriculum for the more able
This section will examine:
the development and expansion of curriculum principles laid
down in 'Effective Provision fro Able and Talented Children' by
Barry Teare (Network Educational Press, 1997);
the ways in which the identification of able children informs
provision for them;
how the needs of able children are met through a challenging
and well-throught-out curriculum;
they key role played by the higher-order thinking skills a
different forms of differentiation;
how the views of able children themselves are taken into
account.
Introduction
KEY MESSAGE
IT IS IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISH GOOD CURRICULUM PRINCIPLES TO INFORM
PROVISION, TO STIMULATE THE WRITING OF APPROPRIATE MATERIALS AND TO
PROVIDE A BASE FROM WHICH TO JUDGE THE SUITABILITY OF RESOURCES.
There are various ways of analysing the curriculum needs of able children. Much of the
research work done on the left and right sides of the brain, and the practical application
of Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences by practitioners such as Alistair
Smith, provide the basis for one worthwhile route.
Robert Fisher of the Centre for Thinking Skills at Brunei University has his own
taxonomy of thinking skills for the National Curriculum. He sees a number of key
qualities as 'providing opportunities for intellectual growth':
-*iwi^t&£ imagination
preseverance fluency
risk-talking flexibility
sensitivity originality
curiosity elaboration
Two of Fisher's books, 'Teaching Children to Learn' and 'Teaching Children to Think' (both
Stanley Thornes (Publishers), 1995), are also particularly useful.
Effective Resources for Able and Talented Children © Barry Teare (Network Educational Press, 1999) 7
Many of the approaches, including the two on the previous page, are concerned with
good and varied teaching and learning styles for children in general. Much of the
thinking has great relevance for able pupils in particular. Despite this overlap, there are
particular considerations to take into account when providing specifically for the able
and talented.
KEY MESSAGE
MANY TEXTS ON, AND APPROACHES TO, TEACHING AND LEARNING HAVE AN
IMPORTANT ROLE TO PLAY BUT, IN ADDITION, THERE ARE SPECIFIC FACTORS TO
BEAR IN MIND WHEN DESIGNING A CURRICULUM FOR THE MORE ABLE.
This combination of the general and the specific has proved very helpful in INSET at
both primary and secondary levels.
The ten tools
There follows a summary of the 'ten tools', which are each considered in more detail
below:
1 The needs of able pupils;
2 The characteristics of able pupils
a. in a general sense
b. at subject-specific level;
3 The sections of the National Curriculum, of the Scottish 5-14 Guidelines, or of any
other systems or courses, that encourage enrichment and extension;
4 A taxonomy, such as Bloom's, to encourage the higher-order thinking skills;
5 Evidence from specialist publications and the OFSTED and Scottish HMI
inspection systems;
6 Discussion of what makes a piece of work or task difficult and challenging;
7 The various types of differentiation;
8 Strategies for provision in the classroom specifically, in the school generally,
and beyond;
9 Surveys of what able children themselves think;
10 The range of leisure materials (books, games, and so on) favoured by able children.
1: The needs of able pupils
The list could be very lengthy but some of the important needs of able children are as
follows:
1 space to make individual contributions from open-ended situations;
2 the opportunity to take risks in an organized way with the facility to fail without
threat;
3 contact with like-minded people, either peers or adults;
4 a fair proportion of teachers' time but deployed differently than for other pupils;
5 a good balance of working with urgency and pace, and time to reflect;
6 question-and-answer sessions that play to the higher-order thinking skills;
7 only as much instruction as is needed, thus allowing the able to interpret what is
required for themselves;
8 opportunities to develop work further;
8 Effective Resources for Able and Talented Children © Barry Teare (Network Educational Press, 1999)