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Updated Edition of Bestseller

Differentiating for the Young Child

Teaching Strategies Across the Content Areas, PreK–3

Second Edition
By: Joan Franklin Smutny, S.E. von Fremd

Foreword by George S. Morrison

Designed to help teachers meet the diverse needs of young children, this book offers differentiated strategies for promoting intellectual discovery and creative thinking across key disciplines.

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-3
ISBN: 9781412975568
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2009
Page Count: 280
Publication date: December 26, 2013

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Description

Praise for the first edition:
"Smutny and von Fremd's very special talent is in helping adults nurture and cherish the creativity and learning joy that is so intrinsic in young children."
—Susan Winebrenner, Author and Staff Development Specialist
Education Consulting Service, Inc.

"The authors use teacher voices, classroom stories, and solid foundations to guide the reader's thinking. Practical examples and specific guidelines make the book very useful without resorting to templates or gimmicks!"
—Carol Ann Tomlinson, Professor
University of Virginia

Praise for the second edition:
"Using the ideas presented in this book make teaching and learning more personalized and exciting for both teachers and their students. This book provides a breath of fresh air for the teaching profession!"
—Carole S. Campbell, Educator
Higher Ground Educational Consulting

"This book is chock full of great examples and classroom applications, providing specific guidance and clear-headed advice."
—Nancy H. McDonough, Second-Grade Teacher
Walter Stillman School, Tenafly, NJ

Meet the highly diverse needs of primary students with these differentiated teaching strategies!

Every student who walks through the classroom door brings special gifts to the learning table. Differentiating for the Young Child helps primary teachers value and support the unique experiences and learning styles of diverse young learners.

Joan Franklin Smutny and S.E. von Fremd offer strategies and methods for promoting creative thinking and intellectual discovery across key discipline areas. They also tackle issues relating to underserved students and discuss differentiated technology use. Revised to make differentiated learning easier, this second edition:

Includes new charts with high- to low-preparation strategies for differentiating lessons in math, science, social studies, and language arts
Presents new focus questions to help teachers clarify their own priorities and target student needs efficiently
Offers Web sites for further reference

Because the primary grades influence all the years that follow, this resource helps early childhood and primary teachers use creative, differentiated teaching strategies to meet the individual learning needs of all young children and encourage their future academic success.

Author(s)

Joan Franklin Smutny

Joan Franklin Smutny is founder and director of the Center for Gifted, a Northern Illinois University Partner. She directs programs for thousands of bright, talented, and gifted children in the Chicago area annually. She also teaches creative writing in many of these programs as well as courses on gifted education for graduate students at the university level. She is editor of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children Journal, contributing editor of Understanding Our Gifted, and a regular contributor to the Gifted Education Communicator, Parenting for High Potential, and the Gifted Education Press Quarterly. Smutny has authored, co-authored, and edited many articles and books on gifted education for teachers, parents, and administrators, including Challenging High Potential Spanish Speaking Students (2012), Teaching Advanced Learners in the General Education Classroom (2011), Manifesto of the Gifted Girl (2010), Differentiating for the Young Child, Second Edition (2010), Igniting Creativity in Gifted Learners, K–6 (2009), Acceleration for Gifted Learners, K–5 (2007), Reclaiming the Lives of Gifted Girls and Women (2007), Designing and Developing Programs for Gifted Students (2003), Underserved Gifted Populations (2003), Gifted Education: Promising Practices (2003), Stand Up for Your Gifted Child (2001), The Young Gifted Child: Potential and Promise, an Anthology (1998), and Teaching Young Gifted Children in the Regular Classroom (1997). In 1996, she won the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contribution to the field of gifted education.

S.E. von Fremd

S.E. von Fremd is an independent scholar, writer, and editor with a background in education, cultural studies, and dance. She performed with the Never Stop Moving Dance Company in Chicago under the direction of Reynaldo Martinez and taught creative dance and theater to children in the city and surrounding areas. Her interest in creativity and culture eventually led her to do a doctorate in performance studies at Northwestern University. This included a year’s research in Uganda, where she focused on the role of popular theater and dance in reviving cultural identity and educating children and young people throughout the country. She has written several book reviews on African musical traditions, a monograph on the cultural legacy of Kenyan novelist Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka, another monograph on refugees in Africa, and an article on the performing arts as a popular forum for education in Uganda. She has also given presentations on Uganda’s creative artists under the reign of Idi Amin and on dance movements throughout the continent of Africa.

Table of Contents

Foreword by George S. Morrison

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction

1. Preparing for the Journey of a Differentiated Classroom

The Metaphor of a "Journey"

The Primary Classroom and Differentiation

Student Learning Needs

The Teacher's Knowledge and Experience

Essential Concepts, Knowledge, and Skills

A Learning Environment for Young Students

Resources to Explore

Priorities and Preparation

Beyond Planning

Looking Ahead

2. Assessing Primary Learners

Why Assess in a Differentiated Class?

What Do I Assess?

Who Assesses the Students?

When Do I Assess My Students?

How Do I Assess My Students?

Looking Ahead

Web Sites for Teachers

3. Strategies for Differentiating the Learning Journey

I. Manageability or "Rules of the Road"

II. Strategies for Differentiating the Learning Journey

Looking Ahead

Web Sites for Teachers

4. Using the Arts to Differentiate the Primary Curriculum

The Central Role of the Arts

Benefits of an Arts-Infused Curriculum

Arts Applications

Looking Ahead

Web Sites for Teachers

5. Differentiated Instruction Applied to Language Arts

The Big Picture: Language Arts Goals

The Five-Step Plan

Know the Travelers (Step 1)

Choose the Learning "Destination" (Step 2)

Identify Evidence of Understanding (Step 3)

Plan the Journey (Step 4)

Assess and Adapt Instruction (Step 5)

Six Examples of Teaching Strategies and Learning Activities

Looking Ahead

Web Sites for Teachers

6. Differentiated Instruction Applied to Social Studies

The Big Picture: Social Studies

Know the Travelers (Step 1)

Choose the Learning "Destination" (Step 2)

Identify Evidence of Understanding (Step 3)

Plan the Journey (Step 4)

Assess and Adapt Instruction (Step 5)

Six Examples of Teaching Strategies and Learning Activities

Looking Ahead

Web Sites for Teachers

7. Differentiated Instruction Applied to Science

The Big Picture: Science

Know the Travelers (Step 1)

Choose the Learning "Destination" (Step 2)

Identify Evidence of Understanding (Step 3)

Plan the Journey (Step 4)

Assess and Adapt Instruction (Step 5)

Six Examples of Teaching Strategies and Learning Activities

Web Sites for Teachers

8. Differentiated Instruction Applied to Mathematics

The Big Picture: Mathematics

Know the Travelers (Step 1)

Choose the Learning "Destination" (Step 2)

Identify Evidence of Understanding (Step 3)

Plan the Journey (Step 4)

Assess and Adapt Instruction (Step 5)

Six Examples of Teaching Strategies and Learning Activities

Looking Ahead

Web Sites for Teachers

Bibliography

I. Resources for Teachers–General Topics

II. Resources for Children–Creativity and the Arts

References

Index

Reviews

"The authors do a very thorough job of integrating the implications and applications for classroom teachers. Each chapter includes both the why's and how's of differentiating instruction."

Tammy Tiong, Special Education Teacher
Dulce Elementary School, NM

"Represents a giant step forward in recommended teaching practices that are very likely to result in meeting the standards and testing requirements of any state. Using the ideas presented in this book will make teaching and learning more personalized and exciting for both teachers and their students. This book provides a breath of fresh air for the teaching profession!"

Carole S. Campbell, Educator
Higher Ground Educational Consulting

"This book is chock full of great examples and classroom applications, providing specific guidance and clear-headed advice."

Nancy H. McDonough, Second-Grade Teacher
Walter Stillman School, Tenafly, NJ

Other Titles in: Teaching Methods & Learning Styles | Differentiation & Multiple Intelligences

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This book is not available as a review copy.