One hundred fifty-six gifted elementary students (grades 3 through 6) responded to the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory on a pre- and posttest basis during a 3 week, 45 hour College for Kids program, designed as an enrichment program with focus on critical thinking, problem solving, inquiry, research, and questioning. Thirty students responded to…

Creative musical experiences appropriate to children's cognitive and psychomotor development should begin in kindergarten. Structured creativity through the process of musical composition can be used at grade 4 and above. Lesson plans using Haiku poetry, penatonic scales, rhythmic durations, and melodic contour to create a song are provided. (VW)

Creative thinking and problem solving processes were studied in 233 gifted elementary students. (Author/DLS)

The Russell C. Gordon Elementary School (Nova Scotia, Canada) offers the Enriched Students Program (ESP) for academically gifted students. ESP goals include: fostering and developing individual interests of students; initiating higher level thinking skills; strengthening task commitment; stimulating creativity; promoting leadership qualities; and…

Creativity training materials were used with a group of elementary school children who exhibited academic, social or emotional problems. Study recommends increased use of such materials, with more time and attention allowed for group discussions and role-playing during these periods. (MK)

The goals and activities of the Orff-Schulwerk Approach and the Kodaly Method of music therapy are described; and the usefulness of each approach to develop creativity, social development, and cognitive ability in normal, gifted, and handicapped elementary level students is discussed. (SBH)

As a child develops, perceptions of the world and idea concepts change, but creative expression and innovative thinking can be encouraged by the teacher at each stage of the child's development. (JD)

A study examined the relationships among 109 children's creative performances in three domains and the relationships between those children's general creative thinking skills and their creative performances. Three case studies also examined domain-specificity of creativity. Results found considerable intra-individual variation in creativity…

The document is designed to assist teachers in modifying instruction to meet the special needs of high ability students, to help educators in effective organization of their plans for individualizing instruction, and to provide information on individualizing an educational program for gifted students. The format is set up so that it describes a…

Examines biological and environmental determinants of creative/divergent thinking in light of two studies--one showing an inverse relationship between serum uric acid and divergent thinking and one showing a positive correlation between family size and creativity in upper socioeconomic status groups. Outlines classroom practices that promote…

Writing researchers suggest that children should write stories in order to (1) entertain, (2) foster artistic expression, (3) explore the functions and values of writing, (4) stimulate imagination, (5) clarify thinking, (6) search for identity, and (7) learn to read and write. (HTH)

The music, art, and physical education areas can lay the groundwork for the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. For example, music instruction develops receptive, auditory, visual, emotional, and mathematical areas. Art instruction emphasizes eye-hand coordination, creativity, concentration, spatial relationships, planning, and…

The article describes a curriculum used in gifted programming which is based on Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SOI) theory of intelligence. Sourcebooks and individual SOI modules have been developed to train over 90 kinds of intellectual ability. Five categories of intellectual ability are defined (cognition, memory, evaluation, convergent…

The document provides lesson plans for strengthening the thought processes, including problem solving and creative abilities, of third and fourth grade mentally gifted children. The lessons are organized within the five operations of the mind as defined by J. Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SOI): cognition (10 lessons), memory (6 lessons),…

The document provides lesson plans for strengthening the thought processes, including problem solving and creative abilities, of fifth and sixth grade mentally gifted children. The lessons are organized within the five operations of the mind as defined by J. Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SOI): cognition (16 lessons), memory (7 lessons),…