Differentiating for the Young Child

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.

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 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.