Customer Reviews

Academic Competitions for Gifted Students: A Resource Book for Teachers and Parents

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A better title for the book would be "Fun Competitions for Youth". This is NOT a book only for "Gifted Students"! While some of the competitions described are certainly for students who have a strong interest in a specific area most do not require that a student be "gifted" with a high IQ.

This book would be an excellent addition to any school library for use by teachers in all subject areas and should be borrowed from the local library by home school parents who want to add fun to their curriculum or parents of public school students who would like to offer their child an exciting opportunity. Most entries have a web address that the reader can go to for more information and applications.

Of the 170 "competitions" listed in the book 78 can be entered by a single student, or a group as small as three (about four competitions). The 78 competitions I identified did not include those that were only open to students of a specific race (four or five), those based on the knowledge of a foreign language (four or five) nor ones that most students would be prevented from participating in because of cost.

The opening chapter has a number of great ideas about how to empower youth to participate in these "competitions" without feeling that not "winning" is somehow "loosing".

I was pleased to find that a number of the competitions actually "awarded" a certificate or something like it to all students who entered. I would love it if every competition would send each participant a thank you letter telling them how great it is that they submitted an entry. Nothing is quite as exciting as knowing someone thinks you are great simply because you participate!

Mary K. Tallant-Runnels and Ann C. Candler-Lotven's ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS FOR GIFTED STUDENTS: A RESOURCE BOOK FOR TEACHERS AND PARENTS is a key resource perfect for any who would understand academic competitions for grades K-12. From their impact and potential problems to selecting events to match student strengths, ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS appears in a second, updated edition to make a case for matching academic contests to the needs of special students.