Enrichment and Acceleration

Intelligent children often do not achieve the academic success and career development the gifts they demonstrate at school age would indicate and there are many reasons this failure can occur.

One of the most common is the belief by the youngster that having a high intelligence is enough to bring success.

This comes about because when these children are learning in mixed ability groups they can easily cope with the work in most subjects. They have a more comprehensive vocabulary than other children or a much greater facility with number, for example, and so are able to complete work quickly and accurately. This creates in their minds the idea that they do not need to work at anything to be top of their class.

As they grow older and are streamed more, they find themselves working with other intelligent children who, although they may not be as gifted, do provide more of a challenge because these children appreciate the need to work hard. By this time it is often too late for very intelligent children as laziness has already set in and too many of the brightest children do not have a good work habit.

The youngsters that succeed best of all are those who can be taught that it is hard work that produces results and not just high intelligence.

The problem becomes worse as they get older as not only do they not have a good work habit, they also do not know how to study or work independently.

Once they are failing to achieve their full potential, it is easier for their teachers, especially those who have only known them for a short time, to totally underestimate their potential and they will then not receive the encouragement and difficult tasks they need to develop their talents to the full.

Alongside these problems are often behavioural difficulties caused by boredom and frustration.

Some experts advocate that children should never be told, ‘You are clever!' Instead parents and teachers should use phrases such as, ‘That's a clever/good/interesting idea', ‘You have worked hard on this project; well done!' In other words, the praise should refer to the short term activity undertaken with the implication that more effort is needed to receive the same praise for the next activity. The achievement of this week will not automatically transfer to next week's work simply because the young person has a gift or talent. When a piece of work is not up to the standard expected of that child, he or she should be told and ways of how to improve it discussed.

There are a number of ways to keep your children stimulated, interested and hence achieving. Two of these are Enrichment and Acceleration. Enrichment is the provision of work that contains a great deal which is outside the normal curriculum , although the level is approximately that of the work being covered by other intelligent peers. Acceleration is the provision of work covered by older pupils .

WordsPlease provides both Enrichment and Acceleration, but the emphasis is on Enrichment . The reason for this is that we believe if too much is included that is a necessary part of study in a year or two, intelligent children will become bored later when they have to repeat this part of the syllabus.

WordsPlease has been developed to provide the enrichment (with some acceleration, naturally) needed to stimulate your youngsters aged 10 – 14 years approximately, using the English language and Communication as a vehicle. We have deliberately avoided including flashing graphics which add nothing to the educational content. Instead we have made listening to background material and reading complex passages for information the main thrust of the presentations. Youngsters are then in a much better position to develop the tasks and challenges presented.

The enrichment provided includes:

•  introductions to Shakespeare and Chaucer and the worlds in which they lived

•  high level skills to develop story writing more akin to techniques used by professional authors

•  quotations and their sources

•  the history of the English language including the development of names of places and people

•  an introduction to cryptic clues

•  codes and ciphers

•  writing fictional and non-fictional pieces

•  drama activities for school and home

•  the origins of proverbs, common phrases, slang and clichés

•  the development of spelling

•  using local resources including libraries and record offices

•  types of poetry

•  word games

•  how to find a penpal safely

•  crosswords

•  starting a writing club

Using this material provided both on the WordsPlease website and in the magazines, intelligent children can develop their English and communication skills in a manner that supports what they are learning in the classroom and keeps them interested and stimulated.

You will be aware that this material is much more challenging than that provided on many websites (i.e. simple worksheets and fun and games activities with totally inappropriate graphics that only cover work that has already been mastered). WordsPlease provides a coherent, well thought out and extended curriculum which enables pupils to improve their depth of understanding and achievement. It has been produced by a team of practising teachers of English and drama, together with first rate programmers and illustrators.