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Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp
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Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp.  All rights reserved.
about the book
The Homeschool Diner's Guide to
Homeschooling Special Situations
Gifted Homeschooling


Film and Fiction Dealing With Giftedness

by Julie Knapp, copyright 2005


Here are a few movie and book suggestions from parents and teachers.  
I haven't personally seen all of these films, or read all these books, so I
strongly suggest that you pre-view or pre-read them to see if they
portray qualities you are interested in discussing and/or promoting with
your particular child, and if the themes are age appropriate for your
child.


Giftedness in Film

Searching for Bobby Fischer (life of a boy in tournament chess)
Little Man Tate (single mother struggles to raise highly gifted child)  
Spellbound (about 8 contestants in the National Spelling Bee)
Matilda
Harry Potter series
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
A Beautiful Mind
(based on the life of John F. Nash, brilliant, Nobel
Prize-winning mathematician and schizophrenic)
Akeelah and the Bee
Pay It Forward
The Last Starfighter
(a gifted video game player ;-)
October Sky
Finding Forester
Whale Rider
Mr. Holland's Opus
(a gifted musician who teaches high school)
Good Will Hunting
The Incredibles
 (if you relate their superhero-ness to giftedness)
War Games
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Billy Elliot
(struggles of a boy gifted in dance)
Fly Away Home
Spirited Away
Spellbound
The Last Mimzy
Nim's Island
Top Kid
(Australian Film)
Bridge to Terabithia (a boy a great imagination who draws)
Anne of Green Gables
Hard Problems


"Fostering the social and emotional development of gifted
children through guided viewing of film"  is an article by Tom
Hebert of the University of Georgia (USA) -- proposes using guided
viewing of film as "...a strategy through which teachers and counselors
may assist young gifted students in gaining helpful insights to deal with
problems they face..."  describes a few films appropriate for use with
gifted students.

AHA Movie Lovers -- an online group that discusses good movies and
ways to homeschool with them

Yahoo! Movie Mom's reviews -- includes current movies as well as
videos/DVDs, plot details that may be of concern, levels of violence,
innuendo, nudity, etc, suggests topics for family discussion after viewing
the movie (based on moral issues presented in the movie)

Christian Spotlight on the movies -- gives reviews and ratings from a
Christian perspective, also has reviews of TV programs



Giftedness in Fiction

Harold's Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson (a early reader series)
What's the Big Idea, Ben Frankiln? by Jean Fritz
Carry On Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis
The Boy Who Could Fly by Sally Gardner
A Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle
Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow series by Orson Scott Card


Some of My Best Friends Are Books (ISBN 0-910707-51-0) by  
Judith Wynn Halstead -- describes using books as bibliotherapy to help
provide emotional support for gifted children,  lists of books by topic

See
Hoagie's Gifted Education pages for a nice list of more
recommended children's literature, with short story summaries.

Carol Hurst's Children's Book Reviews -- books listed alphabetically
(back to)
gifted