Research and Rhetoric

The CLEAR curriculum, developed by the University of Virginia's National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, is an evidence-based teaching model that emphasizes Challenge Leading to Engagement, Achievement, and Results. In Research and Rhetoric: Language Arts Units for Gifted Students in Grade 5, students will engage in a systematic study of rhetoric as contemplated by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Students will answer the question: When do you appeal to one's intellect, to emotions, or perhaps to one's sense of morality when trying to persuade? In the research unit, students will learn and employ advanced research skills from crafting open-ended research questions and discerning between reliable sources. They will carry out their own research study and present findings at a research gala. These units focus on critical literacy skills including reading diverse texts, understanding a speaker's or author's perspective, and understanding an audience's perspective.

Winner of the 2016 NAGC Curriculum Studies Award

Grade 5

Amy Price Azano, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of adolescent literacy at Virginia Tech where her research focuses on rural gifted education, place-based pedagogy, and the literacy needs of rural youth.

Carolyn M. Callahan, Ph.D., professor in the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, also is associate director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. She teaches courses in the area of education of the gifted, and is executive director of the Summer Enrichment Program. Dr. Callahan has authored more than 130 articles, 25 book chapters and monographs in gifted education focusing on creativity, the identification of gifted students, program evaluation, and the issues faced by gifted females. Dr. Callahan has received recognition as Outstanding Faculty Member in the Commonwealth of Virginia and was awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Association for Gifted Children. She is a past-president of The Association for the Gifted and the National Association for Gifted Children. She also sits on the editorial boards of Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, and Roeper Review.