-Helps pre-service and beginning teachers to think critically about the impact of rurality on their work. -Applies a social justice framework to rural education, which is imperative to our current conversations about equity and justice for all students. -Written from an asset-based perspective.

This handbook begins with a foundational overview of rural education, examining the ways in which definitions, histories, policies, and demographic changes influence rural schools. This foundational approach includes how corporatization, population changes, poverty, and the role of data affect everyday learning in rural schools. In following sections, the contributors consider how school closures, charter schools, and district governance influence decision making in rural schooling, while also examining the influence of these structures on higher education attainment, rural school partnerships, and school leadership. They explore curriculum studies in rural education, including place-based and trauma-informed pedagogies, rural literacies, rural stereotype threat, and achievement. Finally, they engage with issues of identity and equity in rural schools by providing an overview of the literature related to diverse populations in rural places, including Indigenous, Black, and Latinx communities, and exceptional learners. Importantly, this handbook applies theoretical tools to rural classroom experiences, demonstrating the potential of work centered at the intersection of theory, rurality, and classroom practice. Each section concludes with a response by an international scholar, situating the topics covered within the broader global context.

This text draws on data from a five-year longitudinal study focusing on gifted education programs in high poverty rural areas in the US. It provides a framework for the use of place-based interventions to effectively serve gifted students, reduce opportunity gaps, and address stereotype threat. Recognizing that gifted learners are often underrepresented in rural contexts, the text adopts a social justice lens to outline the unique challenges of fostering advanced education in rural school districts. Using opportunities to learn and best practices in gifted education to inform interventions and practice, the text offers in-depth explanation of how place-based approaches can be used to identify gifted students and ensure that curricula are designed to respect the setting, students, and teachers. The text is structured into three parts, providing the reader with a logical and comprehensive progression through theoretical foundations, the practicalities of implementation, and the process and outcomes of measuring and validating outcomes. Given its unique approach to gifted education programs, this book will prove to be an indispensable and timely resource for scholars working to develop gifted education and educational interventions with and for rural schools.

-Helps pre-service and beginning teachers to think critically about the impact of rurality on their work. -Applies a social justice framework to rural education, which is imperative to our current conversations about equity and justice for all students. -Written from an asset-based perspective.

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

This text draws on data from a five-year longitudinal study focusing on gifted education programs in high poverty rural areas in the US. It provides a framework for the use of place-based interventions to effectively serve gifted students, reduce opportunity gaps, and address stereotype threat. Recognizing that gifted learners are often underrepresented in rural contexts, the text adopts a social justice lens to outline the unique challenges of fostering advanced education in rural school districts. Using opportunities to learn and best practices in gifted education to inform interventions and practice, the text offers in-depth explanation of how place-based approaches can be used to identify gifted students and ensure that curricula are designed to respect the setting, students, and teachers. The text is structured into three parts, providing the reader with a logical and comprehensive progression through theoretical foundations, the practicalities of implementation, and the process and outcomes of measuring and validating outcomes. Given its unique approach to gifted education programs, this book will prove to be an indispensable and timely resource for scholars working to develop gifted education and educational interventions with and for rural schools.

The CLEAR curriculum, developed by 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 Poetry and Fairy Tales: Language Arts Units for Gifted Students in Grade 3 students will read and analyze various forms of poetry and write their own poetry anthology. They will learn how to identify and use figurative language to create concrete images from abstract ideas. In the fairy tales unit, students will study fairy tales and folklore to understand how and why societal norms and mores are culturally transmitted. These units focus on critical literacy that includes reading diverse sources, understanding bias and cultural contexts, and creating informed consumers of information. Grade 3

This handbook begins with a foundational overview of rural education, examining the ways in which definitions, histories, policies, and demographic changes influence rural schools. This foundational approach includes how corporatization, population changes, poverty, and the role of data affect everyday learning in rural schools. In following sections, the contributors consider how school closures, charter schools, and district governance influence decision making in rural schooling, while also examining the influence of these structures on higher education attainment, rural school partnerships, and school leadership. They explore curriculum studies in rural education, including place-based and trauma-informed pedagogies, rural literacies, rural stereotype threat, and achievement. Finally, they engage with issues of identity and equity in rural schools by providing an overview of the literature related to diverse populations in rural places, including Indigenous, Black, and Latinx communities, and exceptional learners. Importantly, this handbook applies theoretical tools to rural classroom experiences, demonstrating the potential of work centered at the intersection of theory, rurality, and classroom practice. Each section concludes with a response by an international scholar, situating the topics covered within the broader global context.