ABSTRACT
Benjamin Bloom wrote what is arguably the most seminal work on talent development after conducting intensive case studies with 120 eminently talented individuals across multiple domains of performance. Bloom was influenced by the Whitehead model of talent development in which Whitehead described three distinct phases of the process: romance, precision, and integration. When Bloom stated that schools ignore what Whitehead was telling us by beginning with precision and accuracy, he meant that little or no attention was devoted to the romance phase of the process. The chapter provides an approach to developing learning experiences for gifted and advanced learners in English language arts that is theoretically grounded in the talent development model. The romance with the domain appears to be a significant foundation on which they establish goals for writing, create consistent routines for writing, attend enrichment programs in writing, and submit their writing to competitions.
