Gifted children in the preschool and primary grades may demonstrate advanced abilities in the verbal areas in several different ways. Many gifted children show precocious oral language ability by talking early and with greater complexity and manipulation of language than their age peers. Some gifted children also demonstrate precocious reading ability, reading early with limited or no formal instruction, and many continue to be voracious readers throughout their elementary school years. Advanced vocabulary and a strong sense of humor grounded in language play are other early characteristics of verbal talent. These characteristics of the verbally talented child, along with more general evidence of high ability such as advanced grasp of complexity and early abstract thinking, provide a guide and a rationale for curriculum developers, teachers, and parents in their efforts to promote experiences that will challenge gifted children and support their development. Therefore, advanced reading materials and activities requiring higher-level thinking are critical elements of a strong language arts program for verbally gifted students. The Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary (W&M) has developed a series of language arts units targeting students with advanced abilities in the verbal areas. The curriculum framework for the units is grounded in the Integrated Curriculum Model, which incorporates three interrelated dimensions for supporting gifted student learning: (1) "advanced and substantive content," to respond to the precocity of the learner; (2) "higher-level processes and product development," to engage student intensity; and (3) "interdisciplinary issues, themes, and ideas," to challenge and support complexity in student thinking. For gifted students, maintaining a language arts curriculum that includes complex conceptual levels, integrated higher-level thinking, and advanced and interesting reading materials can promote the challenge they crave and keep the language arts classroom a place of wonder and imagination. (Contains 1 figure.)