Parents Guide to Gifted and Talented Students Resources
Genius: The Neurobiology of Giftedness [source]
The gifted brain is implicated in having more numerous, more complex, and more active neural connections (2). PET and EEG tests have revealed that the brain organization of exceptionally mathematically-inclined teenagers are atypical to some extent - several areas of the cortex are more differentiated in the gifted teenager's brain, especially the frontal areas (5), than those of his or her peers. In another EEG study where the alpha wave power of mathematically-gifted teenagers were compared to that of SAT-matched college students, results showed that the gifted students had superior alpha wave power, and superior frontal activity (5). The hippocampus of the gifted, a major area involved in memory, was found to be not as compartmentalized as those of lower achieving students (5). In another study, the examination of Albert Einstein's brain yielded findings of a larger-than-normal, un-folded parietal lobe, an area of the brain that is usually folded and that is associated with visuo-spatial and mathematical abilities (6). Although many tests have been undertaken with various results, one may fathom that many factors may be influenced in the brain of a genius, and that no one area of the brain may be responsible for giftedness. Furthermore, the prospect of external environmental factors in influencing the development of the brain has not even been discussed in this paper, although some scientists believe that these factors are extremely influential. It is easy, therefore, to see how complex finding the answer to giftedness may actually be.
WWW Sources
How to Raise a Genius, Recent New York Times article about a five-year-old genius
A Tangled Web, Characteristics are listed that are typical of the gifted, and more information about giftedness
Uncommon Talents: Gifted Children, Prodigies, and Savants, Possessing abilities well beyond their years, gifted children inspire admiration but also suffer ridicule, neglect, and misunderstanding.
His Brain Measured Up, Studies regarding Einstein's brain may or may not indicate the source of genius.
The Gifted Brain, Recent developments are described in cognitive neuroscience and human genetics concerned with human learning, memory, and intellectual developments which have implications in gifted education.
6)Raising Albert: Can studying dead brains ever tell us anything about genius?, Environmental factors may be a source of Einstein's genius.
7)TI: Mental rotation and the right hemisphere, Abstract of research findings regarding enhanced development of the right cerebral hemisphere and its connection to extreme intellectual giftedness.
8) Wetware: The Biological Basis of Intellectual Giftedness, A thorough analysis of the parts of the brain and their related systems in comparison to the intellectually gifted.
The Gifted Children Left Behind
Monday, August 27, 2007; Page A13With reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act high on the agenda as Congress returns from its recess, lawmakers must confront the fact that the law is causing many concerned parents to abandon public schools that are not failing. These parents are fleeing public schools not only because, as documented by a recent University of Chicago study, the act pushes teachers to ignore high-ability students through its exclusive focus on bringing students to minimum proficiency. Worse than this benign neglect, No Child forces a fundamental educational approach so inappropriate for high-ability students that it destroys their interest in learning, as school becomes an endless chain of basic lessons aimed at low-performing students.
Schoolwide Enrichment Model: Investigate the School district's efforts to meet gifted students' needs by offering appropriate challenges, including an analysis of his interests and learning styles, differentiated instruction and accelerated content in advanced instructional groups in both math and reading.
Parents
and Schools: Educating Gifted and Talented Children
Frances A. Karnes, M. Ray Karnes
The Elementary School Journal, Vol. 82, No. 3, Special Issue: Gifted Education (Jan., 1982), pp.
236-248
The makings of modern American childhood, a period marked by an increased emphasis on study and structured activity and less on play. Or
at
least it's that way for upper-middle-class progeny, the ones with parents who have the extra money to
buy their kids extra attention and services.
As the rich are getting richer, their children are gaining the opportunity to get smarter. States are
gutting funding for gifted education in the public schools even as well-to-do parents fight for
appointments
with specialized intelligence evaluators who charge a thousand dollars or more per child. What Quart dubs the "Baby Genius
Edutainment
Complex" has resulted in a world where extra services for kids are
increasingly
available only to those who can pay for outside tutoring, extracurricular activities or the high tax rates
of elite suburban school districts. Call it the privatization of giftedness, where all too many children
are
being left behind.
IQ testers use these classifications to describe differing levels of giftedness. The following bands apply with a standard deviation of σ = 15 on a standardized IQ test.
- * Bright: 115+, or 1 in six (84th percentile)
- * Moderately gifted: 130+, or 1 in 50 (97.9th percentile)
- * Highly gifted: 145+, or 1 in 1000 (99.9th percentile)
- * Exceptionally gifted: 160+, or 1 in 30,000 (99.997th percentile)
- * Profoundly gifted: 175+, or 1 in 3 million (99.99997th percentile)
Unfortunately, most IQ tests do not have the capacity to discriminate accurately at higher IQ levels, capable only of determining whether a student is gifted rather than distinguishing among levels of giftedness. Although the Wechsler tests have a ceiling of about 160, their creator has admitted that they are intended to be used within the average range (between 70 and 130), and are not intended for use at the extreme ends of the population. The Stanford-Binet form L-M, though outdated, is the only test that has a sufficient ceiling to identify the exceptionally and profoundly gifted. The Stanford-Binet form V and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth Revision, both recently released, are currently being evaluated for this population. Mensa has some tests specially designed for gifted people, but they are only for adults.
Intellectual giftedness
Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly
higher than average. Giftedness is a trait that starts at birth and continues throughout the life-span.
Giftedness is not a marker of success, but rather of aptitude or the inherent ability to learn. This
ability
is tempered by the fact that experts, including Linda Kreger Silverman and Dr. Fernidad Eide, have
estimated
that between 20-40% of gifted individuals have a learning disability, attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder or some other neurological disorder. Giftedness may have a genetic component; research has shown
that first-degree relatives of the intellectually gifted will often have IQs measuring within 10-15 points
of each other.
Rationale for gifted programs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationale_for_gifted_programs
Stanford University online High School for Gifted Youth 2006
Tuition is around $12,000. Online students also can come to Stanford for up to eight weeks in the summer as part of a residential program. Offers a full high school curriculum and a diploma to students who complete it. Currently offers online courses to about 4,000 students between the ages of 4 and 18. Stanford's new program will be open to students in grades 10-12 who must apply for admission; demonstrate excellent achievement after they are enrolled.
School Directory - University of Miami and the University of Texas, operate online high schools without a focus on high-performing students.
NEW HELP FOR THE EXTREMELY GIFTED
Children who have I.Q.'s of 160 and above, are often overlooked, the Department of Education has
allocated only $11 million for programs aimed at "gifted and talented" students. Nancy Green,
executivedirector of the National Association for Gifted Children, stated, "For a nation, I'm not
sure why we value equity over excellence. All kids are
entitled to an appropriate education for their ability, not just those we're teaching to a minimum
standard."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/education/26gifted.html
NEAG Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/
College of William and Mary Center for Gifted Education
http://cfge.wm.edu/
Some New Help for the Extremely Gifted
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/education/26gifted.html By MICHAEL JANOFSKY
<snip> Davidson Academy of Nevada, a newly formed public school at the University of Nevada, Reno
for
profoundly gifted children, those whose test scores and evaluations place them in the 99.9th percentile.
Children liwho have I.Q.'s of 160 and above, constitute only a tiny fraction of the 72 million
children
who attend the nation's public and private schools. Their needs are often overlooked as federal and
state governments concentrate their resources on slower learners to lift test scores in reading and
mathematics to a minimum standard. Department of Education has allocated only $11 million for programs
aimed
at "gifted and talented" students. Asmall but growing number of charter, magnet and
early-entrance
schools are tailoring their curriculums to prepare students for college. And foundations, like the
Institute
for Educational Advancement in South Pasadena, Calif., are forming to help gifted children find programs
to
challenge them. Susan Aspey, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, said the "vast
majority" of federal spending for children in kindergarten through 12th grade was for the neediest
children. "We are undercutting the research and development people of this nation," said Joseph
S.
Renzulli, director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, at the University of
Connecticut. Nancy Green, executive director of the National Association for Gifted Children, said that
among 39 states 24 spent as much as $10 million on programs for gifted children but 7 spent less than $1
million and 8 spent nothing. "For a nation, I'm not sure why we value equity over
excellence,"
Ms. Green said. "All kids are entitled to an appropriate education for their ability, not just those
we're teaching to a minimum standard." The Davidson Academy serves highly gifted children and, as
part of it, a summer scholarship program that enables students aged 12 to 15 to earn up to seven college
credits at the University of Nevada, Reno. With plans to accept 30 applicants for the first year and twice
that for the second, the academy will be open to any students living in Nevada who can perform at a
sixth-grade level or better and can demonstrate exceptional abilities through achievement tests and
letters
of recommendation. Already, Mr. Davidson said, applications have arrived from students in California and
the
East Coast whose parents said they would be willing to move to Nevada. The Davidsons said they intended to
cover all student costs - a minimum of $10,000 a student each year - except for those courses taken only
for
college credit.
It Pays to
Have a Smart Child, but It Can Cost, Too Spending By JULIE BICK
WHEN Reed Molbak was 7 years old and living in Kansas City, Mo., his parents took him to hear a visiting
Columbia physics professor lecture about string theory. Reed listened with interest. If space is like
fabric, he wondered, can it tear? Even in preschool, he was the one doing the tearing - through books on
how
things worked - and now, at 13, he enjoys theoretical physics. Along the way, his family has spent more
than
$100,000 on testing, counseling, science experiments and software - and on enrolling him in a variety of
schools and learning programs.
"Intellectually gifted" may have a variety of definitions. But assuming that people scoring in
the
top 10 percent of intelligence tests meet the criteria, the country has millions of gifted children - and
many opportunities for them, especially if parents are willing to pay the bill.
At the Robinson Center for Young Scholars at the University of Washington, psychologists meet with parents
about educational goals and test a child's intelligence for fees of up to $756. Students in 5th
through
10th grade who score in the top 3 percent on standardized tests may, for $700, attend a challenging summer
course with their intellectual peers. At Stanford, the Education Program for Gifted Youth offers classes
via
computer; students work at home, communicating with a tutor, for $350 to $700 a course each quarter.
Children in these kinds of specialized programs sometimes become excited about learning "at a level
their parents have never seen before," said Ray Ravaglia, the program's deputy director.
<snip>
Dr. Deborah L. Ruf, author of "Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind," found that the
first expense for some families of gifted children may be for an assessment to discover what is
"wrong" with a child who, teachers complain, has been disruptive or not focused in class.
"The parents often find out the child isn't paying attention," she said, "because they
already know everything that is being taught." The students may take a combination of achievement
tests, measuring what they know, and aptitude tests, measuring verbal and numerical ability. The bill for
such tests generally goes to the parents. "There's lots of funding for kids who aren't
keeping
up in school," Dr. Ruf said, "but if you have a bright child you just get a pat on the
head."
She said she had seen "families at all economic levels prioritize their budgets to pay for testing,
enrichment and learning opportunities."
Charles Beckman, director of communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, has noted an
uptick in applications to its programs in the last few years, as well as an increase in the number of
colleges and for-profit institutions that offer course work for gifted children. "The No Child Left
Behind Act has forced many states to redirect money from gifted education to bringing other kids up to a
minimally acceptable skill level," he said. "Cutting the education dollars of tomorrow's
leaders, thinkers and doers means more families are looking for ways to have their kids' intellectual
needs met outside of school."
Some 77,000 children in grades 2 through 7 last year paid a $25 to $35 application fee and $29 to $75 to
take a test that would qualify them for the Hopkins programs. Ultimately, more than 10,000 of them
attended
a Hopkins summer course, offered at 23 sites around the country.
A typical sleepaway program for a seventh grader costs $2,900 for three weeks, including room and board.
Students choose programs that range from genomics to etymology to music theory.
Eric Viola, a high school freshman in Basking Ridge, N.J., whose family sacrificed other vacation
opportunities to finance his Hopkins educational travel program to Montana, said, "You get to see how
stuff actually works instead of reading about it - like how the physics of water pressure and heat create
the geysers at Yellowstone." Some parents also pay air fare, hotel and entry fees to attend
conferences
(without their children) like the one organized by the California Association for the Gifted. It expects
nearly 3,000 at its event in March in Palm Springs; participants will share strategies for gifted
education
and join a supportive network.
Reed's mother, Heidi Molbak, tried home schooling her little string theorist one year, and once
enrolled
him in language-immersion school to keep him occupied. In fourth grade, he took an online course in
expository writing through the Stanford program, which taught concepts typical of a ninth-grade writing
course. Reed sent his work electronically to his tutor, who held seminars once a week via headphones and
the
Internet. "Distance learning," Dr. Ruf said, "is a great option for kids who are
self-motivated and want to go at their own speed." Reed has completed his computerized tutoring and
now
attends a private school.
Parents of gifted children manage their budgets in different ways. Barbara Poyneer of Renton, Wash.,
realized that her daughters were gifted when they started playing around with fractions before entering
kindergarten. She and her husband chose travel abroad over private school, "because they could soak
up
so much," she said. Today one daughter, who is 32, holds a B.A. in physics from Johns Hopkins, and
the
other, 30, a Rhodes scholar who attended Oxford and M.I.T., is earning her Ph.D. TO be sure, some in the
education field say they believe that private programs for gifted children are unnecessary. Nancy Siegel,
head guidance counselor at Millburn High School in Millburn, N.J., advises parents to resist
overprogramming
children. If a high school does not offer many advanced-placement classes, "the student can look for
a
great internship or writing contest or independent project to show their stuff," she said.
"There
is no need to enroll in expensive programs hoping it will get your child into a top college."
Others go so far as to doubt that gifted programs are beneficial for children. "It's important to
give kids normal experiences that are typical for children of that age," said Prof. Perry Prestholdt,
who taught psychology at Louisiana State University before retiring last month. "Unique and expensive
opportunities can imbue these kids with a false sense of privilege." According to Dr. Ruf, gifted
programs may make a child feel advantaged, but they also offer the challenge and competition of the real
world, so that youngsters "realize they aren't always going to be the smartest one in the
room." And parents of gifted children can find some resources that won't take a big bite out of a
retirement plan. American Mensa, a nonprofit organization of adults scoring in the top 2 percent of
standardized intelligence tests, is seeking to attract "Young Mensans." If a family lives near
an
active chapter, a $30 application fee and yearly dues of $52 will provide it with national and local
newsletters that list events.
Adult Mensans are often eager to help younger ones, said Laura Loos, children's program coordinator
for
the greater New York chapter, whose members helped to plan free backstage trips to theaters and to a zoo
to
see how displays are created. "We want to expand the horizons of gifted children because schools
aren't doing it for them anymore," she said. "Our country is going to fall behind because we
are ignoring our future scientists, entrepreneurs and leaders."
Other free resources include Web sites like HoagiesGifted.org, for the Hoagies' Gifted Education Page;
it offers connections to mailing lists, message boards and Web logs as well as other information for
parents, educators and children.
Whatever resources they use, Ms. Molbak encourages parents to make a serious commitment. "We try to
have as normal a life as possible," she said, "but at the same time, it's important to take
charge of your child's education." She added that "if the schools can't challenge your
child, you need to figure out how to do it."
There are two email lists that discuss G/T issues. http://www.gtworld.org/gtfamlist.html. and http://www.tagfam.org.
Hoagies' Gifted Education Page
Most teachers of gifted students, whether in the regular classroom, a gifted pull-out program, or a
special
gifted program, need resources. Internet Investigations is a list of full curriculum units, usually from
introduction to activities to test, on subjects that often interest gifted students. Here you might find
units on music, art, math (but from a different perspective: pizza math, M&M math), science, and lots
more. The kids will love these! Note, the grade levels specified are for the traditional student; for
gifted
children, you might want to go up a couple grades to get something more at their level.
Organizations for and about gifted children:
http://www.district196.org/elp/organizations.htm
Resources (primarily for elementary levels):
http://www.district196.org/elp/ElemResources/ElemResources.cfm
Sources for Gifted Education
Materials
KidsSource Online
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/pages/ed.gifted.html
Information Center on Disabilities and Gifted Education
http://ericec.org/
Linda Silverman's Gifted Education Resources
http://www.ih.k12.oh.us/MSHERRMANN/giftedres.htm
The `No Child' Law's Biggest Victims? An Answer That May Surprise
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/06/23/41delacy.h23.html?querystring=biggest%20victims&print=1&print=
There is overwhelming evidence that gifted students simply do not succeed on their own. June 23, 2004 By
Margaret DeLacy Vol. 23, Issue 41, Page 40
Since education is high on the national agenda, here's a pop quiz that every American should
take.There
is overwhelming evidence that gifted students simply do not succeed on their own.
Question: What group of students makes the lowest achievement gains in school?
Answer: The brightest students.
In a pioneering study of the effects of teachers and schools on student learning, William Sanders and his
staff at the Tennessee. Value-Added Assessment System put in this way: "Student achievement level was
the second most important predictor of student learning. The higher the achievement level, the less growth
a
student was likely to have."
Mr. Sanders found this problem in schools throughout the state, and with different levels of poverty and
of
minority enrollments. He speculated that the problem was due to a "lack of opportunity for
high-scoring
students to proceed at their own pace, lack of challenging materials, lack of accelerated course
offerings,
and concentration of instruction on the average or below-average student."
While less effective teachers produced gains for lower-achieving students, Mr. Sanders found, only the top
one-fifth of teachers were effective with high-achieving students. These problems have been confirmed in
other states. There is overwhelming evidence that gifted students simply do not succeed on their
own.
Question: What group of students has been harmed most by the No Child Left Behind Act?
Answer: Our brightest students.
The federal law seeks to ensure that all students meet minimum standards. Most districts, in their
desperate
rush to improve the performance of struggling students, have forgotten or ignored their obligations to
students who exceed standards. These students spend their days reviewing material for proficiency tests
they
mastered years before, instead of learning something new. This is a profoundly alienating
experience.
Question: How well is the United States preparing able students to compete in the world economy?
Answer: Very poorly.
Of all students obtaining doctorates in engineering in American universities, just 39 percent are
Americans.
According to the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, "The performance of U.S. physics
and advanced math students was among the lowest of the 16 countries that administered the ...
assessments."
Question: What group of special-needs students receives the least funding?
Answer: Our brightest students.
And it's getting worse. For example, Illinois, New York, and Oregon recently cut all state funding
for
gifted programs.
Given these facts, why has a board commissioned by the National Research Council proposed to make things
much worse? The board's report, ironically entitled "Engaging Schools: Fostering High School
Students' Motivation to Learn," contains recommendations that amount to a recipe for completely
alienating our most capable children. Based on old, discredited, and sloppy research, the committee, which
did not include any experts on gifted education, recommended the elimination of all "formal or
informal" tracking--even if participation was voluntary--in favor of mixed-ability classrooms.
Does tracking really harm students? Jeannie Oakes claimed that it did in a popular but, to my mind, poorly
researched book called Keeping Track published nearly 20 years ago. However, a 1998 review of the evidence
on tracking over the past two decades, done by Tom Loveless, the director of the Brookings
Institution's
Brown Center on Education Policy, found no consensus that tracking is harmful or creates unequal
opportunities for academic achievement. This review was ignored in the NRC panel's 40 pages of
research
citations.
Also missing was any reference to a 1993 report from the U.S. Department of Education, "National
Excellence," in which then-Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley noted a "quiet crisis"
in
the education of top students, pointing out that "these students have special needs that are seldom
met," and warning that "our neglect of these students makes it impossible for Americans to
compete
in a global economy demanding their skills."
Although research on schoolwide tracking cuts both ways, research pointing to the importance of advanced
classes and grouping for gifted students is overwhelming.
A research review by Karen B. Rogers found that grouping gifted students produces big gains--sometimes exceeding half a year's additional achievement per year in school when curriculum is modified appropriately. On the other hand, she found that cooperative learning within mixed-ability groups produces no gains.
In her 2002 book Re-Forming Gifted Education (also ignored by the NRC panel), Ms. Rogers noted that under
the mixed-ability-group instruction recommended by the NRC, "few students, except those with
exceptionally low ability, will benefit." Gifted students are truly our forgotten children. Neglected
in our schools and ignored by our policymakers, they spend their days dozing through classes in which they
aren't learning.
A statistical analysis published in 1992 by James A. Kulik demonstrated that the benefits from advanced
classes for talented students were "positive, large, and important" and said that [de-tracking]
could greatly damage American education." Student achievement would suffer, Mr. Kulik maintained, and
the damage would be greatest if schools "eliminated enriched and accelerated classes for their
brightest learners. The achievement level of such students falls dramatically." He also found that
students of all ability levels benefit from grouping that adjusts the curriculum to their aptitude
levels.
Even the National Research Council board acknowledged that teachers would require a lot of specialized
training to carry out its recommendations in "Engaging Minds." Differentiation is hard to do
well.
Teachers must know how to assess students who are years above grade level and then be able to rewrite the
whole curriculum to address their assessed learning needs. Although the board members must know that this
training has not been provided and is not going to happen, they went ahead and recklessly recommended a
policy that will harm many capable, hard-working students in the hope that it might help some struggling
students.
They seem to be unaware of the daily realities affecting American schools. Studies by the National
Research
Center on the Gifted and Talented have repeatedly found that teachers do not make significant
modifications
to their instruction to accommodate gifted students.
This past November, Seattle teachers issued a resolution protesting a directive requiring advanced
instruction for highly capable students in their classrooms because they had neither the time, training,
and
class size, nor the resources necessary to carry it out. Ability grouping is significantly more
cost-effective, requires less training, and is more effective in this regard than heterogeneous classes.
Do
we have education dollars to waste?
Gifted students are truly our forgotten children. Neglected in our schools and ignored by our
policymakers,
they spend their days dozing through classes in which they aren't learning. Many suffer from
depression.
It is time to take them out of their holding pens and give them a chance to stretch and to grow.
VOCABULARY
Ability Grouping:
Grouping students by need, interest, or ability for a particular leaning activity. Groups can be formed
and
reformed to meet various instructional needs.
Acceleration:
Allowing student to move through the material at a pace faster than age-mates and at a relate commensurate
with their abilities.
A.C.T. and S.A.T.:
American College Testing Program and Scholastic Aptitude Test, both standardized tests traditionally taken
by high school student and used by colleges in determining admission and placement. Now also given to
middle
school gifted students for selection and placement in talent searcher, summer institute, and other
academic
programs.
Authentic Assessment:
Process of evaluation student leaning using student products or performance rather than traditional
standardized tests.
Cluster Grouping:
The assignment of a small group of students with similar interest, abilities, or needs to the same
classroom.
Compacting the Curriculum:
Reducing the amount of curriculum material used allowing the student to show mastery of the content.
Differentiation:
Making modifications in the curriculum, either in content or pace, to accommodate the abilities of the
individual learner.
Enrichment:
Learning activities not found in the core curriculum that are more in depth or form an additional
discipline
used to supplement the gifted student¹s educational experience.
Heterogeneous/Homogeneous Grouping:
Students placed together for learning based on chronological age or grade level are grouped
heterogeneously.
Homogeneous grouping places students with other like themselves based on criteria such as academic
ability;
special needs, or interests.
Leaning Styles:
The mode of learning or preferred style of relating to life. Some learning s are visual, other auditory;
some relate in a concrete-sequential manner, other in an abstract- random way.
Pull-Out Program:
An educational plan in which students of similar needs and ability are ³ pulled out² of the regular
classroom at certain time throughout the week to meet in another location with a specialized teacher.
Specific Academic Aptitude:
Ability to do exceptionally well in a particular subject area such as mathematics or science.
Underachievement:
Discrepancy between a child¹s school performance and some index of his or her actual ability.
Mentor:
A person with expertise who relates in a one-to-one relationship with a student or adult to share
knowledge,
encourage , and give emotional support.
Taken from Parenting for High Potential March 1998 What Sophistical Reading
Is All About by Sandra Kaplan
The fury about students who cannot read seems to
have obliterated concern for student who can read and read well. Also, the attention that is paid to good
reader is often limited to the long lists of quality literary works available to parents and teachers.
However simply reading selection from lists of recognized literature does not provide gifted readers with
all types of reading experiences necessary for sophisticated reading. Some of the habits of sophisticated
readers are unconventional and even contrary to the method supported by reading practices in the
classroom.
There are some common reading practices to which good readers could be exposed that would improve both the
readers¹ skills and enjoyment. It is important that these practices are sanctioned by parents and teachers
if they are to be taken seriously by gifted readers. Here are a few suggestions:
- Suggest that your child read several books simultaneously. The old age concept that an individual has to read a book form beginning to end prior to reading another book does not correlate to what real readers do. Simultaneous reading or having several books in progress is one way to read more and read more pleasurably.
- Suggest that your child read a collection of book written by a single author. Many sophisticated readers hunt the bookstores waiting for the newest release of their favorite author because they pride themselves in reading the series rather than a single selection of an author. We need to encourage children to do the same, to ³ read the shelf.²
- Suggest that your child read chronologically or read to create a time line. After a child selects a fiction or nonfiction literary work from a particular era, the child can select one book that precedes and another that follows the section just completed. The challenge of locating literature to form a literary time line can be as much of a learning experience as the reading the material once it is found.
- Suggest that your child do readiness reading prior to the reading the literary work that has been selected. For example, prior to reading a work of fiction your child might become acquainted with the setting and time period by doing some investigative research.
- Suggest that your child explore various genres to read about a single topic. If your child is a budding entomologist,m for example try Children of Summer: Henri Fabr¹s Insects by Margaret Anderson ( Ages 8-12).
Extending the abilities of gifted readers demands attention to some of the habits and techniques of sophisticated readers. Let¹s help our good readers become sophisticated readers. These habits and techniques are most easily incorporated into a gifted student¹s reading habits when he or she has had the opportunity to discuss reading sills and practices with adults who are significant in their lives. Excursions to the bookstore with adult family members or friend or talking with classroom teacher or school librarian could be the most natural setting for these conversations. Let¹s help our good readers become sophisticated readers!