ROL Highlights

Reading for Gifted and Talented Students

What every teacher should know.....

·         Four Important Myths of Gifted and Talented Students

o   This summer I ran into a YouTube video created by gifted and talented students in Maryland. They explained the myths associated with teaching gifted and talented students.

o   One: Gifted students don’t need any help and are fine on their own.

§  Just because they understand the concepts quickly doesn’t mean that they don’t need coaching to enrich what they know.

o   Two: Gifted students need to participate in the regular classroom as role models.

§  Students should not be used to teach other students. Often, these students are not great at explaining concepts to their peers.

o   Three: It is not fair to label kids as gifted, when all kids are gifted.

§  100% of me believes that each child has a special strength. I do believe that some children have an extreme talent in reading. I think that it is ok to label them as GT in specific academic areas.

o   Four: Gifted education costs too much.

§  Finding enrichment opportunities does not need to cost very much. We can access materials from different grade levels and teachers. Online materials are also available.

·         It is important for teachers to think about how their gifted and talented students are learning each day. Through my ROL research I discovered many tools to help enrich my reading curriculum. Providing literature studies with focused discussion groups will benefit my students greatly. Students should be exposed to specific discussion tools to enhance their reading.

·         Although we have only been in school for seven days, I have thought very deeply about how I am going to challenge my students this year. I think about the myths associated with gifted and talented readers as I am teaching with intention. I am providing many opportunities for these students already. I will start my specific literature studies in two weeks, when they are done testing. I hope that I find a plan that works well with these students. I want to give them opportunities to grow. I am excited for this adventure!