Literacy for Gifted and Talented Learners

Differentiation is a struggle that we as educators face but needs to be faced if we are to meet the needs for all children in our classes. Often we are more adept at meeting the needs of the struggling children but truth is our able children need rigour and their unique needs to be met as well.

Issues to Consider

• Identification: Who are these children? Have they arrived already reading independently?
• Challenge: How can we help our gifted readers become more discerning readers?
• Interaction: How can these children share their reading with others? 
• Goals:Ensure we are setting realistic goals for these children.
• Reading skills: Are we teaching to read smartly, utilising features of text and to understand deeper concepts of print?
• Problems: Do we recognise that some of our gifted students may have reading problems and respond to these accordingly.

Brooke Trenwith from Cognition Education has provided these links to resources that primary schools are using to extend their gifted students.

Writing

Reading

A magazine created by kids for kids

 Reading lists can be found here

Resources to consider for purchase

Gail Loane's Book, 'I've Got Something to Say'.

Resources to Use

Search for Sandra Kaplan's 'Depth and Complexity Framework', via Google and you will find many examples that others have created that you might modify.

Experts to Contact

Robert Seney's reading lists and literacy tips are worth a look

• Books to inspire the gifted reading
• Wikispace with some links and resources from Robert Seney
• Gifted Readers and Young Adult Literature Reading
• Seney handout to read

Mindsets and Talking to Children

This is the article that Carol Dweck referred to at her recent talk held in Christchurch recently. It is interesting as it mentions her thoughts about gifted and talented education and also ideas about parenting. It was originally posted in New York magazine in August 2007.

Jan Rivera - Support for Educators and Parents of Gifted Children

Thanks to Judy McArthur for sharing this blog. It is a great place to visit for informed and easy to read posts about aspects of gifted education. I particularly enjoyed the summaries of the over-excitabilities and the articles on the six types of gifted learners. I have subscribed to her mailing list and look forward to new posts as they are shared.

Maths and Gifted Education - get children talking

These are two topics that I am very passionate about. What I love about this article is it confirms the approach being used by Australasian schools. I have had the benefit of many hours of maths learning this year and key to this learning is teaching children about mathematical concepts through inquiry and talk.

Children who 'get maths' need to be challenged to think mathematically and rich mathematical tasks that are open ended and lead to a discussion of pure mathematics do this. We need to get our bright children talking and discovering mathematical ideas rather than keeping them busy with pages of problems or websites and games.

Sources for these activities include:
nzmaths.co.nz/problem-solving
blackdouglas.com.au
Otago Maths Problem Solving Resources
Think Boards
Andrew Jeffrey Resources www.andrewjeffrey.co.uk
Number Sense
Open Ended Maths Activities, SullivanP., & Lilburn, P. (2004)
Figure it Out Resources

Dysgraphia

I love information presented in a clear concise way. This graphic appeals not only for the key information it gives parents and teachers about dysgraphia but also the solutions. This is a condition sometimes effecting gifted children that leads to being identified as'twice exceptional.' Of course it is a learning condition that can affect all learners and impact their progress.

12 Lessons about Gifted Kids from Matilda

This is a simple outline of some characteristics of gifted children evidenced in Roald Dahl's Matilda. 

Well worth a look, thanks Judy for sharing.

Apps for Literacy

I am always on the hunt for quality apps to use with literacy. Anne Sturgess is the Te Toi Tupu Facilitator for Blended e-Learning and Gifted & Talented Education. She has compiled a fantastic list of great literacy apps.
Here is a link.

You will also find lots of other interesting things by taking a trip around her blog.

Behaviour or Anxiety?

I came across this interesting article about how anxiety can manifest itself in a range of interesting ways. I wonder if this is affecting many children in Christchurch post earthquake? I can also think of a few gifted children I have taught in the past whose issues were probably related to anxiety.

Here is the link to the book mentioned in the article.

Gifted Children - Meeting their Needs

Teaching and parenting highly gifted children comes with a whole host of challenges that many fail to realise. Louise Porter is an Australian practitioner who works in the are of social and emotional needs of gifted children. Like our school definition, Porter's definition is wide including  intellectual, academic, social, emotional intelligence, physical skills or artistic.

Here is a pdf of a short book written by Louise Porter that teachers and parents may find interesting.