Who, What, When and Why
Developed by Lori Corrigan
Gifted Children in Schools?
Quiz
This person was four before he could
speak and seven before he could even
read.
 This person had difficulty in school
because he stubbornly refused to do
anything but paint.
 This person was told by his teachers he
was too stupid to do anything.
 A newspaper editor fired this person
because he had “no good ideas”.

Quiz
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This person was four before he could speak
and seven before he could even read.- Albert
Einstein
This person had difficulty in school because
he stubbornly refused to do anything but
paint.- Pablo Picasso
This person was told by his teachers he was
too stupid to do anything.- Thomas Edison
A newspaper editor fired this person because
he had “no good ideas”.- Walt Disney
Are we able to read children
correctly and recognize their
gifts and talents?
Goals Today...

Examine the characteristics and behaviors
of gifted children in order to better
recognize their gifts and talents

Learn ways to meet needs in the regular
classroom
Who are the Gifted?

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“Intellectually gifted children and youth are
those who perform at high levels in academic
or creative fields when compared to others of
their age, experience, or environment. These
children and youth require services not
ordinarily provided by the regular school
program. Children and youth possessing
these abilities can be found in all populations,
across all economic strata, and in all areas of
human endeavor.”
(Alabama Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.14)
How do we serve our students in Hoover?
Schoolwide Enrichment Model
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Model created from the belief that giftedness
consists of interaction among three basic clusters
of human traits: Above Average Ability, Task
Commitment, and Creativity
Gifted and talented are those who possess or are
capable of developing this set of traits and
applying them to any valuable area of human
performance.
No one cluster alone constitutes giftedness
 Above Average Ability
 Task Commitment
 Creativity
IQ Levels Explained
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Bright- 115 and above
Gifted-130 and above
Highly Gifted-145 and above
Exceptionally Gifted- 160 and above
Profoundly Gifted-175 and above
Common Traits of Gifted Children
Info from: http://www.giftsforlearning.com/traits.htm

Very observant noticing details other
children of the same
age would miss,
including non-verbal
cues

Extremely curious –
about objects, ideas,
situations, or events

May learn to read
early - often before
age 5 (whenever they
do learn to read, they
learn quickly). Will
read rapidly and
widely, after learning
to read
More Traits…
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Large and
sophisticated
vocabulary - enjoys
using new and
unusual words
Excellent memory often have a large
storehouse of
information about a
variety of topics,
which they can recall
quickly

Long attention span
compared to other
same-age children

Excellent reasoning
and problem solving
skills

Intense interests
More Traits…

Unusual and/or vivid
imagination

Interested in
philosophical and
social issues -- for
example, the nature of
the universe, the
problem of suffering in
the world,
environmental issues

Very sensitive,
emotionally and even
physically - can
become upset easily,
even over seemingly
minor issues (like the
feeling of seams in
socks), but can be
moved almost to tears
by the beauty of a
sunset or a song. They
may also want to quit
eating meat out of
sympathy for animals.
More traits…
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Concerned about
fairness and
injustice -- very
aware of rights and
wrongs
Energetic ,
sometimes needing
less sleep than
other same-age
children (sometimes
high energy level is
confused with ADHD)

Asks "what if"
questions - showing
ability to construct
hypotheses

Well developed
sense of humor
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Perfectionistic
Things you may observe….

Learn quickly and with
less practice and
repetition

Usually intrinsically
motivated to learn
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Enjoy intellectual
activity, thriving on
intellectual challenge
(can get bored with
slow instructional
pace and repetition)
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Relate well to parents,
teachers and other
adults (often prefer
company of older
children and adults
over same-age peers)

Enjoy learning new
things, seeking
information for its
own sake as much as
for its usefulness
More observations….

Have well-developed
powers of abstraction,
conceptualization, and
synthesis

Display intellectual
playfulness, which
shows up in a desire
to fantasize and
imagine
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Prefer books and
magazines meant for
older children (many
prefer non-fiction to
fiction, including
biographies, but like
mysteries and
detective stories)
Skeptical, critical, and
evaluative, making
them quick to spot
inconsistencies
Bright vs. Gifted
by Janice Szabos (http://www.bownet.org/besgifted/brightvs.htm)
BRIGHT
Knows the answers
 Is interested
 Is attentive
 Has good ideas
 Works hard
 Answers the questions
 Top group
 Listens with interest
 Learns with ease
 6-8 repetitions
 Understands ideas
 Enjoys peers
 Grasps the meaning
 Completes assignments
 Is receptive
 Copies accurately
 Enjoys school
 Absorbs information
 Technician
 Good memorizer
 Is alert
 Is pleased with own learning
Enjoys straightforward, sequential
presentation
GIFTED
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Asks the questions
 Is highly curious
Is mentally and physically involved
 Has wild, silly ideas
 Plays around, yet tests well
 Discusses in detail, elaborates
 Beyond the group
Shows strong feelings and opinions
 Already knows
 1-2 repetitions for mastery
 Constructs abstractions
 Prefers adults
 Draws inferences
 Initiates projects
 Is intense
 Creates a new design
 Enjoys learning
 Manipulates information
 Inventor
 Good guesser
 Is keenly observant
 Is highly self-critical
 Thrives on complexity
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All children have gifts, but not all are gifted.
Potential Classroom Challenges
Perfectionism

Perfectionism can lead to fear of failure, in
turn causing a gifted child to avoid failure
by refusing to even try something
(including doing a homework assignment!)
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Other students are so obsessed with doing
things to meet their own high standards
that it leads to “meltdowns” when they
think they will fall short
Potential Classroom Challenges
Super Sensitivity

Intense sensitivity can cause gifted children
to take criticism, or even general anger, very
personally. Childhood slights do not roll off
their backs.
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Sensitivity and well-developed sense of right
and wrong can lead to concern over wars,
starving children, pollution and other injustice
and violence. If they are overloaded with
images and discussions of these issues, they
can become introverted and withdrawn or
even suffer from "existential depression."
Potential Classroom Challenges
Asynchronous Development

Asynchronous development allows gifted children to
intellectually understand abstract concepts but be
unable to deal with those concepts emotionally,
leading to intense concerns about death, the future,
sex, and other such issues.
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Asynchronous development can also result in
frustration when a gifted child's physical development
leads to an inability to complete a task the child is
capable of intellectually envisioning.
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Asynchronous development also causes a gifted child
to be able to participate in adult conversations about
issues such as global warming or world hunger one
minute and the next minute cry and whine because a
sibling took a favorite toy.
Potential Classroom Challenges
Advanced Verbal and Reasoning Ability

Advanced verbal and reasoning ability can
lead a gifted child to be argumentative
and/or manipulative.

Sophisticated vocabulary and advanced
sense of humor can cause gifted children
to be misunderstood, which can make
them feel inferior and rejected. (This is
one reason gifted children prefer to be
around older children and adults.)
Potential Classroom Challenges
Imposter Syndrome

The “imposter syndrome” strikes people
everywhere, especially high achievers. It
makes them discount their success
attributing it to luck, not real ability. Along
with it comes the fear that anytime they
could be found out. The more successful you
get, the greater the inner stress. Now people
have expectations of you that you may not be
able to meet. Now each decision you make
should be perfect because there’s much to
lose."
-Simran Bhargava
What Gifted Kids Need
A place where they can be themselves.
A place where they feel supported.
Programming (see next slide) that meets
their needs that is meaningful, challenging
and rewarding.
 Opportunities in the classroom to learn on
their own; at their own pace; work with
abstract concepts; study things they are
interested in; work with peers who share
their interest and abilities and opt out of
work they already know and understand...
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Variety of Programming Options...
(which are by-the-way applicable for use with ALL learners!)
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Curriculum Compacting-Adjusting instruction to
account for prior student mastery of learning
objectives.
 Tiering-Designed to instruct students on essential
skills that are provided at different levels of
complexity, abstract-ness and open-endedness.
 Learning Contracts- An agreement by the teacher
and student, where the teacher specifies the skills that
need to be learned along with the activities to be
completed with a specific timeline in mind.
 Choice Boards-variety of activities that students
complete as they learn a skill. They can be organized with
choice in mind.
...and more
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Bloom’s Taxonomy Tic-Tac-Toe MenuUtilizes the thinking taxonomy
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Challenge Boxes-Boxes that contain thinking
challenges based on choice and interest
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Book in a Box- Boxes designed to share a favorite
book, develop a product, and involve the audience!
It is important to remember that gifted
kids come in all different packages. They
have different strengths, weaknesses, and
interests.
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The one thing they all have in common is
wanting the opportunity to learn
something new each day they walk into
school, rather than hearing things they
already know.
One can never consent to
creep when one feels an
impulse to soar!
– Helen Keller