REVISED, EXPANDED, UPDATED EDITION

Teaching Gifted Kids

in the Regular Classroom

Strategies and Techniques Every Teacher Can Use

to Meet the Academic Needs of the Gifted and Talented

Susan Winebrenner

Foreword by Sylvia Rimm, Ph.D.Edited by Pamela Espeland

Copyright © 2001, 1992 by Susan Winebrenner

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Unless otherwisenoted, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express writ-ten permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations or critical reviews. For more information, goto www.freespirit.com/company/permissions.cfm.

Free Spirit, Free Spirit Publishing, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Free Spirit Publishing Inc. A complete listing of our logos and trademarks is available at www.freespirit.com.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the earlier revised edition as:

Winebrenner, Susan.Teaching gifted kids in the regular classroom : strategies and techniques every teacher can use to

meet the academic needs of the gifted and talented / Susan Winebrenner ; edited by PamelaEspeland.—Rev., expanded, and updated ed.

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.ISBN 1-57542-089-9 (pbk.)1. Gifted children—Education—United States.

I. Espeland, Pamela. II. Title.LC3993.9 .W56 2001371.95'2'0973—dc21 00-057832

eBook ISBN: 978-1-57542-790-4

Permission is granted for individual teachers to photocopy the pages included in the List of Repro-ducible Pages (page viii) for individual or classroom work only. Photocopying or other reproduction of these materials for an entire school or school system is strictly forbidden. For more information, goto www.freespirit.com/company/permissions.cfm.

Unless otherwise noted, the strategies, activities, handouts, and figures included here are original orhave come from the author’s collection of materials. Every effort has been made to find and credit the original sources of adapted or borrowed materials, and any errors of omission are strictly uninten-tional. Please call such errors to our attention and we will correct them in future editions.

The Compactor form introduced in Chapter 2 and used throughout this book is adapted from a document originally published in 1978 by Creative Learning Press, Inc. Used with permission fromCreative Learning Press.

Assistant editor: Jennifer BrannenCover design by Dao NguyenIndex prepared by Randl Ockey

20 19 18 17 16 15 14Printed in the United States of America

Free Spirit Publishing Inc.217 Fifth Avenue North, Suite 200Minneapolis, MN 55401-1299(612) 338-2068help4kids@freespirit.comwww.freespirit.com

At the time of this book’s publication, all facts and figures cited are the most current available. All tele-phone numbers, addresses, and Web site URLs are accurate and active; all publications, organizations,Web sites, and other resources exist as described in this book; and all have been verified as of Decem-ber 2009. The author and Free Spirit Publishing make no warranty or guarantee concerning the infor-mation and materials given out by organizations or content found at Web sites, and we are notresponsible for any changes that occur after this book’s publication. If you find an error or believe thata resource listed here is not as described, please contact Free Spirit Publishing. Parents, teachers, and other adults: We strongly urge you to monitor children’s use of the Internet.

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List of Reproducible Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Foreword by Sylvia B. Rimm, Ph.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Teaching vs. Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1The Mystery of the Gifted Underachiever . . . . . . . . . . 2The Myth of Elitism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Gifted Education Benefits Everyone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4What Gifted Students Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5About This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Chapter 1:Characteristics of Gifted Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Learning and Behavioral Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . 10Strategy: The Name Card Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Perfectionism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Perfectionist Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Ways to Help the Perfectionistic Child . . . . . . . . 14How to Use the Goal-Setting Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Creative Thinkers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Ways to Nurture Creative Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . 17Creativity Inhibitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Students Who Are Twice-Exceptional . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Scenario: Elizabeth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18The Meaning of Twice-Exceptional . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Children with ADD/ADHD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Children with Asperger’s Syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . 21Ways to Help Twice-Exceptional Students Succeed in School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Underachievers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Students from Diverse Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Identifying Gifted Students from Diverse Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Three Ways to Help Students from Diverse Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Chapter 2:Gifted Students Identify Themselves . . . . . . . . . 31Banishing the “B” Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Compacting the Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

How to Use the Compactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Compacting and Flexible Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . 33A Few Words About Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Strategy: Most Difficult First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Scenario: Aaron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

How to Use Most Difficult First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Questions and Answers About Most Difficult First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Strategy: Pretests for Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Scenario: Ardith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Scenario: Elizabeth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Scenario: James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Questions and Answers About Compacting the Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Chapter 3:Compacting and Differentiation for Skill Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Strategy: The Learning Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Scenario: Julie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Introducing the Learning Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . 47How to Use the Learning Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . 49At the Contract Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52How to Grade Contract Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Especially for Primary Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54The Question Chip Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Customizing the Learning Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Scenario: Dimitri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55How to Use the Contract for Accelerated Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Scenario: Elena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56How to Use the Contract with Problem-Solving Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Scenario: Leandra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57How to Use the Contract for Reading Skills/Grammar/Language Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Using Contracts with Standards or Problem-Based Math Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Strategy: Math Achievement Teams (MATS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Calculating Improvement Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Chapter 4: Compacting and Differentiation in Content Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Strategy: The Study Guide Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Scenario: Cleon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Two Ways to Use the Study Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

H CONTENTS H

Preparing the Study Guide and Extensions Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Tools to Use with the Study Guide Method . . . . . . 74The Independent Study Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . 74The Evaluation Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74The Daily Log of Extension Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74The Product Choices Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Identifying Students for the Study Guide Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Introducing the Study Guide Method . . . . . . . . . 81Making It Official . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Strategy: Allowing All Students to Do Project Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Chapter 5:Extending Reading and Writing Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Characteristics of Gifted Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Scenario: Eric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Reading for Gifted Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Reading for Gifted Primary Children . . . . . . . . . 91Strategy: The Contract for Permission to Read Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Strategy: The Contract for Reading Skills and Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

How to Use the Contract for Reading Skills and Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Strategy: The Reading Activities Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 94How to Use the Reading Activities Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Strategy: Using the Study Guide Method for Reading Extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Strategy: Using Trade Books for Self-Selected Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

All Reading the Same Novel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97All Reading Different Novels by the Same Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103All Reading Different Novels of the Same Genre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Strategy: Individualized Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Keeping Tabs on Individualized Readers . . . . 104Book Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Book Logos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Books I Want to Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Recommended Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Vocabulary Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Vocabulary Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Etymologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Super Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Vocabulary Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Bibliotherapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Writing for Gifted Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Writing Activities Gifted Writers Enjoy . . . . 120Getting Kids’ Writing Published . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Strategy: The Great Friday Afternoon Event . . . . 123Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Chapter 6:Planning Curriculum for All Students at the Same Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Bloom’s Taxonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Strategy: The Curriculum Differentiation Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Scenario: José . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131How to Use the Curriculum Differentiation Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Strategy: Learning Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Strategy: The Socratic Seminar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Chapter 7:“I’m Done. Now What Should I Do?” . . . . . . 145Strategy: The Interest Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Strategy: The Personal Interest Independent Study Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Personal Interest Independent Study Projects for the Primary Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Scenario: Alexa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Strategy: The Topic Browsing Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Scenario: Rahul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150How to Use the Topic Browsing Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Strategy: The Resident Expert Planner . . . . . . . . . . . 157How to Use the Resident Expert Planner . . . 157The Note Card Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158The Personal Interest Independent Study Project Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Evaluating Students’ Project Work . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Letting Students Evaluate Their Own Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Independent Study Option for the Primary Grades: The 4C Booklet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

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Chapter 8:Grouping Gifted Students for Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Cooperative Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Scenario: Kim Liu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Cooperative Learning and Gifted Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Strategy: Placing Gifted Students in Their Own Cooperative Learning Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Summary: Cooperative Learning or Heterogeneous Groups? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174Cluster Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Scenario: Third Grade at “Adams School” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Questions and Answers About Cluster Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176Summary: How Good Is Cluster Grouping? . . . . 181References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Chapter 9:Et Cetera: Related Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Program Delivery Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Program Management and Record-Keeping . . . . . 186

Creative Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186The Differentiated Learning Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Keeping Track of Students’ Work from Year to Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Early Entrance to Kindergarten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191Grade-Skipping Past Kindergarten . . . . . . . . . . . 191Completing Two Grades in One Year . . . . . . . . 192Acceleration in One Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

The Qualities of Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193Securing Extension Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193Pull-Out Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Eight Steps to Successful Pull-Out Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

The Changing Role of the Gifted Education Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196How to Win Support from Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Chapter 10:Parenting Gifted Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201Parenting Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Parenting Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201Power Struggles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201Listening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202Comparing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202Perfectionism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Praise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Social Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Gifted Girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Gifted Boys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Peer Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Role Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Down Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206The Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Getting Help If You Need It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Special Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Advocating for Your Child at School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207Providing a Nurturing Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

The Preschool Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208The Elementary School Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209Adolescence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Appendix A:Language Arts Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Categories Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Academic Bowl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Alphabet Soup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221Transmogrifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223Silly Nillies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Appendix B:Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227Publishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227Magazines and Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

vii

Goal-Setting Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16The Compactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Alternate Spelling Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Learning Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Working Conditions for Alternate Activities . . . . . . 51Topic Development Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70American Wars Study Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71American Wars Extensions Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Extensions Menu Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Independent Study Agreement for Study Guide Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Independent Study Agreement for Study Guide with Extensions Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Evaluation Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Daily Log of Extension Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Product Choices Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Contract for Permission to Read Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Contract for Reading Skills and Vocabulary . . . . . . . 95Reading Activities Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Animal Story Study Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Animal Story Extensions Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Biography Study Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Biography Extensions Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Author Extensions Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102The Circle of Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Reading Response Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Teacher’s Conference Record Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Books I Want to Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Vocabulary Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Etymologies Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Etymologies Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Super Sentence: Level One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116Super Sentence: Level Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Vocabulary Web Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Expository Writing Extensions Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122The Great Friday Afternoon Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Taxonomy of Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Curriculum Differentiation Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136Nutrition Extensions Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Nutrition Extensions Menu for Other Subject Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Build Blocks to Think . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140Guidelines for Creating Student-Made Learning Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Examples of Student-Made Learning Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142Interest Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Acceptable Student Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Topic Browsing Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153Resources Record Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Topic Browsing Planner for Primary Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Resources Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Resident Expert Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160–161Resident Expert Planner for Primary Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162Check-Off Sheet for Resident Expert Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163Personal Interest Independent Study Project Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164Self-Evaluation Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165Differentiated Learning Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188Meeting Record Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Gifted Student’s Cumulative Record Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190Alphabet Soup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222Silly Nillies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

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H LIST OF REPRODUCIBLE PAGES H

IQ Scores and Percentage of Students at Each Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Conditions That Create Achievement or Underachievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Aaron’s Compactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Ardith’s Compactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Elizabeth’s Compactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41James’s Compactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Julie’s Learning Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Dimitri’s Contract for Accelerated Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Elena’s Contract with Problem-Solving Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Leandra’s Contract for ReadingSkills/Grammar/Language Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Differentiating Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Book Logos Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Recommended Books Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Vocabulary Web Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118James’s Contract for Expository Writing . . . . . . . . . 121Curriculum Differentiation Chart . . . . . . . . . . . 134–135Alexa’s Compactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Rahul’s Topic Browsing Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152The 4C Booklet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166Categories Challenge: For the Entire Class . . . . . . 220Categories Challenge: For Gifted Students . . . . . . 220

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H LIST OF FIGURES H

Being gifted in America today is not necessarilya positive experience. Gifted students and their

parents experience a lot of rejection from an educa-tional system in which conformity is valued andmost kids are expected to work along with thegroup without resistance or complaint. I have longwondered why we can spend considerable time andeffort teaching students to appreciate diversity inethnic and cultural terms, but we don’t extend thatmindset to differences in learning ability. I’ve nevermet a gifted kid who asked to be born that way. Itjust happens. We need to consider giftedness assimply another difference and make gifted kids aswelcome in our classrooms as any other students.There are already so many definitions of gifted-

ness that I hesitate to offer another. However, interms of classroom teaching, I define gifted studentsas those who have ability in one or more learning areasthat exceeds grade/age level expectations by two years ormore. By this definition, the regular curriculum can’tpossibly provide the challenge these students needto continually move forward in their learning.In recent years, some fascinating new insights

into giftedness have emerged from the work ofPolish psychiatrist and psychologist KazimierzDabrowski (1902–1980). When Dabrowski studieda group of gifted children and youth, he found thatthey displayed what he called “overexcitabilities.”They perceived all kinds of stimuli more intenselythan others; they were super-sensitive to everythingin their environment and felt the joys and sorrowsof life more extremely than other children. (Today,overexcitability—OE—is considered a marker ofgiftedness, one of the many things to look for

when identifying a gifted child.) Dabrowskibelieved that OE may lead to a series of “positivedisintegrations,” or developmental crises, duringwhich the individual rejects the status quo andquestions everything. When things go well, thisprocess continues and the person emerges as anautonomous, authentic human being with carefullythought-out values and beliefs. When they don’t,the person may get stuck in antisocial behavior,disharmony, and despair. Dabrowski’s theories helpus understand why living with and teaching giftedkids can be such an incredible challenge.

People often ask me for a “short list” of thecharacteristics gifted children have which makeidentification easier. I believe that any student whopossesses most or all of the following five character-istics is probably gifted. 1. Learns new material faster, and at an earlier age,than age peers.2. Remembers what has been learned forever,making review unnecessary.3. Is able to deal with concepts that are too com-plex and abstract for age peers. 4. Has a passionate interest in one or more topics,and would spend all available time learning moreabout that topic if he or she could.5. Does not need to watch the teacher to hearwhat is being said; can operate on multiple brainchannels simultaneously and process more than onetask at a time.

Other characteristics are described throughoutthis chapter. To be gifted, one does not have to pos-sess all of these characteristics. However, when you

9

CHARACTERISTICSOF GIFTED STUDENTS

1

observe students consistently exhibiting many ofthese behaviors, the possibility that they are gifted isvery strong. Trust your own observations more thanthe “evidence” of mediocre standardized test scoresor poor grades. Listen respectfully to parents whosedescriptions of their children at home match someof the information presented here. Sometimes,gifted kids choose to not appear gifted at schoolwhile continuing to demonstrate gifted characteris-tics at home.

It’s rare to find a child who is “gifted across the board.” Most gifted kids are more likely to begifted in one or two specific areas, and average oreven below average in others. For example, manyhighly verbal youngsters appear deficient in bodily-kinesthetic abilities, especially in gym or physicaleducation classes. I say “appear” because their physi-cal abilities may be developmentally appropriate totheir age but seem glaringly different from theirintellectual abilities. Children who show evidence of giftedness in one or two areas are as eligible forcompacting and differentiation opportunities asthose who are gifted in many or all areas.

Before we get into the characteristics, I want toreassure you that you will probably never need all ofthis information. Chances are, you won’t be asked toformally identify gifted students. In fact, as you’lllearn in Chapter 2, gifted students often identifythemselves by showing their readiness for compact-ing and differentiation. The characteristics areincluded here in case you want and need guidelinesfor recognizing gifted behaviors. You may choose toshare this information with the parents of giftedstudents in your classroom.

LEARNING AND BEHAVIORAL

CHARACTERISTICS

The gifted child:*• Is extremely precocious, when compared to hisage peers, in any area of learning and/or perform-ance. Learns at a much earlier age than is typical

and makes much more rapid progress in certainareas of learning. • Exhibits asynchronous development. May behighly precocious in some areas while demon-strating age-appropriate or delayed behaviors inother areas. Example: Can read at an early age butcan’t tie his own shoes until age 5 or later. Note:Not all gifted kids learn to read before startingschool; not all kids who do learn to read beforestarting school are gifted. One significant indica-tion of giftedness might be the child who literallyteaches himself to read, with little or no adultintervention or help.• Has an advanced vocabulary and verbal ability forhis chronological age.• Has an outstanding memory. Possesses lots ofinformation and can process it in sophisticatedways. • Learns some things very easily with little helpfrom others. May display a “rage to master” whathe studies.• Operates on higher levels of thinking than his agepeers. Is comfortable with abstract and complexthinking tasks.• Demonstrates ability to work with abstract ideas.Needs a minimum of concrete experiences forcomplete understanding.• Perceives subtle cause-and-effect relationships.• Sees patterns, relationships, and connections thatothers don’t.• Comes up with “better ways” for doing things.Suggests them to peers, teachers, and otheradults—not always in positive, helpful ways.• Prefers complex and challenging tasks to “basic”work. May change simple tasks or directions tomore complex ones to keep himself interested.• Transfers concepts and learning to new situations.Sees connections between apparently unconnectedideas and activities. Makes intuitive leaps towardunderstanding without necessarily being able toexplain how he got there.• Wants to share all he knows. Loves to know andgive reasons for everything.• Is curious about many things and asks endless ques-tions. Each answer leads to another question.• Is a keen and alert observer. Doesn’t miss a thing.

Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom

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* Throughout this book, I alternate use of gender pronouns “he”and “she,” “him” and “her” when describing gifted kids to avoidthe awkward “he or she” and “him/her” constructs. I usuallyalternate list-by-list or section-by-section. This is for ease ofreading only and is never meant to imply that all characteristicsin a given list or all statements in a given section refer only togifted boys or gifted girls. They refer to both boys and girls.

• Is very intense. May be extremely emotional andexcitable. Gets totally absorbed in activities andthoughts; may be reluctant to move from one sub-ject area to another; may insist on mastering onething before starting another. May experienceperiods of such fierce concentration that he is literally unaware of what is going on around him.

• Has many, and sometimes unusual, interests,hobbies, and collections. May have a passionateinterest that has lasted for many years, such asdinosaurs.

• Is strongly motivated to do things that interesthim in his own way. Loves working independ-ently; may prefer to work alone. Enjoys makingdiscoveries on his own and solving problems inhis own way.

• Has a very high energy level. Seems to requirevery little sleep, but actually has a hard time calm-ing down and going to sleep because he’s so busythinking, planning, problem-solving, and creating.

• Is sensitive to beauty and other people’s feelings,emotions, and expectations.

• Has an advanced sense of justice, morality, andfairness. Is aware of and empathetic about globalissues that most of his age peers aren’t interestedin; can conceptualize solutions to such problemswhen quite young.

• Has a sophisticated sense of humor. • Likes to be in charge. May be a natural leader.

As with all good things, there are challengesassociated with having outstanding talents. Thesechallenges are often perceived as behavior, motiva-tion, or attitude problems. The gifted child whoselearning needs are not met in school might:• Resist doing the work, or work in a sloppy, care-less manner.

• Get frustrated with the pace of the class and whathe perceives as inactivity or lack of noticeableprogress.

• Rebel against routine and predictability.• Ask embarrassing questions; demand good rea-sons for why things are done a certain way.

• Resist taking direction or orders.• Daydream.• Monopolize class discussions.• Become bossy with his peers and teachers.• Become intolerant of imperfection in himself andin others.

• Become super-sensitive to any form of criticism;cry easily.• Refuse to conform.• Resist cooperative learning.• Act out or disturb others.• Become the “class clown.”• Become impatient when he’s not called on torecite or respond; blurt out answers without rais-ing his hand.When you notice these problems, don’t panic!

Before trying to “fix the child,” fix the curriculumby following the suggestions in this book. Moreoften than not, compacting and differentiation cannoticeably diminish negative behaviors.

STRATEGY: THE NAME CARD METHOD*

If there’s one thing almost all gifted kids have in common—except those who have given up onschool and retreated into full-time daydreaming—it’s the tendency to blurt out answers and dominateclass discussions. Even kids whose learning needsare being met by compacting and differentiationhave a hard time controlling these impulses.

An alternative to hand-raising, the Name Cardmethod is the best solution I’ve found. I simplycan’t teach without using it, as its benefits arenumerous. In my experience, the Name Cardmethod:• Minimizes blurting and other attention-getting,discussion-controlling behaviors. • Ensures nearly total participation in all discus-sions by all students; makes it impossible for anyone to “hide.” • Greatly improves listening behaviors. Studentswant to hear every word said by the teacher andby other students.• Eliminates teaching behaviors which may com-municate ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, or gender bias.

1: Characteristics of Gifted Students

11

* Adapted from “Think-Pair-Share, Thinktrix, Thinklinks, andWeird Facts” by Frank T. Lyman Jr., in Enhancing Thinkingthrough Cooperative Learning, edited by Neil Davidson and ToniWorsham. Columbia, NY: Teachers College Press, 1992. Usedwith permission of Frank T. Lyman Jr.

Start by trying this method with one subjectarea or class period. Don’t add other subjects orclasses until you feel comfortable with the methodand can see evidence of its positive outcomes.1. Write each student’s name on a 3" x 5" card.(Some teachers prefer using tongue depressors.)2. Tell your students that when you use the cards,you will call on the person whose name is on thecard you’ve taken from the stack, instead of callingon people who raise their hands. Explain that you’llignore any hand-waving, noise-making, deep sighs,rolling eyes, and other behaviors they use to getyour attention.3. Group students in “discussion buddy” pairs.Explain that they will stay in their pairs for abouttwo weeks, after which you’ll match them withother partners. Make it clear that you’ll choose thepairs, and also that you’ll change them on a regularbasis. (This way, no one ever feels bad about beingchosen last.)

Each pair should consist of one stronger studentand one weaker student. Exception: Students who areexceptionally capable in that subject or content areashould be grouped with each other—especially theblurters. They will be less likely to blurt and morelikely to participate when their partners are similarto them in learning ability and understand andappreciate their passion for knowing everything.

If you have a student no one wants to partnerwith, privately ask a particularly sensitive andhelpful student if he or she will be that student’spartner for two weeks. “Future teacher/socialworker” types are usually glad to oblige.4. Tell the students that you’re going to ask them aquestion. They will have time to think about theirresponse and talk it over with their discussion bud-dies. Then, if you call on them using the cards, theywill have to give an answer.

Explain that they should answer loudly enoughfor the whole class to hear, since you won’t be repeat-ing anyone’s answer. Tell them also that they shouldnot repeat what others have said, and that no one cansay, “I pass.” Since they will have time to confer withtheir partners, it’s highly likely they will have ananswer when you call on them.5. Ask an open-ended question. Give the stu-dents 10–15 seconds of think time to considertheir responses. Tell them they can jot down theirideas if they wish.

6. Demonstrate the signal you will use to indicatewhen pair time is over. (You might say “Time’s up”and/or clap your hands.) When you give the signal,they should stop talking to each other and redirecttheir attention to you. 7. Give the students 30–45 seconds of pair timeto talk with their discussion buddies and come upwith several more responses to the question. Tellthem to use soft voices. As before, they can jotdown their ideas.

You may be worrying that your kids will get off-task during pair time. If you consistently keep theallotted time to under a minute, I promise they willstay on task.8. Using the name cards, call on students to sharewhat they have discussed. When you call on a stu-dent, she may share any response she and her part-ner came up with, as long as no one else has alreadygiven that answer.

To enjoy all the benefits of the Name Cardmethod, it’s important to follow these guidelineswhen calling on kids: • Don’t look at the cards before asking a question.If you do, you’ll try to match the question’s levelof difficulty with your perception of the student’sability. This sends a clear message of your expec-tations for that student, whether high or low.Since you have paired struggling students withsupportive partners, it’s okay to ask challengingquestions of all students.• Don’t show the cards to the students. Every nowand then, you may want to call on someone otherthan the person whose name card you pull—suchas a student who’s getting very impatient to par-ticipate.• Once you call on a student, stay with her until youget a response. Don’t ask the class to help her.Wait 10 seconds (no more), and if she hasn’tresponded by then, start to coach her. Provide aclue or hint, give her a choice between two alter-natives, or allow her more time to consult with herpartner while you call on other kids. Always becertain to return to the student for her responsewithin 60 seconds, so she’ll know you have confi-dence that she is a capable learner. Important:Don’t call on someone other than the partner tohelp her. This is embarrassing and counterproduc-tive to the goal of total participation.

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• When you finish with a name card, put it some-where inside the stack, never on the bottom.Shuffle the stack often. This way, kids won’t stoppaying attention once they’ve been called on,because they know they might be called on againat any time. Of course, some students will getmore chances than others to respond, but that’sokay, since all students actually answer every ques-tion anyway—with their partners.

• If you use tongue depressors instead of cards, useonly one can. Never put the used ones in anothercan, because brains will shut down.

9. Using the name cards, call on several studentsto share before commenting or giving your input.Simply “receive” their responses in a noncommittalway. You might nod or say “Thank you” or “Okay.”

When you show that you’ll receive multipleresponses to the same question, students don’t stopthinking about the question even after someone elsehas answered it. They know their name card mightbe next and they’ll have to come up with a reason-able response as well. 10. Before moving on to the next question, and forthe benefit of students who enjoy sharing their deepwealth of knowledge, ask, “Does anyone have any-thing to add that hasn’t already been said? Raiseyour hand if you do.”

Make it very clear that they may only add tothe discussion; they may not repeat what has alreadybeen said. If they do repeat, they forfeit their rightto add anything more to the rest of this particulardiscussion. (This encourages students to listen care-fully to the contributions of their classmates.) Theycan continue to participate, however, because theirname card stays in the stack.

Kids who have tended to dominate discussionsin the past are now in a very satisfying situation.They get to tell the answers to all of the questionsto their partners, and they always have the opportu-nity to add to a discussion.

PERFECTIONISM

You may have noticed that many gifted kids areperfectionists. In the primary grades, they are easyto spot. They work ever so slowly to create a perfectproduct, constantly asking you, “Is this okay? Is thiswhat you want me to do?” In the upper grades, per-fectionism becomes harder to identify, since it maylook more like procrastination. Gifted kids begin

avoiding assignments, reasoning that, “Since I prob-ably can’t do this perfectly because I don’t have theright materials or the teacher hasn’t given us enoughtime, I may as well not bother doing it at all.” Thishandy defense mechanism hides an underlying anxi-ety that if they do give the assignment their bestshot, and it isn’t good enough to earn the top grade,they might not be able to handle the consequences.

Parents and teachers unwittingly contribute tothe need of these students to be perfect at all times.In their early years at home, these children noticehow the adults in their life make a pleasant fusswhen they exhibit precocious behaviors. They growup with the mistaken perception that they are val-ued for what they can do rather than who they are.Well-meaning teachers add fuel to the fire whenthey call attention to a student’s exceptional work,holding it up as a model for the other students.

Meanwhile, capable students who just didn’tfeel like doing their best on a particular assignmentget it back for revision, with some comment like,“C’mon, Amy, you can do better than this! I’ll giveyou another chance to earn an A.” To these stu-dents, the message is clear: “Adults like me morewhen I’m the best—when my work is perfect anddeserves an A.” Since most adults have been knownto goof off occasionally and do a less than perfectjob on some project that doesn’t interest them, per-haps those same adults should lighten up on theirexpectations for gifted kids. We need to teach kidshow to struggle to learn, not how to keep complet-ing tasks without true effort.

It’s also possible that praising a child too muchcan contribute to perfectionism, especially if thepraise is for the child’s natural abilities or productsthat didn’t require much effort. High praise canmake a child believe that if you’re smart, all learningshould come easily.

Starting in kindergarten, it becomes theteacher’s responsibility to communicate to studentsthat learning is struggle, and that what one alreadyknows represents memory, not learning. The way tocommunicate these important concepts is by consis-tently providing gifted students with challenging,possibly even frustrating work. Furthermore, thesestudents need to learn that A’s represent a long-termgoal of mastery, and that lower grades are not areflection of inadequacy, but an indication that mas-tery has not yet been achieved.

Teachers can support this risk-taking behaviorby refraining from always expecting perfect work

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and grades from gifted students, and by encouragingthem to try tasks that are truly difficult for them.Gifted students need to develop an appreciation forthe values that accompany the struggle to learn.They need to replace their self-talk that says, “Imust make it appear that the work is effortless so noone questions my intelligence” with the messagethat, “True intelligence is reflected in my willingnessto stay with a frustrating and difficult task untilmastery is achieved.”

NOTE: As you begin to develop appropriatelychallenging activities for your gifted students,don’t be surprised when their first reaction is,“No, thanks! I’d rather just do what the otherkids are doing.” They may take one look at anactivity and conclude that it will require atremendous amount of effort. Then they mayassume that if their classmates and teachers seethem working so hard, everyone else willbelieve what they themselves have long feared:they are not really gifted! Of course, they willresist such activities. Wouldn’t you? Keep read-ing for strategies that will lower your giftedstudents’ resistance and make them more recep-tive to real learning.

Perfectionist CharacteristicsThe perfectionist:

• Believes that what she can do is more importantand valuable than who she is.

• Believes that her worth as a human being dependson being perfect.

• Sets impossible goals for herself.• Has been praised consistently for her “greatness”and exceptional ability; fears she will lose theregard of others if she can’t continue to demon-strate that exceptionality.

• May suffer from the “Impostor Syndrome”—thebelief that she isn’t really very capable and doesn’tdeserve her success.

• Resists challenging work for fear that her strugglewill be seen by others.

• Works very slowly in the hope that her productwill be perfect.

• Discovers a mistake in her work; erases until thereis a hole in the paper, or crumples up the paperand throws it away.

• Limits her options and avoids taking risks.• Procrastinates to the point at which work nevergets done or even started. In this way, she ensuresthat no one can ever really judge her work, andshe doesn’t have to face the possibility that herbest may not be good enough.• May cry easily in frustration when her work atschool doesn’t seem to reach a state of being per-fect. (This is often misjudged as immaturity orthe result of too much pressure from home.)• Asks for lots of extra time to complete her work.• Asks for lots of help and reassurance from theteacher. (“Is this all right? Please repeat the direc-tions.”)• Can’t take criticism or suggestions for improve-ment without being defensive, angry, or tearful.Criticism proves that she isn’t perfect, and sugges-tions imply that she isn’t perfect. Imperfection isintolerable. • Expects other people to be perfect—especiallyclassmates, teammates, and teachers.• Is never satisfied with her successes.

Ways to Help the Perfectionistic Child

Our most important job as teachers of giftedstudents is to help them understand that it’s per-fectly all right to struggle to learn, and the worldwill not think less of them because that struggle isapparent. You need to make sure that all of yourstudents, including those who are gifted, are alwaysworking on tasks that require real effort. In order todo that, you must be willing to assess and give fullcredit for previous mastery each time an instruc-tional unit begins. Once you discover that some stu-dents have already mastered what you are about toteach, their class time should be spent on alternateactivities that help them stretch toward the beliefthat hard work is necessary and desirable for all stu-dents, even the most capable.• Help perfectionists learn that success with long-term goals is merely an accumulation of successeswith short-term goals. The Goal-Setting Log onpage 16 is a very effective tool you can use toteach this concept. Once students form the habitof taking pride in their ability to set and reach agoal during today’s work period, they can worryless about whether the final product, due twoweeks later, will be perfect.

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• Teach them how to use creative problem-solving(CPS). In CPS, sometimes the best or most usefulideas come later in the brainstorming process.This relieves kids of some of the pressure to getthe “right answer” quickly.

• Avoid the phrase “Always do your very best.”When you want to encourage your students towork their hardest, say “Put forth your besteffort.” This shifts the emphasis from the productto the learning process.

How to Use the Goal-Setting Log

The Goal-Setting Log is designed to be used bystudents who have trouble getting started with atask, who work too slowly, and who never seem tobe able to finish long-term tasks. It’s especiallyhelpful for perfectionists who must learn that thekey to accomplishing long-term goals is setting andreaching reasonable short-term goals one at a time.This tool teaches them to take satisfaction from thatprocess. You’ll find a reproducible Goal-Setting Logon page 16.1. At the beginning of each work period, have thestudent enter the date in the left column. In thecenter column, he should write a brief description ofthe work he predicts he can accomplish during thatwork period.2. Five minutes before the end of the work period,have the student complete the right column byrecording how much work he has actually accom-plished. If he accomplished less than he predicted,he should move down a line, record tomorrow’s date(or the date of the next work period), and brieflydescribe the work he has left to do.

Always keep the logs in the classroom—in thestudents’ folders, their compacting folders (see page33), or a community folder if necessary. Have allstudents who use the logs sit in the same generalarea. Work with them as a group to set and reviewtheir goals.

For some students, old habits die hard, and theymay have trouble letting go of their perfectionism.Guide them through this review:If the goal has been met, ask:• What was your goal?• Did you accomplish your goal?

• Who is responsible for your success in reachingyour goal? (It may take patience and prodding,but the student must respond, “I am responsiblefor my success in accomplishing my goal.”)• How does it feel to be successful? (Again, youmay have to prompt the student to say, “It feelsgood to be successful.”)• How can you congratulate yourself or give your-self some recognition for a job well done? (Offersuggestions if necessary.)

If the goal has not been met, ask:• What was your goal?• Did you accomplish your goal?• Who is responsible for the fact that you didn’treach your goal? (The student may blame someexternal source. Don’t ask how it feels to notaccomplish the goal. Instead, prompt until thestudent can say, “I am responsible for not reachingmy goal.”)• What plan can you make for tomorrow to preventthe same problem from happening again? (Havethe student write his plan on the back of hisGoal-Setting Log.)Never punish students who don’t reach their

goals. The best way to get kids on track is to helpthem learn to set realistic goals and feel satisfactionfrom reaching them. The inability to earn positivefeedback (from themselves and from you) is all thepunishment they need.

If you must grade students’ work under thisarrangement, I recommend the following:• Give a C for reaching a goal that is well below thework you expect from the rest of the class.• Give a B for when the goal gets into the grade-level range.• Give an A only for exceptional work.

Have students work on one area or subject at atime until progress is apparent and success feelscomfortable to them. If you add other areas or sub-jects too quickly, students may develop a “fear ofsuccess.” (As in: “Adults always expect more of youif you show them what you can do. I guess I shouldstop working so hard.”)

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16From Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom by Susan Winebrenner, copyright © 2001. Free Spirit Publishing Inc., Minneapolis, MN; www.freespirit.com. This page may be photocopied for individual or classroom work only. For other uses, call 800-735-7323.

GOAL-SETTING LOG

Student’s Name: _______________________________________________________________

Date Goal for This Work Period Work Actually Accomplished

CREATIVE THINKERS

Creative thinkers often aren’t identified asgifted because their behavior tends to annoy teach-ers, and their apparent “fooling around” often resultsin incomplete work. Many creative thinkers don’t dowell in school. They get poor grades, refuse or for-get to hand in work on time, and constantly arguefor things to be done differently. They are so chal-lenging that we sometimes forget that the peoplewho have made the most significant contributionsto humankind throughout history generally exhibitmany characteristics of creative thinkers. It’s thenonconformists who are the problem-solvers, artists,dreamers, and inventors, thinking “outside the box”in ways that profoundly affect our lives.

The creative thinker:• Displays original ideas and products. Is sometimescharacterized as thinking up “wild and crazyideas.”

• Is fluent in idea generation and development.Notices endless possibilities for situations or waysobjects may be used.

• Is able to elaborate on ideas. Adds details othersdon’t think of.

• Demonstrates flexibility of ideas and points ofview. Can see merit in looking at things and situ-ations from numerous perspectives.

• Experiments with ideas and hunches.• Has an outstanding sense of humor. Loves to playwith words and ideas.

• Is impatient with routine and predictable tasks.Adds or changes directions given by the teacherto make assignments more interesting.

• Has a tremendous capacity for making unex-pected connections.

• Challenges accepted assumptions.• Says what he thinks without regard for conse-quences. Is capable of great independence andautonomy.

• Has a great imagination; daydreams often. Enjoyspretending; may have several imaginary play-mates.

• Dresses or grooms in nonconformist ways.• Can persist at one task to the total exclusion ofothers.

• Is a brilliant thinker, but absentminded aboutdetails or where his work might be found.

• Is passionately interested in a particular topic orfield of endeavor.• May be talented in the fine arts.• May do much better on standardized tests thanhis class work leads you to expect.

Ways to Nurture Creative Thinking• Encourage children to observe and explore their environment and universe from many perspectives.• Encourage children’s natural curiosity andaccompanying need to ask zillions of questions.Remember that you’re not expected to know allthe answers. Help the children predict their ownanswers and/or locate resources where theymight find the answers themselves.• Provide numerous open-ended learning experi-ences—those without a single right answer, solu-tion, or method of exploration.• Provide many opportunities for children to engagein meaningful decision making.• Provide regular opportunities for daydreaming orreflection. In the creative thinking process, this iscalled incubation—the time when great ideas syn-thesize and emerge.• Group creatively gifted kids together with otherslike themselves on projects and other activities.This experience validates their sense of self-worthand gives them courage to continue in their talentand interest areas. • Help creative children find outlets and audiencesfor their creative products. Example: Pair themwith adult mentors who can help them exploretheir creative interests.

Creativity InhibitorsCreative thinkers may be blocked and frustrated

when:• They perceive they must succeed at everything theydo, and/or that every product must be perfect.• They feel pressured to conform in order to beaccepted. Some of this pressure may come frompeers; some may come from parents, teachers, andthe media.• They lack opportunities to work alone.

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