Gifted to Learn: How do you Identify an Academically Gifted Child?
Academically gifted children are often identified by their parents and their educators by their ability to ask complex questions and have unique original ideas. They are creative, have advanced cognitive abilities and often have opinionated personalities. These qualities paired with extensive vocabulary makes ‘gifted children an extraordinary energy to be around.
Scientists that have studied gifted education recognize that a common identifier of a ‘gifted’ child is asynchronous development, an ability to be ‘gifted’ in one area but perform poorly in another. For example, a ‘gifted’ child may be above-level in science but struggle with reading.
Another quality of a ‘gifted’ child is that quite often they perform at higher levels than other children their same age in one or more of the following areas: intellectually, creatively, artistically, academically and/or in their leadership abilities. Identifying giftedness in children helps to understand behavior at home and in their classrooms. Recognizing academic giftedness early allows for children to be challenged to their full potential and recognized for their ‘gifts’ throughout their educational career.
PROGRAMS FOR GIFTED LEARNERS
In public schools, students are evaluated with an IQ assessment if identified by a teacher or parent to have ‘gifted’ qualities. Students are evaluated in four categories: mental ability, achievement, creativity, and motivation. Gifted program vary by state. Public schools in various states have additional educational support for ‘gifted’ learners. Typically, once identified there are pull-out options for ‘gifted’ students during the class-day where they work in a group setting with their ‘gifted’ peers. Homeschooled children and students attending private school may have a more difficult time being evaluated for ‘giftedness’ because of state regulations on testing in the public schools.
Tips on Raising a Child that is Academically Gifted and Gifted Students Accommodations for Teachers
Recognize the child’s gifts, special interests, and where they struggle.
Engage the child in topics that are of interest to them.
Support the child to reach their full potential.
Find creative activities that challenge the child and keep them actively learning.
Relate topics the child finds interesting to school, such as calculating the speed of a racehorse.
Participation in enrichment and ‘gifted’ programs with other ‘gifted’ children.
THINGS TO REMEMBER
Assess the child yearly to see where they are academically.
Discuss with the child their preferences to determine changes needed to their education plan.
Remember, gifted students may lose interest in the typical classroom environment.
Work as a team with your child’s school to provide an engaging learning environment.
Determine where you may need to add supplemental educational materials within your child’s curriculum.
Enrichment Activities for Gifted Learners
Report on a topic of interest in the subject being taught. Example: Report on volcanoes in an earth science class.
Create a game board of content from the current unit for test review. Then review by playing the game with classmates.
Create a comic strip of learning material.
Work with a group to create a skit with review words included in the skit.
Activity Ideas for Gifted Students with ADHD
Use flashcards to review learning material.
Play a game to review content before a test.
Allow students to talk to others about the topics being learned. ‘
Give students the opportunity to stand up in the classroom while working on their assignments.
Studies have shown that there is a relationship between ADHD and a high level of creativity in children. Students with ADHD are often most successful in the classroom working in groups and given opportunities to move about the room. However, students may struggle with short term memory loss or problems remembering content. Students with ADHD also may call out answers and should be given flexible learning options in the classroom to accommodate their learning style.
Gifted educational programs vary from state to state and county to county, but one thing that they all have in common is a desire to enrich the lives of academically gifted children around the country.
Meet Amanda
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Welcome to my "teach it" and "beach it" blog! I create engaging resources for teachers and families to guide their children through the 'sea' of education. I specialize in marine biology topics and gifted education! I'm glad you are here!
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-Amanda
Amanda Merrill
SCIENTIST. TEACHER. MOM.
