The Gifted Readers Bill of Rights

I came across this and thought it was very eye opening. I went to a conference where the author was the key note speaker...she is probably the funniest gifted advocate that I have ever met! Let me know what you think.

The Gifted Reader’s Bill of Rights

The right to read at a pace & level appropriate to readiness without regard to grade placement.

The right to discuss interpretations, issues and insights with intellectual peers.

The right to reread many books and not finish every book.

The right to use reading to explore new and challenging information & grow intellectually.

The right for time to pursue a self-selected topic in depth through reading & writing.

The right to encounter & apply increasingly advanced vocabulary, word study & concepts.

The right to guidance rather than dictation of what is good literature & how to find the best.

The right to read several books at the same time.

The right to discuss but not have to defend reading choice & taste.

The right to be excused from material already learned.

Kingor, Bertie. (2002). Austin: Professional Associates Publishing

Using Trade Books for Reading

On page 97, the author states that students should be able to bring in trade books to read for reading time. Can this be incorporated into the reading plan? If you use a system like Accelerated Reader that tests and keeps track of the books the students read teachers may not want to allow students to read books that are not AR. Do you think that this is appropriate?

Self Choice

One of the strategies for working with gifted students mentioned in the book is self choice: Having the students come up with their own ideas for projects or activities.

Would you feel comfortable doing this in the classroom?

If so, how would you integrate it into your lessons?

Reading for Gifted Readers

On page 90 the author states "The reading program that is most appropriate for all students and essential for gifted students is one that allows them to read, discuss, analyze and write about literature that challenges them, while being excused from practicing skills they have already mastered."

While I wholeheartedly agree with this, how do we put this into place with AR being the tool that is most widly used in schools? While I agree that AR is a great tool to use for those students who are below grade level readers, I believe that it becomes punitive for students who are reading above grade level, gifted or not. Why should an 8th grade student who reads at a 12th grade level have to read more than everyone else? How about having them delve deeper into the book and use higher level thinking skills instead of rote memorization for AR tests?

Social Emotional Needs

An area that is not really covered in the text is the social emotional needs of the gifted student. In MY opinion, this is the area that we as educators usually look over the most. Statistics show that suicide, depression, drug & alcohol use and drop out rates are higher in the "gifted" arena than in any other area per capita.

1. Do you agree with these statistics? Why or Why not.

2. How can we as educators meet the social emotional needs of the gifted students?

3. Is the school that you are teaching in trying to meet the social emotional needs of gifted students? If so how.

Compacting & Differentiation in Content Areas

Chapter 4 gives great strategies about compacting curriculum & differentiation. I think both of these buzz words are going around right now. My question for you is do you personally use any compacting or differentiation in your current classroom and can you give us examples of what they are and how you use them?

Bragging

In our text, the author states in the "Working Conditions For Alternate Activities, #6: Never brag about your opportunities to work on the alternate activities." While I agree about this to some extent, I want to pose the question to open a discussion and please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Don't we brag about everything to do with sports? If our team beats the other team, we make an announcement to the entire school. If we win the championship, we buy banners and post them for all to see with the child's name & player #. You hear teachers and other students congratulating the team members in the halls etc. When is it okay to brag about being super smart?