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Curriculum & Instruction        < Previous        Next >

 

Traits of Gifted and Talented Kids

 

            Q. How do you tell when a child is creatively gifted or talented?

 

·         Gifted students learn more quickly, deeply, and broadly than their peers.

 

·         They usually have learned to read early and thus have larger vocabularies than their age-peers.

 

·         They tend to have outstanding memories with a larger knowledge base than most students.

 

·         They are very curious and ask a lot of questions.

 

·         They tend to have many interests, hobbies and collections.

 

·         Fluent idea generation and much better elaboration skills vs. peers.

 

·         May be noncomformist in clothing, hairdo, thoughts, practices.

 

·         Standardized test scores may be off the charts but classroom grades not that hot.

 

·         They are often called "intense" with strong concentration powers, and either can't stand the slightest noise or distraction, or could read a book in the midst of a hurricane without blinking an eye.

 

·         They tend to operate at the same level as normal children who are significantly older, oftentimes many grade levels older, thinking in the abstract many years before their age-mates.

 

·         They demonstrate high reasoning ability, creativity, curiosity and excellent memories.

 

·         They can get cranky about not wanting to do things that "bore" them.

 

·         Some tend to be sloppy, careless and lazy.

 

·         Tend to prefer to work alone than to work in a cooperative learning group.

 

·         Tend to be bossy in group situations.

 

·         May "blurt out" without worrying about inappropriateness of timing.

 

·         Tend to be "the class clown."

 

·         Know things about current events and global issues that most kids the same age have never even heard of.

 

·         The things they do at school or home produce a "wow!" from parents and teachers.

 

·         They don't need much practice, but can master new concepts or skills almost immediately.

 

·         On the down side, they tend to be physically behind their peers, emotionally oversensitive, perfectionist, and challenging or rebellious of authority, including the teacher's authority.

 

·         They tend to be loners or to hang out with older children or adults.

 

·         The culture is tough on gifted kids, and many of them self-isolate to avoid stigma. Many more try to avoid being stigmatized as gifted by hiding their abilities and underachieving to win social approval.

 

·         They have a higher degree of depression and anxiety.

 

·         While there are many gifted individuals who seem to excel at everything, it is common to see a seventh-grader who can solve logic problems on the college level but spells at an early grade-school level, or a math whiz who is in the lowest reading group. This can cause real learning disabilities to be passed over in a gifted child, since he or she does so well in most subjects and can usually compensate for certain weaknesses by being so outstanding in other areas.

 

  • A famous expert on giftedness, Polish psychologist and psychiatrist Kazimierz Dabrowski, developed one more theory on the traits of gifted children which is popular right now: "positive disintegration" and the theory of "overexcitabilities." In a nutshell, Dabrowski said that gifted kids tend to have high energy levels; were passionate about things instead of just liking them; had noticeably more curiosity; asked a lot of questions; had a rich fantasy life, and were strongly connected with people to the point of being more altruistic than other people.

 

 

Homework: See the website, www.giftedbooks.com.

 

By Susan Darst Williams www.ShowandTellforParents.com Curriculum 14 © 2008

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