Challenging Highly Gifted Learners

THE PRACTICAL STRATEGIES SERIES

IN GIFTED EDUCATION

series editors

FRANCES A. KARNES & KRISTEN R. STEPHENS

Challenging

Highly Gifted Learners

Barbara Gilman

PRUFROCK PRESS INC.

Copyright ©2008 by Frances A. Karnes

and Kristen R. Stephens-Kozak

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN-13: 978-1-59363-771-2

At the time of this book’s publication, all facts and figures cited are the most current available. All telephone numbers, addresses, and Web site URLs are accurate and active. All publications, organizations, Web sites, and other resources exist as described in the book, and all have been verified. The authors and Prufrock Press, Inc., make no warranty or guarantee concerning the information and materials given out by organizations or content found at Web sites, and we are not responsible for any changes that occur after this book’s publication. If you find an error, please contact Prufrock Press, Inc. We strongly recommend to parents, teachers, and other adults that you monitor children’s use of the Internet.

Contents

Series Preface

Introduction: Savannah’s Story

Assessing the Highly Gifted

Educational Plans for Highly Gifted Learners in School

Social Development: How Important

Is Placement With Age Peers?

Highly Gifted Twice-Exceptional Learners

The Importance of Flexible School Personnel

Conclusion: Max’s Story

Resources

References

About the Author

Series Preface

The Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education offers teachers, counselors, administrators, parents, and other interested parties up-to-date instructional techniques and information on a variety of issues pertinent to the field of gifted education. Each guide addresses a focused topic and is written by scholars with authority on the issue. Several guides have been published. Among the titles are:

Acceleration Strategies for Teaching Gifted Learners

Curriculum Compacting: An Easy Start to Differentiating for High-Potential Students

Enrichment Opportunities for Gifted Learners

Independent Study for Gifted Learners

Motivating Gifted Students

Questioning Strategies for Teaching the Gifted

Social & Emotional Teaching Strategies

Using Media & Technology With Gifted Learners

For a current listing of available guides within the series, please contact Prufrock Press at (800) 998-2208 or visit http://www.prufrock.com.

Introduction: Savannah’s Story

Savannah smiled graciously, her mature height and articulate speech disguising her relative youth. I’m full time at the high school this year, she beamed, having begun the previous fall at age 12, after completing 40 credits of high school work while in middle school. Modifications to Savannah’s education began in earnest in the fall of her fourth-grade year, when she revealed to her parents that she knew most of what was being taught and wished she could move ahead. In a subsequent meeting, her teachers tactfully admitted the quiet student showed no signs of needing advanced work, but individual assessment results told a different story. Savannah’s highly gifted Wechsler IQ scores, near the ceiling of the test, and advanced achievement levels convinced a fifth-grade teacher at the meeting to let her visit his classroom. Savannah never left, immediately finding a more comfortable fit with older classmates and more advanced work. The teacher particularly supported her love of science with projects she shared with other gifted students.

The following year, working at