Reading two books, giving kids notebooks, and providing photos and art supplies will help make a follow-up activities that are worthy of putting in a museum!
Going to a museum can be more meaningful and impacting if kids know what they will be doing with all the visual information they soak up. Gifted kids are usually great with museums. They read all the display cards, they study the exhibits, and without guidance, they end up exhausted and overloaded with information. Books to Read Before Going to the Museum Three books really set kids up to do great work upon returning from a museum. They help prepare kids for what to pay attention to at the museum, what details to look for, and what to create upon the return to the gifted classroom. Using The Night at the Museum for Creative Writing Students will already be familiar with the movie adaptations of Night at the Museum, which lends itself nicely to a museum scavenger hunt. The book is different than the museum. The characters not as developed, and the picture book is actually a mystery that the night guard, Larry, must solve: what happens to the dinosaurs. The follow- up activity for this book will be for students to create their own Night at the Museum story based on exhibits at their museum. After reading the short picture book, instruct students:
Using When Pigasso Met Mootise for Replacement Art and Creative Writing Two animals, a pig who creates brilliant, abstract art and a cow who splashes color across inventive lines, become competitive friends in Nina Laden's beautiful story about the real life friendship and tribulations of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. The art is based on actual Picasso and Matisse paintings, but the humans of the originals have been replaced by animals. The follow-up activity for this book will be for students to recreate art with something else in the place of people (or the reverse), so students should be prepare to find pictures that lend themselves to being redrawn. Instruct students to:
Back in the Classroom Although students will be tempted to make their own picture books, that is an activity that really depends on available work time and student ability. Gifted kids like to get immersed in projects, so creating books could become an option for free-choice centers after the original class books are made. The goal of the projects is to start with picture books, go to a museum, and create something new that can be shared in the classroom. If students are able to bring cameras, remind them to take pictures with the flash off. Otherwise, they can usually print out displays from the museum website or they can even draw pictures. If students are not able to go on the field trip, the Museum of Modern Art in New York has a lovely virtual museum with a lot of odd and beautiful works, including the art from When Pigasso Met Mootise, online for exploration. The Night at the Museum (0764136313) by Milan Trenc was published by Barron's Educational Series in November, 2006. When Pigasso Met Mootise (0811811212) by Nina Laden was published by Chronicle Books in July, 1998. Originally posted on Suite101 July 7th, 2009
0 Comments
Helping gifted and talented students choose appropriate reading materials is a tricky road; gifted children tend to read voraciously and at high levels.
These reading habits are understandable characteristics of giftedness; gifted children are cognitively more developed than is normally expected. However, gifted readers need guidance in book selection. A child reading at a college level is not necessarily ready for college material. Just because a ten year old can comprehend Anne Rice's writing does not mean that a ten year old is ready to meet the Vampire Lestat. This, then, becomes the difficulty for parents. Students of all reading abilities tend to enjoy books about people slightly older than they are, so a ten year old will relate to and be interested in books about thirteen year olds more than books about twenty year olds. Finding books written at a high interest high ability level requires time and work. Choosing BooksDoing an advanced book search at Amazon.com and highlighting the appropriate age range is one tool. Amazon also provides book reviews, and reading those reviews is an excellent start. The reviews are usually written by adults, but sometimes there are child reviews. If there are no child reviews, beware: this is not a book for children. Sorting through reviews can be time consuming, and teen readers can finish books and return them to the public library before their parents see them. Reading the back of the book or the book jacket yields a lot of information, as does flipping through. However, the best approach is just to ask your child one question, “If this book was a movie, what would you rate it?” Whatever the answer – even the safe “G” rating – should be followed up with discussion. This widens those narrowing lines of communication, gives parents insight into their children, and helps promote communication skills in general. High Ability ReadersJust because a child is involved in a higher-level book does not mean it should be taken away, of course. Knowing that a child is reading a book with death, violence, or illicit activities means that parents need to read the book, too. If that is not possible – and it often is not – parents need to open the door for conversations. Children may leave books with inaccurate perceptions, and it is not unheard of for children to have nightmares from the frightening book they fell asleep reading. Sometimes gifted children need to hear, “We'll put this book up until your life experience catches up to your reading level.” When parents say that, they need to drive directly to the library or bookstore and find a book that is of the appropriate interest level. Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Series is more a more appropriate vampire series than Interview with a Vampire or Dracula. Parents as ReadersParents should not discount non-fiction as a reading choice. Adults have a blend of non-fiction and fiction reading; children tend to read non-fiction books as assignments and fiction as free choice reading. Parents may want to share their own reading choices, not as material to be read, but as examples of genre. If parents are reading National Geographic, then National Geographic Kids is an obvious connection for children. Teachers can use parent newsletters to help keep parents up to date on books. Often non-fiction, especially historical readings, are often as fascinating as historical fiction without the elevated drama that requires some life experience to appreciate. Helping gifted children pick out appropriate reading materials helps keep them in common experience with their peers and helps preserve childhood a little longer, which are admirable goals in themselves. Originally posted on Suite101 on July 15th, 2008 Unexpected sick days happen. Avoid worrying about what will happen to students during G/T class time with an untrained sub, by preparing generic lessons in advanced.
When a teacher has a sick child (or is personally sick), there is nothing more miserable than running up to school at 6:30 in the morning to adapt the day's lesson plan for a substitute teacher. Enrichment class time, especially pull-out time, is so limited and special that it seems irresponsible to cancel the pull-out class or have study-time. Instead of rearranging a mediocre version of the planned lesson or spending time calling the substitutes who can sort of the puzzles of differentiated lessons, teachers can create generic lessons to leave for their gifted students that will work any day, any month, any moment. Solve Mysteries as a Class If teachers have a CD player, emergency lesson plans become really easy for the substitute to execute. There are several books on CD that students can listen to, but solving mysteries is interactive and can lead to class discussion. Elementary Mystery Collection on CD The Joe Sherlock, Kid Detective CD Audio Collection by Dave Keane gives about 3 1/2 hours of listening time, which could be the length of a pull-out block. The collection has three books on the CD, including:
The Joe Sherlock, Kid Detective series is appropriate for elementary and middle school students. 3rd-6th grade would be the most interested audience. The CDs are from David Keane's books, and they (along with the books) are published by Harper Collins (ISBN: 0061227609). Middle School and Junior High Mysteries on CD: Jeremy Brown's Four-minute Forensic Mysteries are perfect for secondary students. There are 25 stories on the CDs, and at four minutes long, they can be adjusted for any length of a secondary classroom. Teachers should leave pencils and papers for the substitute to give the students, and they will write down clues as they listen to the stories. Brown's collection is taken directly from his books, which are published by Scholastic. Four-minute Forensic Mysteries: Body Of Evidence is available on CD. (ISBN: 0439898501) The Best Reproducible Thinking Game Books Brain Games (ISBN:1576909697) and Brain Games 2 (1420630180) are worksheet collections that are divided up for different ages and ability, making the collection appropriate for any classroom. The worksheets at the beginning are better for younger students, and the worksheets at the end are better for older students. Teachers can copy these worksheets and leave the book (with excellent directions and an easy to use answer key) for substitutes. The book has worksheets that stimulate students and focus on:
Establish an Area of the Classroom to Leave Emergency Lesson Plans Emergency lesson plans need to be prepared in advanced, and they can be left in a conspicuous place. The location of the emergency lesson plans should be noted in the teacher's general sub folder (which should have the student roster and medical emergency information). Teachers can enlist students for help on where the lessons will be left, so they can help the substitute find the emergency lesson plans. Once teachers accept that it is okay to postpone the presentations or project work – even if students were prepared and looking forward to it – they find that they can leave the sort of fun, all-purpose enrichment lessons that are perfect for days when life gets in the way of teaching. Some preparation in advance makes those unprepared moments so much easier for everyone. Even though it is always best to stay on schedule, students can be flexible and enjoy some logic sheets and solve some mysteries while teachers take care of themselves and their families at home. Originally posted on Suite101 on February 26th, 2009 Students are aware of election campaigns, and teacher can capitalize on that awareness to make a "teachable moment". Holding mock elections promotes democratic ideals. From yard signs and headlines to dinner conversation and news, students are aware of elements of the elections, and every four years, teachers are given a chance to instill a sense of patriotic duty in students by holding mock presidential elections. It is tempting to wait until the actual election day and hold a mere paper-pencil ballot with two names, but a true mock election takes more time. Students need to be aware of issues, backgrounds of candidates, and have a chance to discuss and ask questions. Even younger students will benefit from mock elections, if a teacher takes time to prepare and communicate. Preparing Students for a Mock Election The first step in any election is deciding who is allowed to vote. In a classroom, it is easy; students who are in the class are allowed to vote. However, teachers and classes can consider national issues with voters. What if someone is home sick? How will that person get to vote. In official elections, there are mail-in ballots. What if someone is suspended? In official elections, felons are not allowed to vote until they have served their sentence. What if someone from another class wants to vote? Mock elections generate a lot of interest, and people might want to stop in during lunch or recess and vote. Next, decide who will count and certify the vote. With younger grades it might be the teacher, but in older grades, it might be another class that counts and certifies the vote. Go over the ballot and process in advance with students. They should be able to see a sample ballot. They should know the candidates and the issues. They should understand where the ballot box will be and the procedures for voting. Understanding Political Issues It is important that teachers do not accidentally put their own biases into issues. It is best to go to a neutral sources, such as Google Election Tools for teachers, USA Today Election Issues, or Government Guide for Elections to get kid-friendly, balanced ballot information. It is important and ethical to make sure that every party and candidate who will be on the state ballot gets equal attention in classroom issue discussions. Ballots and Voting Ballots can be simple tick boxes on a form, and students can place them in a box. They should cross their names off of lists when they pick up a ballot, and receive a hand stamp or a sticker when they are done to indicate that they voted. "I voted" stickers are often available through the various election offices, organizations such as The League of Women Voters, or they are for sale. Students can also make stickers in advance on small file label tabs.More advanced ballots are available. TheNational Student/Parent Mock Election site has printable ballots and web-based ballots, and they have steps in place for making sure votes are secure. After the votes are tallied, teachers have another teachable moment because, just as in the national arena, there will be students who are thrilled, students who are angry, students who are disappointed, and students who are simply glad it is all over. Mock elections mirror society in more than just the voting process. Teachers should not end the activity with a mere announcement of a winner; rather, teachers should have a discussion about who won, why, and how the other candidates can participate in government and contribute to society. Originally posted on Suite101 on October 7th, 2008 In 2005, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement announced that schools receiving federal funding must recognize the Constitution on September 17th. Constitution Day is an opportunity for schools to help students increase awareness of and appreciation for the United States Constitution. While the goals of Constitution Day are admirable, it is an unusual holiday because schools are required to have activities on a specific date, which can be tricky to do in smaller districts that share resources such as guest speakers and assembly centers. History of Constitution Day West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd helped change Citizenship Day to Constitution Day in 2004. In 2005, the Department of Education required that all educational institutions receiving federal funding commemorate September 17, 1787, which is the date of the signing of the United States Constitution. If September 17 falls on a weekend or holiday, schools must hold Constitution Day programs the preceding or following week. Constitution Day Programming While Congress legislated Constitution Day, there is not funding for Constitution Day activities. According to its notice, the Department of Education, "is aware that there may be other public and private resources available that may be helpful to educational institutions in implementing Constitution Day." Whatever activities schools decide on, they need to be done on September 17th. Constitution Day Activities The federal government has Constitution Day activities that provides Constitution Day resources, and even if districts do not use these activities, they may help answer the potentially overwhelming question, "What do we do if we can't get a guest speaker?". Based on the government website, schools may want to provide activities that allow students to:
Additional Resources Communities have a number of guest speakers that may be available to discuss how the Constitution impacts them professionally. Professionals involved in the legal system may be of particular interest to middle school, junior high, and high school students. For schools that are not able to host guest speakers, Constitution Center has excellent resources that schools can purchase for their students, including pocket Constitutions, but be advised that they do not accept purchase orders, so it may be more difficult to order materials. As Constitution Day becomes more popular, more classroom resources will sprout up online and be available to schools. Despite the difficulties presented by having to hold Constitution Day on a specific date, honoring the Constitution is a valuable experience for students. They recognize Independence Day, President's Day, and Memorial Day, so it makes sense that they should learn about and appreciate the document that started it all. Originally posted on Suite101 on September 6th, 2008 When teaching creative problem solving, it is important that students develop flexible thinking, the ability to come up with a variety of categories for potential answer In creative problem solving, a student who demonstrates flexible thinking is one who can group ideas into different categories. If a student can generate ideas that fit into many groups, that student is a flexible thinker. After learning fluency which is the ability to generate ideas, students should be able to categorize those ideas. Flexible thinking is an important part of creative problem solving, because problems are often solved by looking at a variety of sources. Solutions come from unexpected directions, and students should be encouraged to think flexibly -- in a variety of categories -- when solving problems. Teaching Flexible Thinking in Elementary Gifted Classrooms Before learning flexibility, students should have a good understanding of fluency. Teachers should either have students generate lists of ideas, or have lists of ideas available to students. At the elementary level, it is important that teachers introduce students to flexible thinking using concrete ideas. Abstract concepts are hard to categorize, even for gifted students. Because abstract reasoning develops at different rates in children, handing a gifted child a mixed list of concrete and abstract ideas may prove to be more frustrating than productive. A Flexible Thinking Activity for Elementary Students Instruct students to bring pictures of pets or magazine cut-outs of animals. The teachers should also have an assortment of animal pictures available. As a class, generate a list of types of animals based on the pictures. Then, have the students individually categorize the list. Some students might be limited to listing animals such as dogs, cats, and fish. Other students might have more categories, and some animals might fit into multiple categories. A student might have mammals, large animals, pets, and animals with tails as categories. A horse would fit into all of those groups. That student would be using flexible thinking. Teaching Flexible Thinking in Middle School Gifted Classrooms Middle school gifted students are ready to tackle abstract concepts as they learn creative problem solving. Although flexibility should be introduced using concrete examples, middle school students will be able to incorporate additional layers with abstractions. In the animal example, teachers might want to include mythical creatures, which would bring in a layer of imaginative thinking. A Flexible Thinking Activity for Middle School Students Even though middle schoolers have outgrown many childhood toys, most middle school students have a childhood toy that they will enjoy bringing to class and sharing. It is important that they bring a toy that they do not mind letting other people touch. Teachers should have additional toys on hand in case some students do not bring them. Students should describe the toy to the class, and the class can make a master list on the board. The list should include features of each person's toy. Some features might include the number of parts, functionality (example: it is an indoor or outdoor toy), if it makes noise, and the materials the toys are made of. After the students have generated a list (fluency), they should individually group different toys into different categories. Grading Flexible Thinking Students should be able to put a large list of ideas into a variety of groups. If a student has trouble categorizing ideas, the teacher first needs to make sure that the original list had obvious groupings. If the list did not lend itself to flexible thinking, a low number of groups would be acceptable. If the list had a variety of different options, teachers should expect a higher number of groupings. Flexible thinking takes time and practice to develop. Grades should reflect growth in ability, rather than meeting a set number of groups. Once students master fluency and flexibility, they are able to generate lists of potential solutions for given problems. These are foundational steps for creative problem solving, and they give students the luxury of having many options to choose from when determining the best answer. Originally posted on Suite101 on October 8th, 2008 When teaching creative problem solving, it is important that students understand the concept of fluency, the ability to generate a lot of ideas on a given topic. In creative problem solving a fluent student is one who can list many potential solutions to a problem. Some potential solutions may just be idea fragments, or they may be too "out there" to be practical. In fluency, quantity is more important than quality, because students will later reflect on their responses and decide which ideas are worth keeping. In creative problem solving, impractical ideas are valued just as much as practical ideas. Solutions come from unexpected sources, and students should be encouraged to look at all possible sources in the initial stages of solving problems. Teaching Fluency in Elementary Gifted Classrooms Students are ready to understand fluency and use it in basic problem solving in elementary school, but they need to be able to write or type for 10-15 minute stretches. For this reason, fluency may be a good activity for 4th and 5th graders rather than earlier elementary, but like so many things in gifted education, it depends on the student. It is important that students understand why they are being asked to write in such great quantities... teaching fluency might be as simple as giving students a topic and asking them to list possibilities. For example, ask students to list things that are green. One word answers are fine. The students should give as many answers as possible in the given amount of time, perhaps 10-15 minutes. It is important that teachers tell students spelling is not an issue. They are simply recording their ideas and writing them to avoid repetition. Teaching Fluency in Middle School Gifted ClassroomsMiddle school students love the game Scattergories, and it is an excellent introduction to the concept of fluency. To understand how fluency relates to problem solving (as opposed to idea-generation for brainstorming), students should be given a simple problem and asked to fluently list all the possible answers. Spelling, grammar, and mechanics are not priorities at this stage, because the goal is idea generation, and pausing will hinder progress toward the goal. Middle school students tend to be competitive and this is a good activity for competition if the question provides a level playing field. Problems with Repetition A question such as "Why do cats have claws" will generate a lot of ideas and it is a topic on which everyone can contribute answers. Sometimes students are tempted to hide behind repetition, because those words will fill lines on the paper. For example, using the cat-claw question, a student taking refuge in repetition might write:
Grading Fluency Being able to provide a coherent answer to the question is one strategy for evaluating answers, but it is not the goal in the first stage of learning fluent thinking. Students should be able to say, "Cats have claws in case they need to climb trees." It is a coherent answer to a simple question based on idea generation. It is tempting to have a partner just check off answers as they are said instead of writing them down. Unfortunately, that makes it tricky to avoid repeating ideas and the work is then unable to be re-used to teach flexibility and frequency. However, if students have ideas listed, the lists can be used later in other creative problem solving activities. When teachers move on to the next step in teaching creative problem solving, flexibility, the students will see that their fluent answers did were inflexible and could not fit into many groups. In fact, the student was being fluent in generating types of trees, not generating reasons why cats have claws. Originally posted on Suite101 on October 8th, 2008 Gifted students crave creative problem solving experiences. The gifted classroom can be a problem solving playground where students discover problems and solutions.
Offering gifted students problems to solve with fluent, flexible thinking is an important element of gifted curricula, especially at the middle school level and beyond. Students are ready for abstract thinking, and many students are aware that the "real world" is full of abstract problems. In creative problem solving, a students learn apply divergent thinking and "out of the box" ideas to solve real problems. Teaching Creative Problem Solving by Explaining What Questions are Asking The first phase of creative problem solving is understand what type of answer a question is truly seeking. Providing students with a list of question terms and the type of answers they require will offer clarity throughout the unit. Having such a list not only helps students answer questions, but it will help them phrase questions more correctly. The following list should be provided to students and posted in the classroom. It is not necessary to make students memorize the list; gifted students will likely pick up on these standards innately.
There are several sources to find problems that students can use fluency and flexibility to answer. One ready and willing source is parents. Teachers can use a newsletter to contact parents and request real problems that require creative solutions. It is important to note that the parents do not have to have a solution; the students will be coming up with solutions to offer. Parents should submit problems they encounter during daily life, from difficulties parking at the soccer field to interesting problems at work, or even national issues to which there seems "no answer". Including parents in question gathering has the bonus effect of increasing parent involvement. An Activity to Generate Creative Questions and Answers Gifted students tend to read at a higher grade level than their peers, and the gifted classroom can utilize that high reading level by offering a variety of "odd news" articles. Secondary students may want to research their own articles, but upper elementary and younger middle school students should have articles provided to them unless the class is also learning research skills. Students should choose an "odd news" article, and read it quietly. Then, students should come up with as many questions as they can based on the article, using the different question terms of how, what, when, where, who , and why. Not every news story will lend itself to every term. After the teacher has proof-read the question, the student should write down each question on a card. Without knowing anything about the news articles, other students in the class (or other classes) should draw out questions and try to answer them. They should use fluency to come up with a list of potential answers, and they should use flexibility to have a variety of categories of answers. Then, after reviewing their answers, students should write the most practical or likely answer on the back of the card. Grading Creative Problem Solving At the end of a creative problem solving activity, students should be have an answer to the problem. The quality of the answer is subjective, but any answer is a start. As students are offered more opportunities to solve problems, teachers should raise their expectations on the quality and quantity of answers. Grading in the gifted classroom is different than other classrooms, because the problems students face are often subjective. Creative problems solving lessons need clear grading standards. At the end of a creative problem solving unit, students should be able to face a variety of problems with confidence. They should be able to come up with a variety of responses, and some should be unique, while others should reflect popular thinking. If questions are well-phrased well, students are well-prepared, teachers should have high expectations for their students to solve a variety of problems in a variety of ways. Originally posted on Suite101 on October 8th, 2008. Halloween at the middle school level is different from elementary school, but teachers can offer seasonal activities that help students reflect on first quarter learning. Middle school students will push boundaries on dressing up for Halloween, so schools rarely allow costumes at school. Even if there was time for a class party, a teacher can't host parties in all day. Students would end up attending six different parties, eating junk food, and never break out a pencil. Instead of following the elementary lead of costumes and a short party, it is more appropriate for middle school teachers to use Halloween as a time to improve classroom dynamics. Students can have fun and do a little bit of learning, too. Preparing Students for Halloween at the Middle School Level Teachers need to stress the change in routine for middle school students. After years of dressing up and having parent-hosted parties, it may not occur to students that secondary schools follow handle holidays differently. Teachers should explain that they are in a larger school, and not all students are comfortable with the scary side of Halloween, but other students are bored of the childish side of Halloween. Then, teachers should help students understand that middle school schedules are not designed to be as flexible as they are in elementary school. At this point, students will be desperate to hear a magical "however" so they can be assured of having a little fun on the first big holiday of the school year, and teachers should say, "However, we will still be doing something special because we are just finished with the first quarter of school." Decorating Classrooms and Hallways with Student Work Because of the number of students, teachers cannot hang up 120 Jack-O-Lanterns, but teachers can have small pumpkins, leaves, bats and other fall/Halloween symbols and use them to decorate classrooms. Doing a search for "Halloween coloring sheets" or "Halloween printables" will lead to usable results. Familyfun.com's Halloween ideas. Teachers can create bulletin boards or hallway signs that allow the images to be grouped and displayed. Suggestions for Using Halloween Templates Using the patterns, students simply write something they have learned about in class that fits the theme of the picture. For example, a teacher could create a bulletin board that says, "Ideas that Fly". Students could use bat, witch, or ghost pictures and write one thing they learned in class so far that they would want to learn more about. Here are additional ideas:
Optional Halloween Classroom Activities If there isn't time in the day to offer activities, teachers might want to offer some holiday-inspired fun sheets for students to use when they are done with assignments. Even though students are older, they still enjoy word-searches, crosswords, and other "fun-day" activities. Discoveryeducation.com allows teachers to make customizable printouts, and teachers can decorate the copies with Halloween decorations. Originally posted on Suite101 on October 19th, 2008 The British Medical Research Council and American Journal of Public Health have connected IQ and alcoholism, suggesting gifted kids are at risk for later alcohol abuse.
According to the October 2008 American Journal of Public Health, "higher childhood mental ability was related to alcohol problems and higher alcohol intake in adult life." Although more research will be done in the area of childhood IQ and adult alcohol use, the AJPH should be of interest to people working with gifted students. Results of the Study Researchers G. David Batty, Ian J. Deary, Ingrid Schoon, Carol Emslie, Kate Hunt, and Catharine R. Gale used the 1970 British Cohort Study to track alcohol usage of 8,170 British 10 year-olds. The children were born in 1970, had their IQs tested in at age 10, and participated in follow up research in 2004 and 2008. The study was published as "Childhood Mental Ability and Adult Alcohol Intake and Alcohol Problems: The 1970 British Cohort Study", and the authors explain how they found statistical links between childhood IQ and increased drinking. For every 15 point increase of measured IQ, there was an average increase of 1.27 times for alcohol abuse, with women more likely than men. Considerations from Yesterday and Today The children of this study have differences from today's gifted students. It is unlikely that these students had as much drug prevention education, and gifted education programs were less prevalent than they are today. However, the large number of people involved in the study, the similarity between the 15 point jumps for both genders, and the reaction to the results of the study suggest that the parents and teachers working with gifted children should be prepared to tackle some serious issues as gifted children grow into adulthood. Possible Factors linking IQ and Adult Drinking The study was adjusted for socio-economic factors, so the gender distinction stands out strongly. Women were more likely than men to develop alcohol problems. It is possible that people with higher IQs end up in careers that are more stressful, and that stress often leads to drinking. It is also possible that people with high IQs end up in careers that require a lot of social drinking, and that such drinking might get out of control. The study noted that, "the proportion of women with a history of alcohol problems was highest among women from the professional and managerial classes.” Does Too Much Thinking Lead to Drinking? In 2003, the Journal of Secondary Education examined "Depressive Disorder in Highly Gifted Adolescents", suggesting that, "highly gifted teens experience depression and that they are capable of disguising even the most severe symptoms." Another potential factor that could lead to drinking would be unmanaged depression, as alcohol is commonly used as self-medication or escape. Creating personal belief statements can help students focus on positive forces to avoid pitfalls of depression. Implications for Gifted Education Teachers Many schools have classes that deal with the health dangers presented by drugs and alcohol abuse. If teachers of gifted students are confident that their students will get such instruction and make healthy adjustments, it might be beneficial for teachers to focus on the possible factors that lead to alcohol abuse. Gifted students and their parents should be educated about:
Originally posted to Suite101 and TableAus, the Australian Mensa Magazine, in 2008. |
AuthorAlly Sharp is a teacher, writer and editor, and technology trainer. Archives
December 2016
Categories
All
|