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Some of My Best Friends Are Books

Guiding Gifted Readers from Preschool Through High School

By Judith Wynn Halstead

© 2008 Pink Sherbet Photography

The Heart of the Child: Emotional Development

• Gifted children can often have problems with emotional and social development.

• Gifted Children Must:– Establish an identity– Have Time Alone– Develop Relationships With Others– Learn How to Use Their Abilities

The Heart of the Child: Emotional Development

• Establishing an Identity:– Differences – Gifted children realize early that

they are different. Books can help them embrace and celebrate their differences, and find characters with which they have something in common.

– Ambivalence About the Label – If anything in their environment causes discomfort with the term “gifted”, they could either show off or hide their abilities.

The Heart of the Child: Emotional Development

• Overexcitabilities – It has been noted that highly gifted students often have heightened sensitivities OR insensitivities. They may exhibit overexcitablity in a range of areas, which may lead to a misdiagnosis of ADHD.

• Awareness of Moral Issues – GT children become aware of current events and their implications much sooner than other children. However, they often lack the experiences and tools to understand what they read or see.

The Search for Identity

• Exploring Possibilities–Through Imagination–Developing Potential–Leading Others–Choosing a Career

• We can help guide these children in all of these areas through the books we recommend!

Asynchrony

• The disparity between intellectual, emotional, and physical development is called asynchrony.

• We must consider this factor when recommending books – older books, with older themes, issues, and situations, may not be appropriate for a child’s emotional level, although the child can easily comprehend them on an intellectual level!

Using Their Abilities May Be Hampered:

• Reluctance to take risks• Perfectionism• Underachievement• Multipotentiality• Low external expectations• Lack of appropriate internal expectations

“If you are not taking a risk at all, you are taking a big risk.”

How Books Can Help

• Fiction can help guide emotional development because fiction is written to touch the emotions!

• GT students can often identify with characters, even if unable to talk about their own problems.

• GT students can acquire insight into their own lives and needs = bibliotherapy.

The Mind of the Child: Intellectual Development

• Verbal Student Needs:– Use full vocabulary and continue to develop it– Read books at an appropriate intellectual and

developmental level– Be introduced to a variety of literary conventions,

styles, genres, etc. that use language gracefully– Express ideas verbally and in depth through

writing or speaking with others who challenge (and help refine) their views and concepts.

The Mind of the Child: Intellectual Development

• Thought-Processing Needs:– Be exposed to a great variety of vicarious

experiences– Test new ideas without regard to

conclusions or products– Discuss ideas with intellectual peers– Be exposed to many ideas at many different

levels

The Mind of the Child: Intellectual Development

• Performance Needs:– Have curiosity met with exposure to varying styles

of life, values, and approaches to problems– Be exposed to new information and new issues– Be presented with material at their own rate of

learning– Develop skills in creative thinking and problem

solving– Learn skills for dealing with intensity by exploring

how others cope with it

Obstacles

• Economic Barriers– Thank goodness for free libraries;-)

• Trends in Education– We will always have gifted students, even if we do

not always have TAG programs• Social Conditions

– TV, video games, online environments

All photos from Flickr

Guiding Readers• “Offering the right book to the right child at the

right time.”• Can be informal, a conversation in the stacks, or a

formal book talk or required/recommended reading list

• Developing a relationship with the child is vital; we must know them in order to guide them.

• The best way to learn what a child likes to read is to ask, but the answers may not give enough clear information.

Role Play: Reference

Interview

Reading Patterns: What to Expect from Gifted Readers

• Many teach themselves to read before starting school

• Probably independently reading by 2nd grade

• By 3rd or 4th grade, students have usually identified favorite authors or series and will ask for them by name. Adventure, mystery, science fiction and fantasy start to become favorite genres.

Reading Patterns: What to Expect from Gifted Readers

• A surge in reading begins in about 4th grade and carries through into middle school.

• Habit of reading well-established by 5th grade

• As students reach 5th grade, mythology and legends become more popular.

• Reading may diminish in 6th grade if other interests take over

Reading Patterns: What to Expect from Gifted Readers

• By late 5th grade and 6th grade, students become more interested in realistic fiction, or “Problem Novels”.

• Also during these years, some students begin to lose interest in reading as other activities and interests become more important to them.

• Boys tend to become less flexible than girls in their reading choices.

Reading Patterns: What to Expect from Gifted Readers

• Middle schoolers are capable of reading sophisticated literature, if directed to it

• These years are vital in establishing reading patterns that will continue into adulthood.

Rothstein, Arthur,, 1915-, photographer. Building a model airplane [as girl watches], FSA ... camp, Robstown, Tex.

Boys and Girls:

• Girls tend to prefer internal action focused on what a character thinks and feels, and they can be more willing to try different genres.

• TAG students often continue reading for enjoyment longer than their same age peers, but their needs change.

• In late middle school, boys, without guidance, begin a tendency toward sensationalized, violent adventure, while girls tend to lean toward simplistic, sentimentalized adult romance novels.

What Can We Do?

• Responsible guidance can help TAG students fill their needs for romance and adventure, while leading them toward quality literature.

• English classes, especially for advanced readers, tend to focus on the classics instead of YA lit. A more advisable approach would be to mix one classic for every five or more YA books.

• Many teachers have never had a college course on YA lit., and may not be familiar with it at all.

A Note About Nonfiction:

• Many adults do not recognize the importance of nonfiction to middle school readers.– Accuracy, readability, and structure are important,

as with any nonfiction selection– TAG students enjoy open-endedness as well,

where writers present unanswered questions, ethical dilemmas, and lead – ins to other topics of potential interest

We ENJOY ambiguity and confusion!

OK – Let’s Get to the Books!

• http://www.readingtrails.com/index.php• This site is user-created. It links similar books

together, though the ways in which the books are related is a mystery in some cases.

• http://pixiestixkidspix.wordpress.com/• This site is by a children’s reading enthusiast. It

has several interesting articles and recommendations.

OK – Let’s Get to the Books!

• READING IS FUNDAMENTALwww.rif.org“…website packed with all kinds of booklists, resources, activity calendars and SO MUCH MORE! With separate pages for parents, teachers, and librarians it will take you a long time to uncover all of the treasures buried here.” - Kristen McLean

OK – Let’s Get to the Books!

• http://www.healthybooks.org.uk/browse/• Books organized by mental, social and physical

health themes – an age guide is also provided, as are in depth summaries and reviews.

• http://www.umakrishnaswami.com/• Book topics include war and peace, being

from South Asia, poetry, and more.

OK – Let’s Get to the Books!

• http://www.slideshare.net/ProfessorNana/presentations Teri Lesene’s presentations - great reviewer of new and Hot YA books for tweens and teens

• http://www.goodreads.com – social networking + books!

• http://www.shelfari.com virtual bookshelf, must join, but it’s free

OK – Let’s Get to the Books!

• http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/FindAGoodBook.cfm this is an excellent public library site that allows users to search for a book within genres. Also includes links to other great book search sites.