Giftedness and Talented Children

The federal Definition for giftedness is:

Children and whenever applicable, youth, who are identified at the preschool, elementary, or secondary level as possessing demonstrated or potential high performances capabilities in areas such as intellectual, creative, specific academic, or leadership ability or in the performing and visual arts and who by reason thereof require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school...gifted and talented will encompass a minimum of 3-5 percent of the school population.
"Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singly or in combination:
· general intellectual ability
· specific academic aptitude
· creative or productive thinking
· leadership ability
· visual or performing arts
· psychomotor ability."
There are many different characteristics of a gifted and talented child. These students can relate one idea to another, make sound judgments, acquire and manipulate abstract symbol systems, solve problems by refraining the question and creating novel solutions, perfection, need to precision, fascination with words and ideas, these children learn in great intuitive leaps, have an intense need for mental stimulation, have early moral and existential concerns, and have tendency toward introversion are a some just to name a few of the characteristics that these type of child perceive.

Implications of Teaching
When it comes to teaching these students. I think if they are easily getting bored in the classroom because they can already complete their work and have a great understand of everything that you are teaching the other students, then this where it is important as a teacher to make extra curriculum in regards to their knowledge. I think having these children learn the same thing as the rest of the child in the classroom but just put more to it. Going the extra step and making them do more in depth learning and studying. I think keeping these children on the same subject as the rest of the class is important if all possible. I know these children can be extremely smart and actually skip a grade but I’m not a believe much in to that.
I think these children need to stay in the appropriate grades. I think there needs to be a extra class where they can go participate with other gifted and talented children but also, be involved in the regular classroom as well. Children in the regular classroom can learn from these students in many different ways. If a teacher isn’t able to get the concept through a child’s mind it may be possible if the gifted student could briefly explain it to them they way the grabbed onto the concept and help out other children.
Overall, it is important that these children aren’t just completing there work and getting bored while in school. It is the teachers responsible to get these children on a higher curriculum where they can be challenged. It is necessarily important for the teacher to make learning fun and but not easy for these children. As a teacher, when I will have a gifted child in my classroom, I will make extra activities and another more difficult curriculum for these children to be taught and go by.
These children will need more challenging activities than the rest of the class.

Technologies:
Smart Boards.
Word Documents- have students type notes after writing them.
The Internet- this give the students ways to go farther into readings and research.

Annotated Reference:
1. http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=1498
This is a great website for parents as well as educators. Also, a website for the child as well.
2. http://specialed.about.com/od/giftedness/a/giftedsteps.htm
A great site for teachers, give different teaching strategies
3. http://www.weac.org/kids/1998-99/march99/differ.htm
a great article for teachers as well as parents on teaching differentiated instruction.
4. http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/12.99.pdf
a in depth study. Great reading.
5. http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/giftedness-section.shtml :
a website that has many different ideas on what to do with gifted students.