Serendipity is one of my favorite words. Merriam-Webster defines serendipity as “luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for”. I can’t think of a better way to describe my current position as a teacher of gifted clusters. It was serendipitous that I was asked to teach this population and GROW a group of kids that are often difficult to grow. Perhaps it’s because of the misconception that gifted students will thrive in any setting under any circumstance– that they can “hold their own”. Time, money, and support staff are often poured into struggling students, the middle gets hit with the core curriculum, and the top group “holds their own”. The issue is, gifted students are not carbon copies or gingerbread men. They are diverse. They have great talents. They may have great needs and gaps just like other kids. They may be ESL students, or they may be twice exceptional with two or more diagnoses. The kids with an IQ of 135 look much different than the kids with an IQ of 170, and if you compared two kids with the same IQ, you would see lots of differences between them too. The span in a gifted cluster looks a lot like the span you have in any other classroom. It’s a big continuum, and in some ways, it’s wider than a typical room with a mixed bag of students. Gifted kids need intervention and enrichment. They need encouragement. They need to be understood, valued, and supported just like every other kid in every other subgroup.
This year, I am making a concerted effort to ramp things up even more. As part of that process, I created a Parent PowerPoint that breaks down some of the basic elements of gifted education, and I hope to share it with my classroom parents. I hope that it will help clarify what it means to be “gifted”, gifted characteristics, the 16 Habits of the Mind that are promoted in gifted education, a look at some positive and negative manifestations of gifted traits, a closer look at three characteristics and suggestions for support, parent resources, and more. It would be perfect for an Open House, an informational parent night, or conferences! Once I decided to share this with the wider world, I created THREE slides that are editable to allow for customization of your state’s laws/regulations, your school/classroom services, and your own enrichment. The rest are secured images and, inherently, cannot be
tweaked. Here’s a little peek at some of the slides included in the file:
WOW! What a wonderful presentation. So informative too. Thank you for sharing!
A LoveLi Class