Let’s Not Leave Advanced and

Gifted Readers “Behind”



I just finished reading the above entitled article from Voices from the Middle, Volume 17, Number 4, May 2010.  I agree with the overall premise of the article.  The focus over the past several years has become our lower students and our "bubble kids."  Because of school grades, AYP, and now teacher salaries, the emphasis is on these students making progress, particularly our lowest 25 percent.  Many times I have observed the high students being overlooked when it comes to curriculum - but not always!  I have seen teachers use their higher students as peer tutors.  Children do tend to learn when tutored by peers.  While this is good to an extent, that should not be the high student's main role in his/her class. 

 

Many schools form heterogeneously grouped classes made up of higher level students.  When forming these groups, teachers need to be mindful of their role, which is to challenge and stimulate higher level learning among these children.  Special training may be necessary in order to achieve this objective.  Because these students learn differently and usually have a wide variety of experiences, it does take extra effort on the teacher's part to provide the instruction and guidance needed to further their learning. 

My youngest daughter was a very advanced reader, reading on a fifth grade level before she entered kindergarten.  She read everything she could get her hands on.  The biggest challenge was finding appropriate books for her.  Her favorite series in kindergarten was The Babysitters' Club.  She continued to read and excel throughout her elementary schooling.  However, when she reached middle school, she was no longer challenged.  She not only lost interest in reading, but avoided it whenever possible.  It seemed she grew tired of reading books chosen by teachers and then doing specifically prescribed reports on those books.  You can imagine my dismay as an avid reader myself.  I believe it was in her sophomore or junior year in high school when the Harry Potter books came out.  She picked up the first one and was hooked.  Once again, she found the joy in reading just for the pleasure of reading.  That's been 10 years and she is never without a book!

Offering a choice of reading material as well as eliminating the standard book report is what advanced readers need.  If they are free to choose their own books (with guidance for the younger children), they will choose books they are truly interested in and will find pleasure in their reading.  Allow them to be creative in reflecting on their reading.  There are so many ways to do that instead of a written "book report."  Let's reach out to these students and help them advance their reading skills even more!