| Female, High Middle Class, Both parents are involved. Interracial couple | Male, Middle Class, Single Dad. African American Father. | Emotionally Impaired, female High Middle Class Grandparent as Guardian. African American Woman |
| Students Who Have Higher Ability Students of high ability, often referred to as gifted students, present a unique challenge to teachers. They are often the first ones done with an assignment or those who continually ask for more creative and interesting work. They need exciting activities and energizing projects that offer a creative curriculum within the framework of the regular classroom program. Characteristics of Gifted Students Gifted students exhibit several common characteristics, as outlined in the following list. As in the case of learning disabled students, giftedness usually means a combination of factors in varying degrees and amounts. A gifted student … Has a high level of curiosity. Has a well-developed imagination. Often gives uncommon responses to common queries. Can remember and retain a great deal of information. Can not only pose original solutions to common problems but can also pose original problems, too. Has the ability to concentrate on a problem or issue for extended periods of time. Is capable of comprehending complex concepts. Is well organized. Is excited about learning new facts and concepts. Is often an independent learner.
Teaching Gifted Students If there's one constant about gifted students it's the fact that they're full of questions (and full of answers). They're also imbued with a sense of inquisitiveness. Providing for their instructional needs is not an easy task and will certainly extend you to the full limits of your own creativity and inventiveness. Keep some of these instructional strategies in mind: Allow gifted students to design and follow through on self-initiated projects. Have them pursue questions of their own choosing. Provide gifted students with lots of open-ended activities—activities for which there are no right or wrong answers or any preconceived notions. Keep the emphasis on divergent thinking—helping gifted students focus on many possibilities rather than any set of predetermined answers. Provide opportunities for gifted youngsters to engage in active problem-solving. Be sure the problems assigned are not those for which you have already established appropriate answers but rather those that will allow gifted students to arrive at their own conclusions. Encourage gifted students to take on leadership roles that enhance portions of the classroom program (Note: gifted students are often socially immature.) Provide numerous opportunities for gifted students to read extensively about subjects that interest them. Work closely with the school librarian and public librarian to select and provide trade books in keeping with students' interests. Provide numerous long-term and ex-tended activities that allow gifted students the opportunity to engage in a learning project over an extended period of time. -
| Student, well behaved. Quiet. Struggles a bit in reading. Better at math. Has a hard time communicating his struggles in reading. | Students Who Have Emotional Problems Students with emotional problems are those who demonstrate an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships, develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems, exhibit a pervasive mood of unhappiness under normal circumstances, or show inappropriate types of behavior under normal circumstances. Although you will certainly not be expected to remediate all the emotional difficulties of students, you need to understand that you can and do have a positive impact on students' ability to seek solutions and work in concert with those trying to help them. Here are some guidelines for your classroom: Whenever possible, give the student a sense of responsibility. Put the student in charge of something (operating an overhead projector, cleaning the classroom aquarium, re-potting a plant), and be sure to recognize the effort the student put into completing the assigned task. Provide opportunities for the student to self-select an activity or two he or she would like to pursue independently. Invite the student to share his or her findings or discoveries with the rest of the class. Get the student involved in activities with other students—particularly those students who can serve as good role models for the child. It is important that the emotionally disturbed child has opportunities to interact with fellow students who can provide appropriate behavioral guidelines through their actions. Discuss appropriate classroom behavior at frequent intervals. Don't expect students to remember in May all the classroom rules that were established in September. Provide “refresher courses” on expected behavior throughout the year. Emotionally disabled students benefit from a highly structured program—one in which the sequence of activities and procedures is constant and stable. You will certainly want to consider a varied academic program for all your students, but you will also want to think about an internal structure that provides the support emotionally impaired youngsters need. Be sure to seat an emotionally impaired child away from any distractions (highly verbal students, equipment, tools, etc.). Whenever possible, keep the activities short and quick. Provide immediate feedback, reinforcement, and a sufficient amount of praise.
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