Effective Reading Instruction for Gifted Readers

Abstract

Assigned as a sixth grade Language Arts teacher in both a homogenously grouped class of gifted students and a heterogeneously grouped class of gifted and high-achieving students, I have struggled to design a program of reading instruction that provides substantially different learning opportunities than what might be offered to gifted readers in a traditional, mixed-ability classroom. A cursory review of published curriculum for gifted readers yields little useful information due to the dated nature of the materials offered. It seems that limited progress has been made in the design or study of reading programs for the gifted since the early 1990's. In our current high-stakes testing world, the needs of gifted readers are rarely considered worthy of reading research efforts, and yet, these students deserve instruction that meets their unique demands.