Scavenger Hunt at the Allen County Public Library

PEAK Quick Reference Guide For Parents

2015-2016

Brenda Drayer, Molly Shoup, and Colleen Sullivan Characteristics of the gifted

A SHORT LIST OF CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTED CHILDREN Learns rapidly and easily May resist routine tasks Advanced vocabulary Good memory Keen sense of humor Gets excitement and pleasure from intellectual challenge Intense Extremely sensitive, might cry easily Creative and imaginative Has an area of passion

You can find lots of lists of characteristics of gifted children so if you are interested in a more complete list, check: http://www.ri.net/gifted_talented/character.html http://austega.com/gifted/characteristics.htm http://giftedkids.about.com/od/gifted101/a/giftedtraits.htm How do you tell the difference between ….?

A High A Gifted A Creative Achiever ……. Learner … Thinker ……. Remembers the answers. Poses unforeseen questions. Sees exceptions. Is interested. Is curious. Wonders. Is attentive. Is selectively mentally engaged. Daydreams; may seem off task. Generates advanced ideas. Generates complex, abstract Overflows with ideas, many of ideas. which will never be developed. Works hard to achieve. Knows without working hard. Plays with ideas and concepts. Answers the questions in detail. Ponders with depth and multiple Injects new possibilities. perspectives. Performs at the top of the Is beyond the group. Is in own group. group. Responds with interest and Exhibits feelings and opinions Shares bizarre, sometimes opinions. from multiple perspectives. conflicting opinions. Learns with ease. Already knows. Questions; What it ……. Needs 6 to 8 repetitions for Needs 1 to 3 repetitions for Questions the need for mastery. mastery. mastery. Comprehends at a high level. Comprehends in-depth complex Overflows with ideas ~ many of ideas. which will never be developed. Enjoys the company of age Prefers the company of Prefers the company of creative peers. intellectual peers. peers but often works alone. Understands complex, abstract Creates complex, abstract Relishes wild, off-the-wall humor. humor. humor. Grasps the meaning. Infers and connects concepts. Makes mental leaps: Aha! Completes the assignment on Initiates projects and Initiates more projects that will time. extensions of assignments. ever be completed. Is receptive. Is intense. Is independent and unconventional. Is accurate and complete. Is original and continually Is original and continually developing. developing. Enjoys school often. Enjoys self-directed learning. Enjoys creating. Absorbs information. Manipulates information. Improvises. Is a technician with expertise in Is an expert who abstracts Is an inventor and idea a field. beyond the field. generator. Memorizes well. Guesses and infers well. Creates and brainstorms well. Kingore, Bertie (Spring 2004), Understanding Our Gifted Giftedness: It is not always a gift! The child who… May also be the child who… …shows superior reasoning …is impatient; seems arrogant; powers and marked ability to challenges your authority; has difficulty handle ideas. getting along with less able peers. …can solve problems quickly …wants to move on quickly despite and easily. what the rest of the class is doing; hates to wait for the group; gets bored and frustrated. …shows persistent intellectual …drives you crazy with the questions: curiosity and asks searching asks inappropriate or embarrassing questions. questions; seems to be nosy. …is an avid reader. …buries self in books; avoids social interaction. …has an advanced vocabulary. …talks too much; seems like a show-off ; has trouble listening; finds it hard to communicate with age peers; dominates discussions …learns quickly. …gets bored with the regular curriculum; gets impatient with peers for being slow; resists assignments that don’t provide opportunities for new learning; dislikes drill and practice; does inaccurate or sloppy work. …is creative and imaginative. …goes too far; is disruptive; lacks interest in everyday assignments; wanders off the subject; asks “what if”. …concentrates for a long …has tunnel vision; hates to be period of time. interrupted; neglects regular responsibilities; is stubborn. …shows initiative and …resists going along with the class; originality. is a loner. …observes keenly; is open to …sees too much; becomes impatient. new ideas. From When Gifted Kids Don’t have all the Answers by Jim Delisle and Judy Galbraith FAQ’s about PEAK and PEAK students

What is the state mandate? In 2007, Indiana mandated High Ability programming for students in grades K-12. The mandate also states that there must be a counseling component to the programming. Each school district is responsible for planning and implementing their program so at this time, there is no one Indiana plan for gifted students. Northwest Allen County Schools is addressing the mandate through the PEAK program in the elementary schools and accelerated and high interest classes at the middle and high school.

How are students identified for PEAK? We start by collecting information about the students from kindergarten and 1st grade teachers. NWEA testing adds standardized achievement scores. Starting with the 2014-2015 school year, students took the CogAT in Kindergarten, 2nd, and 5th grades. The CogAt gives information about a student’s potential in the areas of Language Arts/Reading and Math. PEAK is for students who show achievement or potential for achievement in both math AND reading. PEAK is an upper elementary program for students in grades 3, 4 and 5.

What do the students do in the PEAK classroom? Most PEAK time is spent in learning research skills, exploring concepts that are well above the students’ own grade level, and also working on the PEAK goals for student learning. A curriculum overview is included at the back of this Quick Reference. Time is also spent on affective issues. If PEAK students are all gifted, why aren’t they more similar?

When you look at the Bell Curve, for comparison purposes an IQ of 100 is considered to be average. As you move further away from this central point in either direction, abilities become more and more different from what is considered to be the norm. Specialists in gifted education use the following terms to describe the levels of giftedness:

115-129 Above average 130-144 Gifted 145-159 Highly gifted 160-179 Exceptionally gifted 180+ Extraordinarily gifted PEAK is a pull out program. What other kinds of programs are there? There are basically two different ways to provide services for gifted children. In a pull out program like ours, children leave their classroom and go to a resource room for part of the school day. Another option, called a self-contained classroom, provides gifted services right in that classroom.

How do teachers handle the work the PEAK students miss when out of the regular classroom? Most teachers will find that PEAK students can master material with fewer repetitions than other students. Therefore when the PEAK students return from PEAK, the teacher will make a decision: Is the work that was missed necessary for learning? With the recognition that work is also being done in the PEAK classroom, various decisions might be made. Sometimes students might do fewer problems, sometimes they won’t need to do anything they missed and sometimes they will need to do it all. It is up to the teachers’ professional judgment based on their knowledge of the students’ progress and abilities, and will probably vary from day to day.

Are there problems that show up frequently among gifted children? A lot of the PEAK students are well-rounded individuals but there are certain affective concerns that are not uncommon among gifted children. Among these problems are:  Perfectionism  Underachievement  Emotional intensity  Uneven development  Anxiety  Arrogance  Depression My child is extremely sensitive. Is this normal? Yes. Sensitivity, overexcitability, and intensity are characteristics often seen in gifted individuals. The way you approach your gifted child might need to take into account these tendencies. This doesn’t mean you just say “That’s the way s/he is!” There are strategies that can help your child deal with and take advantage of these characteristics in a positive way. If you are interested, Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) is a helpful website. You could also do an internet search on “Dabrowski” or “overexcitabilities”.

Why don’t some PEAK students “show their gifts” at school? PEAK students are identified by aptitude/potential and/or achievement. If a child’s aptitude is high enough, they will be placed in PEAK even though they lack the skills or habits that bring school achievement or success. These are the children who don’t “show their gifts” in a school setting. For these particular children, it might be helpful to think of PEAK as an At Risk Program, designed to help them with self-esteem issues, with learning school skills, with understanding themselves as learners, and with working on social concerns. Even with extra services, this type of PEAK student may never earn straight A’s.

Is it possible for a child to be both gifted and learning disabled? Linda Kreger Silverman, PhD, says it best: When giftedness is thought of as learning-abled, it seems incomprehensible that a person could be simultaneously learning-abled and learning-disabled. However, when giftedness is seen as developmental advancement or as advanced abstract reasoning ability or as asynchrony (the discrepancy between mental and chronological age), it becomes conceivable that a bright student may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, calculating, or organizing. Giftedness can be combined with blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, other physical handicaps, and psychological dysfunctions. It provides no immunity against physical diseases and accidents that can impair functioning. What are the advantages of being in PEAK? Time with intellectual peers, challenges designed specifically for gifted thinkers, learning research skills, teachers trained in gifted education, making and maintaining friendships based on shared interests…these are the things that older students returning for a visit have told us that they especially appreciated.

I have a child who is in PEAK and a child who isn’t. How can I best handle this with my children? It might help you to know that this happens fairly often! We explain PEAK as being for “leap thinkers”, for the children who think differently. Students who aren’t leap thinkers wouldn’t enjoy PEAK class because the activities don’t fit the way they think. Using the same vocabulary at home is probably the best way to handle this. By the way, being a leap thinker is NOT the result of hard work. Children are either born with brains that think differently or they are not.

What happens in the middle and high school? High ability programming is available at the upper levels but it isn’t called PEAK and it isn’t the same type of programming. Accelerated classes in various subjects are currently available but you can expect changes as our school system settles into meeting the state’s high ability programming mandate.

I’d like to meet some others who might be facing some of the same issues we are facing as parents. Is there a support group for parents of children in PEAK? There is a support group that meets periodically and discusses various topics, such as perfectionism and underachievement. The group plans many activities for our PEAKsters during the year such as: a charter bus trip to museum in the spring, a chess club, a book club, and a picnic at the end of the school year for PEAK families. This group is called the PEAK Parent Support Group (PPSG). For more information, contact [email protected] Great Resources for Parents of PEAK Students Books Author Title Jim Delisle Parenting gifted kids Linda Deal The boredom solution Jim Delisle and Judy Galbraith When gifted kids don’t have all the answers Judy Galbraith The gifted kids’ survival guide (there is a volume for kids 10 and under, and one for kids over 10) Miriam Adderholdt-Elliott Perfectionism: what’s bad about being too good? Sylvia Rimm Underachievement syndrome: causes and cures James Webb, Elizabeth Guiding the gifted child Meckstroth, and Stephanie Tolan Mary Sheedy Kurcinka Raising your spirited child: a guide for parents whose child is more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, energetic Susan Daniels, Ph.D. and Living with Intensity: Understanding the Michael M. Piechowski, PhD. sensitivity, excitability, and emotional development of gifted children, adolescents, and adults Websites National Association for Gifted http://www.nagc.org Children A Blog by the Education http://www.giftedguru.com Specialist for Mensa http://www.mensaforkids.org

Supporting the Emotional http://www.sengifted.org Needs of the Gifted (SENG) GT World http://www.gtworld.org Dr. Sylvia Rimm http://www.sylviarimm.com/parentingarticles.html

Dr. Bertie Kingore http://www.bertiekingore.com/articlespar.htm