Nurturing a Gifted Reader

Parents can contribute greatly to the				school system can not. Encourage your child in a
development of their gifted reader. Gifted				hobby, interest, or club. Music, dance, art, rocket
readers are a subset of gifted learners who may				building, theater, 4-H, Scouts, photography, horse
have the ability to understand information at a				back riding, model building are all examples of the
higher level or from a different angle than a				types of activities a parent can support which will
non-gifted learner. Many gifted readers show				enrich and expand the child’s learning
themselves long before starting kindergarten;				opportunities (and, by the way, exercise their
some profoundly gifted three-year-olds seem to				reading skills in addition to the other skills they will
teach themselves to read. According to the				be learning).
National Research Center on the Gifted and				Play word games. Perhaps not surprisingly, most
Talented located at the University of Connecticut				gifted readers also enjoy word games of all
at Storrs, “as a group, talented readers are				kinds. They are very likely to create puns, for
characterized by				instance. Play along. Introduce rhyming games,
• reading earlier than their				hangman, Scrabble, crosswords, anagrams, word
peers,				searches, tongue-twisters, puns, and other
• spending more time				word-teaser games to your gifted reader.
reading,				Gifted readers love words and playing with words
• reading a greater				is the most fun of all. You will be happy to know
variety of literature, even into adulthood (Collins				that all this play develops strong vocabulary and
& Kortner, 1995; Halsted, 1990),				spelling skills.
• reading at least two				Expand understanding. Make it a point to discuss
grade levels above their chronological grade				what a child has read and delve more deeply into
placement,				the content. While a gifted reader may master
• demonstrating				the mechanics of reading easily; understanding,
advanced understanding of language,				analyzing, and evaluating the material are more
• having an expansive				sophisticated skills. Make this a mutual discussion
vocabulary,				and not a quiz. Also, use this sparingly. Reading
• perceiving relationships				needs to be enjoyed to be a self-motivating
between and among characters,				activity. Concentrating on the analysis and
• grasping complex ideas				evaluation of writing calls for a different mindset
(Catron & Wingenbach, 1986; Dooley, 1993;				than reading for enjoyment. Explore questions
Levande, 1999),				like:
• having skills which are				For non-fiction:
advanced in relation to their peers,				1. Was the material factual? How can a reader
• possibly not profiting				tell?
from conventional instruction in reading (Levande,				2. What is an authoritative source for the
1999),				purported factual information? Where can one
• benefiting from				find that information and verify it?
diagnostically based instruction to ensure that their				3. Does the author use logic or emotion to get
skills continually improve.”				across his point of view? What is the advantage
Parents are the gifted child’s first teachers in				or disadvantage of the approach the author took
a very concrete way. “Giftedness”				to the content?
seems to be a combination of native ability and				4. Does the author describe principles and show
enriched environment. Parents can provide a				how the details are related or has the author
stimulating and enriching environment for their child				presented many details without providing an
from birth through high school graduation.				underlying principle which connects these details?
Parents have the opportunity to expand their				5. What did the author mean when he
child’s learning through experiences not				wrote…?
available through the school system.				6. Can you explain in your own words what the
There are many ways a parent can foster their				author meant when he wrote…?
gifted reader. Perhaps the most important thing				7. If you had to explain this same concept to
a parent can do is keep the child and their own				your younger brother, what would you say?
view of this talent in perspective. Each of us is a				For fiction:
unique bundle of talents, gifts, and capabilities. It				1. What happened in the story?
is the whole package that makes us who we				2. Who were the main characters and what
are. Parents play a major role in helping children				were they like?
develop into an integrated whole. Concentrating				3. Why do you think the author chose to give
solely on one talent or gift will result in lopsided				these characters the attributes he did? How do
growth and the result is not helpful to the child or				those attributes contribute to the story?
those around him or her.				4. What decisions did the main character make
Fortunately, gifted readers can use their reading				which might have changed the outcome of the
ability to their advantage to grow other portions				story if the decisions had been different? How
of their personalities and talents, since reading can				might the story have changed?
be used to unlock many fields of endeavor and				5. What writing techniques did the author use to
thought. Parents can use the ideas in this article				create interest in the story? (foreshadowing,
to enrich their child’s experiences with reading.				flashbacks, cliffhangers, symbolism, irony, satire,
In the early years. The average spoken				similes, metaphors, etc).
vocabulary at 24 months is 300 words and by 36				6. Is there a life lesson, moral or message in the
months the average spoken vocabulary is 1000				story?
words. The receptive vocabulary (words				Be a role model. Children emulate their main role
understood but not spoken) is much larger than				model — their parents. Enjoy reading
the spoken vocabulary (this is true throughout life				yourself. Set aside time each day when you
but particularly apparent in the young).				read for your own enjoyment. Your child can
Profoundly gifted readers will have above average				read to themselves during this time or play
vocabularies at earlier ages then the norm and				quietly. You are setting the example that we
often, but not always, teach themselves to				continue to read throughout our lifetime for
read. In fact, in 1972 the Marland report from				pleasure, to learn new skills, and for work.
the US Office of Education stated half of gifted				Reading is an important part of our life.
students had taught themselves to read before				Concentration. Let your child read things that
entering school. Enriched environments for young				interest him without interruption. Your child
children can support the child’s propensity for				needs to develop concentration. Interrupting a
quick language acquisition. In addition to reading				child when they are focused on a particular
to your child daily, make sure books of various				activity, even to give praise, leads to lack of
levels are available in your household. Collect				ability to concentrate. Allow your child to focus
books for your child’s library and keep the				his attention on a particular activity for as long as
books where your child can reach them. Talk				possible. Minimize your presence. Where there
with your child in a descriptive way as you go				is interest, let that flourish.
through your daily life. Your child will be				Support the whole child. Parents are essential in
distinguishing discrete words and sentence				providing guidance and balance in a child’s life.
structure, learning new vocabulary, and equating				There is a distinct tendency in human beings to
books with happy times spent with you.				spend a lot of time on activities which they do
Library Resources. Make trips to the library a				well. This tendency can lead to an unbalance in a
weekly habit in your household. Take your child				person’s life. It is important for all aspects
to “Story Hour”. Get them a library card				of human character to be developed. Children
as soon as they are eligible. Encourage them to				need to develop physical, basic life, social, and
participate in the Summer Reading Programs. If				emotional skills in addition to mental skills. Often
your library sponsors Book Clubs for children or				persecuted by their age peers with labels like
teens, encourage your child to join. Check with				geek and nerd, gifted children need help building
the Reference Librarian or Children’s Librarian				their self confidence and defining their role as a
for reading lists appropriate to your child’s				member of society. Dewey G. Cornell, a clinical
reading level or interests. Remember that a child				psychologist and professor at the University of
should read a variety of material and levels.				Virginia, found children whose parents openly refer
Reading at or below their highest reading level				to them as gifted have less favorable self-images,
reinforces and builds confidence in their skill.				are more prone to anxiety, stress, and
Reading above their current level is a good				depression, are less well-liked by their peer
stretch, but can be discouraging, so smaller doses				groups, and have more behavior problems.
are appropriate.				Instead of focusing on the label of gifted, he
Reading Night. While many parents understand				suggests encouraging kids to be well-rounded,
the need to read to their young children, once the				kind, helpful, and friendly in his article “Child
child has learned to read, many families abandon				Adjustment and Parent Use of the Term
the practice. Research shows however, that				‘Gifted’” in the Gifted Child Quarterly
communal reading is beneficial into at least the				33, 1989.
teen years. Those of you who watch Turner				Additional Resources. If you are looking for
Classic Movies may have seen the movie “I				more ideas on how to nurture your gifted reader,
Remember Mama”. In the film a young				the National Research Center on the Gifted and
woman writer recalls how her family gathered				Talented provides information and resources for
around the living room to hear the latest chapter				teachers and parents through their website.
in whatever novel the family was reading through				You may also wish to check out the National
at the time. This family made a practice of				Institute for Literacy for their newsletter, series
sharing great literature. Different family				of publications for parents and educators about
members read the material, questions could be				supporting acquisition of reading skills, and their
asked and, if no one knew the answer, research				report from the National Early Literacy Panel.
could be done to find the answer. Since				While these publications are intended for readers
everyone in the family was involved, this activity				on a normal progression path, those nurturing
not only strengthened the family unit, it gave a				gifted readers can use the information at the level
way to discuss important issues from the books				needed for their particular situation as the institute
in a supportive, safe environment. Institute a				covers reading from early childhood through
Reading Night with your family. Read a chapter a				adulthood.
night from a sweeping saga which carries you				For more ideas on how to best guide your gifted
away to a new and fascinating time and place.				reader and for specific book suggestions, get a
Rotate the reading through all the family				copy of “Some of My Best Friends are
members to give everyone a chance to practice				Books; Guiding Gifted Readers from Preschool to
this important skill. Answer your child’s				High School” by Judith Wynn Halsted. The
questions about vocabulary and discuss situations,				book explores the development of gifted
history as it applies, or issues as they appear in				readers. It has an annotated bibliography with
the story.				suggested books for different age groups and
Read everything, everywhere. When you visit a				issue areas. Gifted children often face similar
park, zoo, or museum with your child, have your				challenges in developing their identity and learning
child read the placards, look at the map and				to relate to others. The author provides specific
navigate you to the exhibits you wish to view, or				suggestions for books which offer coping
read the signs for opening and closing hours. The				strategies and ideas a child could adopt.
point is to show the child that the opportunity to				Nurturing a gifted reader can be a great pleasure
read and learn is all around us. When you go to				for both you and your child. New words can be
the grocery store, have your child help you find				discovered, secrets revealed, concepts
the products you wish to purchase and evaluate				understood, history exposed, and more in the
nutrition information or pricing. Let them check				comfort of an armchair while turning the pages of
items off the shopping list. The important part is				a book. Reading allows us to share the thoughts
their active participation in the activity and the				of the best minds humankind has produced.
application of reading skills in their every day				Facilitate your gifted reader’s journey into the
existence.				written word with a daily infusion of ideas from
Encourage hobbies. Parents of gifted readers				this article.
can provide opportunities to their children the

Reading

Nurturing a Gifted Reader

Articles