The Foundation

of the Gifted Classroom

Meeting Your Childs

Social, Emotional, and
Intellectual Needs
Social Needs
Middle school has always been perceived as
the most difficult years socially for students
including gifted students. While they have new
opportunities to form rewarding relationships
and develop their own identities, they also are
encountering new social structures and
pressures. As teachers of gifted students, we
encourage parents to emphasize their childs
hard work instead of their innate ability. Our
focus in the classroom is on academic growth,
which is attainable, versus perfectionism,
which isnt.

Emotional Needs
Emotional intelligence can be described as the
capacity to be aware of feelings, to
differentiate among feelings, and to create
better and deeper relationships. Gifted
students generally display higher levels of
emotional intelligence than their age-peers,
and we strive to foster emotional intelligence
in the gifted classroom daily.

Intellectual Needs

Contact Us
Janette Benson and Hannah Zboray
McCleskey Middle School
7th Grade Advanced Content Teachers
Janette.benson@cobbk12.org
Hannah.zboray@cobbk12.org

In the gifted classroom, we implement

strategies to accommodate multiple
intelligences and different learning
preferences. We believe we must foster
academic achievement among artistically,
spatially, and kinesthetically gifted students.
Thats why we address these varying needs
through multisensory and holistic approaches.

The Ideal
Classroom for
Gifted and
Advanced
Learners
Why is a specialized classroom important
for your student? What can you expect?

Gifted students learn best in a

receptive, nonjudgmental, studentcentered environment that encourages
inquiry and independence, includes a
wide variety of materials, provides
some physical movement, is generally
complex, and connects the school
experience with the greater world.
-Sandra L. Berger, Differentiating
Curriculum for Gifted Students

General Information
Building Relationships

Gifted students should feel like theyre in a

classroom where its safe to be smart and express
themselves in different ways. Research shows that
students who are in classrooms with caring
teachers and who enjoy school are motivated to
learn, so thats what our focus is in the gifted
classroom. We believe that building relationships
leads to students who possess strong conflict
resolution skills.

Enrichment Opportunities

Numerous studies have shown that gifted students

generally have higher levels of self-esteem, a strong
work ethic, and more positive social experiences when
they are involved in social organizations (student
government, volunteer clubs), sports teams, and the
arts (drama, music, etc.).
Student Engagement

Researchers have found that students tend to earn

higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in
school longer, and enroll in higher education
programs more when schools work with parents,
families, and communities to support learning.

Students who are engaged in instruction develop a

high level of understanding of the curriculum, retain
what they learn, and can transfer that knowledge to
new situations. Student engagement is particularly
important in the gifted classroom, as gifted learners
generally learn more rapidly and on a higher level than
their age-peers.

Leadership Development

Instruction

Community Involvement

We believe that it is crucial to foster leadership

development qualities in gifted students.
Leadership development includes the desire to be
challenged, creative problem-solving skills, the
ability to see new relationships, flexibility in
thought and action, the ability to motivate others,
and understanding abstract concepts.

Differentiation

Gifted students need a differentiated curriculum

designed to meet their individual needs, abilities and
interests. We understand that gifted students as a
group grasp concepts and learn information more
quickly than their same-age peers. Thats why we
modify the general curriculum to meet your childs
needs and provide classroom time for in-depth
exploration.

Students in the gifted classroom manipulate

ideas and draw generalizations about what may
look like unconnected concepts, and we
encourage that abstract thinking.
Rigor

In your gifted childs classroom, we integrate

critical thinking skills into daily lessons, which is
essential for achieving the rigor that is required
for gifted students to excel. This rigor, together
with taking into account your students interests
and learning style, provides the structure for
scholastic growth and intellectual stimulation.
How do we add this rigor? We infuse problem
solving, questioning, evaluation of sources, and
decision making into the gifted classroom.
Depth of Knowledge

Your gifted student is capable of and thirsty for

more than recalling information the lowest
level in Blooms Taxonomy for instruction and
should be assessed at the deepest level. We
move student thinking progressively from
recalling and observing to predicting, designing,
and creating. While we ask questions that
require students to demonstrate understanding,
the ultimate focus in the gifted classroom is
assessing students in a way that requires them to
predict, design, or create.
Assessment

The formative assessment piece of daily lessons

is critical to student achievement in any
classroom and certainly in the differentiated,
gifted classroom. Your childs teachers focus on
much more than the end product the
summative assessment. We find opportunities
for formative assessments, checkpoints for
understanding, along the way, and we provide
descriptive feedback throughout the learning
process, which is essential if content mastery is
to occur.