Gifted Readers

Characteristics

Gifted readers are those with decoding and comprehension skills 2 years or more in advance of their peers based on reading performance indicators. Gifted readers are often precocious readers in that they learn to read at a young age. However, not all gifted readers begin reading early. Similarly, many readers who begin reading early and demonstrate precocity in reading, later read on a level equal to their typically developing peers and do not develop into gifted readers.

The gifted reader has an advanced understanding of language and communicates easily using a well-developed vocabulary. These readers are able to read fluently using speed and tone appropriate to a given text, but also use visual clues such as punctuation to support their textual understanding. As they read, these students monitor the text to detect new ideas and self-evaluate to determine their own understanding. When comprehension breaks down, they use metacognition to determine which strategies should be used and choose from a repertoire of mastered reading strategies. These students use a wider variety of reading strategies in context than do their non-gifted peers, including the following: rereading, analyzing structure, predicting, inferring, evaluating, relating information to the context area, asking questions, and remembering the main idea and details. These students also access their own prior knowledge and experiences while reading, which deepens their comprehension as well.

Gifted readers read with ease and automaticity. Their proficiency with the reading process may be the reason that gifted readers tend to like reading more than their peers do. Perceptual differences exist in the two populations as well; gifted readers cite reading first as a pleasurable activity and second as a way to get information, whereas non-gifted readers cite finding information as the primary reason for reading, with pleasure being secondary. Gifted readers spend more time reading and do so in a wider variety of literature and genre than do non-gifted readers. Gifted readers are also better able to self-regulate their behavior to read, a strategy that allows them to use the strategies mentioned earlier and to avoid becoming distracted while reading.

Instruction

Regular reading instruction based on grade-level texts is often too easy for gifted readers and may not improve their reading ability. Long-term exposure to unchallenging instruction may cause gifted readers to become complacent or lazy because they may be accustomed to being rewarded for doing work that is easy for them. Texts slightly above their current reading level, along with diagnosti-cally based instruction, will provide appropriately challenging experiences in the students' zone of proximal development and enable them to make further growth. Because of their advanced strategy use, these students need high-interest texts geared toward their ability level that are challenging enough to require them to purposely practice the use of advanced metacognition. Higher-level questioning, particularly in challenging texts, will help them develop these advanced cognitive skills. These learners should also be encouraged to work on long-term projects that allow them to apply information and skills learned in their reading.

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