Education of gifted students

  Education of Gifted Students, area in the field of special education concerned with the instruction of students who have exceptionally high abilities. The United States Department of Education describes “giftedness” as exceptionally advanced performance or the potential for distinguished performance in intellectual, creative, leadership, artistic, or specific academic fields. Children who demonstrate exceptional talents come from all social, cultural, and economic groups.

   Educators believe that gifted students require special education services because their learning needs differ significantly from those of the general population. They learn more rapidly and are able to understand more abstract and complex ideas. They are also able to transform existing knowledge into new and useful forms, and to create new knowledge recognized for its originality, complexity, and elegance. Special education services and facilities for gifted children may improve these abilities. In addition, some gifted learners may require special counselling services to address social or emotional adjustment issues that are complicated by their exceptional abilities.

   Many regular elementary and secondary schools in the United States offer special programs designed specifically to meet the needs of gifted students. Some schools provide specialized education programs to gifted children exclusively. These schools offer advanced education in mathematics, science, technology, the arts, or other academic disciplines. Many schools rely on intelligence tests to identify gifted students. However, most guidelines for determining giftedness recommend the use of a combination of standardized test scores, rating systems developed by individual schools, classroom observational records, and performance evaluation.

   Because definitions of giftedness vary widely, the precise number of gifted students in the United States is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, according to a report of the Council of State Directors of Gifted Programs, 32 states reported providing specialized education services to a total of almost 2.4 million gifted students in 1990. Other states surveyed by the council did not report the number of gifted students served. Some states identified more than 10 percent of students as gifted, while others identified fewer than 5 percent.

I COMPREHENSION

A° SAY IF THESE STATEMENTS ARE TRUE OR FALSE

1* Gifted students have the same abilities as ordinary students.

____________________________________________________________________________________

2* There is only one definition of giftedness.

____________________________________________________________________________________

B° ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

1* Why are some students considered as gifted?

____________________________________________________________________________________

2* How are gifted detected?

____________________________________________________________________________________

3* What does ‘their’ in paragraph 2 refer to?

_________________________________.

C° FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS THAT MEAN THE SAME AS

1* ‘demand’ paragraph 2: _________________________________________.

2* ‘satisfy’ paragraph 3: _________________________________________.

3* ‘Examined’ paragraph 4: _______________________________________.

II LANGUAGE

A° MATCH THE TITLES WITH THEIR CORRESPONDING PARAGRAPH

1* Special education.  2* Remedial education.. 3* Vocational education 4* Preschool education

A ___________________ In this education, instruction in skills necessary for persons who are preparing to enter the labour force or who need training or retraining in the technology of their occupation.

B ___________________In this education, term applied universally to educational group experience for children prior to entrance into the primary grades of elementary school. It usually refers to the education of boys and girls from ages three to six or seven, depending on the admission requirements of schools in the area.

C ___________________ In this education, special instruction designed to help students catch up to a desired level of academic achievement.

D _________________ In this education, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs and abilities of disabled or gifted children. Disabled children have conditions that adversely affect their progress in conventional education program.

B° MATCH THE WORDS IN COLUMN A WITH THOSE IN COLUMN B TO FORM COLLOCATION AND THEN FILL IN EACH BLANK WITH A SUITABLE COLLOCATION.  

    A

1. disadvantaged
2. gender
3. higher
4. free

    B

1. discrimination
2. degree
3. access
4. background

1* In some companies, ____________________ is still practised. Women get pay than men.

2* Famous universities and colleges only accept students with _____________________.

3* NGOs have set up a programme to help students from _________________________.

4* Women now have ________________________ to the use of contraceptives to control their pregnancies.

C° FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH ONE WORD FROM THE LIST: hinder, decipher, implement, or endowment

1* The police are studying the anonymous letter, trying to ______________________ the handwriting.

2* Gifted students have very considerable _____________________ like intelligence, hard work etc.

3* NGOs need people’s financial help to ____________________________ all their projects.

4* Does the threat of capital punishment _____________________ people from committing murder?

D° GIVE THE CORRECT FORM TO THE VERBS ( )

1* The government refuses __________________________ (give) money to the NGOs.

2* Bob doesn’t mind _________________________________ (work) at night.

3* I was very tired. I tried __________________________ (keep) my eyes open but I couldn’t.

4* I haven’t succeeded in _____________________________ (find) a job.

E° FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE RIGHT LINKING WORDS: to summarise, due to, similarly, since, furthermore,

or in spite of.

1* __________________ I didn’t have enough money for a taxi, I decided to walk home.

2* He couldn’t find a job ______________________ his considerable qualifications.

3* The cost of food has risen in recent years. ________________, fuel prices have gone up quite considerably.

4* Tourism brings much needed money to developing countries. _________________, it provides employment for local population.

5* You shouldn’t smoke, drink, take drugs or eat junk food. _______________, you live a more healthy life style.

6* The restaurant's success was ____________________________________ its new manager.

Name: ____________________________________. Parents’ signature: _______________________.

Mark: ……  / ……