Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources List of books for parents to share with teachers

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/unwrapping_the_gifted/2011/10/gift_a_teacher.html

This is a good looking list of books to share with teachers about gifted children. Which ones have you read? Which ones do you like? What would you add to this list?

Love and More Love,
Grinity

I've read...

A Nation Deceived:
This is probably the best starting point for most people. It does a good job reaching people who have probably not even thought about gifted students or acceleration.

Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders:
This book is a very useful resource. As a teacher, I've been thrust into situations I'm not comfortable with. I've been given the scale to fill out for ADD/ADHD and I'm not one to jump to conclusions. I think this book has given me resources that I can turn to and say "Let's not be quick to jump to this idea because of this and this."

Challenge Math: For the Elementary and Middle School Students:
I've used this book in the classroom for gifted and advanced learners. The students enjoy the problems. They have different levels for each topic so students can move up the ranks to the right level. They also rely on more higher-order thinking skills. I just wish the book had many more problems!

thanks for the list

Nice list.

As a rule, though, I don't give books about teaching to teachers. If someone not in my field gave me books about how to do my job, I'd be offended; in most cases I assume it's offensive to give them books about how to do theirs.

DeeDee

I would guess that the majority of teachers have little information about gifted education, so I wouldn't see it as telling someone how to do their job in their field, but rather an expansion of knowledge in an area where they may not have as much experience. I would love to hear a teacher's viewpoint of this, but if we heard from someone on this site, it would be a skewed response, since the teachers here all are interested in learning more about GT.

We had luck getting books to school staff when we were on a parent/teacher committee formed to create the school's acceleration policy. We brought in a selection of books to a meeting and offered to lend them to anyone interested. All the books went home with teachers that day. (I think I'm still missing one of those, but hopefully it's getting used!)

I agree that it's a delicate social interaction. In the context of where this list was noticed by me, a Principle was asking for suggestions. Thanks for both the warnings and the workarounds.

If you shoved a list in anyone's face, they would probably be instantly on the defensive. Giving the list to the librarian or principal is a nicer way to accomplish things, especially if the principal asks for resources.

Presentation is key. If a parent told me, "Have you seen this book? It has some nice resources." I would be more inclined to pick up the book. However, if the presentation was more caustic, I don't think I'd be in a chipper mood.

Giving a list of resources is a good idea for schools. My undergrad work was in both Early Childhood Education (Birth-2nd grade) and Elementary Education (1st-6th grade). In the two majors, I didn't receive any courses on Gifted education. All my gifted courses were during my graduate work.

Edit: Of course I may be biased. I'd be thrilled if a parent took initiative in their child's education. I have a few parents, but most parents are MIA. I've heard far too many, "My Mom can't order books from Scholastic because she needs money for cigarettes."

I find this odd... though perhaps it's just due to the field I work in (IT, specifically Linux engineering.) I would love to be given books related to my field. I would never assume I know all there is to know.

I am a teacher of the gifted and here are a few I recommend:

1. Joyful Reading by Sally Reis

2. The Parallel Curriculum by Sandra Kaplan, and Tomlinson (http://www.amazon.com/The-Parallel-...1360382679&sr=8-2&keywords=Sandra+Kaplan)

3. The Story of Philosophy from Bryan Magee (just as a good resource for teachers wanting to teach philosophy)

4. Any Usborne Book

5. The Mysteries of History - really fun to use for lessons

6. I think it is called Eyewitness (letters throughout American History)

7. Anything by Joe- http://www.amazon.com/Enriching-Cur...60382911&sr=1-1&keywords=joseph+renzulli



you might be surprised if you give your child's teacher a resource, most teachers are not trained and feel like they have no clue when it comes to your gifted child. Also, unfortunately a lot of teachers fake it, just speaking as a trainer.

You may feel a bit differently if it was given to you by a client with whom you were having discussions about problems with a project. However on the whole I agree with you - new information, from any source is wonderful.

Except self help books from people you find extremely annoying.