Assessment is essential to determining at what level gifted students can perform. Before beginning a unit, you should first give gifted students the end of unit test to see if they have already mastered the information. It is suggested that all students who score above 80 percent on the end of unit tests be given alternate assignments.
If a gifted child must remain in a general education classroom, then assignments and lessons will need to be modified slightly for the gifted student to keep him or her from becoming bored and losing motivation. Lessons can be modified for the gifted child by asking the child open-ended questions that stimulate higher thinking. Assignments below the child's level should be skipped entirely for the gifted child, and replaced with alternate assignments and independent projects.
Learning groups are popular in classrooms and deciding which group to place a gifted child in depends on the assignment at hand. For group assignments with repetitive drills and practice, place gifted children together in a group of their own and modify the assignment as needed to keep the children engaged. When the group assignment involves critical thinking, gifted students should be spread out amongst the groups so they can stimulate and lead the group discussions.
Giving gifted students the ability to focus on their individual interests goes a long way to keeping them motivated and makes students active participants in their own learning process. Studies show students learn most effectively when able to engage in an activity allowing them to make connections to prior knowledge and their own interests. Determine a basic assignment and category related to previous lessons, and then let the gifted child pick the specific subject of most interest to him.