GUIDING MIDDLE SCHOOL GIFTED READERS

As a long-time parent and teacher of gifted kids, I am often asked by kids (and their parents) about those transitional years for gifted readers, the years when these readers have outgrown reading many of the “younger kid” books, but aren’t quite ready for the teenage and beyond books. These transitional readers may be capable of reading at very high levels, but may lack the emotional maturity to deal with some of the subject matter of advanced reading, and so finding “good reads” for them is often difficult.

Some things that we know about gifted readers are that:

• They often read earlier, better, and more (3-4 times more) than average readers (Whitehead, 1984)
• Their reading interests parallel the interests of other students, though they are often more adventurous and want to “dig deeper”
• They continue to read voraciously after the time when children’s reading typically tapers off  -- the middle school years and beyond (Whitehead, 1984)
• They often continue to read voraciously in middle school, high school, college, and throughout adulthood, despite other commitments

We also know that they generally prefer books that contain these features (Dole & Adams 2013):

• Sophisticated beginning-to-read books (for our youngest readers)
• Nuanced language
• Multidimensional characters
• Visually inventive picture books (for our youngest readers)
• Playful thinking
• Unusual connections; finding patterns and parallels within and among books
• Abstractions and analogies
• A blend of fantasy and non-fiction
• Quantities of information on a favored topic
• Books about other gifted children

As a voracious reader of young adult literature, and a literacy coach who works with middle level teachers, I am often asked about “great reads” for middle school, and especially for gifted readers at the middle school level. Therefore it was with great joy that that I happened upon this article in Brightly entitled 14 Kid-Approved Books for Advanced Fifth and Sixth Grade Readers.
The author of this article, Ness Riedel, describes the difficulty in finding a good read for transitional readers in this way: “It can be hard for 10-, 11-, and 12-year-old readers who read at a high school (or higher) level to find books that meet their reading needs but are still appropriate for their age and experience. For readers like this, I worry less about what Lexile or Guided Reading level a specific book is and look for books that will offer them a chance to go deeper in their thinking about characters and situations. Here are 14 books that are loved by young readers on Bookopolis.com that offer unique character voices, complex plots and themes, and high page counts to engage fifth and sixth grade advanced readers.”
The article goes on to describe 14 “good reads” in four categories -- fantasy and science fiction, mystery and realistic fiction, historical fiction, and nonfiction.
As a practitioner, I have read and enjoyed many of these books, and have shared them with parents,teachers and kids. I hope that you and your gifted middle school readers will enjoy them, too.
As always, I look forward to your comments and suggestions. Thank you for joining me in  this foray into using other perspectives to helping us understand giftedness.

Jacquelyn Drummer
Past President, WATG

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