My third-grade daughter scored very high on the FCAT and I already knew she was very smart...the problem is?

Question

She is not motivated to do her school work. She is sloppy and turns in half-way finished work, she doesn't want to do her homework, she would rather not read (even though she can read independently at 5th or 6th grade level), and she doesn't care if she gets good grades or not. I want her to be intrinsically motivated (not by me paying her to get good grades or anything like that), but I don't know how to get her to achieve her potential. Her teacher thinks they might test her for the gifted program, but I don't know if that would help motivate her or not. I guess it couldn't hurt! What can I do with her over the summer to help with these issues? BTW, I was always above grade-level in school, too, but I'm a competitive perfectionist and being motivated to achieve was never an issue for me, so this is uncharted territory! :P

Answer 1

My middle son is gifted.  and he was the same way in 3rd grade as well. and at the time was already taking the gifted classes on certain days and doing very well, but regular classwork he wasn't doing so well with.

what i found out was that he HATED the repetitive nature of normal classwork. he'd learned it and wanted to move on...the constant reviewing of something he'd already learned bored him, annoyed him and frustrated him.

gifted children like to be challenged. i would contact your child's teacher and see what she recommends.



edit:

so....thumbs downer, i got that thumbs down because i understand my child very well, or because my son is gifted and you're jealous? lol, lame.

Answer 2

I had the same problem in school. I would get bored with doing the same thing over and over again, so I would stop paying attention. Then I would be behind and hate doing the work.I would see if you can get either get her into the gifted program or get her a tutor and maybe move her up a grade.

EDIT: It might also help to get her involved in extracurricular activities. Those usually require a certain grade level and that might make her want to get her grades up.

Answer 3

tell her she better ger her act together or her grades will go down and "mama ain't goin' to be to[ :) ]"(p.s. [:) ]means happy)

Answer 4

You want your daughter to be intrinsically motivated because you were, but the reality is that right now she isn't. That is not to say she won't become intrinsically motivated as gets older. Right now you do need to focus on external motivators. I don't mean money...there are many other motivators. What does she like to do? What kinds of activities appeal to her? Good grades and completed homework should earn her privileges, such as going out, getting involved in things she enjoys outside of school, etc. Figure out what would motivate her in terms of non-monetary items. In some cases money is the only motivator and if that is the case you will need to decide if you are willing to go that route. When your daughter is successful be sure to praise her and focus on the achievements to help build self-esteem. Get involved in her school work. Call her teachers at the end of the week to find out if she's turned in all her assignments. I'm not kidding. If they say no then there need to be consequences. Once she knows you mean business and will make the calls she'll turn in her work. How do I know this? I tested very high too but lacked instrinsic motivation. My mom had to call my teachers every week, otherwise I eventually would just stop going to school completely. I was a straight A college student later on when I had to pay for school and when I knew school would lead to a good job. Good luck.

Answer 5

Well... I was the same way and I was diagnosed with a concentration problem....

Answer 6

It's possible that because she is so intelligent, she is bored by the low demand that the school work places on her. Try testing her for the gifted program. Having more challenging work may encourage her to work harder.

Second, your daughter is a separate individual. She is not going to be the same person you were, please don't expect her to.

Answer 7

Just keep trying! Rewards are good but it doesn't always have to be money. Reward her for A's and whenever she finishes a book or something. And the more interested she becomes, the less the reward is until the job done is the award itself.

Answer 8

It sounds like she isn't being challenged.  If her skill level is above the actual work she's doing, she's probably just bored.  Ask her teacher if there are any programs available to her.

Answer 9

I was always an above-grade level reader. My teacher gets mad at me for reading high school books in a 5th grade classroom because he thinks they are inappropriate :P

I would sudjest taking her to Sylvan's study skill class during the summer.

Answer 10

a very sound spanking of 2x per year of her age plus the threat of another just like it should be more than enough to motivate your daughter to do her schoolwork.

Answer 11

Well, you could put her in summer school during the summer to teach her better study skills or get her a tutor to help with study skills and organization! I know that helped me when i was in school!