Parents of Accademically gifted Childern, Please read?

Question

My dauhter excells so much in reading , spelling, science & health.When it come to math, she does poorly. I honestly think it`s because she is so smart, that if it doesn`t come natural to her, she doesn`t try.I`ve told her over & over, she needs to learn how to study. Any tips Thanks!! She was upset today over B`s she got today. At least she`s got to the point of caring lol. She`s in the 4th grade, Please, don`t tell me I`m pushing - her She`s the one who is in advanced classes.She is a whiz at everything, even though she scored high level in her E.O.G`s in math last year. She` learned lattice, but is having a hard time with division in her regular class. She`s getting a tutor after Easter. How do I teach her how to study?

Answer 1

Some children learn differently than others.  

She might be, for example, a "tactile" learner, so division might come easier if you or her teachers relate some of the examples to real objects that she can handle, or paper that she can cut or tear up (to divide) or put together (to multiply), etc.

Answer 2

Does she really need a tutor?  Or studying tips?  She got B's - that's better than average - that's learning, just not excelling.  It most certainly isn't 'doing poorly'.  

I think the better course of action would be to help her, via counseling if necessary, to learn that it's OK to get B's sometimes.

Answer 3

i do very well in school and i have the same problem. she's over thinking it. she probably thinks there's a lot more to it then the teacher is providing her. i do better with harder problems because it's not as easy to over think. as strange as this may sound, give her her some harder problems to start with so it will be easier to explain the process in a more advanced way she'll understand. once she gets that, show her it's the same way you do the easy ones and she'll understand. it works for me. she's just thinking too outside of the box.

Answer 4

My daughter is also academically gifted, so I feel qualified to answer your question.  Remember, kids can be gifted in some areas and not in others.  I think so long as she is at least meeting the grade level requirements, you should leave it at that.  If she is upset over B's, I think it would be more important to make sure she understands that in life we aren't always going to be the best at everything, and it is way more important to try her very best than what the grade is.  As far as study skills go, the best you can do with her at this age is teach her organization skills, to study in an area that she won't be distracted, and to devote a reasonable amount of time to the subject.

Answer 5

Oh dude I'm just like her..Or atleast was...I suck at math too (I'm still in 8th grade Gifted Algebra II ) but I never cared about her grades

You can't teach her how to study you can only let her learn it herself..what you do is make her think challenge her to the point that she has to study....and reward her for that..If you want her to keep doin it show her what it means to have and A and not just a letter on a piece of paper..MAKE SURE SHE LEARNS HOW TO STUDY EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN"T TEACH HER..otherwise when it comes to something that will challenge her and she is forced to study she won't do it becuz its become her nature to not study (like me) after that she'll become lazy (but still smart, like me) and the only reason she'll be able to take advanced classes is because of her potiential not her work ethics

Do the best to challenge her(like my parents should have done me)...never make it easy and she'll study always..

Answer 6

I had A's in everything, was in advanced everything else and often failed math. Yes, she does have to work at it, because her brain probably doesn't 'think' in math terms.  Division was particularly hard, as I recall. Don't know what to tell you. I didn't really master a lot of things until college, partly because of the difficulty of memorizing just times tables. If someone had told me that multiplication was simply addition repeated, it might have helped (I could figure out 6x7, for instance, but not 6x8).  

As far as how to study?  Can't really help you there. My Mom would just have me sit at the table while she was making dinner and work on it.