Mark, a second grader, is academically gifted. During practice time, he becomes disruptive to those around him. What is Ms. Hayes's best course of action?

Mark, a second grader, is academically gifted. During practice time, he becomes disruptive to those around him. What is Ms. Hayes's best course of action?

• A. Increase the amount of review for basic skills
• B. Put him in a separate class for gifted students
• C. Wait and monitor behavior for several weeks
• D. Use curriculum compacting

Answer: (D)

When a gifted student is disruptive because the pace or content isn’t challenging enough, the best approach is curriculum compacting. This means quickly checking what Mark already knows and removing that material from the daily practice, then replacing it with more advanced, engaging work or independent projects that match his readiness. By compacting, you keep him intellectually engaged and learning at a pace that fits him, which reduces boredom and the resulting disruption. It still ensures he meets the essential standards, just in a way that stretches him rather than repeats content he already masters. Increasing basic review would likely bore him and keep the disruption going. Placing him in a separate class for gifted students could be a long-term solution but isn’t the most practical immediate in-class fix for the behavior during practice time. Waiting and monitoring for weeks postpones addressing the mismatch between his abilities and the tasks, allowing the disruption to continue.

When a gifted student is disruptive because the pace or content isn’t challenging enough, the best approach is curriculum compacting. This means quickly checking what Mark already knows and removing that material from the daily practice, then replacing it with more advanced, engaging work or independent projects that match his readiness. By compacting, you keep him intellectually engaged and learning at a pace that fits him, which reduces boredom and the resulting disruption. It still ensures he meets the essential standards, just in a way that stretches him rather than repeats content he already masters.

Increasing basic review would likely bore him and keep the disruption going. Placing him in a separate class for gifted students could be a long-term solution but isn’t the most practical immediate in-class fix for the behavior during practice time. Waiting and monitoring for weeks postpones addressing the mismatch between his abilities and the tasks, allowing the disruption to continue.