A Study of the Reading Interests and Attitudes of Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade Gifted Children in the State of Missouri

The purpose of this study was to identify the reading interests of fourth, fifth, and sixth grade gifted students. The study was further implemented to identify the gifted\u27s attitudes toward reading and their reading habits. The data were gathered from the 69 state-assisted gifted programs in Missouri by means of a survey developed fourth, fifth, and sixth grade gifted children whose program coordinators participated in the study. The data gathered from the 31 respondents were written onto computer sheets and tabulated at the Computer Center at Southwest Missouri State University. Frequency data resulted in terms of means, standard deviations, and cumulative percentages. The analysis of data indicated that gifted children had a highly positive attitude toward reading. The data also revealed that the favorite reading interests of gifted children were comedy, mysteries, adventure, myths and legends, and stories about boys and girls their age. However, the data compiled on reading habits indicated many differences related to the sex of the reader. The conclusion drawn from the study was that reading plays a significant part in the lives of gifted children