Legislation mandates that, wherever possible, children with exceptionalities be educated in mainstream education classrooms with other students. As a result, a teacher’s role and responsibilities have become increasingly complex.

List some of the common characteristics of gifted students, and specific ways in which a teacher could accommodate the needs of a student who is gifted in the mainstream education classroom.
Exceptional Verbal Skills-When a gifted child begins to speak (which often times is early) they possess large vocabularies, use complete sentences and talk incessantly.
Incredible Memory- Gifted children soak up learning experiences around them like little sponges and remember things with little practice. Oftentimes, when being read to, they will pick up on it if an adult leaves out a word in a favorite book. Some even have a photographic memory.
Insatiable Curiosity- Gifted children constantly ask "why?". Their curiosity knows no bounds and they can be exhausting at times because they never tire of asking questions.
Many Interests- Interests for gifted children can be more advanced and cover many different subject matters. Some gifted children may be consumed with learning only one topic. Other gifted children may change interests so often that it frustrates their teachers and parents.
Interested in Experimenting-Gifted childrens' inquisitive nature lends itself to taking things apart and trying to understand what makes things 'tick'. They may also mix several foods together to see how they may taste or feel.
Vivid Imagination and Creativity-Many gifted children have one or more imaginary friends. While this may be of concern to some parents, having imaginary friends shows a child's high level of intelligence, creativity, and active imagination.
Sense of Humor- At the age of 5 or 6, gifted children show their imagination and creativity through a blossoming sense of humor. By age 10, they can become very witty expressing their humor with puns or riddles. Their strong sense of humor by this point can certainly exhaust adults around them as they don't know when to be serious.
Impatience with Others or Themselves- Gifted children can't understand sometimes why other kids don't share their enthusiasm for certain subjects, don't problem solve as easily, or don't learn new tasks as quickly. Impatience is a result.
Gifted children also tend to be perfectionists and can be hard on themselves when they don't achieve a goal quickly. Because they realize their potential and can visualize certain goals, they become frustrated when they fall short. Perfectionism can start at an early age in gifted children.
Desire for Reasons and Understanding- Gifted children usually do not just 'go with the flow' and will question the status quo. Rules or traditions are often debated if they don't make sense to the gifted child who sees things with a completely different and unique perspective. Answering a child with "that is just the way it is" will most likely prove unsatisfactory.
Complex Thinking- Gifted children seek challenging processes and thinking. Oftentimes, because they seek complexity in their daily lives, gifted children can become bored with routine or mundane tasks. Ultimately, they may abandon many tasks because they don't find them challenging.

What are some of the ways in which both high achieving students and students with disabilities are served in the mainstream classroom? Identify at least two ways both parties are served and then determine what works best for these student populations, and explain why