A Remedial Program Based on Differentiated Instruction to Improve Reading Performance, Reading Comprehension and Self-Esteem of Gifted Students with Learning Difficulties at the Elementary Stage

              The present study aimed at preparing a remedial program based on differentiated instruction to improve reading performance, reading comprehension and self-esteem for gifted students with learning difficulties in the last three grades of elementary education. The program consisted of two levels; the first level is for improving students' reading performance while the second level is for improving students' reading comprehension. For identifying the impact of the program, three instruments were developed. They were a reading performance scale, a reading comprehension test, and a self-esteem scale. Moreover, two other instruments for data collection were also developed; a Learning pattern questionnaire and a multiple intelligence scale.
                After scientifically controlling the sample, the piloting of the instruments was conducted on five students in addition to those who participated in the experimentation. Students were divided into two treatment groups: The first group was those of gifted students with low reading performance and they were six to whom the first level of the program was presented. The second group was those students with low level in reading comprehension and they were four to whom the second level of the program was presented.
              After pre-post testing, it was found that there were significant statistical differences between the means of the score ranks of the first treatment group on the reading performance scale as a whole and its sub-skills separately favoring the post measurement  except three sub-skills and two other main ones, they were insignificant, it was also found that there were no significant statistical differences between the pre-post measurements in the means of the score ranks of the second treatment group on the reading comprehension test as a whole and between its sub-skills separately, and there were significant statistical differences of the means of the score ranks of the first treatment group on the self-esteem scale as a whole and its sub-domains separately favoring the post measurement, also, there were  no significant statistical differences between the pre-post measurements in the means of the score ranks of the second treatment group on the self-esteem scale as a whole and its sub-domains separately. A number of recommendations and suggestions for further research were presented in the study.