Welcome to OUR GT Pad! Where our Minds are Constantly Moving!

Definition of GT Texas Education Code (TEC) §29.121, "gifted and talented students" means a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who:  exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;  possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or  excels in a specific academic field.

State Goal for GT Students Students who participate in services designed for gifted students will demonstrate skills in self-directed learning, thinking, research, and communication as evidenced by the development of innovative products and performances that reflect individuality and creativity and are advanced in relation to students of similar age, experience, or environment. High school graduates who have participated in services for gifted students will have produced products and performances of professional quality as part of their program services.

My Goals for my students: 1. To empower them to perform at a higher level of Thinking than before. 2. To instill behaviors in them so they are thoughtful and considerate young citizens of our community.

Texas State Plan for Education of the Gifted/ Talented Students  Student Assessment  Service Design  Curriculum and Instruction  Professional Development  Family and Community Involvement

Student Assessment  Two Quantitative Measures  Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)  Iowa Test of Basic Skills  Two Qualitative Measures  Parent Survey  Teacher Survey

GT Program Delivery The HISD G/T Program is a 5-day a week program. Classroom teachers provide differentiated instruction in the core subjects. G/T students participate in cluster and/or pull-out programs with the Extended Learning Teacher (ELT). Students participate in the Gifted/Talented Expo which highlights an independent study project that has been completed. Kindergarten G/T services begin by March 1, 2015

Deerwood GT Program Plan Cluster Students are clustered into classes with a teacher who has met the state training requirements. Students will meet with me to challenge their brain and for research instruction. * I also support classroom teachers with strategies, etc. Expo : Fall: District Expo (Envisions) Spring:DWE Expo (Texas Performance Standards Project)

GT Program Delivery GT students are responsible for mastery of all grade level concepts, but classroom teachers may compact the curriculum for GT students by pre-testing, shortening assignments and/or using individual learning contracts.

2015 Fall Expo 1 st – 2 nd Research Artists and their Technique 3 rd -4 th Design their Own Backyard Getaway 5 th Research and Plan a Vacation

2015 Spring Expo K-2 “Animal Nation” 3-5 “Pursuit of Passion ”

Animal Nation Example sample.php sample.php

Professional Development 4.1.1C A minimum of thirty (30) clock hours of professional development that includes nature and needs of gifted/talented students, identification and assessment of gifted/talented students’ needs, and curriculum and instruction for gifted/talented students is required for teachers who provide instruction and services that are a part of the district’s defined gifted/talented services. Teachers are required to have completed the thirty (30) hours of professional development prior to their assignment to the district’s gifted/talented services (19 TAC §89.2(1)).

Professional Development 4.1.2C Teachers without required training who are assigned to provide instruction and services that are part of the district’s defined gifted/talented services are required to complete the thirty (30) hour training within one semester (19 TAC §89.2(2)).

What our time together looks like Warm up – (10 min)Problem Solving, logic, analogies, etc Creativity – (20 min.) Scamper, Innovations, Theme, 6 Hats, Fast Thoughts, Research Skills – ( min) Brainstorming, narrow topic, questions, mapping, resources, organizing, products Questioning (20 min) Stories with Holes, Mindtrap puzzles, 30 second mysteries, Mystery object CARE Time (5-10 min) We sit in a circle and discuss various topics and sometimes I read from Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff Ticket Out The Door –Something that makes them THINK!

Myth: Gifted students are a homogenous group, all high achievers

We will be Looking at Bloom’s Level of Thinking and Questioning all through the year.

Depth & Complexity

What is Depth and Complexity? 9-GI 9-GI

Another Focus will be on Creative Thinking

Six Hats of Thinking

We SCAMPER Our Way to New Ideas

What is the WordMasters Challenge™? The WordMasters Challenge™ is a national competition for students in grades 3-8 that encourages growth in vocabulary and verbal reasoning. Each year, over 125,000 students from some of the best public and private schools throughout the United States participate in the WordMasters Challenge. Unlike other language arts competitions for this age group – which focus on grammar, punctuation, spelling and other language mechanics – the WordMasters Challenge™ helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically. The contest addresses higher- level word comprehension and verbal reasoning in two ways: It challenges students to complete analogies based on relationships among words they have learned. It bases the analogies on special vocabulary lists, developed for each grade and difficulty level by experienced teachers, which participants are encouraged to study before each meet.

Analogy Challenge from WordMasters (Examples from 4 th grade) Hamburger : Consume :: Log: _______ » A. cut » B. stack » C. build » D. burn » E. grow Plumage : Feather :: Foliage : ________ » A. forest » B. tree » C. bird » D. leaf » E. autumn

Logic Problems ogic_games/logic-game-petcenter.html ogic_games/logic-game-petcenter.html

Research Fall –Research Projects 1 st & 2 nd – Artists 3 rd grade – Backyard Getaway 4 th grade – Backyard Getaway 5 th grade – Travel Passport Spring – Students choose their topic to research Big investment of time and Passion for the topic because we will be working on it from January till May!

Stories with Holes/MindTrap Puzzles

Our GT Students

Field Trips

Supplies 2 Small binders – one for Class (everyone) and one for the Envision Project(3 rd – 5 th grade) A set of 5 dividers for their class binder A tri board for their Envison Project(3 rd - 5 th grade only) Any old craft stuff you would like to get rid of

Thank you for sharing your child with me! It’s going to be a Fantastic Year! A7RA