Middle School Gifted & Talented Program Parent Orientation September 2009 Challenging ALL Children to Achieve at Higher Levels

Gifted Students

Profile of High Achieving Students Bright Student Knows the answers Is interested Has good ideas Works hard Top group Learns with ease Enjoys peers Grasps meaning Good at memorization Is pleased with own learning Gifted Learner Asks questions Is highly curious Has wild, silly ideas Plays around Beyond the group Already knows Prefers adults Draws inferences Good guesser Is highly self-critical

Gifted Students the good...the bad…the unique Learn rapidly and easily/ Get bored easily and disturb others or daydream Retain a vast quantity of information/Monopolize discussions Have a long attention span/Resist class routine and dislike interruptions Are curious about anything and everything/Go off on tangents; seldom follow through Are alert and observant/Correct adults, often in a way that is or seems impolite Can be individualistic; challenge ideas/Can alienate stubbornness in beliefs

Reflections from Gifted Students What do you think being gifted means and what is your reaction to the term? How do you feel when parents or other adults compliment you about something related to giftedness? Is it different if done privately or in from of friends? How do you feel about accepting compliments from friends or teachers? Do you react differently?

Student Comments Giftedness means you can think on your feet, be creative and express yourself. Girl, 13 When people ask if I am gifted, I am usually silent because I am ridiculed for being smart. It can get very difficult because I can’t use my entire abilities on a subject. Boy, 13, Iowa from More Than a Test Score, Robert Schultz and James Delisle

Identification of GT Students 96 th percentile on a nationally-normed Aptitude Assessment on the Total Composite Score Or two of the three criteria below: 88 th percentile on a nationally-normed aptitude test 89 th percentile on MAP or PASS tests STAR test (elementary) or final GPA of 3.75 or higher (middle)

Middle School Gifted Program Two Tiers Bright & Gifted Students Advanced courses in English, math, science, social studies 6-8 Possibility of high school credit in 2 or 3 courses Gifted Enrichment 40 minute block for GT students only Verbal Course – integrates critical reading, writing, and the humanities Quantitative Course – integrates reasoning, problem-solving, and the sciences

Mission of GT Program To provide identified students with educational opportunities designed to address their academic talents and abilities including the need to learn faster, explore topics in greater depth of content, engage in critical questioning and discussion about content, and explore complexities around topics.

Standards & Concepts Critical Thinking & Inquiry Communication & Argumentation Real World Applications Gifted & Talented Curriculum Framework

Curriculum Map Quantitative Integrated Studies 6 th Grade Animal Populations Local Issues Analysis Trip of a Lifetime White Rain Mathematics Problem Solving Units “Leaf it to Me” Math Around the World Strategy Games Animal Adventure Wildlife Web-quest 7 th Grade Quadrants Math Curse Project Vacation Project Fever 1793 Logic units (bouncing ball, odds, spreading out, hand area v. height) Tower Power Career Projects Mall Project Aerodynamics Ecology 8 th Grade Fibonocci Sequence The Sky is the Limit Force and Motion Logic Mixtures Spacial Visualization Transformations Fun with Food Pythagorean Theorem Linear Programming Earth Financial Literacy

The Curriculum Map Verbal Integrated Studies 6 th Grade Cultural Universals World History Simulations (Dig, Empires, Egypt, Greece, Maya) Jr. Great Books Document-based Questions (China, Greece, Aztecs, Black Death, Mongols) Writing 7 th Grade “Utopian Society” Defining Nations Industrial Revolution World War I 1940’s A Decade of Change The Holocaust The Cold War Speech Analysis and Writing 8 th Grade Getting to Know Hysteria (Salem witch trials) Jr. Great Books Revolutions Civil War Threads of Change The Jungle Depression The Water is Wide

Screening for Newly Qualified GT Students in MS Middle School Identification Timeline June – July Review GT list from elementary grades and schedule for MS GT program August 12 – 19 Notify parents of students who transfer into middle level GT Program August 17Notify all parents of GT program requirements September 3 GT Parent Information Night at home middle schools September 7-30 Fall MAP test (DIMENSION B screening) October 12 – 23 CogAT testing for new middle school students who have never taken a nationally-normed academic aptitude test (DIMENSION A screening) January 22 GPA reviewed for 6 th grade (DIMENSION C screening) January 26Admittance of newly screened GT students