Talent Development Focus Jay M. Robinson Middle School Jay M. Robinson Middle School, Sep Welcome, Parents! 1

The Goal of Gifted Education To develop and extend learning and thinking that is characteristic of “experts”...through advanced content knowledge, organized around key ideas and principles, and applied meaningfully in problem-solving exercises. Jay M. Robinson Middle School, Sep. 2015

What are some key characteristics of “gifted” learners ? ● ALL students may demonstrate gifted behaviors in varying degrees. It is a matter of the complexity, frequency, and intensity of the demonstrated behaviors that determines whether students require “gifted” instruction. ● Text complexity is the number one indicator of a challenging and rigorous curriculum (not “special projects” done outside the regular classroom setting). CCSS, Appendix A, 2009 Jay M. Robinson Middle School, Sep. 2015

So What Do We Mean by “Text Complexity?” Community House Middle School, Sep ● Text complexity is determined by qualitative and quantitative “measures.” A lexile is a quantitative score assigned to a text that reflects such elements as sentence length and construction, word length and frequency, and text cohesion. ● In order to exit high school reading at this level, students should be exposed to more complex texts throughout the K ‐ 12 years, as indicated in the "stretch text" chart (next slide). © lexile.com, 2010 Where nation is: Where nation should be: So, where is JRM on this scale??

Text Complexity at JRMS Community House Middle School, Sep Where nation IS: Where nation needs to be: More than 2/3 of JRM =

So what does this all mean…? ● All students MUST be reading texts that are appropriately challenging in all subject areas! ● Key Focus: disciplinary literacy and “tiers” of text complexity (students read texts in a target “tier” or zone, both at school and at home). Refer to Lexile Framework below: _8.5x11_FINAL_Updated_May_2013%20(4).pdf _8.5x11_FINAL_Updated_May_2013%20(4).pdf ● Outside of school, students need opportunities to read “real- world” texts that are not only complex, but informational in nature (i.e., New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc.). Jay M. Robinson Middle School, Sep. 2015

What Does TD Look Like at the Secondary Level? ● Inclusive Model ● Differentiation is provided in every course through content, process, and product changes within a given unit / lesson. ● Differentiated Education Plans (DEP’s) Jay M. Robinson Middle School, Sep. 2015