1. TaG...You’re It! Understanding the Needs of Your Higher Ability Learners
PRE-ASSESSMENT:
On the paper provided at your table, create a concept map in response to the following questions (use the front of the paper for one and the back for the other):
1-How can you tell if a child is ‘gifted’?
2-What are some ways you can differentiate for your high ability learners?

2. Take-A-Step Did anything surprise you after completing this activity?
How can you use this new knowledge with your own students?

3. Why Differentiate?
What it takes to teach gifted learners well... begins with the premise that each child should come to school to stretch and grow daily. It includes the expectation that the measure of progress and growth is competition with oneself rather than competition against others. It resides in the notion that educators understand key concepts, principles and skills of subject domains, and present those in ways that cause highly able students to wonder and grasp, and extend their reach. And it envisions schooling as an escalator on which students continually progress, rather than a series of stairs, with landings on which advanced learners consistently wait.
- National Association of Gifted Children

4. 5 Strategies for Differentiation

5. A “good” teacher, from the gifted kids’ point of view...
Being patient
Having a sense of humor
Moving quickly through learning material
Treating each person as an individual
Allowing others’ opinion to be heard
Consistently giving accurate feedback-specific, detailed comments valued
Interesting, that 4 of the 6 characteristics listed above are personality traits. Many consider the psychological make-up of a teacher to be the most powerful source in effective teaching. (Delisle, 2000; Kitano & Landry, 2001)

6. Our TaG Website

7. On the Index Card at your table...complete the following statements…
EXIT SLIP
On the Index Card at your table...complete the following statements…
Differentiation is essential for gifted learners because….
A goal I am going to set for myself this year in my differentiated classroom will be…
Sarah and Lynne can help me differentiate by....
A question that I have for Sarah and Lynne is...
You can either hand card in as you leave...or send to us in interoffice mail!