1. Differentiating for Depth and Complexity with Sandra Kaplan’s Icons

2. Gifted and Talented Education The Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program supports unique opportunities for high-achieving and underachieving pupils who are identified as gifted and talented. By state definition, gifted students are pupils who possess a capacity for excellence far beyond that of their chronological peers. This capacity includes many and varied characteristics that require modifications of curriculum and instruction. These modifications form the basis of gifted and talented educational services.

3. Differentiating for Depth and Complexity Depth—Depth refers to the concept of challenging learners by enabling them to venture further, deeper, and more elaborately the area under study. Complexity—Complexity refers to the concept of broadening the learner's understanding of the areas under study by asking him/her to make connections, relationships, and associations between, within, and across subjects and disciplines.

4. Icons for Differentiation Sandra N. Kaplan is a clinical professor in learning and instruction at the University of Southern California and has developed the concept of using icons to differentiate the core curriculum to meet the needs gifted learners. Kaplan suggests that “icons” can be used as visual prompts to challenge students to explore concepts more deeply and across disciplines. The use of “icons” allows students to use non- linguistic cues to develop stronger thinking skills, better content acquisition and encourages scholarly behavior.

6. In a 3 rd grade Response to Literature assignment…

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