1. W ELCOME TO B RIDGES Our students will attend classes beginning the week of August 18, 2015

2. Hawthorn Renner Union Chapel English Landing Grades 3 & 4 English Landing-Host School Mrs. Anderson—Gifted Facilitator Grades 3 & 4 Kristin Havens—Director of Curriculum *Gifted Coordinator

3. T HIS B RIDGE -S HEL SILVERSTEIN This bridge will only take you halfway there To those lands you long to see: Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fairs And moonlit woods where unicorns run free. So come and walk awhile with me and share The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I’ve known. But this bridge will only take you halfway there—The last few steps you’ll have to take alone. Where Bridges got it’s name.

4. P RIMARY P URPOSE OF THE P ROGRAM The purpose of the Park Hill gifted program is to recognize and provide for the unique academic and affective needs of the exceptional child so they will become effective, creative producers in society and their personal lives.

5. Section 162.675. RSMo, defines gifted children as "those children who exhibit precocious development of mental capacity and learning potential as determined by competent professional evaluation to the extent that continued educational growth and stimulation could best be served by an academic environment beyond that offered through a standard grade level curriculum." Who are the Gifted?

6. W HAT M AKES G IFTEDNESS

7. Explore, branch out, and diverge from traditional instruction Explore, branch out, and diverge from traditional instruction Offer students time with their intellectual peers Focus on individualization, differentiation, application of higher level thinking skills Focus on individualization, differentiation, application of higher level thinking skills PROGRAMS FOR GIFTED CHILDREN SHOULD…

9. 21 st Century Park Hill School District Gifted Education Engaged Classroom

10. E NGAGING I NSTRUCTION

11. C URRICULUM COMPONENTS *Creativity *Critical Thinking Skills *Problem Solving * Social/Emotional Intelligence *Leadership *Research

12. C REATIVITY In the words of Sir Ken Robinson, author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative: Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status. If you’re not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with something original. Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value. F F O E CPS

13. CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS Activities to strengthen your child’s thinking skills and enhance their learning. PETS (Primary Education Thinking Skills) Introduces six characters, each with a special thinking strategy: Dudley the Detective- Deductive Logic Isabel the Inventor- Inventive Thinking Max the Magician- Visual Perception Sybil the Scientist- Analytical Thinking Yolanda the Yarnspinner- Creative Thinking Jordan the Judge- Evaluative Thinking

14. B RIDGES L AND A MUSEMENT P ARK This unit will have a culminating project with a amusement park theme. It is designed to be a collaborative project that develops higher- level thinking.

15. I THINK THEREFORE I LEARN !

16. Typical Day Get Started Activity—9:10 Math/Problem Solver—9:30 Research/Battle of the Brains—10:30 Thinking Skills—11:30 Lunch & Recess—12:10-12:50 Creative Expression-Student Choice—1:00 Brainstorm/Social Emotional Expression—2:00 Dismissal—2:30

17. P ROBLEM S OLVING Students learn/practice the Four-Step Method of problem solving. Systematic approach to problem solving that can be used for solving any problem. Step 1 * Find Out Step 2 * Choose A Strategy Step 3 * Solve IT Step 4 * Look Back Noetic Learning Online Math Program

18. A FFECTIVE Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is a way of recognizing, understanding, and choosing how we think, feel, and act. It shapes our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. Research suggests it is responsible for as much as 80% of the “success” in our lives.

19. Students remain in the program through eighth grade Students will return to their home buildings/classrooms in time to participate in a school- wide program, if at all possible Students will return to their home buildings/classrooms for classroom parties

20. Gifted and talented students have special needs and special problems: they also have special, sometimes immense talent to lend to society. We owe it to them to help cultivate their abilities; we owe it to society to help prepare tomorrow’s leaders and professional talent. Gifted and talented students are a tremendous natural resource, one that cannot be squandered. -Gary Davis and Sylvia Rimm

21. B RIDGES SYMBAL 00 Look for my Bridges Symbaloo on the Renner Elementary website under Parent Resources Each color tile is related to a topic or strand in our program. Red—Math Green-Research Yellow-Geo Literacy White-Science Aqua-Research Tools Pink-Thinking Games Blue-Math Challenge Link and math dictionary.

22. C ONTACT INFORMATION Debbie Anderson andersondeb@parkhill.k12.mo.us 359-5526

23. G IFTED S UPPLY L IST Dividers-5 tab Pencils Folder Pocket with brads-3 (any color) Supply Box—(Some have from last year) One Subject Theme Spiral Notebook Suggested Items: Tissue Box Baggies (any size) Clorox Wipes