Important Notes for the month of December:
- Attention 2nd grade parents--ITBS scores have arrived. You will receive a letter with your child's scores next week. Please look out for this information coming home along with further information about the TD identification process.
Season of Giving
Hello parents!
Since it is the holiday season, I thought I would share with you some "food for thought" when it comes to buying toys and games for your academically and intellectually gifted child. Below are two resources that I find helpful when shopping. The first is from the National Association for Gifted Children publication entitled "Parenting for High Potential." This is a list of last year's recommended winners. Below that is a list of MENSA approved games. MENSA is an international society for people of high IQ. Clicking on the button will take you to their website which you may also find helpful.
***Disclaimer: Some games are only appropriate for certain groups. Also, I have not personally played/purchased all of these games. My intention is to simply share a few helpful resources during the holiday season.
Since it is the holiday season, I thought I would share with you some "food for thought" when it comes to buying toys and games for your academically and intellectually gifted child. Below are two resources that I find helpful when shopping. The first is from the National Association for Gifted Children publication entitled "Parenting for High Potential." This is a list of last year's recommended winners. Below that is a list of MENSA approved games. MENSA is an international society for people of high IQ. Clicking on the button will take you to their website which you may also find helpful.
***Disclaimer: Some games are only appropriate for certain groups. Also, I have not personally played/purchased all of these games. My intention is to simply share a few helpful resources during the holiday season.
Each year, members of Mensa meet over one weekend to play and rate the year's newest board games. The top five games earn Mensa Select® distinction and may display the Mensa Select seal on their packaging. The seal indicates that a game is original, challenging and well designed. Indirectly, it indicates that a game is original and creative in concept, challenging, a good value for the price, easy to comprehend and play, and, above all, fun! Look for the Mensa Select seal when purchasing games.
First Edition of PAWS-UP Released!
Our newspaper club has been hard at work writing, editing, and publishing copy for our very first school newspaper. The first edition was released this week to rave reviews! We heard lots of positive feedback from our students, staff, and parents. Teachers allowed students to read the newspaper during reader's workshop time and even embedded some of the articles in their instruction of non-fiction text and persuasive writing. Our student journalists are currently working on the second edition of PAWS-UP which will be released on February 1st.
If you know anyone who may be interested in sponsoring subsequent issues of our newspaper, they can contact me at jennifer.blackmon@cms.k12.nc.us.
If you know anyone who may be interested in sponsoring subsequent issues of our newspaper, they can contact me at jennifer.blackmon@cms.k12.nc.us.
Learning through Debate
Fifth grade students debate the subject matter and theme of a Robert Frost poem.
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Fifth grade students take notes during a debate in order to form a strong rebuttal.
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Fifth grade students have been using the power of formal debate to unlock essential critical thinking and academic conversation skills. Using a variety of common text including novels and poetry, students worked collaboratively with like-minded peers to debate a topic relevant to the text. They have been taught a "debate protocol" that offers a framework for fair, thoughtful, persuasive debate. Using this protocol students are asked to caucus with peers formulating an argument strengthened by reasons and evidence from the text. They are also encouraged to be analytical thinkers, active listeners and cooperative teammates in order to form their rebuttal. Closing statements and proper debate etiquette (such as eye contact, adhering to time limits, and closing handshakes) are teaching students the importance of civilized and professional disagreement.
Non-fiction Clubs
Fourth grade students have finished their fiction book clubs and are shifting to a non-fiction common text. The text they are reading is about the real-life "tomb raiding" that has impacted the global antiquities trade. Students are focusing on text structure, main idea and details, vocabulary development, text features, and response to open-ended discussion questions on google classroom. In an effort to raise the quality of written responses, students will be provided with graphic organizers for answering open-ended questions about this expository text. Our time together will be spent reading and discussing the article and learning to use the graphic organizer as a tool for written response. Students will compose preliminary answers on the organizer, revise, edit and then submit final responses online. The graphic organizer will not only provide students with scaffolding, but it will also provide suggested language for transitions among ideas and evidence.
NC Landmarks & Multiplicative Comparison
Fourth grade students have been working on a PBL that combines NC history and mathematics. They chose five NC landmarks to research. They recorded the landmark, its size, location, and historical significance into a graphic organizer. Next, they used the mathematical concept of multiplicative comparison to describe the landmark in terms of something else. For example. the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is approximately 33 times taller than the average adult male (6 ft). This multiplicative comparison is found by dividing the height of the landmark by the height of a man. The resulting quotient is the "multiplicative comparison number." Students can compare height, weight, area, perimeter, distance, etc. of any landmark of their choice.
Reading to Learn
Third graders are currently learning about the three types of non-fiction text (expository, narrative non-fiction, and hybrid). Students are learning to categorize ideas and organize their thinking into main ideas and details as they read. In addition, third graders are learning to become experts on a topic and how to teach another person about the topic in an organized way. Below is a helpful graphic that highlights the expected learning progression from last year to this year in reading non-fiction text.
Final Notes
- Third graders are continuing to work on their History of Toys PBL. After completing 8 different stations around the room, they have now synthesized their learning to create the "perfect toy.
- Fifth graders will be finished TED talks next week. After much preparation and anticipation, they are breathing a sigh of relief!! This unit has been even more impactful than I could have imagined. I have witnessed shaking students face and overcome fears of public speaking, creative kids share a wide-variety of passions and interests with their peers, and students reach out to lift one another up with positive feedback!
- The Math Olympiad Team took part in their very first contest and did a wonderful job! The second contest is scheduled for after school on Tuesday, December 13th.
