Welcome to Curriculum Night

2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th GradesGifted Self-Contained

Kyrene Monte Vista

Our Gifted Team

Christine Hartland, Grade 5 S/C Julie Perks, Grade 4 S/C Jenny Dow, Grade 3 S/C Kristy Whigham, Grade 2 S/C

Tonight’s Topics

Characteristics of Gifted Learners

Self-Contained Class Description Goals Educational Philosophy Expectations Common Core Standards Curricular Resources

Characteristics of a Gifted Learner

Is intense Already knows Draws inferences Is a good guesser Asks the questions Has wild, silly ideas Is keenly observant Constructs abstractions Manipulates information Discusses in detail, elaborates Is mentally and physically involved Enjoys learning (but NOT necessarily school) Shows strong feelings, emotions, and opinions Plays around, yet tests well (versus works hard) Initiates projects (versus completes assignments) Creates a new design (versus copies accurately) Typically needs only 1 or 2 repetitions for mastery Is highly self-critical (this often translates into perfectionism)

The Kyrene Gifted ProgramSelf-Contained Classroom Model

(page 1)

There is tremendous potential for learning when academically gifted children are

grouped together, and in the self-contained classes gifted students are grouped

together all day every day. Students who qualify for this program need thesupport and challenge that a peer group of students with similar academicinterests and abilities provide.

Students will participate in the school’s regular art, music, and physical education curriculum.

The core curriculum will consist of Kyrene’s grade-level curriculum in all subject

areas. Once students master grade level curriculum, they may be exposed toadvanced curriculum and enrichment.

The Kyrene Gifted ProgramSelf-Contained Classroom Model

(page 2)

The teachers will follow Kyrene’s philosophy of continuous progress – particularly

in language arts and math – so that students may be challenged at an appropriate level of difficulty. At the same time, opportunities will be provided to apply and extend content knowledge and skills. Student workload will be designed to be the same in amount as for other students in these grades, but

it will be different in content.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, teachers will provide opportunities for students to learn and practice the interpersonal skills so critical to success. Presentation skills, public speaking proficiency, and the various skills involved

in polite and intelligent collaboration will be emphasized. 

Goals for our Students

Becoming responsible for their own learning

Understanding that mistakes are a way of learning

Becoming collaborative thinkers and problem solvers

Educational Philosophy

High Expectations

Responsibility

Character

Support

ExpectationsWhat You Can Expect From Us: Best practices in teaching Open communication Differentiation for your child’s individual needs Enthusiasm Creativity Respect Honesty Fairness

Expectations

What We Expect of Your Child:

Ongoing home-school communication Timely completion of homework and

classwork Respectful collaboration Initiative Creativity

ExpectationsWhat is the parent’s

role? 

Support Communication Reasonable expectations Setting aside daily time for

homework     

Common Core Standards Common Core Standards in ELA

(English Language Arts) and Mathematics are designed to prepare students for college and career.

Content Areas (Science, Health, and Social Studies) provide additional practice in the skills needed to read and use Informational Text effectively.

Resources - ELA

 

Harcourt Trophies Junior Great Books Literature Studies – Kyrene adopted trade books Word Study (Spelling and Vocabulary) – Wordly

Wise and Wordsmith (“Groovy Bob”) Nonfiction – content area informational text,

textbooks, and articles Writing Workshop and opportunities to write

across the curriculum Many opportunities to present, speak, and listen

Resources - Mathematics

Investigations Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Fosnot units Hands-On Equations Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) Number Talks Additional adopted supplementary resources

New Assessments for 2014-2015

The AIMS test, which is not aligned to the existing standards, was used for the last time in Spring 2014.

Arizona State Board of Education is devoted to the selection of a rigorous assessment to measure student learning and inform the State’s accountability measures.

The State Board of Education’s final selection and adoption of a new statewide English language arts and mathematics achievement assessment is expected to occur in early October, 2014.

This new statewide achievement assessment will be aligned to Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards and will be administered beginning in the spring of 2015.

Math Example

ELA Example

Thank you for Coming this Evening!

Now we will move into our grade-level

classrooms.