A Look At Gifted from Another Perspective

Mrs. Scott is a 1st grade teacher at Erma Siegel.  She attended the NAGC with the group from MCS in November.  A few days ago (last Wednesday), she sent me an email with a document attached called, ” What I would want every parent, teacher, and administrator to know about gifted children.”  I immediately replied to ask her if she’d give me permission to post this on the blog.  It’s taken a few days for me to get it on here (sorry JS), but it’s definitely something to share.  Thanks Mrs. Scott for sharing what was on your heart with me and being willing to send it to the world.  Keep up the remarkable work you do each and every day.  To everyone else, need ideas?  Mrs. Scott is a great resource!!

Notes from Mrs. Scott

 

Yo, Yo Listen Up ‘Cuz I Can’t Rap

But Flocabulary can!!  While I was at John Pittard last week, Mrs. Stone shared two websites she has been using in her class.  Check them out!  & THANK YOU Mrs. Stone.

Sample from Flocabulary

http://learnzillion.com

Adventures Beyond the Classroom Walls

How would your students like to sit beside the Amazon River and learn about the layers of the rainforest?  Integrating content helps engage and motivate!  Connections are made that are natural and relevance seems to peek out of every corner.  Learning sticks when it’s enjoyable.  It’s inviting.

Recently at Scales, the third grade team took on a project that their students will never forget.  Explaining it would sell it short.  I’ll let the video tell you the rest of the story.

Step outside of the box.  You might find YOU like it just as much as the kids do.

Simple Machine Valentine Box

What a fantastic day I had at Cason Lane this week!!  I am always amazed at the talent lurking in our schools.  I get so excited when teachers combine hands-on learning with layers of thinking, with a little choice on top!!  Instant motivation and engagement.

Ms. Jackson is having her 4th graders design Valentines boxes that include 6 simple machines.

Now, THAT’s making use of every opportunity to learn!!

Fabulous Finds

I love it when highly respected individuals share ideas!  It’s kind of like peeking into their brains and seeing how they think or what gets their attention.  It tells us more about them…which explains why they are held in high esteem.

1)  Dr. Garrett (Grizzard) shared a fabulous find today.  She saw these in the  IRA’s Reading Today this month.  It’s a new twist to literature circle roles.  What a match with CCSS!

a fact finder (finds important facts)

a solution suggester (provides alternative solutions)

a passage picker (identifies the emotions of a character within a passage)

a travel tracer (explains how the character’s emotions are represented in a setting)

an investigator (finds interesting words and researches their meaning)

a director (creates questions at four levels for students in the group to respond to)

a journaler (describes why a scene is important)

THANKS for sharing!!  What a useful tool!!

2)  While breaking down a writing standard today, it got a little tricky.  The verb (state) was DOK 1; however, they had to state an opinion.  Uh oh…that’s not DOK 1.

Dr. Brooks whips out her phone and goes straight to the Hess’s Cognitive Rigor Matrix.  This neat tool helps you decipher tricky situations when you are trying to decide the level of rigor.

matrix

What a GREAT day!  Thanks Dr. Brooks for sharing.

Yes, Virginia

I like to come home on Friday, order pizza with my family, and watch TV.  Not this Friday night.  I went to my first ever Bradley Academy performance.  WOW!  It was a last minute decision, and I am so glad I went.  It was fascinating watching the kids perform with such courage and talent.  Each character came alive with the charm from each actor.  Polished and adorable.  I am so glad I skipped the Friday pizza.

You should really consider going to see the productions at Bradley.  I’ll definitely be going to each one from this point on!  They won me over.

For more information…Yes, Virginia Musical.