GREAT THINKING THURSDAY
For Klein ISD Educators of Gifted/Advanced Learners
April 30, 2020
Mueller Student Makes Recommendations for Teacher Appreciation Week
A Note of Gratitude to our Klein Family of Gifted/Advanced Course Teachers
During this week of celebration and appreciation for our INCREDIBLE teachers of gifted/advanced learners-I wanted to send a brief note of gratitude to all of the hard-working, At-Home teachers in Klein. Our work is not always easy-meeting the needs of gifted learners when there are so many different learners for whom we must close gaps and help them attain their fullest potential. THANK YOU for trailblazing, thoughtfully disrupting the status quo, differentiating, and providing HIGH QUALITY instruction and service to EVERY learner in your class. THANK YOU for understanding that gifted deserve the same amount of attention and the opportunity for intellectual growth as our most vulnerable students-especially during this unprecedented time in our educational experience.
THANK YOU Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Teachers-the extraordinary amount of time and dedication for At-Home learning and preparing our learners for 2020 AP Exams and IB internal assessments exceeds all expectations!
THANK YOU to our AVID and innovative Path course teachers for continuing to provide instruction in college readiness so our students' aspirations are fulfilled!
THANK YOU for ensuring that you meet the requirements to teach gifted. Your dedication and conscientiousness are immeasurable! Recently I was interviewed by a Klein teacher who had faithfully attended the required 5-day foundation training in Klein last summer. That training not only provided the instructional mechanics and strategies for teaching gifted but also inspired the teacher to pursue an advanced degree in leadership! What a personal gift to chat with you and know the impact that professional learning can have for our teachers. Thank you, DM !!
Please celebrate and enjoy the week of May 4-8 and know that as teachers of gifted and advanced learners in Klein ISD- you are appreciated!
Grateful to work alongside each of you!
Kathleen
If you have shared any of the videos posted on GTT with your class or colleagues, please consider voting for The Kid Should See This!
You may access the voting link here!
Below is a series about the history of JAZZ compiled by The Kid Should See This. Enjoy!
College Board Launches New Sites for Juniors and Seniors for COVID-19
2020 AP Exam Resources Just Launched
New Resources
2020 AP Testing Guide (.pdf/10.9 MB): The guide, designed for educators to walk their students through test day, provides information about:
- The AP Exam e-ticket
- Five steps to take before test day
- Understanding the test day experience
- Exam scores, credit, and placement
2020 AP Exam Day Checklist (.pdf/526 KB): Teachers should have their students complete this checklist for each exam they take and keep it next to them while testing.
Explainer Videos: New videos are available to give students quick, easily accessible information about their test day experience, what they need to do to prepare, exam security, and more. Explore the playlist.
Other Reminders
AP Exam Demo (available May 4): AP students should use the clickable exam demo to practice the different ways to submit their exam responses. The demo will help students confirm that their testing device will be able to access and run the online exam. If they can’t access the demo, the final slide of the Testing Guide can help them troubleshoot. The sample content in the demo will be the same for all users and isn't a practice exam. We’ll send educators and students an email to remind them when the demo is available. Please encourage your students to take this important preparation step.
Student Outreach: If any of your students are having difficulty receiving College Board emails, walk them through the steps on the "Confirm your email address" page.
Information for AP Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish Language and Culture Exams:
The above exams will be administered using a new dedicated app, the AP World Languages Exam App. Students taking these exams must use this app on smartphones or tablets. This free app will be available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store the week of May 11. We’ll email students and their teachers to let them know when the app is available to download. Visit our site for more details.
A video walk-through of the test-taking experience will be available the week of May 4.
If your students are unsure about accessing the app, or if they don’t have a device, they can fill out this survey (or you can complete it on their behalf) as soon as possible so we can help support them (applicable to U.S. and U.S. territories).
22 YA Novels to Help Students Process the Pandemic (or Forget It for a Bit)
Shared by Imee Villarreal, Program Coordinator, Advanced Academics
Terri Grief, a former school librarian and past president of the American Association of School Librarian, shares recent young adult novels to boost kid's resilience during the pandemic. Ms.Grief explains that during this time literature is important and may help students better understand their experiences. She categorizes her suggestions for middle and high school readers in the following four areas: developing resilience and adaptability, responding to crisis, finding laughter and fun, and exploring dystopias.
Some of the books she recommends include: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus (about a 13 year-old born with no arms proving that persistence in the face of adversity is possible) and When We Were Lost (about high school students who survive a plane crash in a jungle). Terri Grief also includes books that will give students some laughs like Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World (about the adventures of an eight-grader who has a tail and the abilities of a squirrel. Enjoy the complete article in Edutopia.
Project Based Learning Support at Home
Curated by Gordon See, Advanced Academics Program Coordinator
In Edutopia’s article, “How Teachers Can Support PBL at Home,” it presents great tips for teachers and families on how to continue using educational experiences like Project Based Learning. The article explains the need to clarify expectations as well as the benefits of doing a PBL at home including the unique collaboration opportunity with family members (or others) who normally would not be on the project team at school. In addition to these tips, Edutopia shares several projects from PBLWorks for all grade levels as well as ideas from Edutopia’s staff and National Faculty that work with or without technology!
Sample PBLWorks Units presented in the article:
Play at Home: Short Theater Plays for At Home
Shared by Jessica Jasper, Advanced Academics Program Coordinator
Theaters may be closed, but you can still #PlayAtHome. Visit PlayAtHome.org to access short plays that can be brought to life in the comfort of your own home. Educators can use this resource to work on character analysis, have students work on their own playwriting skills, and bring some drama to their Zoom classrooms. Don’t forget to tag us and share how you are using this resource in your classroom!
Boredon is the Bomb!
Shared by Carie Barber, Advanced Academics Program Coordinator
Originally written for summertime slumps, this article celebrates the synthesis that takes place when we slow down to simply consider. If you have restless children of your own or students who are getting stir-crazy, this is a great read! Author Amanda Symmes offers suggestions for destructuring and inviting children to let boredom become the “birthplace of genius”. This would be a great concept to tie into lessons about inventors, scientists, or historical figures.
A student’s first experience with Renzulli Learning is with the Renzulli Profiler, a detailed online questionnaire that allows the Renzulli software to generate a personal profile of each student’s top interests, learning styles, and expression styles, making it easier for teachers to get to know their students and effectively differentiate instruction. Once a profile is generated, students and teachers may use it to guide their exploration of the 40,000 online educational resources in the Renzulli database. Students can engage in self-directed learning by exploring safe, fully-vetted resources that have been specifically matched to their individual profiles, and teachers can browse the database of resources to find activities that align to specific objectives, skills, or state.
This resource can be used for:
- Analyze informational texts, argue and defend a point of view
- Research and draw information from multiple sources
- Use mathematics to describe and solve real-world problems
- Demonstrate deeper learning through projects and tasks
The resources in the Renzulli Learning System place a strong emphasis on the problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking skills that are often neglected in a “drill-and-kill” environment. This helps ensure that learners become college and career ready while developing the thinking and reasoning skills
This is available until August 15, 2020! REGISTER HERE