Rice Lake Elementary TAG News
WINTER EDITION
Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2019! I hope you all had a wonderful winter break and enjoyed time as a family! We are now back into the swing of our routines here at Rice Lake and are continuing to work to make it a great school year!
NAGC Recap
Personally, I walked away with a renewed passion to advocate for and meet the needs of gifted/talented and high achieving students and new information about visual learning (which I have already implemented with 3rd grade TAG journals!), new information about enrichment opportunities (which I will be looking for ways to incorporate throughout the year and into the future), and expanded my knowledge of things like twice exceptionality, anxiety, technology options, and so much more!
If you are looking for ways to connect with the Gifted and Talented community, NAGC is a great place to start as they have wonderful resources for educators like myself but families as well!
Unofficial Rice Lake TAG Families Book Club!
Ways to support students at home
- ENCOURAGE PLAY (the non screen kind!). While there is nothing like the great outdoors, I know it can be heard to convince everyone to go out in the cold. Luckily, there are so many amazing toys, games, and resources out there (some of which I have available at Rice Lake or have purchased for my own children) that really encourage growth mindset, creativity, problem solving, & critical thinking! These are some of the most important skills you can help your child develop at home to be successful in the 21st century workplace someday! If you are looking to add some of these things to your wish list or shelves at home, I encourage you to ask for details or follow one of my professional social media accounts where I often feature things that I have found and earned my "teachermom" recommendation!
- When they are given "screen time" have your child explore the C4 (see below) Schoolgoy Course! I have sorted things into folders called "Explore & Learn" with great kid friendly links, "Games & Activities" with more kid friendly links sorted into subjects. and "Project Ideas" sorted into subject areas meant for students to expand upon their interests and passions. Most of the activities are geared to 3rd grade and up but I am not opposed to younger students checking it out (although they might need more guidance and supervision). If you student has not already joined to course, please feel free to contact me for the access code.
- Check out www.krazydad.com for an almost endless selection of visual, spatial, logic, & mathematical puzzles. They can all be printed out for free (although he does request donations through PayPal) or a selection of them can be played on a device. These puzzles are all great for encouraging problem solving and critical thinking!
Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth
3rd-5th Grade Pull Out Groups
3rd Grade: Reader's Theater
Students do some analyzing and comparing/contrasting of the characteristics of books, plays, and reader's theater. After modeling and practice, students will then select a picture book that they will turn into their own reader's theater script.
4th Grade: Hero Story
Students will be working to enhance their writing and story development skills by selecting a real world problem, creating a super hero equipped to solve that problem, and then writing a story where their hero solves the real world problem.
5th Grade: Mock Trial
Students will be introduced to the basics of our country's judicial system and will then take on specific roles to participate in our own mini mock trial.
In addition to the language arts content of each pull out, each group will also be receiving some affective (social/emotional) lessons. This round of groups will go through February. If you have questions about this or future pull out groups feel free to let me know!
Schoology
K-2nd Classroom Lessons
As I mentioned in my last newsletter, one of the concepts that I work on with students during these lessons is something called Habits of Mind. The Habits of Mind are 16 different "Habits" or skills that, when developed and used, help a person become more effective, a better problem solver, and overall more successful. During the 6 lessons that each K-2nd grade classroom will have this year I will be focusing on 8 of them. Now that all these students have seen me at least three times, I encourage you to ask them if they can tell you any of the habits they have talked about with "Mrs. Haynes who stretches their brains"! Here is a link to a PDF list/definition of the 16 Habits of Mind: https://www.chsvt.org/wdp/Habits_of_Mind.pdf
C4: Challenge, Create, Construct, Connect
If you are interested in supporting or helping to even further expand this C4/C4 & More program there are lots of ways you can help:
- Volunteer to help supervise during the recess C4 sessions on Friday
- Come in and share an expertise that fits into our C4 vision
- Donate old or used building/construction type toys (like LEGO or K'NEX)
- Donate recyclable materials to be used for creative projects (like cardboard tubes or plastic caps)
- Purchase something from our "Wish List" which I have now placed online in a public wish list through Amazon! If you are interested in donating please feel free to check it out: http://a.co/gqMWjKC
If you are interested in any of the above ideas please feel free to contact me!
Connect With Me Through Social Media!
Facebook: @mshaynesstretchingbrains
Twitter: @MsHaynesMN
Instagram: @haynesstretchingbrains
Or click on the links below!
School Information in Peachjar!
Erin Haynes
TAG specialist
Email: haynese@district279.org
Website: https://www.instagram.com/haynesstretchingbrains/
Phone: (763) 420-4220
Facebook: facebook.com/mshaynesstretchingbrains
Twitter: @MsHaynesMN