GT Newsletter
November 2017
Work/Play Balance
I have noticed a dramatic increase of afterschool activity choices over the past years. Wow! It is amazing to think of all the possible choices that families have today for their children that were not available even 10 years ago. I pondered about this for some time and thought you might be interested in an article that addresses the work/play balance topic for gifted children. They tend to have the potential to do a variety of things and it is good to expose them to different types of activities to promote curiosity and resilience. I think it does beckon the question of how we know when it becomes too much for the child. The following blog article is brief, but may offer some tips.
https://giftedchallenges.blogspot.com/2017/07/help-your-gifted-child-find-work-play.html
Events:
First Grade
The “Thinkers” are super excited about being your “teachers” for a class on Monday, November 6th, 8-8:45 am. See you then!
In the past few weeks we shifted to evaluative thinking, generating criteria for a good _____ (shoe, bike, toy, etc.) and considering the pros and cons of an issue or event using an Effects Wheel. Over time they have become more adept at realizing that we often use more than one type of thinking when we tackle a challenge. For example when they are working on tangram puzzles, they are using visual and convergent thinking skills. I can’t wait for them to showcase what they have learned with you on Monday!
For part of November and December the first graders will explore robotics, not only the programming, but also how robots are used and can potentially be used. They’ll consider the pros and cons of robotics in our future. The building and programming will be tailored to their previous experiences with robotics.
Second Grade
The “Designers” in second grade are wrapping up their exploration of the Cardboard Creations with the construction of an imaginary room for a house. This challenge was something that was inspired by a book that Anya brought to class.
The children recently finished their marble ramp challenges. That particular challenge really highlighted the need to review and improve to make the ramps work correctly. I was very proud of their willingness to continue to improve the ramps.
I think their favorite challenge, however, has been the playground challenge. The children had to design a playground that included a “new” type of equipment and a piece of equipment for a person with a broken leg. I had hoped that they would consider working in teams, but they really wanted to make their own playgrounds, so I honored their choice. We will focus more on team skills in our next unit.
The next unit of study will focus on film. This is one time that I’m trying a single unit for multiple grade levels. They’ll explore different categories of film, different kinds of shots used in films and then create their own short film in teams.
Third Grade
Wow! What a great experience to travel to UT to test the bridges! We had two teams beat the best load score from last year! I believe in the value of visiting a university to see that students continue to learn after high school and that there are so many options. Many thanks to Ali, our ASCE college student who organized the trip on our behalf and to the staff at UT that helped make this such a memorable day! Thanks, also, to our parent chaperones, Mrs. Baggish and Mrs. Strong. Check out the slide show at http://bcegiftedprogram.weebly.com/videosphotos.html.
I am so proud of the effort and team work to draw and build the bridges for the UT Span Contest. It has been a two-month process. It takes stamina to work on one challenge for that length of time, but the young engineers rose to the occasion. Many thanks to all of the parents who were able to help monitor the gluing of the bridges. We could not have done this project without you.
The next unit of study will focus on film. This is one time that I’m trying a single unit for multiple grade levels. They’ll explore different categories of film, different kinds of shots used in films and then create their own short film in teams.
Fourth Grade
The children were so attentive and polite on our Tour of Austin’s Field Trip. They really were wowed by many of the features of each building we visited. It was impressive to see them work in teams to take notes and to take photos for other teams. The collaboration continued back at school as they used the notes and photos to create movies about how the buildings told stories. As soon as the movies are all posted to my website, I will let you know. I am very thankful for all of the parent chaperones and fabulous guides at the different buildings. We could not have had such an amazing day without you all!
As I mentioned for the previous grade levels, our next unit of study will focus on film. This is one time that I’m trying a single unit for multiple grade levels. They’ll explore different categories of film, different kinds of shots used in films and then create their own short film in teams.
Fifth Grade
We recently wrapped up our Curiosities of Creativity with the completion of posters that were hung in different parts of the school teaching others about creative thinking and specifically the four skills of divergent thinking: fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration.
The students have been so engaged during the parent presentations about stock market topics. I always wish we had more time. They have had great insights and questions. Many of the children want to check their companies on a daily basis. I have been thrilled to see their level of excitement about this topic. The game will end on December 8th. As a reminder, you can read more about this virtual game online at https://www.stockmarketgame.org/ . The Stock Market Game promotes collaboration, virtual investing and real-world learning. Once again, I am indebted to Kim Voss, Steve Goel, Wei Hou and Brad Nabors for their expertise and time.
As I mentioned for the previous grade levels, our next unit of study will focus on film. This is one time that I’m trying a single unit for multiple grade levels. They’ll explore different categories of film, different kinds of shots used in films and then create their own short film in teams. The expectations will be much higher for the fifth graders and they will most likely spend more time creating final films.