GREAT THINKING THURSDAY
For Klein ISD Educators of Gifted
April 4, 2019
Using Khan Academy for Differentiation-Acceleration
Imee Villarreal
Advanced Academics Program Coordinator
Kelli Hawkins, one of our outstanding Klein GT Advocates, is utilizing Khan Academy to accelerate and differentiate for gifted and advanced learners in her second-grade classroom at Kohrville Elementary. Kelli has taught in Klein for 7 years and shares that it can be difficult to challenge and meet the unique needs of advanced students. “I like to give them lots of variety with technology, workstations, and activities to keep them engaged,” says Mrs. Hawkins.
Kelli demonstrates many of the attributes of a High-Quality teacher: monitoring student progress and celebrating their growth. Khan Academy is one of the tools that allows her to do just that. Students using Khan Academy can take a diagnostic quiz placing them at the appropriate level in Math. If a student does not understand a concept they watch a short instructional video and practice said skills. This gives students the opportunity to level up.
When asked why he likes Khan Academy, Franklin said, “It is challenging and you can learn things that you don’t know, but you have to try.”
Mrs. Hawkins has taken this a step further and is now using MAP scores on Khan to generate personalized study recommendations for her second graders. Teachers will need to set up students in regular Khan Academy first. Click here for a step by step explanation to set up classes. Teachers and students in Klein can use their Google accounts to sign in. Once students are set up, go to https://www.khanacademy.org/mappers and enter student MAP scores. To enter scores you will need the MAP goal setting worksheet which gives you the standard deviation. You will enter the smaller numbers in the appropriate boxes. Descriptions do not exactly match Khan but they are not hard to figure out.
Kuehnle GT Students Update Parents with Newsletter
By Teresa Rafeek
Teacher, Kuehnle Elementary
The Kuehnle Koala 5th Grade students have created their own student run newsletter to update parents about what they are doing in GT! I decided who would be my Editors in Chief based on their skill set in turning things in on time, and writing skills. After that, they did the rest!
They figured out who would write the articles, what they would write about, and when deadlines would be. Kuehnle wanted ways of updating parents, while making it engaging and educational. These GT students have really thrived with understanding that they have their own deadlines that coincide with their jobs as writers of the newsletter.
Each Month they come up with new articles to write about (Coding Club, GT Expo, New Programs, etc.) The Editors in Chief are responsible for setting the deadlines, and who will write them. Teachers only facilitate by checking over their newsletter, and making copies.
The students really enjoy being able to use their skills in ideas and areas they are interested in and working on. This program is a win win for students, teachers, and parents!
35 AP subjects will receive Course and Exam Description (CED) binders this year. These binders refine and clarify the scope of content that can be assessed on the AP Exam for college credit, and provide teachers with a suggested topic and skill sequence they can adapt to their needs rather than having to build from scratch. Order your free copy at this link: FREE AP BINDER
AP teachers in the United States who have completed the AP Course Audit can request a free copy of the binder by January 31, 2020. New AP teachers should wait to request their binder until their Course Audit form for 2019-20 has been approved by their administrator. CED binders will be mailed beginning in June 2019.
Anyone, worldwide, can download these materials beginning late May 2019.
Note: CED binders aren’t available for AP Computer Science Principles, AP Seminar, and AP Research, because those subjects follow a different curricular model than the other AP subjects.
Join us for a #gtchat
- Thursday, April 4: #whyGT Matters: Follow TAGT and other advocates as we share facts, resources, and more about G/T and why it's needed in our schools. Join #gtchat on Twitter at 7 p.m. CST