Mrs. Thompson's Oct. 2017 TAG News
Rush Creek Elementary
Greetings & Updates!
Happy Fall! Time flies and here we are at the end of October! Before I share more information about the upcoming year, there is one important update you should have first!
GE is Now TAG!
Fall Parent Meeting
Identification Information
Pull Out Seminars for 3rd-5th Grade
In the past there were four different pull out groups that lasted for 7 sessions. The first one was always the Affective seminar that worked to address the social/emotional needs of our students. This year I will be doing three different pull out seminars that will each last for 10 sessions, as the Affective seminar will no longer be a stand alone group, but will instead be infused into each of the other three seminars--Quantitative, Verbal, and Non-Verbal.
The seminar schedule up to winter break will be as follows:
Grade 3: Non-Verbal (K'nex Bridges)
Grade 4: Quantitative (Would You Rather/CML)
Grade 5: Non-Verbal (LEGO Robotics)
Students participating in each group will receive an informational letter about the seminar--including a description, outcomes, and a schedule on the first day of each group.
What is the WordMasters Challenge?
The WordMasters Challenge is a national competition for students in grades 3-8 that encourages growth in vocabulary and verbal reasoning. Each year, over 125,000 students from some of the best public and private schools throughout the United States participate in the WordMasters Challenge. Students in grades 3-5 at Rush Creek participate in this academic challenge.
Unlike other language arts competitions for this age group - which focus on grammar, punctuation, spelling and other language mechanics - the WordMasters Challenge helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically.
The contest addresses higher-level word comprehension and verbal reasoning in two ways:
*It challenges students to complete analogies based on relationships among words they have learned.
*It bases the analogies on special vocabulary lists, developed for each grade and difficulty level by experienced teachers, which participants are encouraged to study before each meet or quiz.
Excellence in the competition will require both a mastery of the meanings of the vocabulary words (of a difficulty appropriate to each grade level) and thoughtful reasoning about the relationships between these words and more familiar language used in the competition's analogies.
Students will receive the first WordMasters list of 25 vocabulary words in the beginning of November. They will work on learning the multiple meanings of these words in their language arts class. They should also study at home. Words will be listed on this site as soon as they are available along with links to practice. The first challenge meet will be given the first week of December. The challenge meet consists of a 20 question multiple choice analogy test. The students have 20 minutes to complete the test. A second list of 25 words will be available in December. Challenge meet 2 will consist of using the new words as well as the first list words. The third and final list will be available in February and the third challenge meet will include analogies using words from all three lists.
Students are encourages to study their words at home. The Quizlet website is excellent practice for memorizing the definitions. There are online games to play and tests to take. You can also use the "print" icon to print flashcards, tests, and a glossary. The WordMasters website has general information about the competition as well as links to analogy practice activities. Use the following link to access the WordMasters site. Click on the "resources" tab to find links to additional practice opportunities.
http://www.wordmasterschallenge.com/home
General Analogy Practice:
Analogy Jeopardy: http://www.quia.com/cb/148767.html
Choices: http://www.quia.com/pop/14975.html
Hangman: http://www.quia.com/hm/242970.html
Speedy: http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/analogies/analogiesx.htm
Word Relationships: http://www.quia.com/quiz/748000.html?AP_rand=1225189222
Study Tips:
*After you have learned the meanings of your words, think about possible relationships among them.
*Which words have similar meanings?
*Which words have nearly opposite meanings?
*Some words have more than one meaning. You should know the multiple meanings.
*Think about some categories into which several words might be grouped.
*Be sure you understand the part of speech of a word (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) as it is used in the analogy.
*Pay special attention to the prefixes or suffixes of words, because they are often clues to meaning and part of speech.
*Familiarize yourself with other forms of the words. For example, isolate can also be isolated or isolation. Imitate can also be imitation or imitator.
*Keep your first list. Some of the words will appear in the second and third WordMasters Challenge Meets later in the school year.
MCGT Annual Conference
MINNESOTA COUNCIL FOR THE GIFTED AND TALENTED ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Theme: “On Behalf of Gifted Kids...”
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2017 8:30-4:30
Location: Robbinsdale Middle School, 3730 Toledo Ave. N. Robbinsdale
*For adults & kids - Adults attend sessions with a variety of presenters & children in K-7 can take classes too!
If interested go to http://mcgt.net/2017confregistration for more info.
Host and co-sponsor: Robbinsdale Area Schools
Where: Robbinsdale Middle School, 3730 Toledo Ave N, Robbinsdale
Keynote speaker: Richard Cash--"Self-Regulation for Gifted Learners: A Parent's Role"
Young Scientist Roundtable--Family Enrichment Opportunities
Thursday, November 2 from 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Wayzata High School Auditorium (4955 Peony Lane North, Plymouth)
Dr. Steven W Squyers
Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University
Principal Investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Project speaking on
"Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity and the Exploration of the Red Planet"
Destination Imagination - Grade 4 & 5
Laura Thompson
Email: thompsonlaura@district279.org
Location: Rush Creek Elementary, County Road 101, Maple Grove, MN, United States
Phone: 763-494-4549