GT LEAD
LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR ACADEMIC DISCOVERIES
SAGE--Dinner on the Patio
Upcoming Dates & Events
Oct. 12th-.......District Meeting - GT LEAD Classes Reschedued
Nov. 16th .......Kindergarten Parent Information Night for new Applicants
6:00-7:00pm PDEC Bldg. Panther Den
Nov. 17-Dec. 8...... Nominations for Kindergarten
Dec. 12th .......5th to Middle School Parent Information Night for current LEAD students
6:00-7:00 PDEC Bldg. Panther Den
5th Grade - Change
Focus: forced connections and associations, mind mapping strategy, personal strength assessment, goal setting, personal identity
This year in fifth grade LEAD we will connect our learning to the theme of "Change".
We began the year analyzing our own identity as each student completed a personal strength assessment. We discussed that our identity changes as we experience new things, and that we must commit to being life-long learners.
Students also completed mind-maps of their strengths and future goals. Below, students are taking a Gallery Walk and evaluating them based on criteria.
Lastly, 5th Graders brainstormed the traits of GCISD's Portrait of a Graduate, and then they each focused on one of these traits and wrote fall goals.
4th Grade-Explorations
Focus: developing a growth mindset, personal strength assessment, goal setting, oxymorons, analogies, using technology to create and share information and analyze, evaluate and create a 3-D model of 5 top personal strengths
Fourth grade LEADers began exploring their personal identity as they completed a strength assessment online. Ask your child to share their top five traits that contribute to their identity and about their goals for the year. Students then learned about oxymorons and selected their favorite mistake in order to analyze the lessons learned while reflecting on how this experience helped them grow. Like 5th Grade, they brainstormed GCISD's Portrait of a Graduate traits and created goals for this fall.
Having learned about the identity, symbols, and lure of Texas in the 4th grade social studies curriculum, we began to expand our knowledge of symbolism while studying the Statue of Liberty. They were surprised to learned of the hidden symbols within this monument and the significance meaning behind each of the details. Next week, students will be building a 3-D monument of themselves and using metaphoric symbols to represent their top 5-7 strengths from their personal assessment to express in their design. This project will focus on "Identity" as the students learn to analyze their interests, strengths and learning skills. We will review good presentation skills and students will be sharing their projects with the class.
3rd Grade - Power
Next week, Focus: Personal Strength Assessment, the power in leadership, tolerance for ambiguity (looking at something in a different way across disciplines), effective leadership qualities
"Power" is the word of the year in third grade as the students began looking how effective leaders use this power to effect change. We began our journey by looking at our interpersonal skills. Each student completed a personal strength assessment and received a summary that was used to set learning goals for this year. Ask your child to share with you their top five strengths!
Next week, we will start our new project on "Effective Leaders" as students begin to grapple with these questions:
* What makes someone an exceptional leader?
*How does power influence leaders?
* How have leaders changed over time?
We will researching leaders and begin analyzing the qualities that make them good leaders. Over the next few weeks they will begin gathering evidence, creating a presentation and preparing for a class debate where they will argue their case as to who is the ultimate leader! Each research team will also be challenged to choose an express of art to represent and share something about their leader as we begin to infuse the arts into GT LEAD! Looking forward to developing good research and debating skills with this talented group as they become self-regulated learners!
2nd Grade - Systems
Focus: Flexible thinking, fluency to generate many ideas, creating original products, analyzing "systems", effective presentation skills, using technology to present information
They also finished recording their Doceris on systems. These are located in their LEAD folders, and they can share them with you at any time.
They have also been working on Dissimilar Elements. They have been brainstorming multiple meanings and play on words for words like hand, rock , pop, stand, and ring. They are currently working on using these in their short story.
1st Grade - Contributions
Focus: Using metaphoric & symbolic images to represent information, technology to find, design and present information, understanding giftedness, interpersonal skills, looking at something with multiple perspectives, technology literacy, and social & emotional needs of gifted learners.
DUKE TIP PROGRAM
PARENT RESOURCES
SAGE: Supporting & Advocating for Gifted Education (GCISD parent group)
https://www.facebook.com/gcsage
NAGC: National Association for Gifted Children
TAGT: Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented
Mensa
SENG: Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted
TED: Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world
Searching for the perfect book to meet your needs or interests?
● Prufrock Press: http://www.prufrock.com/
● Great Potential Press: http://www.giftedbooks.com/
● Free Spirit Publishing: http://www.freespirit.com/
Kathy Griffin
Email: kathy.griffin@gcisd.net
Phone: 817-305-4870
Twitter: @OCTGriffin