GT Newsletter
March 2023
March Madness
March is such an exciting month. The first day of Spring, St. Patrick's Day, and March Madness all add to the excitement. Plus Spring Break is right around the corner!
Several classes looked at the probability and statistics associated with the NCAA March Madness brackets. Did you know statistically, blue is a winning color... unless a blue team is against a green team... then the odds of winning go down. Orange is the overall winning color, except when paired against blue. The teams with the worst winning chance wears purple. If the Mascot is a mythical creature the likelihood of winning is greater. If the mascot is a person the chances of winning drop. As if filling out a bracket wasn't hard enough- I gave 5th graders 23 tips based on numbers and statistics.
You have a 1 in 9 quadrillion chance of creating a perfect bracket. No one has ever done it. But that didn't stop 5th graders from trying!
Divergent Drawings
Repeating Patterns
Buist-A-Mania This Week!
Also This Month in GT / Stretch:
Third graders used their creative thinking skills to complete divergent drawings. They put on their detective hats to become "super sleuths" revising answers based on new evidence, pictures, and clues.
Fourth graders are participating in a multi-week simulation. They are putting themselves in the shoes of patriots, loyalists, and undecided citizens at the start of the American Revolution.
Fifth graders are looking at repeating patterns and ancient Greek history in addition to their brackets. Fifth graders created repeating patterns on typical Greek vessels like amphoras and kraters. Keramos (clay) is heated to different temperatures to create the classic black on red scheme we are used to seeing.
Buist-A-Mania! Join me, Mr. Baker, and Ms. Howe in the library! We will have brain teasers, puzzles, and STEM activities for all ages.
Chess Clubs
Tournament time - We will be starting our end-of-year single elimination tournament soon. Please talk to your child about sportsmanship. It may be hard to lose a chess match, especially in a tournament setting, but we end each match with friendly handshakes and practice other good manners whether you win or lose.
Benefits of Productive Struggle
When students expend effort to grapple with perplexing problems or make sense of challenging ideas, they engage in a process of productive struggle that builds useful, lasting understanding. Productive struggle develops strong habits of mind, such as perseverance and thinking flexibly, instead of simply seeking the correct solution.
Not knowing how to solve a problem at the outset should be expected! And many GT students haven't experienced many struggles in a typical classroom. You would be surprised at the amount of strategies your student has in his/her toolbox when you let them sit with their struggle.
CCSD Gifted & Talented Resources:
- CCSD District GT Webpage
- SAIL Snapshot
- Profile of a SC Graduate
- Follow me on Instagram @mrs_eliz_biggs
Elizabeth Biggs
Email: elizabeth_biggs@charleston.k12.sc.us
Website: https://www.ccsdschools.com/giftedandtalented
Location: 103 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC, USA
Phone: (843) 724 - 7750