Gifted and Talented Services
Advanced Learning with Mrs. Walston 4th-6th
SEPTEMBER 15th
A Little About Me
I am originally from Chicago but grew-up in Richardson. This is my sixteenth year teaching in RISD and sixth year in the Advanced Learning Department. I am bilingual and teach in both English & Spanish. I attended all RISD schools: Dartmouth, Apollo, and Berkner. I then continued my education at TCU where I majored in Spanish and Business.
GT Lesson Recap
****Some students still testing for MAP, will have this lesson on Monday.***
This week in GT, our students were formally introduced to to the theme for this year: Exploration! We are so excited for this year’s learning! The “why” behind the theme is stated below, in our rationale:
Exploration is an essential part of development in academic spaces and everyday life. Exploration fosters curiosity and discovery while promoting creativity, collaboration, confidence and life-long learning.
Just as in past years, we always connect our learning to a list of big ideas, or generalizations. We introduced the first two generalizations for this year:
· Exploration develops and sustains curiosity.
· Exploration confronts the unknown
In class this week, students spent time brainstorming what exploration means to them, and what they are interested in exploring. To experience curiosity (a strong desire to know or learn something), and to practice inquiry (the process of seeking knowledge, truth or information), we watched the first part of a video called Amazing T-Rex Illusion (for those classes when the internet was working), We practiced being ok with indeterminacy (the state of not yet knowing something), and allowing it to push us to explore! Lastly, we discussed “How to Be an Explorer of the World”. Some of the ideas include: noticing details, looking for patterns, changing your routine, using all five senses, and documenting your observations. You might notice that your child brought a mini explorer notebook home with them. The idea is for this to go to and from school and maybe even other places you venture to as a family. Encourage them to be an “explorer of the world” and document their findings there. They can share what they find each week with their GT class.
Until next week…
Lulu Walston
Bilingual Advanced Learning Teacher
Email: lulu.walston@risd.org
Advanced Learning Newsletter Archive
Richardson Independent School District
CBE/MTE