Gifted and Talented Tidbits 22
By Lenora Barnes 2/26/16
THIS WEEK
This week the first and second grade students worked on their TPSP Animal Nation projects. The students continued to research to learn about their animal. In addition to learning general information about their animal, the students are being asked to think critically to identify patterns related to the animal, make predictions based on their research, analyze how the animal has changed over time, and explain how the world would be different without the animal. Some students have completed the research process and have moved on to writing the video script about their animal.
The third and fourth grade students worked on their TPSP independent study projects. The students are at different stages in their projects. Some students are still in the beginning research phase, others are nearing the end of the research process. Some of the students have begun to plan their presentations, games, or products. Even though all of the students are gifted, there is a wide range of abilities, research experience, confidence, and motivation among the students. There is a huge diversity of interests as well. The project topics range from care of the environment, to aviation, to homebuilding, to Stonehenge, to inventing new products.
As always, the students were excited to hear the next chapter in our read aloud stories. Many of the students have purchased or checked out the novels we are reading and are reading ahead because they couldn't wait for the next week. I think the books are a hit.
UPCOMING
Kindergarten Class Begins - 2/29/16
No GT Class (I will be attending the TAGT Leadership Conference.) - April 4-5, 2016 (Mon. & Tues.)
Noetic Math Challenge Contest - Week of April 11, 2016
Third and Fourth Grade TPSP Project Presentations - Week of April 25, 2016
DID YOU KNOW?
Must Kindergarten students be screened for gifted/talented (G/T) services? What is the deadline for identifying and serving Kindergarten students?
Students in Kindergarten to grade 12 shall be assessed and, if identified, provided G/T services (Texas Education Code (TEC) §29.122; 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §89.1(3); Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students (State Plan) 1.4C).
In order to code identified G/T students through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) and to have these students eligible to be included in a district’s G/T weighted funding, students must be identified and receive services before March 1 (Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH), Section 8.2).
May a local district refuse a student the opportunity to participate in the full G/T assessment process based on one criterion (i.e., an aptitude test score)?
No. Data collected from multiple sources for each area of giftedness served by the district must be included in the assessment process for G/T services (TAC §89.1(2) and State Plan 1.5.1C). In grades 1-12, qualitative and quantitative data are required to be collected through three or more measures and used to determine whether a student needs G/T services (State Plan 1.5.4C).