Recent ActivityThe students attend START class one day per week. Additionally, the gifted resource teacher collaborates with the regular classroom teachers to plan strategies for differentiation of instruction.
Our START day is broken into several learning periods, each with a specific set of goals:
Warm-up/Brain Teasers: Each START class begins with an opportunity to use and develop critical & creative thinking skills as students solve the "problem of the day" in small cooperative learning groups. The students truly enjoy this challenging part of our day!
Unit: These are whole group lessons, centered around a unifying theme that lead to a culminating project at the end of each semester. Topics have been chosen to integrate multidisciplinary subject areas, extend curriculum objectives, and encourage students to investigate real life problems in order to make meaninful connections.
1st Grade: Water Works
First Graders are continuing to think like scientists as they continue to explore the concept of change. They compared and contrasted clear and muddy water and then used that muddy water to create a filter to try and clean it. The experiment was a definite success and the scientists discovered that materials such as coffee filters, charcoal, cotton-balls, gravel and sand could help clean water. Who knew?
2nd Grade: The Case of the Broken Fishbowl
Second Graders are continuing to think like detectives. We have been learning about forensic science through our fingerprinting analysis. Please talk with your child about his/her fingerprint type. Is it a whorl, loop, tented arch or arch? Why is this information valuable to have when investigating a suspect? We are currently learning how the size of a person's foot can tell us how tall they are.
3rd Grade: Invitation to Invent
Choice Activities & Learning Centers: There are many different areas of exploration for students to choose from, based upon their individual strengths and interests. Students can work at their own pace and have opportunities to explore various disciplines.
Daily Reflection Journals: At the conclusion of center time each day, students are asked to reflect upon their work. They record the work they completed, set a goal for the next session, and explain the thinking skills they used.
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Class Announcements Lessons1st Grade Zookeepers The students will be learning how scientists classify animals and about the many different types of habitats animals live in. Students will receive a letter from a Zoo asking them to adopt a displaced animal to come and live in our START Zoo. They will research their animal so that our zoo can supply the animal with an appropriate environment to live in. Students will be creating zoo design maps and transportation relocation plans. Check out the 2nd Grade Weather Reporters Second graders will be working on an Earth/Space Science unit that will provide the students with opportunities to observe, measure, and analyze weather phenomena. The Weather Reporter is a scenario-based approach to allow students to make decisions about observing, predicting, and forecasting the weather. The unit includes literary and math components to engage students in discussions and to reinforce the concepts addressed in the unit. Students will be asked to collect and chart weather data outside of class. This data can be collected from local television news, news papers, or from internet sites. Here are two examples of sites found on the internet. Weather Wiz kids. http://www.weatherwizkids.com/ http://www.aws.com/FlashDisplay.asp?id=WDBID The crow and the pitcher fable has been proven true! Check it out! http://news.discovery.com/animals/aesops-crow-and-the-pitcher-fable-proven-true.html3rd Grade Cultural Kaleidoscopes Researchers Third graders are continuing their country research. They are planning their PowerPoint Presentations as well as learning how to create a good PowerPoint Project. They are also learning about accounting and keeping track of their individual deposits and debits that occur along their trip. Once their PowerPoint’s are completed they will be presenting them to our class. With the student's permission I hope to be able to share these with you on our webpage. Family NightPlease join us for our START and SIGNET Family Night.
Wednesday November 30th START Students 6-7pm SIGNET Students 7-8pm We will meet in the Science Lab Room 218 Announcement
Science Inquiry The START program is off to a great beginning for the 2011-12 school year! This semester is all about exploring change, patterns, and systems in the world around us. Differentiated Services Plan Each child identified for the START Program will receive a Differentiated Services Plan (DSP) at their scheduled Parent/Teacher Conference on November 8th. This plan is written collaboratively by the child’s classroom teacher and gifted education resource teacher. The plan outlines how gifted education services are provided for your child in both the regular classroom as well as in the gifted resource room. Our Purpose, Vision, & Mission Each year, we develop mission and vision statements for the START classroom. We have also defined the characteristics and expectations for a "Quality START Student" and "Quality START Teacher." Posters of these hang within our classroom as reminders of our commitment to "doing our personal best" each day in START.Class Files
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