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GT PROGRAM OVERVIEW The gifted and talented program at C.B.I.S.D. is designed for those students who excel or show potential to excel in general intellectual ability to the extent that they require educational experiences beyond those normally provided in the regular school program. The A. C. E. curriculum deals with thinking skills, creativity, problem-solving and research. The affective (social/emotional) needs and concerns of being gifted will also be a part of our program. The curriculum is multidisciplinary. It encompasses science, fine arts, history and the social sciences, math and the language arts as the classes explore different topics. STATE DEFINITION OF GIFTED/TALENTED STUDENTS The following Texas State definition of gifted/talented students is offered in an attempt to assist school districts in their efforts to identify these students: Gifted and talented students are those who excel consistently or who show the potential to excel in any one or combination of the following areas: general intellectual ability, specific subject matter aptitude, creative and productive thinking ability, leadership ability, ability in the visual and performing arts, and psychomotor ability. These students require educational experiences beyond those normally provided by the regular school program.
CHARACTERISTICS LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS 1. Has unusually advanced vocabulary for age or grade level. 2. Has quick mastery and recall of factual information. 3. Wants to know what makes things or people “tick”. 4. Usually “sees more” or “gets more” out of a story, film, etc. 5. Reads a great deal on his own; usually prefers adult level books; does not avoid difficult materials. 6. Reasons things out for himself/herself. MOTIVATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS 1. Becomes absorbed and truly involved in certain topics or problems. 2. Is easily bored with routine tasks. 3. Needs little external motivation to follow through in work that initially excited him/her. 4. Strives toward perfection; is self critical; is not easily satisfied with his/her own speed or products. 5. Prefers to work independently; requires little direction from teachers. 6. Is interested in many “adult problems” such as religion, politics, sex, race. 7. Stubborn in his/her beliefs. 8. Concerned with right and wrong, good and bad. CREATIVITY CHARACTERISTICS 1. Constantly asking questions about anything and everything. 2. Often offers unusual (‘way-out”), unique, clever responses. 3. Is uninhibited in expressions of opinion. 4. Is a high risk taker; is adventurous and speculative. 5. Is often concerned with adapting, improving, and modifying institutions, objects, and systems. 6. Displays a keen sense of humor. 7. Shows emotional sensitivity. 8. Is sensitive to beauty. 9. Is nonconforming; accepts disorder; is not interested in details; is individualistic; does not fear being different. 10. Is unwilling to accept authoritarian pronouncements without critical examination. LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS 1. Carries responsibility well. 2. Is self confident with children his/her own age as well as adults. 3. Can express himself well. 4. Adapts readily to new situations. 5. Is sociable and prefers not to be alone. 6. Generally defects the activity in which he is involved.
SETTING THE STAGE FOR CREATIVITY GROWTH Dr. E. Paul Torrance 1. Provide materials that develop imagination, such as open-ended stories or drawings. 2. Provide materials that enrich imagery, such as fairy tales, folk tales, myths, fables, nature books. 3. Permit time for thinking and daydreaming. Just because a child does not look like he is busy, does not mean that his mind is not. 4. Encourage children to record their ideas in binders, notebooks, etc. Even playing secretary for your child by having him dictate stories and ideas can be a special way of showing that his ideas are valuable and that you care what he is thinking. 5. Encourage your child to take a different look at things. There are many things one can learn about the world by standing on one’s head! 6. Encourage true individuality. Find little details about your child’s work or behavior that show you see him as a special person. 7. Be cautious in editing a child’s products. Find ways to make him feel the worth of being a creator. 8. Encourage your child to play with words. Use word games such as rhyming, opposites, and puns to their full advantage. 9. Learn and reinforce some of the specific thinking processes that go into the creative act. 10. Provide opportunities for your child to sense problems and create possible solutions. FOOD FOR THOUGHT “IT MAY BE SAID THAT THE FUTURE IS IN THEIR HANDS, BUT FOR NOW THEY ARE IN YOURS.” “LET LOVE, UNDERSTANDING, AND NURTURANCE BE YOUR GREATEST GIFT TO THEM.”
COLUMBIA-BRAZORIA INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT ACE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS K-12 GENERAL GUIDELINES 1. For kindergarten identification a total of four criteria are used including a parent survey, a teacher checklist, a primary picture vocabulary test score, and a portfolio score. The portfolio includes documentation of planned experiences and DAP (Draw a Picture). These criteria are summarized using a matrix rating of 0-5. 2. For Grades 1-12 a total of four criteria are used including professional, parent inventory rating of student’s characteristics, current achievement test score (ITBS)and current mental ability scores (OLSAT) are used. 3. Students new to the district may be nominated for screening for ACE after a six-weeks observation period. ELIGIBILITY 1. All students in grades K - 12 are eligible for initial screening for selection and placement in the ACE program. 2. Students K-12 in C.B.I.S.D. who are not selected for participation in ACE after their initial screening will be eligible for renomination and rescreening as new test data is received. NOMINATIONS 1. All students will be eligible to be nominated for screening for ACE. 2. Students may be nominated by professional staff members including teachers, librarians or principals. 3. Students may be nominated by their parents or guardians. 4. Students selected for participation in ACE will not need to be renominated or rescreened each year. SCREENING AND SELECTION 1a. Based on the screening criteria for kindergarten, students will be considered for ACE if they meet the criteria of three out of five of their matrix scores with four points or higher (range 12-20) and/or the district four selection committee considers individually that the student meets criteria for program placement.
percentile, mental ability score (OLSAT), professional inventory summary score and parent inventory summary score, students will be considered for ACE if the total score is within a range of 20-30 total points. The achievement score is weighted times two for ten possible points, the mental ability test weighted times two for ten possible points with the professional and parent inventory with a possible five points total each. The district committee will consider other information which may help determine that a student meets criteria for placement. 2 ACE teachers will complete the Identification and Screening Matrix on all students tested. 3. The district-wide selection committee will be appointed in September each year and will serve for one school year. The committee make-up includes at a minimum the Executive Director of Curriculum and Staff Development, one campus GT teacher and one campus principal or designee. 4. The completed matrix for each student will be submitted to a district-wide committee for final selection. Placement of the child will be determined by the committee. 5. Letters of permission for placement in the program will be sent to parents or guardians prior to student being placed in the ACE program. These will be sent from the Office of the Curriculum and Staff Development. 6. All transfer students and those being rescreened will be selected for the program if their total point score, using the most current test data, correlates to the above placement criteria. 7. Students may be considered for placement anytime within the school year. EXIT Exit or furlough from the ACE program will be done on an individual basis and may be based on a student’s inability to perform in the program or the fact that continuation in the program is not in the best interest of the student. All situations regarding furlough or exit are brought to the district selection committee for consideration and approval or denial. Columbia-Brazoria Independent School District Guiding Principles for Gifted and Talented Program Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted / Talented PRINCIPLES OF A DIFFERENTIATED CURRICULUM FOR THE GIFTED / TALENTED · Present content that is related to broad-based issues, themes or problems. · Integrate multiple disciplines into the area of study. · Present comprehensive, related and mutually reinforcing experiences within an area of study. · Allow for the in-depth learning of a self-selected topic within the area of study. · Develop independent or self-directed study skills. · Develop productive, complex, abstract and/or higher level thinking skills. · Focus on open-ended tasks. · Develop research skills and methods. · Integrate basic skills and high level thinking skills into the curriculum. · Encourage the development of products that challenge existing ideas and produce “new” ideas. · Encourage the development of products that use new techniques, materials and forms. · Encourage the development of self-understanding. (I.e.: Recognizing and using one’s abilities, becoming self-directed, appreciating likenesses and differences between oneself and others). Evaluate student outcomes by using appropriate and specific criteria through self-appraisal, criterion references and /or standardized instruments. Secondary Programming Options When students move to the secondary grades (7-12), their gifted curriculum focus changes to the four core content areas: English/language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. Students may participate in coursework in any combination or all of the content areas. The gifted programming title changes from ACE to Pre-Advanced Placement (Pre-AP) or Advanced Placement (AP), although enrollment in these classes is not limited to gifted students. The Advanced Placement Curriculum is a rigorous curriculum offering designed by The College Board and encompasses a wide variety of course offerings. Not all courses are taught in C.B.I.S.D., but as our technological proficiency and access increases, so will access to these courses. Please work with the school counselor in choosing the courses which are appropriate for the individual student. The Pre-Advanced Placement Curriculum is designed to develop the foundation skills necessary to be successful in the Advanced Placement courses but is not required prior to participating in Advance Placement classes. With extra effort, students, who have not chosen Pre-AP classes can be successful in AP classes. “All students who sit for the AP Exam have already won the real game being played. They are winners because they have met a larger challenge than any single examination could present. The have attained a solid academic background in basic skills, especially math and science, and are prepared to move on and complete well against the challenges of both higher education and life.” Jaime Escalante “Stand and Deliver” AP Subjects
A Pre-AP Rationale/Strategy An option available for school districts to strengthen and focus their sixth through tenth grade honors program is to institute a Pre-AP designation for their college preparatory courses that lead to Advanced Placement courses in the eleventh and twelfth grades. This designation can provide a stronger sense of common purpose for teachers and articulated goals for middle school and high school courses that prepare students for AP. The following strategies can provide a stronger instructional cohesion and sequential development of skills and knowledge in the major disciplines:
This system of Pre-AP designation of honors courses is an informal program that is subject to the local school district’s needs and characteristics. The Southwestern Regional Office of the College Board can assist the implementation of a Pre-AP rationale. (1-512-891-8400) Advanced Placement’s Role In Integrated ProgrammingFor The Gifted Assumptions of Advanced Placement and Gifted and Talented that allow for an integration of purpose, method and perspective at the high school level.
Most importantly, Advanced Placement and Gifted and Talented teachers are similar in their love of teaching, interest in the personal and academic growth of their students, and an inherent desire to instill in their students their enthusiasm for learning. They are true models of mindfulness. National / State Leadership Training Institute on the Gifted and Talented Developed by the Curriculum Council (James J. Gallagher, Sandra N. Kaplan, A. Harry Passow, Joseph S. Renzuili, Irving S. Sator, Dorothy Sisk, Janice Wickless) WHAT THE GIFTED CHILD NEEDS FROM PARENTS (National Association For Gifted Children) Parents may be concerned about the fact that the child has high intellectual ability and special skills. How do they deal with this fact? They may need to discuss the importance of natural love and acceptance of the child as a child; the importance of avoiding any connotation through labels or manners which imply that he is set apart, special, or different. Knowledge of the child’s ability is necessary to the adults who deal with him in planning proper experiences for him. Such knowledge is harmful to the child and to gifted children in general only when it is used by adults, either parents or teachers, to bring status to themselves. Such status efforts involve the value judgments placed upon gifted children by adults who communicate that their child is gifted, with the implication that 1) the child is superior; 2) that other children possess less value; and that 3) through osmosis, the adults associated with him are likewise superior. 1. Acceptance - parents must accept their child as a gifted child. As a child she/he needs to be accepted for his/her own sake, and not because she/he brings his parents prestige by his/her achievements. 2. Parents need to help the gifted child accept him/herself. Usually he/she is well aware that he/she achieves in a superior fashion to his/her age-mates in some areas. It is frustrating and discouraging to try to make him/her believe that she/he is mediocre. The gifted child should be encouraged to recognize and accept his/her limitations. 3. Parents need to help their gifted child to win acceptance from others without sacrificing his individuality or ruining his/her special attributes through an enforced conformity which spells mediocrity. Parents tend to over-emphasize conformity and to teach the child to play down his/her special gifts so that she/he may be “popular” with his/her peer group. 4. Parents need to understand, too, that some of the problems that sometimes disturb the gifted - problems of loneliness, of being different from others, of concern over destiny and death, of their intellectual development, of frustration in school work, and in the school situation. Frequent, open discussion of their questions with a mature adult is helpful to them. 5. Parents need to take time discuss, stimulate and to listen. They also need to take time to interact with the child as a child. Relax and enjoy it. CONSIDER JOINING TAGT TEXAS ASSOCIATION FOR THE GIFTED AND TALENTED P.O. BOX 9802 #814 AUSTIN TEXAS 78766-9802 WHAT DOES TAGT OFFER PARENTS? · Student and parent scholarships · Listing of summer school opportunities · Grants-in-aid (parent awards) · Networking through regional representatives · Affiliate status for parent organizations with the privileges of a free conference registration and a speaker for local meetings · Special mailing to parent organizations describing relevant sessions for parents at the annual conference · Austin office serves as clearinghouse for information, appropriate referrals · Sponsorship of regional workshops · Information on appropriate advocacy techniques for parents · Presenters available on request · Updated legislative information NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GIFTED CHILDREN 4175 LOVELL ROAD, BOX 30, SUITE 140 CIRCLE PINES, MINNESOTA 55014 Telephone (612) 784-3475 MAGAZINES OF INTEREST TO THE G/T Elementary - Junior High Cricket Walnut Lane Boulder, CO 80322 Stories and poems for and by gifted and talented students Cobblestone 20 Grove Street Peterborough, NH 03458 American History focus Ranger Rick’s Nature Magazine and National Wildlife National Wildlife Federation 8925 Leesburg Pike Vienna, VA 22180 Nature, natural science & animals The Wade Art Magazine 1422 East Albion St. Milwaukee WI 53202 Focus on artists and composers Odyssey P.O. Box 92899 Milwaukee, WI 53202 Focus on astronomy and space science Faces Cobblestone Publishing, Inc. 20 Grove Street Peterborough NH 03458 Focus on human societies Chart Your Own Course P.O. Box 66707 Mobile AL 36660 Stories, poems, pictures and puzzles by G/T students National Geographic World P.O. Box 2330 Washington D.C. 20013 Children’s version of the National Geographic Magazine The Young Scientist 888 Seventh Avenue Suite 2404 New York, NY 10019 Science focus Stone Soup Children’s Art Foundation P.O. Box 83 Santa Cruz, CA 95063 Collection of stories and art work by children Nautica Spinmaker Press Pickering Wharf Salem MA 01970 Focus on underwater-archeology marine science sea creatures Middle Elementary - Adult The Futurist World Future Society 4916 St. Elmo Avenue Washington, D.C. 20014 Articles on ideas & trends of the future Natural History American Museum of Natural History Central park West at 79th St. New York NY 10034 Natural history focus Classical Calliope Cobblestone Publishing, Inc. 20 Grove St. Peterborough NH 03458 Focus on ancient Roman & Greek culture English & American Literature Discover Time & Life Building 541 North Fairbanks Court Chicago, IL 60611 Science focus Astronomy Astro Media Corp. P.O. Box 92788 Milwaukee WI 53202 Astronomy focus Archaeology P.O. Box 928 Farmingdale NY 11737 BOOKS ON PARENTING HOW TO RAISE A BRIGHTER CHILD Beck, Joan - Simon & Schuster - 1975 BABIES NEED BOOKS Butler, Dorothy - Fairfield Graphics - 1980 SHARING NATURE WITH CHILDREN Cornell, Joseph Bharat - Ananda Publishing - 1979 HOW TO PARENT Dodson, Fitzhugh - Signet Books - 1970 CHILDREN: THE CHALLENGE Dreikurs, Rudolf - Hawthorn Books - 1964 WHAT SHOULD PARENTS EXPECT? Drescher, John M - Abingdon Press - 1980 GIVE YOUR CHILD A FUTURE Gilmore, John & Eunice - Thomas Jefferson Research - 1980 BETWEEN PARENT AND CHILD Ginott, Haim - Aavon Books - 1956 HOW TO HELP YOUR GIFTED CHILD Ginsberg, Gina & Harrison, Charles - Monarch Press - 1977 THE FAMILY CENTERING BOOKS Hendricks, Gay - Prentice-Hall - 1979 YOUR EXCEPTIONAL CHILD Jackson, Brian - Fontana Paperbacks - 1980 YOUR GIFTED CHILD AND YOU Kaufman, Felice - Council for Exceptional Children - 1976 A PARENT’S GUIDE TO CHILDREN’S READING Larrick, Nancy - Bantam Books - 1975 HOW TO BE A GIFTED PARENT Lewis, David - Berkley Books - 1979 THE ROOTS OF SUCCESS Pincus, Cynthia; Elliott, Leslie; Schlachter, Trudy - Prentice-Hall - 1980 KIDS DAY IN AND DAY OUT Scharlett, Evelyn - Lonesome Sparrow Press - 1979 THINKING IS CHILD’S PLAY Sharp, Evelyn - Avon Books - 1969 THE GOOD KID BOOK Sloane, Howard N. - New American Library - 1976 GUIDING THE GIFTED CHILD Webb, James; Meckstroth, B.; Tolan, S. Ohio Psychology Puiblishing - 1982 THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF LIFE White, Burton - Avon Books - 1975 RESOURCES FOR THE GIFTED Resources for the Gifted 3421 North 44th St Phoenix AR 35013
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