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KES Gifted & Talented Newsletter
November 2023
Upcoming Dates
March 6th 6:00 PM at TBD - GT Parent Meetup: Summer Opportunities
April 2nd at 5:00 at TBD - GTAC Meeting
What's Happening in the Classroom?
First Grade
First Grade:
In first grade, we are utilizing differentiated choice boards for both literacy stations and WIN time (both ELAR and math activities). One of the activities is a “Creation Station” where students take a shape and transform it into something else, and then they write about it (seen in the pictures attached).
During our GT group, we have been diving into detective work using the “Primary Education Thinking Skills (P.E.T.S.™)” curriculum where students use their critical thinking skills to solve mysteries and puzzles.
We have started our Planet Project where students are creating their very own planet and design all of the components of their planet. More updates on their planets are to come!
Second Grade
Second Grade:
In 2nd Grade, we use choice boards across content areas to differentiate learning for all students. Choice boards allow the students to select an activity to show their understanding of the content in different ways. The ability to choose activities keeps all students motivated and engaged in their learning.
A few choices students had during the First 9 Weeks included: design an award for a good citizen, write a book based on characters we read about, explain two ways a historical figure made an impact, draw a self-portrait and explain four qualities that make them special, write an apology letter for a character, explain how to resolve a conflict, write a book about their world, create a matter collage, create a comic strip to show compromise, play mystery number games, give reasons why we compare numbers in the real world, create and answer challenge questions.
2nd Grade GT Extension with Mrs. Jurek:
In GT extension with Mrs. Jurek, 2nd grade students read a Pirate Story on International Pirate Day! They also researched catapults. After reading and researching each student designed their own catapult using materials that were in the library. Students tested their catapults and made adjustments as they needed. Then, each student had a final test to see whose catapult could go the farthest!
Third Grade
Nancy Toledo & Jackie Aguilar's Third Graders:
In 3rd grade ELAR, we are differentiating with extension choice boards. The reason why we use choice boards is to give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned from the module in an inventive new way!
Examples of projects from the choice board include:
Research places around the world that you might like to travel. Create a bucket list of the different places you would like to visit. Create a vision board digitally (Ex. Canva or Google Slides) or print and cut pictures of attractions from these places.
The statue of liberty has become a symbol of freedom to many Americans. Write a story that tells how things may have been different if we had not received the statue.
Marisa Prunty's & Carrie Adams' Third Grade:
In third grade, students researched the top ten tallest buildings in the world. They placed them in order from least to greatest in height by feet and used symbols to compare numbers to the thousands place. They created buildings out of poster board that were to scale and placed them on a bar graph to compare their top four favorite structures.
Once the buildings were completed, they wrote short compositions on the unique characteristics of each one. They are currently working in teams to putting together hundreds of Lego pieces building miniature sets of the Statue of Liberty, One World Trade Center, the Empire State Building and other New York icons. It’s been fun to watch them learn about historic buildings and modern architecture.
Fourth Grade
Fourth Grade:
4th grade began the year working on Genius Hour projects that they were passionate about. During GT groups, students research topics such as Helen Keller, black holes, creating a baking show competition, and other topics. Our groups recently began a project looking into Enigmas around the world. Students are analyzing theories and researching topics such as the Marfa Lights, the Pyramids, the Bermuda Triangle, and Stonehenge. Looking forward, we will be starting a new project in early November for the Hays History Days. The theme is "Turning Points in History". Our 4th graders will have the chance to create a poster project to be presented at Johnson High School in late January. We are excited to see all that our students create and accomplish this school year!
Fifth Grade
Fifth Grade: Mrs. Ramsey / Ms. Callahan's Classes and Mrs. Garnett / Ms. Segura's Classes
In Ms. Callahan's ELAR class they are working on creating a persuasive advertisement convincing an audience that a "want" is actually a "need".
Ex: Ice cream is a need because food is necessary for survival, and ice cream is a food.
They have the autonomy to make whichever type of ad they choose: a digital ad, a commercial, a physical paper ad that they draw, or any other type.
In Mrs. Ramsey's class, they are working on a creating a game board based on the Westward Expansion, as well as using a district-created choice board for math stations.
Ex: Creating a quilt on graph paper and figuring out the fraction of each color used and creating a memory game with fraction problems that matches their models.
Mrs. Garnett's and Ms. Segura's students are also using the district-created ELAR and math choice boards. Some students are creating a game based on the Westward Expansion, some are writing journal entries from the point of view of someone back on the Oregon Trail, while some are typing up a script for a play they hope to perform.