AIM – Gifted Services

1. AIM – Gifted Services Mrs. Janis Micali & Melanie Heath Fourth and Fifth Grade AIM Little River Elementary School CCSD janis.micali@cherokee.k12.ga.us melanie.heath@cherokee.k12.ga.us

2. Welcome • Clarify the purpose of AIM and the CCSD Advanced Academic Program • Gifted Curriculum • Concerns and Issues • Share with you what we have learned over the years • Answer Your Questions

3. Eligibility / Qualifications • National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)“Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains.  Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports).” http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=574 • Cherokee County Assessment • Mental Ability - CogAT • Achievement - ITBS • Motivation – Rating Scales, Interviews, Products • Creativity – Torrance, Rating Scales

4. Gifted Curriculum • Purpose according to GA SBOE Rule 160-4-2-.38: To provide gifted students with differentiated instruction that is based on content and pacing that are clearly not appropriate for more typical students at that grade level. The content of all gifted education curricula should be advanced for that grade level. • Goals have been set by Cherokee County and are specified on the Advanced Academics Curriculum Maps for each grade. These include: • Goal 1: Advanced Communication Skills, Affective (Social and Emotional) • Goal 2: Advanced Research Skills • Goal 3: Creative Thinking & Creative Problem Solving Skills • Goal 4: Higher Order Critical Thinking Skills

5. All Grades • Creative Problem Solving: analytical, flexible, elaborative thinking, originality, problem solving • Higher Order Thinking Skills: Junior Great Books – classic stories with issues that allow us to have shared inquiry discussions. • Affective/Communication: Morning Meeting, presentation and leadership skills, psychology, Multiple Intelligences

6. What we do in AIM • Teach your child social and emotional skills of working with people (class meetings, small group work) • Teach your child to persevere when challenged (critical thinking skills, research). • Teach your child how to lead and how to respectfully follow someone else’s lead (Junior Great Books, research and presentation, brainstorming, project work). • Teach your child how to solve problems (higher level thinking skills, creative problem solving – logic, real world issues). • Create a place of acceptance of their gifted characteristics.

7. First Grade • Research: What makes a community? How is our community connected to other places? Where in the world are we located? What can I learn about the United States? • Primary Educational Thinking Skills (P.E.T.S.) • How do I solve problems, brainstorm, use deductive reasoning, and solve logic problems?

8. Second Grade • Research: Zooland

9. Third Grade AIM Research: Discoveries • Abel’s Island – self discovery and innovation • What can we discover about ourselves? • What can we discover about our world? • How do people make discoveries? Creative Problem Solving and Higher Order Thinking Skills Design experience – experiments and creative building

10. Concerns: Instructional Coordination • Elementary students eligible for the Gifted Education Program are served through a combination of two instructional models: •  AIM Program (Resource Class—pull-out from the regular classroom) •  Grade Level Classroom (Cluster Grouping/Differentiation of Instruction) • Together, both elements of instruction constitute a complete program of study for the gifted student. • The single best strategy is to maintain continuing dialogue with the resource class teacher in your school as both teachers work to provide the best possible education for shared students. • All students, including AIM students are responsible for mastery of the Cherokee County Standards for Student Achievement. • http://portal.cherokee.k12.ga.us/departments/curriculum/Gifted%20Education%20Administrative%20Manual/1d%20Instructional%20Coordination%20(English).pdf

11. Concerns • Perfectionism: “… allow their strong desire for excellent achievement to develop into unhealthy perfectionism, which can be paralyzing and cause a child to become overwhelmed with concern about making a mistake, or not being the best.” • Underachievement: “…the unanticipated difference between accomplishment and aptitude.” • Organization Skills: Many factors may cause the disorganization that is contributing to your child’s achievement problems.

12. More Concerns • Peer Relationships / Social Skills / Bullies “Gifted children will have moments when they are unavoidably “out of step” with age mates. • Twice-Exceptional (Gifted with Special Needs) “Gifted children, with their high potential and abilities, may also have learning problems that act as a roadblock for the development of their gifts.” How can a child have an amazing memory for airplane trivia but not be able to test well on basic multiplication facts?”

13. Parental Support • Be open, flexible and ready to advocate for your child. • Realize that the gifted classes require your child to work harder with amazing results for the future. • If you have questions about your gifted child or the AIM program PLEASE CONTACT US.

14. Trivia • Students go to Connections and Lunch/Recess with their homeroom class • The Agenda and e-mail are our methods of communication with you. • Look also for information in the folder they bring back and forth. • Binders stay here so we always have them to continue our work.

15. Resources for Parents • National Association for Gifted Children http://www.nagc.org/ • GAGC: The Georgia Association for Gifted Children http://www.gagc.org/ • Publishers of many gifted resources: Prufrock Press http://www.prufrock.com/ Free Spirit Press http://www.freespirit.com/