Merry Christmas!

Elements of Creativity

There are some very basic (and yet complex) elements to creativity.  Each can be nurtured and developed in all of us...at any age.  Here are the basics.

This is about your ability to generate ideas for extended periods of time without stopping or getting bogged down in what will or won't work.  This is not my (Miss Young's) strongest element.  I work really hard when I'm in planning meetings to not critique any idea when we are in the brainstorming phase.  You just never know where ideas will lead you if you keep after fluency.

Originality is the ability to notice the one idea that is completely new and different from what's been generated.  You know the Super Bowl commercial that everyone waits for and talks about more than the game?  Advertisers love this because they have nailed originality.

Now elaboration...elaboration is my favorite! Give me an idea and let me go with it.  I'll have every detail planned out.  A party?  I'll have a list and organize it twice (Just ask my sisters about their weddings).  When you've found that one idea that might be the most creative, this is the ability dot the Is and cross the Ts.

I've seen a few people struggle with this one, especially Type As.  Flexibility is the ability to stretch and bend and make an idea work or to adjust the idea when you are thrown a curve ball.  Often, flexibility leads to an even better product.

These are the basic elements of creativity that we are trying to build into your child's vocabulary, math, writing, reading, art, and other instruction.  We think that there is power in a child's ability to grow their creativity in many areas.

And...in case there are a few who this creativity is just for the artistic and crafty, here a a few words from Coach Pete.  Click on the picture for the link.  It's a great article on creativity and football.

Miss Young

Does Creativity Matter?

This infographic made Mrs. Eichelberger stop and think about how we are helping our student prepare for future learning and the world of work.  It's pretty interesting.

Reprinted from Edudemic.  http://edudemic.com/2012/11/creativity-should-be-taught-like-math-or-science/

Is Your Child Creative?

Are you creative?  Many people think you are either born creative or you aren't.  But, that's really not true.   More importantly, leaders in business and industry are telling educators more frequently and adamantly how critical creativity, adaptability and innovation are to the workforce.  Check out this study from IBM's Leadership Research Series.

Mrs. Eichelberger and I were recently given the opportunity to hear Sir Ken Robinson speak.  Pretty inspirational.  He had a few words of wisdom for teachers about creativity.

"Imagination is the heart of human life."

"To be creative means to do something.  [It's] putting your imagination to work."

"You create your life....It's full of passions and creative choices along the way."

"Teaching is much more like gardening than engineering."

Ok, I just love that last one, but truly, we would love to cultivate the seeds of creativity in your child.  For the next few post we'll try to give some brief ideas about how to grow a child's creativity.  We'd also love your feedback about opportunities you'd love to see for your child.

Stay tuned!

Miss Young

http://nrich.maths.org/7778

Check out this fun link to a math advent calendar!  A new activity each day is a great challenge.

Enjoy!

3rd Graders CCSS Writing Opinion Pieces

Many of our third grade students have been thinking about the question "Are friendships necessary?"  This inquiry question was considered as they read a variety of stories.  A few of the GT students extended this question to the book Poppy by Avi.  This question helped the students focus on the characters and how their actions and choices impacted the plot.

As we wrapped up this book study, the students were asked to respond to the original question with their opinion and evidence from the text to support their thinking.  This is in line with the new Common Core State Standards that Idaho recently adopted.  CCSS Writing #1 requires third graders to:

3.W.1  Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

a. Introduce the topic or text they are writing bout, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.

b. Provide reasons that support the opinion.

c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section.

As the students move toward fourth grade, this standard moves from a paragraph to a longer piece of writing with introductory and concluding sections.  This standard will eventually evolve into an argument with claims and evidentiary reasoning at the high school level.

I thought the students had a good first try at opinion writing and I wanted to share their work with you.  The copies from their Reader's Notebooks was too faint to share pictures, but here are their finished (without my editing) pieces.  Enjoy!

"I think friendships are necessary and the book Poppy proves my point because if poppy hadn't met her friends she would have never completed her journey.  For example when Poppy was fighting Oxax she needed Ereaths quill if Poppy hadn't met Ereath Ocax would have killed her.  In order to find out the truth, start her journey and save her family Ragweed died.  Everybody needs a friend like Poppy's to start their adventure in life."

N. H.

"I think friendships are necessary and I can prove it in the book Poppy.  For instance, in chapter 11 Ereth chases a fox away for Poppy because the fox wants to eat her.  Ereth also leaves behind a quill in order to defeat Ocax.  Ereths friendship helped Poppy on her jorny, but I think everyone needs a friend."

C.P.

"I think friendships are necessary and the book Poppy proves my point.  Based on what I read, Poppy runs into Ereth's log and the fox was trieing to eat Poppy so Ereth helped Poppy get away from the fox.  For example, the fox wouldn't be an example because he wants to eat Poppy.  Ereth was a good friend to Poppy so I think every body should have friends."

A.W.

"Poppy had friends and they were necessary.  According to the text in chapter 11 Ereth was nice enough to chase away a fox for Poppy so she won't get eaten when she leaves.  In addition, later in the story, Ereth leaves Poppy a quill for her protection.  She needed this weapon from her friend to defeat Mr. Ocax.  Ereth's friendship was appropriate for Poppy on this journey."

A.P.

Over the last few years, we have worked hard to support teachers and gifted and advanced students make academic growth in the Middleton School District.  Our first goal is to support teachers in this endeavor, because they are the primary facilitators of learning for students.  To make the best use of our day in each building, we work to collaborate with teams to coordinate group instruction based on grade level learning targets and assessment data.  Our hope is that this coordinated effort will lead to greater growth and fewer curriculum gaps than the old pull-out model.

Below are the guiding principles for our program.  These goals were developed with district leaders and are aligned with the Middleton School District Strategic Improvement Plan. and approved at the district level.  We are open to questions you might have and look forward to continuing on the journey to see these principles fully realized in Middleton.

Miss Young and Mrs. Eichelberger

Middleton School District Gifted and Talented Program

Guiding Principles

2012

v  Support Classroom Teachers and Build Capacity for Differentiated Instruction

Ø  Support teachers with strategies, curriculum, and other materials to promote differentiated instruction for gifted and advanced students in the regular classroom 

Ø  Collaborate with teacher teams in academic decisions for students that may require different pacing, depth, complexity and/or acceleration.             

v  Utilize RtI Systems and Assessment Data

Ø  Help determine curriculum decisions based upon screening, diagnostic, formalized testing, informal assessments, and progress monitoring data through an integrated school improvement model

Ø  Align gifted and advanced interventions to coordinate with school-wide model and goals when possible to support the whole model

Ø  Provide insight into research-based models and strategies for gifted and advanced students

v  Focus on Student Outcomes and Academic Growth

Ø  Promote partnerships with teachers that utilize data resulting in academic growth for advanced and GT students

Ø  Support lesson planning and coordinating of small group instruction focused on the Common Core State Standards

Ø  Encourage the integration of critical and creative thinking, problem solving and metacognition

v  Advocate for the Needs of Gifted/Advanced Students and Families

Ø  Work with school teams to advocate and advise on the academic, social, and emotional characteristics of gifted, advanced, and twice exceptional students.

Ø  Support the academic needs of families with gifted children through resources and information about upcoming opportunities

Ø  Continue to encourage partnerships between the districts and families focused on student learning and motivation through the Parent Advisory Group



Kid Architects - An After-School Workshop

The Middleton Gifted and Talented Program is pleased to announce that we will be offering an after school workshop for our 3rd through 5th Grade Gifted and Advanced Math Students.  Kid Architects will use LEGOs to explore famous buildings from around the world, as well as elements of construction design. 

The workshop will be hosted at Middleton Heights Elementary. 

3rd-5th Grade Girls - Tuesdays, Oct. 9th and 16th

3rd-5th Grade Boys - Thursdays, Oct. 11th and 18th

Parents will be responsible for transportation. 

 A healthy snack will be provided.

The workshop is free of charge thanks to a grant from Capital Educators Federal Credit Union.

For more information please download the pdf file linked to the image above.

Welcome Back!

Though we are sad to see Mrs. Ingersoll go (She is very happily at home with Baby Oliver!), I am pleased to announce that Mrs. Eichelberger will be joining the Middleton Gifted and Advanced Program Team!  Mrs. Eichelberger (Jayna) will be working with the 4th and 5th grade teachers and students.  She is an amazing classroom teacher who is gifted at differentiating for her students.  Mrs. Eichelberger has a passion for art and received a Master's Degree in integrating the arts into learning.  More to come soon from Mrs. Eichelberger, but I wanted you to know how thrilled we are to have her add her expertise to the program.

As the school year gets started we will be finishing testing a few students for the GT program and meeting with parents, as well as working with schools and teachers as they assess, analyze data, and determine student learning targets.  We anticipate supporting student groups in the next week to 10 days.  If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to call. 

Thank you also for your patience as we work out plans and schedules to meet your child's needs for the 2012-2013 school year.

Hope to see you soon!
Miss Young

Summer Fun and Learning with 4-H

Looking for inexpensive and close-to-home opportunities for your child this summer?  Consider 4-H.  Some of my best, early leadership opportunities happened in 4-H.  There's nothing like the authentic presentation and demonstration practice that comes with 4-H projects.  The topics are limitless.  There's an opportunity for every child and every interest.

For more information contact the Canyon County Extension Office at 459-6003.  They will also be holding a new parent and volunteer night on Tuesday, April 24th from 7:00-9:00.  Please RSVP at the number above.

A Free App for Visual and Spatial Reasoning

If you have access to an iPad or iPhone this is a great FREE 3-D app for helping kids develop their visual-spatial reasoning skills which has a strong correlation to math problem solving and application.

It's called 3-D Cube It!

I've test driven this will 2nd graders and they love it and pick it up quickly.  Some levels require them to add cubes, other to remove them.  The hardest level asks them to move cubes in 3-D space.

I highly recommend this app and think it would be a good one for long road trips.

Enjoy!

Angie

Parents,

I think this is a very important article from Stanford University for us to consider.  The ideas and research implications greatly impact our girls; how they will see themselves as mathematicians and who they will dream to become.

I'd love to hear your thought!

Miss Young

http://gender.stanford.edu/news/2012/sugar-and-spice-and%E2%80%A6-math-under-achievement

Register Now for Summer Opportunties

The Cabin (Log Cabin Literacy Center) offers some pretty amazing camps for budding writers in grades 3-12.  Students get to work with teachers and professional writers for creative and engaging writing experiences.  Check out their website.

http://register.thecabinidaho.org/default.aspx

There are some great early bird specials is you register a child before May 4th.  There are also partial scholarships available, though they are not listed on the website.  Please don't let fees be a hurdle that keeps you from exploring this opportunity for your child.  Just contact The Cabin's front office staff at 331-8000 and ask about their summer writing camp scholarships.  The application process is pretty painless.

Let me know if your child goes!  I'd love to hear how it went.



The GT and Advanced 2nd Graders at PSE finally have their book ready. 

Please click the link here and enjoy!

For those of you, adults and kids, who love books, you will love this short animation called

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

Blogs

Please check out the new blogs I've added underneath the Shelfari widget.  I'm sure there will be more soon!

Unwrapping the Gifted - This blog is hosted by my friend Tamara.  We met at Edufest, a gifted conference held in Boise every year.  She is an amazing teacher, facilitator, and author.  Though this blog is written primarily for teachers, I think families will find her articles insightful.

From the Mixed Up Files - This blog is by authors of books for middle grade (3rd-6th) students.  I often get asked for recommendations on books.  I thought this might be a nice blog for parents looking for reviews and new releases for their children.

Enjoy!

Miss Young

Middleton Parents -

The Marsing Middle School After School Program

and the COSSA Gifted/Talented Program has invited Middleton students to

WHEN:  SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012,  10:00 A.M. TO 2:00 P.M.

WHERE: MARSING MIDDLE SCHOOL

You are encouraged to attend with your child for a free day of activities, rocket launches and a presentatiton by the civil air patrol cadets. 

Please bring a sack lunch.  Marsing schools will be providing snacks.

  

For more informatiton contact Marlene Moore, COSSA G/Tt Faciclitator at  896-5630 or contact Miss Young at your child's school.

A fun puzzle to start your weekend.  Can you give me the answer to this word puzzle?

Email Miss Young with your answer.



Have a great weekend!

Miss Young

Apangea Update

For those of you who are participating in the Apangea Statewide Challenge with Iowa, we are currently neck and neck with one week to go.

Keep up the good work!  Every minute and lesson counts!

We hope you are having a great day off with your family.  It's a great day for a book, but honestly, the following books are inspiring to read any time.  The first is one of my new favorites about Abraham Lincoln, but the others are equally worth reading about the leadership, sacrifices and lives of our presidents.

Abe's Honest Words

Lincoln: A Photobiography

George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War

 George vs. George: The American Revolution As Seen from Both Sides

Thomas Jefferson

The Revolutionary John Adams

Enjoy!
Miss Young

Opportunity for Budding Graphic Artists

Middleton Parents - This is a fun idea for your budding artists and an amazing opportunity to pay for college. 

Google invites student artists in grades K-12 to use their creative imaginations to redesign the Google logo through the Doodle 4 Google 2012 contest. This year's theme is "If I could travel in time, I'd visit..." The lucky D4G winner will not only see their artwork on Google’s homepage for one day, but they will also receive $30,000 for college and $50,000 for their school. As an added bonus, their winning artwork will appear on a special edition of Crayola's iconic 64 box! Additionally, all the Idaho finalists will see their artwork displayed at an exhibit at the Boise Art Museum. The deadline to enter is March 23, 2012. Visit http://www.doodle4google.com/ to learn more.

New Apangea Contest - Great Prizes for Kids and Families

Apangea's Goal: 15 Million points to the YMCA during the month of February? This would be a donation of $3000.00 and would go a long way toward helping the Y reach their Strong Kids fundraising goal of $17,000 this year. FIFTEEN MILLION POINTS in one month. This has never been attempted before but we are challenging Idaho’s region 3 students to make it happen! If every region 3 Apangea student donates just ONE dollar (5000 points) to the YMCA we would triple our goal- so we know it can be done! Every donation goes to support local children and helps them “Learn, Grow, and Thrive” here in Idaho.  100% of the funds raised in this community stay in this community!

To make it even more fun, we are offering up some exciting prizes, too. For every dollar donation that a student makes to the YMCA during the month of February that student will receive one entry into our raffle for a YEAR LONG FAMILY YMCA MEMBERSHIP. The class that donates the most points to the YMCA during February will win a pizza party and class raffle of Apangea and YMCA gear- including t-shirts, a duffel bag, and family day passes.

I hope you will consider donating.  Good luck!

Miss Young

Mrs. Ingersoll has a new valentine this year!  On January 23rd, Mrs. Ingersoll and her husband welcomed Oliver Zachary into their family.  Everyone is healthy and doing well.  Congratulations!

What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) ?

You may have heard teachers or the local news referring to the Common Core State Standards.  These are the new math and language arts standards adopted by the 2011 Idaho State Legislature. These standards were designed through a voluntary, state-led effort and coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).  This group set out to define the knowledge and skills students should have to graduate and succeed in post-secondary education and the workforce. Standards in other top performing countries also played a key role, with the hope that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy.Idaho joined the effort in January 2009.  


It is believed that these standards are aligned with college and workforce expectations, and will be clear, understandable, and consistent for schools and teachers to implement.  They include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills. 

As teachers in Middleton begin to work with these new standards, we are finding that they will require more advanced and deeper thinking of all students. The standards appear to be rich and deep, but we anticipate that they will require much more of student performance than the multiple choice ISAT of the past.

Here is a brief timeline of Idaho's expections for implementing these standards and when they expect students to take the new state standardized test.

Timeline for Implementation

Many Middleton teachers have begun the process of professional development as they familiarize themselves with the new CCSS.  Currently, the advanced reading intervention and advanced math groups that we work with are using the CCSS to plan learning targets for your children.  If you have more questions about the standards themselves, please ask or check out the website: http://www.corestandards.org/.  If you have questions about implementation in Middleton I'd be glad to help.

Gifted Parenting Resource

This is a go to book for parents or teachers who need a little advice on their gifted children.  Judith Winn Halstead does a fabulous job of explaining many of the social and emotional issues that many gifted and highly capable students deal with.  She also includes books for each age range that exemplify characters who deal with the same issues.  This gives parents and kids a chance to think and talk about the issue without it being about the child.  Honestly, this is one of my favorite go to resources for suggestions and ideas when a parent calls me for advice.  Over the last 6 years the Middleton Gifted Program has owned and loaned as many as 6 copies and we don't have one currently on our shelves! This makes me smile because I know they are being read and used.  Time to order more!

Book Description - From Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Some-Best-Friends-Are-Books/dp/0910707960

Good books are often good friends. Because gifted readers often intensely identify with characters, good books can provide bridges to new insights and better communication of feelings, values, and decision making, while also fostering intellectual and creative development. Now in its third edition, Some of My Best Friends Are Books describes: Intellectual and emotional needs of children of high ability; Typical and advanced reading patterns for grades K-12; How parents and teachers can give reading guidance and discuss books with young readers; A well-indexed annotated bibliography of more than 300 books for readers of all ages, carefully selected to promote intellectual and emotional development; Books that deal with themes such as Achievement, Aloneness, Arrogance, Developing Imagination, Intensity, Introversion, Perfectionism, Relationships with Others, Sensitivity, and Resiliency; and An index with suggested titles for each theme and the page numbers for short summaries of these titles

 

Can you Guess?

I came across this quote about a famous children's author and thought it was so beautifully written.  Who do you think this is about?  Send in your guess by Thursday, January 19th to be put in a drawing for an ice cream treat.  Winner to be announced Friday, January 20th.

"Sam was struck in the funny bone.  Burdened with literary imagination and originality, he grew up to snatch the dust covers and embroidered antimacassars off the novels of the day.  He changed literature forever.  He scraped earth under its fingernails and taught it to spit.  He slipped in a subversive American sense of humor.  He made laughing out loud as respectable as afternoon tea."

PAGE - Parent Advocates of Gifted Education

Middleton families of gifted students have been extended and invitation by the Boise Area PAGE group.  This group, lead by Nancy Gregory (Boise School District Trustee and mother of 5 gifted children), organizes monthly gatherings for parents and teachers who are interested in learning more about their gifted children and advocating for them.  Guest speakers and professionals bring information about a variety of topics and parents get a chance to network and learn from each other.

PAGE meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday at 7:00 PM at Grace Jordan Elementary on Overland Road in Boise.

If you are interested in learning more please let me know and I'll get you Nancy's email.  You can also get more information at http://itag-sage.org/Page.html