Elementary Enrichment Program Update Presentation to the Board of Education

Kerin Slattery, Enrichment Teacher Todd Winch, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction

• One full time enrichment teaching position is shared between the three elementary schools using a 6 week rotation in each building throughout the year. Two Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) units are explored in each building.

• Push-in school-wide enrichment for grades 4-5.

• Brown Bag Lunch Program: Opportunities for lunch time enrichment workshops for students in grades 4 & 5.

• Units support critical 21st Century Skills & Common Core standards.

Enrichment Program Overview

Educational Basis for SEM

• SEM applies ideas of gifted education to a systematic plan for total school improvement. Based on the belief that "a rising tide lifts all ships," the goal is to increase challenge levels for all students and to promote an atmosphere of excellence and creativity.

• The model should be viewed as an umbrella under which many different types of enrichment and services are made available to all students.

• The centerpiece of the model is the development of differentiated learning experiences that take into consideration each student's abilities, interests, learning styles, and preferred styles of expression.

Joseph Renzulli, University of Connecticut, National Research Center on Gifted &Talented

Schoolwide Enrichment Lessons

Goals:

• Provide students the opportunity to explore different areas of the curriculum and expose them to additional learning styles.

• To develop general skills in creative thinking, problem solving, and critical thinking.

• To develop affective processes such as sensing, appreciating, and valuing.

• Provide additional support for Common Core Standards.

Lunch 'n' Learn Workshops

• All students in grades 4 and 5 are offered the opportunity to participate in the Lunch 'n' Learn program.

• Workshops conducted four to five consecutive days for each six week session.

• Attendance is voluntary. Students can self-select into these workshops.

• Workshops are hands on opportunities for students to explore enriched areas of the curriculum.

Lunch 'n' Learn Workshops

• An array of subjects are covered throughout the year.

• Activities are designed to meet the students’ interests and stimulate their curiosity.

Goal

Provide groups of students who share common interests the opportunity to come together to explore new areas of interest and pursue their

talents.

Enrichment Topics

Schoolwide Enrichment Units:

Session 1-Grade 4: Native Americans and the Living Environment. Session 1-Grade 5: Our Earth: An In-depth study of Geography and Geology. Session 2-Grade 4: History Comes Alive: Colonial America Leads into the American Revolution. Session 2-Grade 5: The Amazing Race: Studies of the Western Hemisphere through the 5 Themes of Geography.

Note: All students in Grades 4 and 5 participate.

Lunch 'n' Learn Workshops (Session 1)

Grade 4:

Iroquois Storytelling, Native American Picture Writing, Powwow Celebrations, The Mighty Earthworm, Forest Ecology

Grade 5:

Amazing Atlas, Mapmakers Unite!, Geo-Games, Go Green!, I Can Invent…

Grade 4:

Life in a Colonial Classroom, The World of Secret Codes, The Art and Math of Quilting, Colonial Games and Crafts, Join the Maker Movement

Grade 5:

“Sustainable Seas” Art Contest, Brainpop!, Money, Money, Money!, New Atlantis, Culture of the Western Hemisphere

Lunch 'n' Learn Workshops (Session 2)

Student Video

Moving Forward

• Collect feedback from teachers, parents and students.

• Review units from this year and revise/refine for next year.

QUESTIONS?