November-December 2014 pg. 1

OCSD5 Advanced Academics 394 Brookdale Drive

Orangeburg, SC 29115

Gifted

OCSD5 Advanced Academics Newsletter Volume 1, Fall Issue 3

Information from and for the Gifted & Talented Faculty, Students, and Parents

Phone: (803) 534-5982

Fax: (803) 533-6472

Nation

Organization Skills

Parents often ask how they can help their child develop organizational and self­regulation skills. If disorganization is contributing to your child's achievement problems, try to think about the possible causes.

Is he bored or too challenged?

Is there a learning issue?

Is he just not interested in school or cleaning his room?

Is he overwhelmed because of perfectionism?

Is your child troubled by his lack of organization? How your child views the situation will make a difference in how you can best approach a solution. In any case, it's going to take time and patience to unravel the problem and address it. Here are some ideas to try:

Sit down with your child and scan some study guides and strategies to see if he or she thinks any are worthy of a try,

Have your child choose one to implement for a few days (or a week, if older), and

Keep a chart to rate the different options based on their success and general enjoyment. The more strategies your child has, the more successful he will be in handling different types of challenges. Involving your child in this experiment will work with his natural curiosity and encourage self­motivation. More Resources

Read Connecting for High Potential’s, “This Child is a Classic ‘Absent­minded Professor.’”

Dr. Richard Shade and Patti Garrett have suggestions on how to encourage your child to develop her own problem solving strategies, in “Teach Your Child to Think and Make Parenting Fun Again” from Parenting for High Potential.

Explore the possibility that your child might have learning disabilities that make it hard for her to stay organized.

The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, developed these helpful study guides. Directory Designed for older students (but modifiable for younger children), you'll find lots of ideas to try, including a self­quiz from the Virginia Tech University on "Where does time go?”

from the National Association for Gifted Children http://tinyurl.com/pwus8hq

November-December 2014 pg. 2

November

7-21 Krispy Kreme Fundraiser (Marshall)

14 Deposit Due for Camp Greenville Trip

(Marshall) Final Day is the 25th

21 Diamond Del’s Gem Mining

(Grades 1 and 3)

26-28 Thanksgiving Break

Odyssey of the Mind Sessions are held Mondays from 3:30 to 5:30 PM (Clark)

December

3 New York Payment #2 Due (Clark)

15 THINK Strategy Club Sessions (K-2)

19 Private viewing of Annie (K-8)

Odyssey of the Mind Sessions are held Mondays from 3:30 to 5:30 PM (Clark)

H.O.T. Strategy: Stretch It! Article: Subtitle of

Third Article This is a great practice that extends student understanding by

“rewarding right answers with more questions” (Lemov, 2010).

It pushes students to demonstrate and apply knowledge in new

ways. This practice has two primary benefits. First, teachers can

ensure that student responses are more reliable. Second, the

technique motivates students to apply knowledge in new

situations, make real world connections, and/or engage with

questions that are more challenging.

Ask a check for understanding question.

Solicit a response from a specific student or from the whole class.

Once the correct answer has been shared, stretch it by choosing one of the following approaches that best suits the content or student needs:

Ask how or why: Provide students opportunities to explain

their thinking process. (How did you get that? Can you

elaborate?) Ask for another way to answer: Ensure students

know multiple ways to answer a question. (Is there a simpler

way? Can you give me another alternate answer?) Ask for a better word: Ask students to use new words, re-

phrase the answer using more rigorous vocabulary or to use

more specific descriptions. (Can you answer with a different

word? How about using one of our vocabulary words?) Ask for evidence: Train students to defend their conclusions

and support opinions. Teachers do not have to agree, just ask

for the proof. (So you said the character was angry. What does

angry mean to you?) Ask students to integrate a related skill: Try asking students to

integrate a skill recently mastered. (How can you put that in

the past tense?) Ask students to apply the same skill in a new setting: Ask

students to apply the same skill in a new or more challenging

situation. (If you were that character, what would you do? If we

could move this character to a different setting, what would

happen?). Shelby County Schools

http://www.scsk12.org/uf/TalentManagement/vlp/

GT District Datebook

VOLUNTEER

OPPORTUNITIES

PAAL will begin its THINK

Strategies Club in December.

If you signed up during our

initial Parent Meeting to

volunteer for the program,

you can expect to see a flyer

coming home with your child

soon. Remember to have your

OCSD 5 Volunteer Credit

Card punched at the end of

the event.

Questions? Mrs. Isaac or Mrs. Stephenson

at 534-5982

November-December 2014 pg. 3

The first grade GT classes have been working hard

learning about government. To bring our topics to

life, we asked Orangeburg

County probate judge,

Mrs. Glover to come and

present to the class.

We learned what it takes

to become a judge and

how we can reach our

personal career goals. Having the students learn

first-hand what it takes to be a judge has been

beneficial to our

students! When they are

considering future

careers, they can look

back and connect the

careers with a person.

The 2nd grade PAALs are learning about weather and

weather conditions in our area. We are especially

focusing on the

different types of

weather that occur in

different seasons. We

recently conducted an

experiment on clouds

and precipitation. We

learned how the amount of water in the clouds

determines when it will rain. We’ve also received

some first-hand

knowledge of severe

weather with a recent

tornado watch when the

weather was thunderous!

Team Contributor Mrs. Jennifer Fanning

Brookdale

P.A

.A.L

.

November-December 2014 pg. 4

Team Contributor

Mrs. Ashley Thomas

MARSHALL

EXPLORERS

Making Social Studies Curriculum…Edible?

In Mrs. Brown-Johnson’s social studies classes, as a

conclusion to their study of the Native American tribes,

students were able to create their own edible teepees.

Students had a ball using cupcakes, ice cream cones,

frosting, pretzels, and various candies to make these

delicious treats.

November-December 2014 pg. 5

Solidifying Classroom Content: Field Experiences in October

October was an eventful month for the Gifted and Talented students and teachers! We

were fortunate enough to enjoy two field trips; one to see the Scientific Circus in Sumter, and

the other to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in the

Summerville Movie Theater.

The Scientific Circus made science come alive by providing entertainment while still

teaching important science content that fit in with our current science standards. The

students enjoyed laughing and answering questions throughout the show!

Before students travelled to Summerville to watch Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No

Good, Very Bad Day, students interacted with the book in ELA by reading and writing about

the text. The students also enjoyed a good laugh throughout the movie. Students then were

challenged by our media specialist Mrs. Shuler to compare and contrast the book and

movie and submit the responses to her to earn

library bucks.

Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: Oratory

Competition at Marshall

Marshall held their second annual Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition on Friday,

November 14 at 9 AM. We are proud of our

Gifted and Talented participants in the

competition—Kylah Pruitt-Moore, Mary Bonner

(third place), and Marshall’s winner, Jasmine

Williams, who will go on to compete in District

Competition on January 29. Congrats to all of

our participants and best wishes to Jasmine

In January!

Here is Mrs. Thomas’ class waiting to

get on the bus for the Marshall Goes to

the Movies experience!

November-December 2014 pg. 6

Brain Press

The Ball How can you throw a ball as hard as you can and have it come back to you, even

if it doesn't bounce off anything? There is nothing attached to it, and no one

else catches or throws it back to you.

Trains A passenger train leaves New York for Boston traveling at the speed of 80

km/hr. In half an hour a freight train leaves Boston for New York traveling at

the speed of 60 km/hr.

Which train will be further from New York when they meet?

(Kids might know the answer faster than the adults :-)

The Riddle of the Sphinx Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon,

and three legs in the evening?

REBUS PUZZLES

______________________ _____________________ ___________________

Answers to this week’s Brain Press are located on your school’s website. Simply click on the Gifted & Talented link.