The second grade gifted program is off to a terrific start! The children are enthusiastic learners and are eager to participate. I was highly impressed that they ALL chose to complete their one-week homework assignment overnight! WOW!!!!
Here is an overview of our week...
- Monday: I welcomed the group and gave them a tour of my classroom. We discussed the Todd Traits (responsible, respectful, safe) and how to apply them when in Room 105. We completed a "ME" assignment, where I asked the children to tell me something new about them I didn't already know.
- Tuesday: We discussed giftedness. What does it mean to be gifted? Why are you here? Why do you need to be here? How do you explain to friends why you're a part of the gifted program? I read excerpts from The Gifted Kids' Survival Guide and NAGC's Gifted Childrens' Bill of Rights. We completed a journal assignment as a reading response.
- Wednesday: We began our first unit of the year: LOGIC! Our first unit falls under the critical thinking strand of our program goals. We discussed what critical thinking is and then received our first assignment: Letter Getters! This was an instant hit! The children solved some critical thinking problems from The Adventures of Dot.
- Thursday: We continued our logic unit with....LOGIC LINKS! (Another hit!) Each day I'll introduce another assignment until the children know all that is expected of them in the logic unit. Then they'll have a choice as to how they spend their work time. I told them they are free to choose assignments on their own. My only expectation is that all assignments will be completed at the end of the logic unit.
- Friday: Friday is always game day in the gifted program! We will always play a game that reinforces the unit. Today we played Crosswise -- a fun way to practice critical thinking and LOGIC!
Have a great (long) weekend!
