Oldham County Schools GATES
ELEMENTARY: CLASSROOM SERVICE OPTIONS
TYPE
DEFINITION
EXAMPLE
Curriculum Compacting
A process that (1) pre-assesses what a
student knows about material to be studied
and what the student still needs to master;
(2) plans for learning what is not known and
excuses the student from what is known;
and, (3) plans for freed up time to be spent
in enriched or accelerated study
Learning Centers
An area in the classroom that contains a
collection of activities or materials designed
to teach, reinforce, or extend a particular
skill
Independent Study
Self-directed study of a selected topic under
the supervision of the teacher
After a pre-assessment is administered, a learning
contract is developed between the student and the
teacher that identifies skills and understanding
that the teacher deems important to the topic of
study (e.g. Civil War). The contract provides
opportunities for student choice regarding some of
what will be learned, working conditions, and
how the information will be applied or expressed.
A student works in a science center on a project to
pair animals with habitats. The student chooses
one final product presentation from writing a
report, creating a habitat diorama, or creating a
PowerPoint presentation.
The student chooses a topic on identifying birds of
Kentucky. He/She reads independently and is
given the opportunity to present the information to
the class in a unique way.
Tiered Assignment
Work is assigned on the same concepts and
skills but to different degrees of complexity
and abstractedness
In a kindergarten/first grade classroom, everyone
is working on addition. Some students may be
working on single digit addition (e.g. 2 + 3) using
manipulatives, some students will be adding
double digit with single digits (e.g. 12 + 4), and
another group may be adding double and triple
digit numbers with regrouping (e.g. 24 + 482).
Instructional (Flexible)
Grouping
Grouping based on the match of the task to
student readiness, interest, or learning level
In math, students are grouped according to preassessment results and groups change with each
unit of study, i.e. the student is with one group for
study of decimals and another for study of
probability.
Go to next page for school and district service options
Page 1
Oldham County Schools GATES
ELEMENTARY: SCHOOL AND DISTRICT SERVICE OPTIONS
TYPE
DEFINITION
EXAMPLE
Online Learning
Independent work studies using online
resources (classes, work assignments,
internet links, etc.)
Acceleration: Subject
Area
Students physically move to a higher grade
level class for instruction in a content area
or receive individualized or cluster group
instruction at a higher grade level in their
classroom
Grade Skipping
Student skips an entire grade level
The student would access the Renzulli Learning
website where the teacher has designed a twoweek independent study project on habitats that
requires the student to complete several
assignment tasks through independent research
online.
A student is demonstrating an understanding of
math concepts and skills two levels or more above
grade level, so the student goes to a higher grade
level or works with a small cluster group in
current grade on advanced, complex math
concepts.
A student in third grade goes to fifth grade the
following school year instead of going to fourth
grade.
Early Exit from Primary
Only three years are necessary to complete
primary school based on the student’s
academic performance and progress toward
the six Learning Goals and the primary exit
expectations outlined in the Kentucky
Program of Studies for primary students.
Student is in primary school for only three years
(instead of four) and enters 4th grade a year early.
703 KAR 4:040 (4)
Cluster Grouping
Specific Counseling
Service
Seminars
A group of four or more identified students
are placed in a heterogeneous (mixed
ability) classroom or in a specific
instructional setting for the purpose of
receiving a differentiated learning
experience that matches the student’s needs,
interest, and ability
Counseling is provided by a counselor or
trained GT teacher who is familiar with the
characteristics and socioemotional needs of
gifted and talented students
Four students who are identified gifted in
mathematics are intentionally placed in the same
classroom so that they can work together on more
complex math concepts.
Topic-specific sessions on advanced content
and higher level processing skills
Students meet with a local business owner to learn
how to start a business in relation to economic
wants and needs.
Page 2
Students meet individually or in small groups with
GT coordinator to discuss grades and the
pressures associated with getting all “A’s”.
Oldham County Schools GATES
ELEMENTARY: SCHOOL AND DISTRICT SERVICE OPTIONS (CONTINUED)
TYPE
DEFINITION
EXAMPLE
Leadership Opportunities
Opportunities to study and assume
leadership roles in class, student
organizations and community activities
Resource Service
Opportunity to participate in a special class
during the school day
Students create activities in the classroom or in
the school to help others or places. Community
example: Student develops a plan to collect
stuffed animals for Home of the Innocents.
Classroom example: Students study traits of great
leaders and apply to projects.
Students attend an in-school art class once a
month.
Collaborative Teaching/
Consultation
Collaborative Teaching: Gifted teacher team
teaches with the regular classroom teacher.
Consultation: Instructional materials and
information are provided to the regular
classroom teacher by the GT coordinator or
resource teacher
Example Collaborative Teaching: Gifted teacher
co-presents and facilitates a discussion on Edgar
Allan Poe’s works with the regular classroom
teacher. Example Consultation: GT coordinator
provides regular classroom teacher with strategies
on tiered assignments for an ongoing social
studies unit on the stock market.
Creativity Opportunities
Opportunities to demonstrate innovative or
creative reasoning, advanced insight and
imagination, and/or solving problems in
unique ways
Students study the need to make schools more
environmentally friendly (green schools) by
gathering information, defining the problem,
locating and appropriately using valid resources,
making decisions about solutions, posing a
solution, communicating the solution to others,
and assessing the solution’s effectiveness.
Extracurricular
Enrichment Opportunities
Differentiated, academically-based
activities that supplement classroom
instruction and are often after school
Students participate on the academic team.
Page 3