rd
During the 2014-2015 school year, 3 rd grade Challenge students at Springdale Park Elementary School will be engaged in a variety of units to support the Gifted Program Standards, the Common Core State
Standards, and the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). Students will complete the following units/activities this year:
 Extreme Experimentation: In this unit, the students will learn about the scientific method and how to use it while trying to answer a problem question. Under the umbrella of the scientific method, the students will participate in science experiments to deepen their understanding of those science GPS and to enhance their abilities to think critically and effectively communicate scientific ideas. Some of the experiments the students will complete are: The Soil Survivor,
Fast Fizz Fun, Fossils Found, Candy Land acid tests, and other hands-on experiments.
 Create a Country: This unit will allow students to test their research skills, their writing skills, and their critical thinking skills to give them an opportunity to do what we all would like to do: rule our own country. The students will research how other countries have been created throughout history and go through a step-by-step process to create all of the necessary materials needed to create their own country.
 Critical Thinking Activities/Problem Solving: Students worked through solving multiple step word problems using the Math Notes graphic organizer and the 8 Mathematical Principles.
th
During the 2014-2015 school year, 4 th grade Challenge students at Springdale Park Elementary School will be engaged in a variety of units to support the Common Core State Standards, the Georgia Performance
Standards (GPS), and the Gifted Program Standards. Students completed the following units this year:
 Extreme Experimentation: In this unit, the students learned about the scientific method and how to use it while trying to answer a problem question. Under the umbrella of the scientific method, the students participated in science experiments to deepen their understanding of those science GPS and to enhance their abilities to think critically and effectively communicate scientific ideas. Some of the experiments the students will complete are: Stargazers, Motion and Memory, robotics, food chain/life cycles, and a Gold Rush science/social studies task rotation.
 All Systems GO!: This science unit uses the science of meteorology as the vehicle to present the concept of systems. Throughout All Systems Go!, students meet with experts and begin to work and think like scientists as they participate in inquiry lessons to uncover the concepts of cause and effect, relationships, balance, and interdependence. While students gain new understandings about the marvelous systems that allow Earth to sustain human life, they will learn about the tools that meteorologists use, they will create the tools, and use them to take measurements and predict the weather. Additionally, students will discover how the tilt of the
Earth, its distance from the sun, the process of convection, and the rotation and revolution of the earth all work together to make the weather we experience every day. Weather, whether

we like it or not, is what makes life possible on planet Earth. The ability to predict weather can help us protect ourselves and be better stewards of our planet.
 Critical Thinking Activities/Problem Solving: Students worked through solving multiple step word problems using the Math Notes graphic organizer and the 8 Mathematical Principles.
th
During the 2014-2015 school year, 5 th grade Challenge students at Springdale Park Elementary School will be engaged in a variety of units to support the Common Core State Standards, the Georgia Performance
Standards (GPS), and the Gifted Program Standards. Students completed the following units this year:
 Hands On/Minds On Science Exploration: In this unit, the students will learn about the scientific method and how to use it while trying to answer a problem question. Under the umbrella of the scientific method, the students will participate in science experiments to deepen their understanding of those science GPS and to enhance their abilities to think critically and effectively communicate scientific ideas. Some of the experiments the students will complete are: Intro to the Scientific Method: Popcorn Mania, Candy Acid tests, Bohr element models, Missing Elements folder, Bouncing Glue Balls, Polymer Scavenger Hunt, plant growth stations, seismology, Forensics, and Strawberry DNA extraction.
 Critical Thinking Activities/Problem Solving: Students work through solving multiple step word problems using the Math Notes graphic organizer and the 8 Mathematical Principles.
 Inventions - Students will explore all aspects of the invention process culminating in an
Invention Convention in which students will participate in the creative process. Students will be challenged to create a viable, workable invention which will be shared with others. Students will document their process the same as ‘real’ inventors who must to comply with legal standards. Students will learn the characteristics common to inventors and the invention process, the origins of inventions, how one invention leads to another, and how mistakes sometimes lead to successful inventions. Further, students will consider that some inventions have ethical, social, and or moral considerations. Students will utilize advanced research, communication, and critical thinking skills throughout the unit.