The Middle School
Gifted & Talented Education
Program
Spring Parent Orientation
__________
_____ Middle School G/T Resource Teacher
Melissa Shindel- Principal
Philip Herdman-
CMS GT Resource Teacher
Donna Elliott- Math ITL

•
Overview of Middle
School G/T Education
Program
• Selection/Placement
Procedures
• Questions

The Gifted and Talented
Education Program seeks to recognize and develop talents in advanced-level learners while supporting the
Clarksville vision of career and college readiness.

• Accelerate the achievement and performance levels of students who participate in G/T
Education Program offerings
• Increase successful participation of underrepresented populations of students in G/T
Education Program offerings
•
Build a community of G/T Education Program advocates.

Middle School G/T Education
Program Components: An
Overview
• The School-wide Enrichment
Program
• G/T Classes and Curricular
Extensions
• Extended Day/Year Programs

III
II
I
Exploratory
Experiences
G/T Instructional
Seminars
G/T Classes and
Curricular Extensions
Student as Consumer
G/T Research
Investigations
&
Creative
Productions
Student as Producer

II
• Why?
To work with G/T Resource Teacher to extend student interests and develop advancedlevel skills
• Who?
Interested students who are committed to indepth study
• How?
Submit an interest form.
•
What?
Take a look at some examples…

Student led and produced daily television show that simulates a professional broadcast

A Book Club organized and led by advanced-level readers who enjoy participating in thoughtprovoking literary discussions
Students meet month to discuss books.

2011-2012 Book Club List
Half Brother
Out of My Mind
Incarceron
Bystander
One Crazy Summer
Dirt Road Home
A Long Walk to Water
Life as We Knew It
County-wide discussions take place Wednesday’s during the year. These are optional events.

Students engage in meaningful, persuasive discourse about contemporary issues, thereby strengthening their leadership, critical thinking, and presentation skills.

Sample Debate Video

•
Newspaper
•
Programming
•
Advanced Johns Hopkins APL Programming
•
Green School
•
Math Olympiad
•
Film
•
Engineering
•
Memory Book
•
MESA
• Writer’s Guild

III
TYPE III: Research
Investigations & Creative
Productions
• Why?
To emulate research tools and methodologies of professionals by investigating real world problems presenting to authentic audiences and
•
Who?
Available to any interested student
•
What?
Publication of book, scientific discovery, historical reenactment, instigation of legislation, original musical/dramatic production…

1.
Complete an interest form.
2. Participate in an interview with the G/T Resource
Teacher
.

• Mathematics
• English
• Social Studies
• Science

An accelerated and enriched curriculum, including differentiated objectives, where students explore complex literary works and create compositions of advanced style, tone, and form.
6th: Anne Frank , The Sword and the Stone , Watership Down
7th: Antigone, an Edgar Allan Poe collection, Lupita Manana
8th: Frankenstein , The Odyssey , The Red Badge of Courage

G/T Writers Guild
The G/T Writers Guild, set in a
Writers Wo rkshop format, provides instruction by ex posing highly a ble students to exemplary techniques and tools and offers opportunities for talented, motivated writers to excel and to develop their unique voices.
Throughout the workshop, students maintain a portfolio of polished work to be submitted for publication.

An enriched and accelerated curriculum, including differentiated objectives, where students explore civic and cultural principles and engage in inquiries that focus on essential, related questions.
• 6 – G/T Geography and World Cultures
• 7 – G/T Geography and World Cultures
• 8 – G/T U.S. History through the Reconstruction

A national competition where students work individually or in groups to conduct historical research on an annual theme.
▫ Develop a thesis from the analysis of primary and secondary resources.
▫ Receive constructive feedback from history and social studies professionals.
G/T Social
Studies
Extension

An enriched and accelerated curriculum, including differentiated objectives, where students explore scientific principles and engage in ongoing original scientific research using an experimental design.
• Science 6 G/T (Earth & Space Science focus)
•
Science 7 G/T (Biological focus)
• Science 8 G/T (Physics & Chemistry focus)

An accelerated and enriched sequence that follows a curriculum at least two years above the general education curriculum.
• 6 - Pre-Algebra G/T
• 7 – Algebra I/Data Analysis G/T
• 8 - Geometry G/T

Middle School Math Common Core
6th- PreAlgebra GT/CC 8 Blend next year with transition to the Common Core
For all years after that 6 th grade will be PreAlgebra which is essentially Common Core 8 curriculum
It will be expected with the change to the common core that students will need 4 years of high school math
Common Core requires students develop a deep conceptual understanding of math rather than a coverage of content

High School Math Sequence with
Common Core

Selection and Placement
Procedures for G/T Classes
• Nomination
▫ by parent, teacher, or student
▫ based upon achievement test scores or student performance
• Testing ( SCAT Ability Testing - 9th grade norms )
•
Placement Review Procedures - multiple criteria examined

GT Website: www.hcpss.org/gt
Parent Academy Meetings
National Association for Gifted Children www.nagc.org
National Research Center on Gifted and
Talented: www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt.html