Gifted Gazette Olive Chapel Elementary
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  • 2020-2021
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  • Contact Us
  • Meet Your AIG Teachers
  • Schedules
  • Meeting Dates and Times
  • Resources for Parents & Students
  • Wish List
  • Nomination and Testing Windows
  • FAQs and AIG Identification Process
  • AIG Documents
  • 3rd Grade Explorers
  • Resources for Teachers
  • Characteristics of the Gifted
  • Grade Level Curriculum Resources

What are we working on during AIG DIRECT SERVICE TIME? 
​2020 - 2021

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The 4Cs
A daily focus for all AIG students at Olive Chapel is the use of the 4Cs to develop unique student created products and dynamic classroom experiences. The 4Cs are an integral part of every lesson and activity at OCE. The 4Cs include Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Creativity. The 4Cs are in many ways the embodiment of what we all need to be successful in school, at work, and as citizens in our communities. They are the solid foundation of good leadership and success in a global society. You can support your student in their own personal development of the 4Cs at home by talking with them about how they are using them each day. And how you use them as an adult at work and at home to be more successful.

Google Classroom
This year we will continue to utilize Google Classroom to enhance and transform our AIG classroom experiences.  Google Classroom allows us to collaborate, create, communicate, and use our critical thinking skills more effectively.  Students are able to use the devices in the classroom.  We will work together each day on how to effectively use Google Classroom and how to be appropriate when online. Students will work on all Google Classroom assignments at school.  If they have time, they are free to work on them at home as well.  But, this is never required.  
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Service Delivery

The WCPSS AIG Program provides differentiated educational services that extend and enrich the Common Core State Standards by offering instructional and curriculum modifications that promote student engagement through challenging cognitive tasks designed to integrate and develop critical and creative thinking skills in the student's identified area(s) of giftedness. The regular education teachers and the AIG teacher work collaboratively to provide challenging, rigorous and relevant curriculum and instruction to accommodate a range of academic, intellectual, social and emotional needs of gifted learners. Curriculum connections are emphasized through overarching concepts, issues and themes. Differentiated curriculum and instruction in English/Language Arts (ELA) focuses on literacy including advanced content in reading, writing, listening, speaking and thinking. Differentiated curriculum and instruction in Mathematics focuses on advanced content in real-world, multi-step higher level thinking problems.

All AIG students are served according to their Differentiated Education Plan (DEP).  Service delivery can include:
  • small group lessons (small pull out sessions directly taught by the AIG teacher in another classroom)
  • collaborative teaching (AIG teacher pushes into the gen. ed. classroom during the instructional block and supports the AIG students and teacher ) 
  • consultation/collaboration between the AIG teacher and general education teachers.  
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Curriculum Standards
Click the link above to access the curriculum standards for each grade and other grade level curriculum resources.



AIG Topics By Quarter
*AIG builds learning opportunities around the grade level standards*


Skills we are always working on improving:
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problem solving      *critical thinking      *working in team      *making real world connections      *applying our learning to real life situations
*developing and using responsible digital citizenship skills                         
*explaining our thinking using writing skills and verbal communication skills.
*creating unique products to demonstrate our learning                           *being self reflective about things we did well and things we can do better
*developing skills to participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a literary and mathematical community 

4th Grade AIG    


                               
4th Grade ELA (Reading & Writing) 
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1st Quarter
Poetry, Poets, and Becoming Writers
Students will dig deep into poems from the book "UnBEElievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings" by Douglas Florian.  Students will read and analyze different poems to determine the themes and to identify the unique characteristics of poetry.   Students will also analyze word/phrase choice and punctuation use to determine what impact these additions have on the poems for readers.  This work will lead them to summarizing the poems by creating visual summaries and written summaries. (*We have been using paper and pencil for our visual and written summaries to allow students to explore their creative side.  Using pencils, crayons, and colored pencils is a great opportunity for their creative minds!  It has also allowed us an opportunity to spend less time "on screen" with tech applications.)  And, students will share their work with their students using complete sentences and respond to any questions their teammates may have about their ideas.  
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Throughout all of this work students will be focusing on communicating clearly with their peers.  We will utilize the chat box in Google Meet as a place to share their thinking using complete sentences.  They will focus on sharing their own ideas and reading the ideas their teammates share.  Students will then have the opportunity to share their thinking out loud and respond to their teammates verbally.
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At Home Enrichment Connection:
During quarter 1 students would benefit from reading the book "Moo" by Sharon Creech with someone at home.  This book follows the journey of a family as they move from the city to rural Maine.  A shared read aloud with an adult at home can be a powerful experience for our AIG students.

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2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter
Time for Kids Project 
This quarter students will become journalists and create their very own Time for Kid magazine.  Students will research, write, edit, and publish a mini Time for Kids magazine.  Using current TFK articles for inspiration students will get the opportunity to choose their topics and the features types they want to include.  For example, they could write an informational piece on a notable scientist.  Or, they could create a bar graph about a science topic they are learning about in class.  Or, they could write a book review about a new children's book they just recently read.  Their target audience for their magazine is other 4th graders. 
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4th Quarter

                                          4th Grade Mathematics
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1st Quarter
Surveys, Data, & Graphing
Students will first dig into different graphs and engage in discussions about their data and the information we can learn from them.  During this time students will focus on a few guiding questions -
1.) What do you notice about the graph? 
2.) What are some data takeaways? 
3.) Who might have gathered this data and created the graph? And, why?
4.) How might a reader use the information the graph? 
​5.) Why did the creator of the graph choose this graphing format (bar, line, picto, tally, etc...) to display the data?  Would you have done it differently?
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Students will then create and write their own survey questions.  Their survey questions will be written to specifically yield categorical and numerical data.  Students will engage in discussions with each other about their questions and explain (with detailed examples) how each will yield a specific type of data.  Students will then explore and explain specifically who might ask their questions and why they may need to include them in a possible survey.

Throughout all of this work students will be focusing on communicating clearly with their peers.  We will utilize the chat box in Google Meet as a place to share their thinking using complete sentences.  They will focus on sharing their own ideas and reading the ideas their teammates share.  Students will then have the opportunity to share their thinking out loud and respond to their teammates verbally.
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2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

Digital Math Escape
This quarter students will be creating their own digital math escape using Google Forms, logic branching, and Google Drawings.  Students will create and write at least 3 different math tasks to include in their escape.  The focus will be on our area and perimeter math standards.  For each task students will also create an Oops! review page for the solvers who might not be able to solve their math task.  Their Oops! review page will be created using Google Drawing and should be a visual review of the math concepts from the task.
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4th Quarter



5th Grade AIG 


                                     5th Grade ELA (Reading & Writing) 
1st Quarter

Students will be learning about the life and work of Cesar Chavez.  Students will be creating their own Google slide set that details Cesar's life and his accomplishments as a labor leader.  We will focus on creating high quality slides to share with their peers and teachers.  Students will engage in discussions about the best ways to ensure their slide sets are focused on being a quality end product.  They will make connections between what they learn about him and what they are learning while reading Esperanza Rising.

​Throughout all of this work students will be focusing on communicating clearly with their peers.  We will utilize the chat box in Google Meet as a place to share their thinking using complete sentences.  They will focus on sharing their own ideas and reading the ideas their teammates share.  Students will then have the opportunity to share their thinking out loud and respond to their teammates verbally.


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2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

Learning From Leaders
This quarter students will learn about leaders of social change from the past and the present. 
We will read about and research Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Amanda Gorman, the men from the Greensboro Sit In, Harriet Tubman, and Ruby Bridges.  As a team we will focus our discussions around the following questions: 
  1. How does learning about the lives of others impact our future?
  2. What factors can contribute to an individual’s success in changing society?
  3. If we created an award for these individuals what would it be?  What would that award represent and mean?  What would the design of that award look like?  How is this award related to their life and the work they did/have done for social change? 

After a few weeks of research each student will choose one person they feel has impacted social change to honor.  They will honor that person by creating and designing an award for them.  Students will use Google tools to complete this project.

For example, if you were to honor Susan B. Anthony with an award what would it be and why?  What about Harriet Tubman?  What award could you make up and design that would honor her and her impact on our world?


4th Quarter

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                                           5th Grade Mathematics
1st Quarter
Surveys, Data, & Graphing
Students will first dig into different graphs and engage in discussions about their data and the information we can learn from them.  During this time students will focus on a few guiding questions -
1.) What do you notice about the graph? 
2.) What are some data takeaways? 
3.) Who might have gathered this data and created the graph? And, why?
4.) How might a reader use the information the graph? 
​5.) Why did the creator of the graph choose this graphing format (bar, line, picto, tally, etc...) to display the data?  Would you have done it differently?
​
Students will then create and write their own survey questions.  Their survey questions will be written to specifically yield categorical, numerical, and change over time data.  Students will engage in discussions with each other about their questions and explain (with detailed examples) how each will yield a specific type of data.  Students will then explore and explain specifically who might ask their questions and why they may need to include them in a possible survey.

Throughout all of this work students will be focusing on communicating clearly with their peers.  We will utilize the chat box in Google Meet as a place to share their thinking using complete sentences.  They will focus on sharing their own ideas and reading the ideas their teammates share.  Students will then have the opportunity to share their thinking out loud and respond to their teammates verbally.


2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

Digital Math Escape
This quarter students will be creating their own digital math escape using Google Forms, logic branching, and Google Drawings.  Students will create and write at least 3 different math tasks to include in their escape.  For each task students will also create an Oops! review page for the solvers who might not be able to solve their math task.  Their Oops! review page will be created using Google Drawing and should be a visual review of the math concepts from the task.

4th Quarter
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3RD GRADE EXPLORERs  

 
*In Third grade students are not identified as AIG until LATE MARCH. Until that time, we work with all third grade students and teachers through the Explorers program. CLICK HERE to read a description of the Explorers program for third graders.*


Testing:   Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic there is no AIG testing this school year for any grades. 
  • The county will not be administering the CogAT or Iowa tests to any students during the 2020-2021 school year.  As a result of this the county plans to offer the CogAT and Iowa tests to all 4th graders during the 2021-2022 school year.  This is subject to change depending on how things progress with COVID-19 and the county's plan for learning.

AIG Identification:   Since there is no formal testing during the 2020-2021 school year all eligible students who are referred to the identification process will go through the COVID-19 portfolio process.  
  • The COVID-19 student portfolio is compiled by the classroom teacher and the AIG teachers.  It will take into account relevant graded student work samples and any relevant historical testing data. 
  • There will need to be strong evidence (graded work samples, report card grades, pre and post assessment testing data, Case 21 data, previous EOG/BOG scores, etc...) to support the student’s need for AIG services in order to meet the county created criteria for identification. 
  • Students must have work samples that have been scored a level 4 by the classroom teacher in order to be nominated.​

3rd Grade Teaching timeline

Quarters 1 & 2

​All third grade students participate in whole class and small group Explorers lessons throughout the first two quarters.

AIG teachers attend teacher planning sessions to support third grade teachers in creating and facilitating differentiated activities for our students who demonstrate high capabilities.



 
Quarter 3

AIG teachers work with the third grade teachers to create small enrichment group.  The students are chosen based on multiple data points and their ability to demonstrate higher capabilities than their peers. 

These groups are flexible. 

​These groups are not required.  If a parent does not want their student participating in these groups they should let their classroom teacher know immediately. 

Explorers lessons are created using third grade curriculum standards, district resources from the AIG department, and input from the general education teachers.

​AIG teachers continue to attend
 teacher planning sessions to support third grade teachers in creating and facilitating differentiated activities for our students who demonstrate high capabilities.
​Quarter 4:  

All students that are identified as AIG begin receiving direct services from the AIG teachers. 

Direct AIG service includes 1 45 minutes small group lesson each week - in each identified area.

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AIG teachers continue to attend teacher planning sessions to support third grade teachers in creating and facilitating differentiated activities for our students who demonstrate high capabilities.

                        3rd Grade Mathematics 

1st Quarter


2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter




               3rd Grade ELA (Reading & Writing) 

1st Quarter


2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter




AIG students in action!
Step into the life of an AIG student by viewing the pictures below.  Enjoy!
*Under construction!*

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AIG students love analyzing word analogies!  They work in teams to discover the connections between words by sharing their prior knowledge.  Some of our second graders are able to create their own examples and explain them to the whole group!     
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AIG students work in small groups to see who can conquer the daily SET game on the Wall Street Journal's game page.  It's all about your visual perception - have you tried playing?  Try it! 
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AIG Math students explore shapes using AngLegs!  These hands-on pieces allow them to create many different sized shapes.  After much creation they will write about their shapes using describing words and complete sentences.  
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Congratulations!  A group pulls out a win after conquering the daily SET game on the New York Time's webpage. This win was a mix of visual perception talent and good, clear peer communication.  Kudos to all the teams for their efforts! 
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AIG students explore the connection between addition and subtraction using coins!  This student was able to create her own story problem using math mountains and coins.  When she finished her story she asked to use a calculator to add up all the money she had used.  What a great activity that  used a few different real world skills! 
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  • Home
  • News & Announcements
  • 2020-2021
  • SSA, WGA, EKE
  • The AIG Classroom
  • Contact Us
  • Meet Your AIG Teachers
  • Schedules
  • Meeting Dates and Times
  • Resources for Parents & Students
  • Wish List
  • Nomination and Testing Windows
  • FAQs and AIG Identification Process
  • AIG Documents
  • 3rd Grade Explorers
  • Resources for Teachers
  • Characteristics of the Gifted
  • Grade Level Curriculum Resources