Talent Development Focus Jay M. Robinson Middle School Jay M. Robinson Middle School, 2013 Welcome, Parents!

To develop and extend the type of learning and thinking that is characteristic of “experts” through advanced content knowledge that is organized around key ideas and principles and applied meaningfully in problem-solving exercises. The Goal of TD Education

What are the characteristics of “gifted” learners? All students may demonstrate gifted behaviors in varying degrees. It is a matter of the complexity, frequency, and intensity of the demonstrated behaviors that determines whether students require differentiated “TD” instruction. Text complexity is the number one indicator of a challenging and rigorous curriculum (not “special projects” done outside the regular classroom setting). CCSS, Appendix A, 2009 The new Common Core State Standards, now adopted by 44 states, aims to not only target “gifted” students, but to target ALL students in all subjects with a challenging and spiraled curriculum

So what do we mean by “text complexity?” Community House Middle School, Sep Text complexity is measured, in large part, by lexiles. A lexile is a quantitative score assigned to a text that reflects such elements as sentence length and construction, word length and frequency, and text cohesion. A lexile often reflects qualitative elements such as meaning, purpose, structure, and language. In order to exit high school reading at this level, students should be exposed to more complex texts throughout the K ‐ 12 years, as indicated in the "stretch text" chart (next slide). © lexile.com, 2010 Where nation is: Where nation needs to be:

So what does this all mean…? All students, most particularly our high-achieving and very capable students, MUST be reading text that is appropriately challenging for them in all subject areas! Teachers ensure that students read texts that are at their lexile, whether through in-class selections from a variety of genres or from their independent reading. (SEM-R) Outside of school, our students need opportunities to read “real-world” texts that are also complex and, preferably, informational in nature (i.e., New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc.).

SEM-R: School-wide enrichment model of reading A model for developing talented readers who enjoy the complexities of literature and understand how to interpret texts. -Mondays & Fridays during our RECHARGE period. (9:35 – 10:05) Our goal: To encourage students to interact with appropriately challenging, high-interest texts. Teacher conferencing is essential to the success of the program!

What does TD look like in middle/high? The Inclusive Model Students are provided with differentiated instruction within the regular classroom setting in a targeted fashion. In some instances, they may be enrolled in courses labeled “Honors.” As students’ “giftedness” becomes more specialized (i.e. math, science, English Language Arts), it is no longer required that they are pulled out of whole classes for specialized instruction. As students are assessed and demonstrate mastery in specific areas, differentiated instruction is provided in those targeted areas on an “as identified” basis. Differentiation is provided in each course through content, process, product, and environmental changes within a given lesson/unit.

Questions? Amy Hillis Jay M. Robinson Middle School, September 2013