We all have our moments.

Briarlake Elementary School Welcome to Curriculum Night 2014! Discovery Instructors: Ms. Melissa McMillan Ms. Tanya Fields Moving Students Forward in the 21 st Century

What is Discovery? Discovery is the name given to the gifted program at the elementary level in the Dekalb County School District. Discovery falls under the umbrella of Exceptional Education and is funded by the state. Discovery is taught by a certified Teacher of the Gifted for a minimum of 225 minutes per week.

Why should we look after our gifted children? This statement by the National Association for Gifted Children answers this nicely. "Each person has the right to learn and to be provided challenges for learning at the most appropriate level where growth proceeds most effectively.....Providing for our finest minds allows both individual and societal needs to be met." Let's work together to foster our talented youth!

Gifted Program Goals To bring gifted children together to experience a variety of challenging activities. To support teachers in the area of educating gifted children. To educate and support parents of the gifted.

Gifted Delivery Resource Model - Students are served outside of the regular education classroom for a minimum of 225 minutes per week by a certified Teacher of the Gifted. During this time, students experience interdisciplinary enrichment or extension activities.

Gifted Curriculum Georgia Performance Standards Common Core Standards Each interdisciplinary unit correlates to the Georgia Performance Standards and/or the Common Core Standards for that grade level, and possibly, the next grade level.

Enrichment Units Grade LevelUnits 1 st Pastabilities! Noodling Around the Italian Culture 2 nd Science Matters, Animal Life Cycles/Mealworms, Money, Information Please 3 rd Interdependence, Traveling Through the Nifty Fifty, Pele’s Peak/Volcanoes 4 th Go With the Flow, Ancient Egypt, Invention Convention 5 th Claymation/Technology Fair, Science Fair, Human Body

Curriculum Extras Academic Competitions *Social Studies Fair (5 th Grade) *Academic Bowl (5 th Grade) * Science Fair (5 th Grade) * Geography Bee (4 th /5 th Grade) *Spelling Bee (4 th /5 th Grade) *Essay/Poetry/Art Contests (all grades) *Science Olympiad (3 rd -5 th Grade) *Math Tournament (3 rd -5 th Grade) *Technology Fair *Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl (4 th /5 th Grade)

21 st Century Skills Inventive Thinking -Self-Direction -Curiosity -Risk Taking -Higher Order Thinking and Sound Reasoning Effective Communication -Teaming and Collaborating -Interpersonal Skills -Personal Responsibility -Social and Civic Responsibility -Interactive Communication

21 st Century Skills High Productivity -Prioritizing, Planning, and Managing for Results -Effective Use of Real- World Tools -Ability to Produce Relevant, High Quality Products

Grading System = Pass 69-0 = Fail Conduct S, N or U Grade Category Weights 0% Pre-Assessments 25% Assessment During the Learning 45% Guided, Independent or Group Practice 30% Summative Assessments

Continuation Policy Change If students do not maintain an 80% average in their content area classes or in their Discovery class, they will be placed on probation in Discovery, and will have the next semester to improve their grade. If they have not raised their grade by the end of that semester, they will not attend Discovery classes until their progress report reflects that their grades meet the minimum 80% requirement.

Classroom Management System Discovery Expectations for We agree to BE SAFE. We agree to BE RESPECTFUL. We agree to BE RESPONSIBLE.

Classroom Management System Rewards The last Friday of each month is Choice Day. Students who have had an action plan, phone call home for behavior, or a visit to the office for that month, may not participate in Choice Day. Consequences 1.Verbal warning 2.Time Out (in class) 3.Time Out/Action Plan 4.Phone call home 5.Office visit

Discovery Schedule TimeClass 8:00-8:455 th Grade- Alvan 8:50-9:351 st Grade 10:30-11:154 th Grade- Russo 11:15-12:002 nd Grade 12:35-1:203rd Grade 1:20-2:105 th Grade- Francis 1:25 – 2:104 th Grade – Spencer – with Ms. Fields

Useful Websites This is the Dekalb County School System web page for gifted. Georgia Association for Gifted Childrenwww.gagc.org National Association for Gifted Childrenwww.nagc.org Ms. McMillan’s personal web pagehttp://fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us/~melissa_a_mcmillan/ Ms. Fields’ personal web page

Questions and Answers