Gifted and Talented/Titan Hill Talents Program (TAG)
by Connie Simons and Kristi McMullen
August 03, 2006
Kristi McMullen, K-3 Talents Program Facilitator
Connie Simons, 4-8 Talents Program Facilitator
The Titan Hill Talents Program provides extended learning opportunities for Titan Hill students at three levels:
Inclusive (open to all students, interest-based)
Selective (try-outs, performance)
Highly Selective (performance, invitation only)
INCLUSIVE PROGRAMMING
3rd Grade In-Class Lessons
The Talents Program facilitator teaches whole-class lessons which promote higher level thinking within the third grade classrooms.
Chess Club
4th and 5th grade Chess Club meets weekly over the lunch hour November through March and includes a tournament. Beginning and experienced players are welcome.
Invention Convention
3rd through 5th grade students have the opportunity
to solve a problem by creating an invention. Information is
distributed in December. Students work independently outside of
school. Inventions, inventor's logs, and display boards are
exhibited in competition in February
Destination Imagination
Small teams of students solve complex problems in unique ways. Teams practice and compete outside of school. Parental involvement and leadership is required. A parent information night is held in October.
Woodmen Oration Contest
Interested 5th grade students prepare and present a speech about a given topic. Students receive information in early February. Weekly practices and the speech contest at the end of March are held during school hours.
SELECTIVE PROGRAMMING/ACADEMIC TEAMS
Belin-Blank Exceptional Talent Search
4th and 5th grade students who score at or above the 95th percentile on subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills receive information inviting them to take a standardized test that compares their academic skill levels to those of students at a higher grade level. Information packets are sent home with eligible students in September. The Saturday morning test is taken at an assigned Council Bluffs location.
Word Power Challenge
The National Word Power Challenge, for grades 4 and 5, gives students the opportunity to match their vocabulary skills against those of their peers. Written practice and Round One tests are given in the classrooms. The high scorers in each classroom participate in a Round Two test, where a winner at each grade level is determined. The grade level winner takes a Round Three test which is submitted to Word Power headquarters. Students who perform well on this test are invited participate in the state level competition.
Math League
Math League is offered for students with strengths in comprehension, reasoning, and computation. Interested students try out in October by taking a practice test consisting of six difficult word problems. Weekly practices and competitions are held during the school day November through March.
Geography Challenge
The Geography Challenge is one national test given in April. Participating students are selected through tryouts and teacher nomination. Questions are taken from topics generally taught in intermediate level classrooms across the country.
HIGHLY SELECTIVE
Highly selective programming addresses areas of exceptional academic strength. Students whose performance on district standardized measures indicates that they are not at the top of the grade level, but well beyond it, are invited to participate. Sessions with the Talents Program facilitators have a mathematical and linguistic base, giving students the opportunity to interact with content beyond that which is normally available in the classroom. Differentiated learning plans may be written.
Acceleration/Grade-Skipping
A student, parent, or teacher may request a meeting to consider acceleration. Step one is a "consideration" meeting. Parents, teachers, student, building principal, and program facilitators meet to share information and review current programming and acceleration procedures. When the group decides that acceleration should be given serious consideration, the Iowa Acceleration Scale process is initiated. A parental signature is required before the individualized testing required in the process begins.
