Whiteville Primary School - Grades PreK - 2nd
Talent Development Program
Daily intervention/enrichment time
STEM Lab
Computer Lab
Young children grow and develop at different rates cognitively, physically, and socially. Some children enter school ready for tasks which require concentration and academic skill, while others enter school at a much lower readiness level. It is sometimes difficult to determine in the early years of school those students who are truly gifted.
However, it is possible to recognize at a young age, those children who consistently reach the academic benchmarks sooner than their peers, and who, at this time in their cognitive and academic development, need educational experiences which go beyond those normally offered in primary classrooms.
Though the students are not formally identified gifted, the program recognizes and nurtures young children who demonstrate the potential for exceptional academic performance in kindergarten, first and second grades.
Goals:
To recognize and develop the talent and academic gifts of young students K-2 from all cultural groups and across all economic strata who have the potential to perform at substantially high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment.
To provide challenging instructional activities in math, reading, writing, problem-solving, and critical/creative thinking to students in K-2 grades who demonstrate gifted potential.
Activities
The program develops talent in young students through the following:
Independent study on topics of interest to the student
Creative problem-solving exercises
Accelerated math assignments
Accelerated reading, writing assignment
Critical/creative thinking skill-building activities
Staff
The regular classroom teachers and the district AIG team work cooperatively to provide activities designed to challenge young scholars and to recognize potential academic strengths.
Methods
In searching for potentially gifted students, the classroom teacher works with and observes their student's performance and gifted traits. Teachers partner with other classroom teachers through classroom observations, discussions, and instructional activities with the students to identify students with gifted potential. The classroom teacher shares with school and/or district AIG personnel the students’ progress in the general curriculum and performance on various K-2 assessments.
After observing a class and reviewing assessment information, the school team and/or AIG teacher will choose some students with whom to work in a small group for enrichment activities.
The team constantly examines and re-examines the students, watching carefully for the manifestation of gifted behaviors and the students’ need for differentiated instruction. All teachers take care to include minority, ESL, economically disadvantaged, and culturally different students.