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New to GT and self-contained...

by A lot to learn... fast!

Aug 4, 2011

I will be teaching fourth grade GT and it will be self contained. I've taught all subjects except for math, so I'm feeling pretty confident.

Do you have any tips as to how to run/organize my classroom this year as opposed to past years? Are there graphic organizers, word walls, graphics you post in your room that might be helpful in mine?

Any tips you have for me would be most welcome.

I just finished my 30 hours GT Training and learned so many cool strategies and ideas. Anything else you can share would be helpful as well!

Many thanks!

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GTteacher1228 I'm not sure what is included in your 30hours, but in my opinion, the biggest difference between GT and reg ed is the specific social emotional needs of identified students. Not that other students don't have important needs, but there are some that more prevalent to GT (perfectionism, underachievement, asynchronistic development etc). As far as yo...See MoreI'm not sure what is included in your 30hours, but in my opinion, the biggest difference between GT and reg ed is the specific social emotional needs of identified students. Not that other students don't have important needs, but there are some that more prevalent to GT (perfectionism, underachievement, asynchronistic development etc). As far as your classroom: Many of same elements used in other classrooms like word walls, graphic organizers are helpful for GT students as well - they still need strategies for vocab, spelling, study skills, and the like. Manage it the way you would manage any other classroom - they are children with the need for organization, structure, and appropriate boundaries. The best advice I can give is to provide intellectually stimulating units/lessons. Incorporate their interests to facilitate engagement. You want to teach them how to learn - that learning is a life long process. Do all you can to avoid having students do work on concepts they have already mastered. I've found pre-tests and conferencing with students to be particularly effective in this regard. Most important: ENJOY your students, enjoy teaching and enjoy learning right along with them. Let them teach you too. :) Don't worry if they ask you things you don't know (a concern of many of my colleagues when working with GT students)- just make it exciting to find out together. All the best!

On 8/04/11, A lot to learn... fast! wrote: > I will be teaching fourth grade GT and it will be self > contained. I've taught all subjects except for math, so I'm > feeling pretty confident. > > Do you have any tips as to how to run/organize my classroom > this year as opposed to past years? Are there graphic > organizers, word walls, graphics you post in your room that > might be helpful in mine? > > Any tips you have for me would be most welcome. > > I just finished my 30 hours GT Training and learned so many > cool strategies and ideas. Anything else you can share > would be helpful as well! > > Many thanks!

Aug 8, 2011

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el ed I taught(2nd-8th)IG(Intellectually Gifted) Enrichment classes. I had a masters in gifted ed. I have been retired for a decade, so some info may be dated.

I taught most grades separately for one class period each day.

Having a gifted class self-contained would have been a dream job to me. I enjoyed teaching 4th graders, too.
...See More

Aug 9, 2011

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el ed We used music in various ways in studies. Chess is a great game for GT students to play, as are Otello, boggle, scrabble.

On 8/09/11, el ed wrote: > I taught(2nd-8th)IG(Intellectually Gifted) Enrichment classes. > I had a masters in gifted ed. I have been retired for a > decade, so some info may be dated. > > I taught most g...See MoreWe used music in various ways in studies. Chess is a great game for GT students to play, as are Otello, boggle, scrabble.

On 8/09/11, el ed wrote: > I taught(2nd-8th)IG(Intellectually Gifted) Enrichment classes. > I had a masters in gifted ed. I have been retired for a > decade, so some info may be dated. > > I taught most grades separately for one class period each day. > > Having a gifted class self-contained would have been a dream > job to me. I enjoyed teaching 4th graders, too. > > You are in for a treat. Let the kids know how pleased you are > to be their teacher. > > Catch them being "good" and heap praise on them. > > One year I had a class of about six 6th graders, who were a > great class and their behavior was very good, usually. The > office sent for me because I had a phone call. As I came back > to our building and was still on the sidewalk, I could hear > what sounded like our room being demolished. There was another > classroom on the top floor with us and a classroom below. > > I went in our building ready to really "let them have it'. > Before I opened the door to the din of my 6th graders, I > remembered how well behaved they usually were, so I changed my > strategy. > > I walked in and said sternly, "Who are you imposters and what > have you done with my great class of 6th graders? I am going > to go outside and when I come back in YOU HAD BETTER BE GONE > and have returned my wonderful class". > > When I came back in the room in less than a minute, MY class > was back and on task. I told them that I was so glad to see MY > class was back. A few looked up from their work and grinned > sheepishly. > > We never spoke of the matter again and I still do not know what > they were doing to make so much noise, but I could have left > them alone anytime after that and they would have been on task > the whole time. > > How many students will be in your class? This is important. > > GTteacher 1228 gave very good advice. Reread the post or print > it out, maybe. > > Here are some things I learned over the years. > > These kids often have subtle senses of humor. Humor went a long > way with me and them. If on rare occasions, students started > to argue, I started to sing loudly and badly. "Let There Be > Peace On Earth And Let It Begin With Me". The usual response > was, "If you will stop singing, we will stop fussing." It got > to the point if an argument broke out, someone would say, > "Stop, or she'll start singing." > > Sometimes the kids had to do certain things they failed to see > the need for required by the powers that be. I would say, "I > am just a peon around here, so just humor me." > > It got to the point that I would not have to say anything. One > or more would speak up and say, "Humor her!" > > I included student input in lesson plans and/or units. They > had some neat ideas and it made them more invested in the learning. > > Do not try to make the kids think you know all the answers. No > one does. If you try to fake it, these kids will bust you every > time. Think of yourself as a facilitator of learning. They > might enjoy this term. > > Did you study a language in school? I had courses in French, > but was nowhere near being fluent. We got records, videos, > dvd's, computer programs as well as ETV and books. These were > especially good on teaching correct pronunciations. I spoke > French with a southern accent and French speakers would have > probably laughed out loud. > > We labeled almost everything in the room with the French words > for them. They were fascinated that nouns were masculine or > feminine. Ex. Door is "la porte" and wall is "le mur". > > We learned the months and days in French. Each day the date > was on the board in French. Ex, lundi, 21 avril, 2011. which > is Monday, April 21, 2011. We learned to count in French. > > They were also interested to find that in French days of the > week, months, geographic locations(av and rue and mont). > nationalities and I, (unless Je is the first word in the > sentence--Je suis l'americaine)and religions are not usually > (almost never)capitalized. They compared this to the German > language. > > We wrote an original play in French and presented it to the > school in an assembly. It had humor. > > We usually learned about holidays. Some of our favorites were > Hanukkah and Chinese(Asian) New year(Gung hay fat choy!) and > Arbor Day and Ground Hog Day. We did many different > activities, such as those using art, math, creative writing, > play writing and map studies. > > It is important, as I am sure you already know, that your GT > students cover/master all the material covered in the regular > classroom. The wonderful thing is that your students can go > beyond. What an opportunity! > > There are ways to make math fun. We learned extras like Roman > Numerals, Bases, biographies of interesting mathematicians, and > basics of algebra. We used Math to figure tips and the cost of > meals(got kids menus from restaurants). We worked out budgets > using different scenarios and got income tax forms 1040 EZ and > did our Income Taxes during April. > > I told the kids to tell me politely if I made a mistake. I did > and they told me politely and I thanked them politely. When I > was told politely about a mistake and replied politely, it made > it much better when I needed to tell them when they made a mistake. > > Enjoy your GT kids. Have a great year! > > I hope I have given some useful info. If you want, I could > give more ideas. > > > On 8/04/11, A lot to learn... fast! wrote: >> I will be teaching fourth grade GT and it will be self >> contained. I've taught all subjects except for math, so I'm >> feeling pretty confident. >> >> Do you have any tips as to how to run/organize my classroom >> this year as opposed to past years? Are there graphic >> organizers, word walls, graphics you post in your room that >> might be helpful in mine? >> >> Any tips you have for me would be most welcome. >> >> I just finished my 30 hours GT Training and learned so many >> cool strategies and ideas. Anything else you can share >> would be helpful as well! >> >> Many thanks!

Aug 9, 2011

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A lot to learn fast..... I am so excited about starting the year off right with my students this year! Thanks to your posts, I am even more so! I will have 20 students in my class and I look forward to learning and exploring the world around us and seeing how they can apply what they've learned with these real-world applications.

Can't wait for the adventure to be...See More

Aug 11, 2011

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