Giftedness at a Glance

Created byValerie Geiler, Lucille Kenney,

Caryn Meirs, Renée Clarke& Kristen Lange

Contact InformationAHAP FacilitatorValerie Geiler 592-3569 vgeiler@hhh.k12.ny.us

AHAP TeachersValerie Geiler vgeiler@hhh.k12.ny.usCaryn Meirs cmeirs@hhh.k12.ny.us

AHAP Liaisons and Enrichment TeachersChestnut Hill Renée Clarke 592-3500 rclarke@hhh.k12.ny.usForest Park Kristen Lange 592-3550 klange@hhh.k12.ny.usForest Park Renee Clarke 592-3550 rclarke@hhh.k12.ny.usOtsego Valerie Geiler 592-3600 vgeiler@hhh.k12.ny.usPaumanok Kristen Lange 592-3650 klange@hhh.k12.ny.usSignal Hill Renée Clarke 592-3700 rclarke@hhh.k12.ny.usSunquam Caryn Meirs 592-3750 cmeirs@hhh.k12.ny.usVanderbilt Kristen Lange 592-3800 klange@hhh.k12.ny.us

Academically High Aptitude Program (AHAP) Mission Statement

“Half Hollow Hills Academically High Aptitude Program ensures that students who possess exceptional gifts and talents receive the necessary resources to maximize their extraordinary potential. Students will be challenged to become self-directed, life long learners. Students will encounter an individualized, diverse, and flexible curriculum. Children will experience an enriched accelerated education through which they will acquire skills to lead responsible, constructive, and most importantly exceptional lives.”

Academically High Aptitude Program vs. Enrichment Services

Academically High Aptitude Program •AHAP addresses the needs of students in grades three through five.•It is a non-mandated district supported program.•AHAP has objective defined criteria for entry. The first and most important assessment utilized to determine a student’s eligibility is the InView Cognitive Skills Test, similar to an IQ test. The second component used to determine eligibility is scores obtained from the New York State English Language Arts and Mathematics Assessments. Even if NYS ELA and Math Assessments scores are above average, a child’s Cognitive Skills Index must meet the IQ requirement for that year in order to be considered for the program. •Students leave their home school to attend AHAP at the Fran Greenspan Administration Center once each week for the entire school year. Third graders attend AHAP for one half day, while fourth and fifth graders attend for a full day. Third grade AHAP students also receive one period of Enrichment services each week in their home building.•Once a student is admitted to AHAP they are not retested for admission in subsequent years.

Academically High Aptitude Program vs. Enrichment Services

Enrichment Services•Enrichment is a district supported, building level, non-mandated service for second through fifth graders.•Enrichment is open to all students based on standardized test scores, enrichment teacher suggestion and classroom teacher recommendation.•Enrichment is provided in each elementary school building in three 10-week cycles for the third through fifth grades. Two 10-week cycles are provided for the second grade students. Students attend one cycle per year.•A student in enrichment one year is not guaranteed a place the following year.•Enrichment teachers serve as a liaison for administrators, teachers, and students to further support teachers with additional differentiation in their classrooms.

AHAP CoursesBelow is a sampling of courses offered by the Academically High Aptitude Program for the third through fifth graders in the district.

3rd Grade CoursesFallSpanning the Heights (bridges)SkyscrapersProject Iceberg (Antarctica)

SpringSpanning the Heights, Part IIEcon-O-ManiaStories from the Top of the World (science and mythology)

FallHistory on the MarchMovers and Shakers

(inventors)Endangered AnimalsHighway to HealthToy StoryAre You a Hobbit?

SpringMovers and ShakersMusic ‘N’ MotionEndangered Animals, Part IIHighway to HealthJourney to the StarsAre You a Hobbit?Lost! (Galapagos)Mission to Mars

AHAP Courses

4th Grade

FallHistory Undercover, Part IINewspaperAlien Invaders (invasive species)Music, Part IIMath & MatterCSI - Forensic ScienceLego Robotics, FLL CompetitionToy Story II: Sally Ride Toy

ChallengeGreek MythologyFlightLost II

SpringGreat DebatersNewspaperDigit Squad (mathematics)Art ColonyLaw & OrderBrainy BehaviorsFairytales on TrialLego Robotics, Mars Rover

EditionOnce & Future KingsMyth Busters Science Squad

AHAP Courses

All courses are inquiry and project based, and foster critical thinking, deductive thinking, and creative thinking.

5th Grade

The “Twice Exceptional” LearnerOn occasion, you may encounter a student that may appear to have a high intellect, but are not a typical gifted learner. This child may be categorized as a “twice exceptional” learner; both gifted and disabled. It is difficult to describe or list all the characteristics of gifted disabled people because there are so many types of giftedness and so many disabilities. The biggest challenge in identification is that a disability often masks or inhibits the expression of giftedness, so that it is difficult to tell whether a person's abilities are outstanding enough to indicate giftedness. On the other hand, giftedness can also mask a disability because the person's abilities can help him or her overcome or compensate for the disability.

Common Myths AboutGifted Students

• Gifted students are a homogeneous group, all high achievers.• Gifted students do not need help. If they are really gifted, they can manage on their own• Gifted students have fewer problems than others because their intelligence and abilities

somehow exempt them from the hassles of daily life.• Gifted students are self-directed; they know where they are heading.• The future of a gifted student is assured; a world of opportunities lies before the student.• Gifted students are nerds and social isolates.• Gifted students need to serve as examples to others and they should always assume extra

responsibility.• The social and emotional development of the gifted student is at the same level as his/her

intellectual development.• The primary value of the gifted student lies in his or her brainpower.• The gifted student’s family always prizes his or her ability.• Gifted students can accomplish anything they put their minds to; all they have to do is apply

themselves.• Gifted students are naturally creative and do not need encouragement.• Gifted children are easy to raise and are welcomed addition to any classroom.

Truths AboutGifted Students

• Gifted students are often perfectionists and idealistic. They may equate achievement and grades with self-esteem and self-worth, which sometimes leads to fear of failure and interferences with achievement.

• Gifted students may experience heightened sensitivity to over achievements or grades perceived to be low.• Gifted students are asynchronous. Their chronological age, social, physical, emotional, and intellectual

development may be able to read and comprehend a third-grade book, but may not be able to write legibly.• Some gifted children are “mappers” (sequential learners), while others are “leapers” (spatial learners).

Leapers may not know how they got a “right answer.” Mappers may get lost in the steps leading to the right answer.

• Gifted students may be so far ahead their chronological age mates, that they may know more than half the curriculum before the school year begins! Their boredom can result in low achievement and grades.

• Gifted children are problem-solvers. They benefit from working on open-ended, interdisciplinary problems; for example, how to solve a shortage of community resources.

• Gifted students often refuse to work for grades alone.• Gifted students often think abstractly and with such complexity that they may need help with concrete study

and test-taking skills. They may not be able to select one answer in a multiple-choice question because they see how all the answers might be correct.

• Gifted students who do well in school may define success as getting an “A” and failure as any grade less than an “A”. By early adolescence they may be unwilling to try anything where they are not certain of guaranteed success.

Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Each child deserves an individualized educational experience that takes into account each child’s individual needs, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Continue to keep these intelligences in mind when getting to know the students in your classroom and planning for new learning opportunities.

In his theory, Howard Gardner outlines eight intelligences, which include:

1. Linguistic intelligence – “word smart”2. Logical-mathematical intelligence - “number/reasoning

smart”3. Spatial intelligence – “picture smart”4. Musical intelligence – “music smart”5. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence – “body smart”6. Interpersonal intelligence – “people smart”7. Intrapersonal intelligence – “self smart”8. Naturalistic intelligence – “nature smart”9. Existential intelligence – “cosmos smart” *

* In 1999, Gardner added naturalist intelligence and proposed that a ninth intelligence, existential intelligence, be considered for future inclusion.

Differentiation Strategies for High-Level Learners

Curriculum CompactingCurriculum compacting is the process of identifying learning objectives, pretesting students for mastery of these objectives, and eliminating needless teaching and practice if mastery can be documented. The time saved through this process may be used to provide enrichment for students.

Example of Chart Used for Compactingby Joseph Renzulli and Linda H. Smith

Student’s Name: ____________________________________

Area of Strength Documenting Mastery

Alternate Activities

Differentiation Strategies for High-Level Learners

Tiering LessonsTiering is an instructional approach designed to have students of differing readiness levels work with essential knowledge, understanding, and skill, but to do so at levels of difficulty appropriately challenging for them as individuals at a given point in the instructional cycle.

Tiering Activities OverviewHow to plan 3 pathways to understanding:

Struggling Learners:Need extensive modeling and/or teacher instructionNeed color-coded elements/highlighted elements/exemplarsNeed to review concepts/use manipulatives/use textbookNeed to study vocabulary lists/cards or pictures which show vocabulary/word bankWill complete a provided graphic organizer/labeled outline/framed paragraph

On-Grade Learners:Can complete on-grade expectations (with practice opportunities)/solve practice problemsDon’t need to review (as much) Can make some decisions on their own regarding how to complete a taskCan create their own graphic organizer/chart/postersCan draw/illustrate/explain key concepts

** Advanced Learners: These are your AHAP/Enrichment students.Can work and create independentlyCan engage in more advanced research/study in-depthWill study key issues across time periods and culturesWill be able to decide which skills to useCan work with multi-step tasks and ideas in their mindCan take a concept and expand upon it and work with mentors

2002 Judy Dodge

The Revised Bloom’s Thinking Skills