Did you know…
This year Westlake Charter School has put a focus on Growth Mindset. This concept was developed by Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University, and is outlined in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Developing a growth mindset is helpful for all students, including our GATE students. It helps students develop resiliency and a belief in themselves that they can become better at things with effort and hard work. Some great videos and resources can be found on the following website: http://whatkidscando.org/resources/spec_growthmindset.html
Strategies for Our GATE Students
Research projects require skills of location, acquisition, organization, recording, communication and evaluation. Research based on real-life situations that focuses on solving relevant problems generally appeals to the inquisitive and curious nature of the gifted child. Below are specific strategies that foster the natural characteristics of most GATE students.
From The Research Book for Gifted Programs, K-8, Nancy Polette
GATE Teacher Spotlight
We asked two our second grade GATE cluster teachers why they love teaching GATE students and to share a favorite strategy or resource. Below are their responses!
Danielle Rojo
“ I love working with GATE students because they have an interesting way of looking at problems and they inspire me to look at things in a new light!”
“ My favorite strategy for GATE students right now is giving them problems that have more than one answer. It is great for them to see that there is not always one answer or one way to get to a problem.”
Jennifer Martin
“I love working with GATE students because it is exciting and fun coming up with challenges to meet their abstract abilities, complex processing, in-depth yearning for knowledge and out of the box thinking. I love tying in one subject to another and my GATE students are right there thinking about the connections with me!”
“My favorite GATE resource is the Buck Institute for Education: There are fabulous resources, studies, and techniques on connecting learning across the curriculum to allow for great connections of learning, in-depth leanring, and fun differentiation opportunities” http://bie.org/
Wednesday GATE Sessions
2nd & 3rd Grade GATE Students: “Saving Water One Drop at a Time”
During the month of September, second and third grade GATE students completed a data collection on home water usage, researched water conservation topics, brainstormed and implemented water reduction ideas for home water usage, completed a second round of data collection, and analyzed the effectiveness of their water conservation efforts.
4th Grade GATE Students: “Alternate Energy Fantasy Cars”
Students worked in small research groups to become experts on non-renewable energy by focusing on these questions: Where does the energy form come from? Why is this a form of renewable energy? How can this form of energy be transformed into usable energy for homes and cars? Provide a real life example of this type of energy.
5th & 6th GATE Students: “(S.O.S) Students Out & Stranded”
In our fifth and sixth grade GATE groups, students completed a GATE characteristics study and reflection. Afterwards, students were introduced to their PBL driving question: How can we use knowledge of electricity and magnetism for survival in the woods? Exploring answers to that question, they began researching electricity and magnetism via webquests.
7th & 8th Grade GATE Students: “It’s Simply a Balancing Act”
Seventh and eighth grade students are diving into the world of Rube Goldberg machines! First, they completed a GATE characteristics study and personality test. Then, they began researching simple machines and creating powerpoint to answer the driving question that was posed: How can we use our knowledge of simple machines to complete a simple task? It will be exciting to see what they create in the coming weeks!
GATE Supplies Needed
Our 5th-8th Grade GATE groups are in need of the following household supplies. If you can donate any of these items, please bring them to the Pebblewood campus. Thank you, in advance! Cardboard boxes, wire, D batteries, pliers, wire strippers/scissors, buzzer, magnets, sewing needle, cork, glass cup, water bottles, toilet paper tubes,
Number 22 Copper Bell Wire, 3 volt flashlight bulb, small paper cups, other misc. household items