Resources for Home and School for Our Gifted Students
Depth and Complexity Icons
The Depth and Complexity Icons are critical thinking tools that were developed by Sandra Kaplan. Sandra Kaplan is a professor at the University of Southern California and the past president of the National Association of the Gifted and the California Association of the Gifted. Below is a short video with Sandra Kaplan giving an introduction to icons.
More information on how to use the Depth and Complexity Icons can also be found on the Envision Gifted website.
GATE Teacher Spotlight
We asked two of our fifth grade GATE cluster teachers why they love teaching GATE students and to share a favorite strategy or resource. Below are their responses!
Jaynee Leggett
“Teaching GATE students is so much fun! They love to think outside of the box and keep discussions interesting, adding a depth to our content. In fifth grade we use the Depth and Complexity Icons to challenge our students. We are currently reading “The Sign of the Beaver” whole class, but when it comes to time to assess comprehension our Gate students have the option and are strongly encouraged to answer the Depth and Complexity Icon questions for each chapter. An example of one of those questions would be: What did you notice in this chapter that you noticed in other stories? Were the characters’ actions in this chapter what you expected? Explain your answer. This spurs meaningful discussion and keeps are students engaged and learning!”
Erica Brunnmeier
“I love teaching GATE students because they have an innate desire to challenge themselves. These students thrive on digging deeper and going further in all aspects of their learning. In Math, my GATE students can utilize several online resources to build on the concepts we are learning in class. For example, Scoot Pad adjusts to students’ skill acquisition by asking more challenging questions in individualized learning paths. Prodigy involves friendly competition while encouraging students to delve deeper into concepts.”
Wednesday GATE Sessions – February
The beginning of February marked the start of a new PBL Project for our GATE students at every grade level. In this second GATE PBL Project the theme is “Journey.”
“Life as a Metamorphic/Sedimentary/Igneous Rock:” Second, third, and fourth grade students will be exploring the journey of how specific types of rocks are formed. This project will include research, capturing information in their own scientific rock books, and finally, creating an undiscovered rock and displaying it alongside a creative writing piece at a Rock Museum.
“Night at the Museum: Exploring Our World Through Literature:” In this literature and historically rich project, fifth through eighth grade students will explore the world through reading different historical fiction novels related to their grade-level standards and follow the main character across the world map. Students will display learned content in a journal, as well as, create an artifact and writing piece to display at a Wax Museum.