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Mrs. Zanine's Gifted Support |
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Panther Press ArticlesIn case you missed the Panther Press Articles from the gifted support class, here they are:
Panther Press Article for April 2009 Gifted Support News
Flexible Thinking and Creativity Edward de Bono, a world leader in the field of creative thinking, describes creative thinking as breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. One goal of the gifted support program is to foster divergent thinking skills, known better as creative thinking skills. Students are encouraged to think creatively by looking at problems and situations from various perspectives. This aspect of creative thinking is called flexible thinking. Flexible thinking can also be described as categorical thinking. One must shift the mind to move freely between categories. Often these shifts in perception occur very concretely such as looking at an object from a bird’s eye view and then a side view or cross section. It can also occur figuratively such as considering how a young child and a senior citizen might view the same situation like a snow storm very differently. All students in the gifted support program practice techniques which encourage flexible thinking. One technique, which is also often used by inventors, is titled SCAMPER. SCAMPER is an acronym for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, and Rearrange. These terms encourage students to consider the “What If…” possibilities. Another strategy is to use a graphic organizer which arranges ideas into categories. Something as basic as repurposing or reusing an item for a use other than its intended use demonstrates flexible thought. The goal is for students to apply these flexible thinking techniques across the curriculum. The following questions elicit flexible thinking across the curriculum. 1. What else might be happening? 2. Can you think of a different way to ____________? 3. What other things are possible? 4. What are all the possibilities? 5. What are some different ways to look at this? 6. What are some different reasons for this? 7. What else could you use ______ for? 8. In what ways are ____ and ____ alike? 9. In what ways could you use ___ for? Students and teachers can use these question starters to help add flexible thinking to assignments and projects. Keep Thinking! Mrs. Zanine
Panther Press Article for March 2009 Gifted Support News
Games Help Make Learning Fun.
Krypto is a thought-provoking game that I often use as a math warm up in my classes to strengthen problem solving skills. This flexible math computation game allows students of varying abilities to challenge themselves. There are many variations of play, but here is the basic one that you might want to try at home. You can use a deck of playing cards Ace through 10 shuffled well. Deal five cards numbers up in the center of the game table. Then turn the sixth card up which is what my class refers to as the target number. The player(s) (1 or more) will try to use ALL of the numbers on the five drawn cards to create the target number. Each of the five cards must be used only once but in any order. Players must use addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and/or any combination of each to try and reach the target number. The numbers on the cards must be used as their intended place value. A card with a 2 combined with another card with a 2 may make a 0 or a 4 or a 1 but may not make a 22. The player who reaches a solution first yells, "KRYPTO!" and then must show the steps (s)he took to reach the solution. Taking the time to explain the answer is excellent practice for class assessments and PSSAs. Students sometimes start out by trying the game using paper and pencil and as they become more skilled move to mental math. Calculators are a great tool for checking answers. Once you try it you may see that the whole family will want to try the Krypto challenge. If you are interested in other versions of play to make the Krypto game simpler or more challenging, just send me an email at jzanine@pennridge.org and I'd be happy to share them with you. Keep Thinking! Mrs. Zanine
Panther Press Article for February 2009 Gifted Support News
Helping Children Develop Critical Thinking Skills
We hear about it all the time in the media - how American children need to be good critical thinkers and problem solvers to compete in the world today. As a result, today’s American education looks a lot different from when we were in school. Gone are the days of memorization, drill, and practice. Today there is much more emphasis on being able to analyze information, to question, and to evaluate. In short, teachers are trying to create environments in which children are encouraged to think.
Parents often wonder how best to help their child develop the skills needed to succeed in school. It is one thing to review the multiplication tables with your sons and daughters, but it is quite another to be given the directive, “Help them learn to think.” But it can be done.
One way to achieve this is through your questioning. Begin by asking your child questions that require thoughtful responses. Rather than the standard, “How was school today?” try “What was the best thing about school today?” followed by “Why?” When your child has finished her night’s reading assignment, ask her not only to tell you about what happened in the story, but also how she feel about the events, how she would have reacted to the situations, and what she thinks will happen next. Asking probing questions helps your child to be more reflective.
Another great way to stimulate critical thinking is through the decision making process. When your family is faced with a decision, involve your child in the discussion when appropriate. Ask him to consider alternatives and identify some of the pros and cons of those alternatives. Have him make choices and justify them by providing reasons to support his opinion.
Developing thinking skills is serious business, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun while doing it. Classification games are a great way to develop logical thinking and abstract concepts from an early age on. Plus they can be fun. They might be as simple as grouping objects according to similarities, finding ways two different objects are alike, or even listing objects that fit into a specific category. It can be a great way to have some fun while driving in the car, waiting for the bus, or even at the dinner table.
By encouraging your child to develop strong critical thinking skills, we are equipping your child with the ability to navigate the world and to think independently. We are helping your child to prepare for her future.
Keep Thinking! Mrs. Zanine
P.S. Just a reminder - The portfolios and the first semester gifted evaluations will come home on the same day as the homeroom progress reports.
Panther Press Article for January 2009 Gifted Support News
Writing With Style
One element of writing that students often struggle with is style. We can all recognize writing that lacks style, but how do we bring style to our own writing? What does writing with style mean? It means … - having an attention-grabbing lead. - having a variety of words and sentence structures that are precise and help to illustrate your points. - varying the sentence beginnings. - using phrases to expand or elaborate your sentences. - combining short, choppy sentences into longer, more complex ones. - using specific proper nouns rather than vague ones. - use precise action verbs whenever possible. - use sentences that show, don’t tell. - using figurative language (similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification). - using narration, dialogue, and description as appropriate. - using your own voice to express your ideas. - avoiding common overused words such as went and said. - using tools, such as a thesaurus, to help you find the precise word that meets your needs.
Incorporating these elements of style brings spice to your writing. So be creative and have fun!
Keep Thinking! Mrs. Zanine
Panther Press Article for December 2008 Gifted Support News
How can you throw a ball as hard as you can and have it come back to you, even if it doesn't hit anything, there is nothing attached to it, and no one else catches or throws it?
You may wonder why a teacher would ask a question such as this to her students. After all, how often will you find yourself in a situation like the one described above? Possibly never, but the question is still a good one to ask, for it helps children to develop their logical thinking skills.
Logical thinking is key to making decisions and solving problems. You use logical thinking in everyday events such as determining why your car won’t start or planning your driving route to save time and gas. In gifted support class, students practice using logical thinking in many ways. We have warm-up activities like Lingo, Digit Detectives, Table Logic, Minute Mysteries, Counter Logic, and Sequencers which challenge our logic skills. We learn how to use a matrix, Venn diagram, and other visual techniques to organize our logical thinking.
Students are encouraged to follow a sequence of steps when attacking a logical challenge:
It is this fourth step that helps us to solve the logic riddle above. When would a ball come back to you? Answer: When you throw the ball straight up in the air.
There are several ways that parents can encourage their children to develop logical thinking skills. Games such as Mastermind, Battleship, Clue, Guess Who?, and Twenty Questions are fun for the whole family, and they help children learn the basics of logical thinking. Parents can also model the logical thinking process by doing what’s called a “think aloud” when faced with a problem. When you “think aloud,” you verbally express the steps you’re thinking to solve a logical problem. For example, if your car won’t start, verbalize the things you are going to check and why. “Is the car in park?” “Did I leave my lights on and use up the battery?” As you name each possible reason for the problem, systematically check it. If it isn’t the reason for the problem, eliminate it from your list of possibilities. This type of “think aloud” activity models logical thinking for children and gives them a real world connection for this special type of thinking.
Keep Thinking! Mrs. Zanine
Panther Press Article for November 2008 Gifted Support News
November is Parent/Teacher Conference time.
In order to help you plan ahead, I wanted you to know that I will be available for conferences at M. M. Seylar Elementary on the evening of November 20th and during the day of November 26th. If you would like to request a conference with me, please make sure to check off my name on the conference request form that the classroom teachers distribute. If neither of these dates are convenient for you, I can also make arrangements to have our conference on the evening of November 25th, but in order to accommodate this request, I will have to ask you to come to meet with me at West Rockhill Elementary. I hope this isn’t too much of a hardship. A phone conference may also be an appropriate option. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Jill Zanine
Panther Press article for October 2008 Gifted Support News
Starting the Year Off on the Right Foot
As a teacher, parents often ask me, “How can I help my child be better organized and manage his time better?” Usually this question pops up after a child has completed a long-term assignment, one that was assigned weeks ago, in a rush at the last moment.
Time management is something we all struggle with, but there are a few things parents can do to help their child with this difficult skill. First of all, be sure to impress upon you child the importance of writing down homework assignments and other school responsibilities in their agenda book. Classroom teachers assist their children with this by keeping a list of their classroom assignments on the board and giving their students time each day to copy these assignments down. Be sure to check at home that your son or daughter is filling out their assignments each and every day. Also encourage your child to record “responsibilities” that may fall upon his or her shoulders, but not necessarily those of classmates. For instance, if your child is involved in a school activity like Reading Olympics, he or she probably has made a commitment to read a certain number of books. These “assignments” won’t be on the classroom homework board, but they should be included in a student’s agenda because they will take time to complete. I also encourage parents to get a large calendar to display extra-curricular or other activities and social engagements. Sometimes a child plans to complete an assignment on a particular evening, not realizing that she will be spending several hours at an older siblings basketball game. Or maybe the student anticipates working for several hours on Saturday afternoon, but has forgotten that that was the day the family was visiting grandparents. Having a visual reminder of these “other” time commitments will help a child have a more realistic view of just how much time is available to get work done. Last of all, talk with your child about his or her plan for getting a long-term assignment done. Has your child set goals? Are they realistic? For a young child, help him or her to recognize the steps that need to be completed, and together make a plan for when to get them done.
Keep Thinking, Mrs. Zanine
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