Enrichment/Gifted

School-wide Enrichment

Students in every classroom receive enrichment from the classroom teacher. Lessons are differentiated to meet the needs of the various levels of students. Teachers regularly consult with our Gifted Specialist about ways to further engage students in their classroom with projects and various challenges. Our goal as a school is to help each student reach their academic potential.

Kindergarten

The gifted specialist will help provide ideas and materials for enrichment activities that can be done in the regular classroom. Assessment for high ability math and reading children will be ongoing throughout the year. Pullout programs for high ability reading students and math students will be conducted if there is a need.

Mathematics

Math enrichment is provided to high ability first grade students starting in September. Groups of students meet with the gifted specialist once a week for approximately 35 minutes.

Topics include:

Story problems
Multi-step problem solving
Strategies that can be used to solve problems
Tangrams
Attributes
Measurement
Logic
Probability
Puzzle Solving
Matching

In second grade, the gifted specialist will work in the faster-paced math classes, providing support for the second grade math program and also offering enrichment units. These units may include topics such as using different math strategies to problem solve, MicroWorlds and other computer programs in the computer lab, symmetry, discovering pentominoes, and chess.

PEP

The Primary Enrichment Program, or PEP, is designed to provide experiences which enrich and expand the high-ability child’s education. The first grade PEP curriculum is based on identified educational strengths and interests of the students. PEP sessions will be offered throughout the school year. Each session will be 60-75 minutes per week for approximately eight weeks at a time. PEP topics could include:

Reading enrichment
Scientific hypothesizing and experimenting
Creative thinking and writing
Independent research
Great Book discussions
Three-dimensional building

The curriculum and topics for second grade PEP are similar to those for first grade. Each session will be 75 minutes per week for eight weeks at a time. Interests and needs of the students determine placement into these seminars.

Topics include:

Reading enrichment
Mathematical problem solving
Great Books discussions
Creative thinking and writing
Three-dimensional building
Greek mythology
Discovery

Gifted Student Services

Indian Hill’s program for intellectually and academically gifted students serves qualifying students in second through eighth grades. These students require a learning experience which encourages individual exploration and problem solving, and establishes a setting for the exchange of ideas with other gifted children. The program currently identifies children in the areas of Language Arts and Mathematical Problem Solving.

The criteria for entrance into this program is:

98th percentile or above on the Otis-Lennon ability test and 96th percentile or above on the Reading Comprehension subtest of the Stanford OR 99th percentile on the Problem Solving subtest of the Stanford.

Topics of study for the Language Arts section may include:

The Middle Ages
Creative writing
Poetry
Independent research
The Olympics
Analogies
Spoofs
“Fractured Fairy Tales”

The Mathematical Problem Solving section of Discovery may include:

Architecture
Circles
Logic
Inventions
Bridge Building
Traveling in our world Microworlds