High Ability 2019 - 2020

Welcome Back To Our High Ability Blog!

Hello!  I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are now ready to start fresh.  It's going to be another great school year!  Many families are returning, so you're familiar with how we do things in High Ability.  I'm excited to welcome our new families to our program and to fill you in on how everything works.  The first blog is always lengthy because there's so much to share.  Most will stay the same, but there are a few subtle changes.  Read for yourself!

A Little About High Ability:

Welcome to our weekly blog!  This is an area where I post a weekly update to allow you to take a peek inside our classroom.  I try to post lots of pictures, so you can see what they are working on each week.  This is also a great location to monitor any assignments they may have to complete.  You will also find a calendar highlighting some important dates coming up around the school.  My goal is to have the blog posted on Friday.  I will send a weekly email when the blog is posted.  You can access the blog at the bottom of my email or through Yost's homepage under classrooms.

Language Arts and Math groups will meet twice a week for 30-minute sessions during flex time. Flex time is a time set aside at Yost per grade level for students to receive specialized instruction. My Language Arts students meet on Monday and Tuesday. My Math students meet on Wednesday and Thursday. Our start date this year is August 28th. For this week, I will see my Language Arts students on Wednesday and my Math students on Thursday for an introduction day.

INTRODUCTION WEEK:

Wednesday, August 28th: 1st Day of Language Arts

Thursday, August 29th:  1st Day of Math

BACK TO NORMAL NEXT WEEK:

Monday, September 2nd:  No School

Tuesday, September 3rd:  Language Arts

Wednesday, September 4th:  Math

Thursday, September 5th:  Math

LANGUAGE ARTS CURRICULUM:

We are using the High Ability Language Arts Curriculum Project which was developed by the Indiana Department of Education. Each grade centers around an umbrella concept that fits every lesson.  They are filled with many fantastic lessons that build upon each other as the year goes.  Teaching under the umbrella allows students to make connections which calls on higher order thinking.  We will use several of the trade and picture books suggested by the state as part of our curriculum.  The gifted lessons use the same models from year to year like Paul's Reasoning Model and the Hamburger Model for persuasive writing.  The added bonus is that students who continue through the grades in High Ability, will become quite efficient and familiar with the similar high ability structures while analyzing literature.

MATH CURRICULUM:

We are using the same math series called Mentoring Young Mathematicians (M2) for 2nd grade.  The upper grades will use Mentoring Mathematical Minds (M3). I just love teaching math this way!  It's not math in isolation; it's real life applicable situations. The students are asked to problem solve problems using math as a means to get there.   It was a bit of a change for the students last year, in that they were required to write and explain their thoughts, ideas, and decisions about math. By the end of the year they had grown tremendously! I was proud of them. Being gifted in math is so much more than just being good with numbers! When writing and explaining their answers, it will further cement their understanding of the concept.  I will support their writing efforts while in class, but writing and explaining their mathematical answers are something to work on with your child at home.

HOMEWORK:

Occasionally there will be homework assigned.  It honestly tends to be more with the language arts/reading groups than with the math groups.  Second, third and fourth grade will complete book studies in their curriculum and can expect weekly reading assignments. It is critical to their success in the classroom to stay current on the reading assignments.

Mark it on the Calendar!

Monday, September 2nd:  No School - Labor Day

Wednesday, September 4th:  Kindergarten Tech Night 6-7pm

Monday & Tuesday, September 9th & 10th:  4th Grade Camp Goodfellow

Tuesday, September 10th:  PTO Meeting 6-7pm

Sunday, September 15th:  Five Guys Fundraiser 11am - 9pm

Wednesday, September 18th:  Grandparents Day

K-1 from 8:30-9:45am

2-4 from 9:45-11am

Thursday, September 19th: PICTURE DAY

Thursday, September 19th:  PTO Craft Night 5:30-6:30pm

INTRODUCTION WEEK:

This week all my classes participated in an introduction week.  We reviewed classroom procedures and expectations for the room.  We also took a tour around our classroom learning about all of the materials and resources around the room.  Getting all of the must-dos out of the way this week  allows us to dive right into our curriculum next week. 

It was great to see my old friends and meet lots of new friends.  I am excited to be starting my 4th year as the High Ability Instructor at Yost.  It is going to be a GREAT school year.

Ms. Losinski