WHAT IS THE FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE G/T MATHEMATICS PROGRAM?
The Gifted and Talented Mathematics Program includes acceleration of skills and enrichment of the content. The program is designed for 4th and 5th grade students who have been identified as needing instruction in math beyond the scope provided by the regular elementary mathematics curriculum. The G/T students will move at a very rapid pace and will cover approximately four years of instruction in two years time.
WHAT ARE THE POLICIES FOR G/T MATH?
HOMEWORK: Students will be assigned approximately 20 minutes of homework Monday-Thursday. Assignments will generally represent reinforcement and extension of skills being taught that week. To avoid unnecessary homework anxiety, there is a “30 minute rule.” If your child works for a truly focused half hour and still cannot complete the assignment, he/she may get a parent signature on the paper without negative impact on his/her grades. We will identify the problem in class and review the material. It is expected, however, that students will be able to consistently complete their homework independently within the 30 minutes by the end of the first quarter. We encourage parent support by asking questions about how the students arrived at the answers and by indicating the areas that may need to be rechecked for accuracy, but the child should be able to complete the assignment independently.
PROJECTS: Some long-range project work will be assigned. A criteria sheet will be sent home at the beginning of the project to specify expectations and the due date.
STUDYING: Students will be expected to maintain an organized binder for math. In order to be prepared, they will need to review a few problems from each skill on a regular basis. This will ensure their success in G/T mathematics.
WRITING IN MATH: It is a school-wide expectation that all answers include appropriate labels to receive credit. Students will also be writing about their math activities on a daily basis and it is expected that the student be able to communicate information effectively using appropriate grade level writing skills.
GRADING: Grades are given for concepts and problem solving. Scoring is based on paper and pencil tasks, performance tasks, discussions, class presentations, teacher observations, etc. Grades are averaged for math concepts and problem solving for report cards.
INTERIMS: In order to keep you informed of your child’s math progress, a grade will be provided on his/her interim report. Feel free to contact your child’s math teacher if you have any questions.
SUPPLIES: Students need to come prepared to begin class promptly each day. They will need a separate journal and a 1” binder with dividers for math. All math papers should be kept in their math binders. Students need to have pencils with erasers, a dark marking pen, post-it notes, and a highlighter in class everyday, as well as their agenda book. Also, the students need access at home to a 12” ruler with both customary and metric units, a 6” protractor, a compass, a glue stick, and a calculator for homework. Please label all supplies and check them each quarter to make sure your child is prepared for class each day.
WHEN IS G/T BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT?
An orientation to further describe the elementary Gifted and Talented Education Program will be held on Wednesday, August 29 from 6:00 PM in the media center. We look forward to sharing more with you then!