TOPSFIELD ADVANCED Extended Studies at the Proctor

School

ACADEMICS PROGRAM Jan Morris, TAAP Teacher

jmorris@topsfieldps.org
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND DOES NOT MEAN THAT
NO CHILD MOVES AHEAD!
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 provides the following definition for advanced
learners:
Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in
areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific
academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the
school in order to fully develop those capabilities.
( Title IX, Part A, Section 9101 (22), p.544)
REACHING THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BELL CURVE...
WHAT THE STATE HAS TO SAY….
The Gifted and Talented Advisory Council in it’s 2013 Annual Report
recommended:
Project- based interdisciplinary assignments that investigate real world problems.
Early and Ongoing Assessment of Skills
Flexible Scheduling
TAAP INTO YOUR CHILD’S POTENTIAL!

Topsfield
Advanced
Academics
Program
OVERVIEW
The Topsfield Extended Studies program addresses the needs of our academically
advanced learners in grades four through six.
Students are identified based on their above average ability, task commitment and
learner qualities.
These traits are measured through a variety of tools such as teacher, parent and
student recommendations, formal testing results, district and state assessment results
and an analysis of learner qualities.
 SCHEDULE
The year is broken into six sessions
Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Session 6
Verbal Verbal STEM Mathematics Linguistic Verbal STEM
Linguistic Linguistic
Mathematics STEM Mathematics Linguistic Verbal STEM Mathematics

Fourth grade students receive 90 minutes of direct class instruction each week per module. There is
a short 30 minute class during WIN block and a one hour class during instructional time.
Fifth graders receive 120 minutes of instruction in one half hour WIN block and one 90 minute class
during instructional time.
Sixth graders receive 120 minutes in one hour long class and two half hour classes, one of which will
be a WIN block.
Students are responsible for making up any work missed in class during TAAP.
OUR PROGRAM BUILT ON HOWARD GARDENER
The philosophy of the program is based, in part, on Dr. Howard Gardner’s premise
that there are different kinds of talent and ability and different kinds of
intelligence. Gardner has identified at least nine distinct intelligences. These multiple
intelligences manifest themselves in varying degrees in each of us.
We will focus on three modules that are an integration of the multiple intelligences
 Linguistic/Verbal
 Math
 STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematic)
LINGUISTIC/VERBAL MODULE

Students identified as advanced in the Linguistic/Verbal area:

 have high interest and abilities related to the use of language, including vocabulary development,
reading, and writing
 contribute meaningful ideas during book discussions and their contributions demonstrate strong critical
thinking abilities of analysis and evaluation
 have advanced vocabulary for grade level. Understand precise meanings; use exact words for what
is meant
 easily go beyond the surface of literal comprehension into the depth of inferential comprehension
when interpreting a reading passage
 possess highly developed writing skills for grade level- clarity, organization, use of advanced
vocabulary, description
MATHEMATICAL/LOGICAL REASONING MODULE
Students identified as advanced in the Mathematics/ Logical Reasoning area
exhibit specific behaviors and qualities. They…
 are advanced in math concepts
 display a strong number sense
 easily organize data or information to solve problems or discover patterns
 have strong deductive, sequential, and logical thinking skills
 reason clearly and precisely
 effectively use a variety of strategies for solving problems
 are at home with mathematics and aren’t afraid to tackle complex problems
STEM:
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY/ENGINEERING/MATHEMATICS
Students identified as advanced in the
Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM): area:
 apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between
school, community, work, and the global enterprise
 have high ability in flexible and original thinking
 are open to new ideas; could be considered the intellectual "risk takers" with a tolerance for unusual
ideas
 demonstrate the ability to synthesize---to generate new products, ideas, constructions, or inventions
 have a lot of ideas; often thinking of many ways to solve problems or answer questions
 think of unusual or innovative responses, solutions, connections, or ideas
HOW CAN WE APPROACH COMMON CORE FOR
UNCOMMON STUDENTS?
WE ALL HAVE GIFTS…
ACADEMICALLY ADVANCED STUDENTS…..
-learn quickly without repetition
-make connections easily
-process information well
-are intellectually curious
-have long attention spans
-can accurately and rapidly retrieve information
-show great depth in understanding what is taught
-are determined, perseverant, dedicated
 IDENTIFYING ADVANCED LEARNERS

• Parent Nomination
• Teacher Rating Scale for Academic
Talents
• Self Evaluation
• Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAt)
• Divergent Thinking Assessment
• MCAS scores
• School Assessments (Math, Reading, and
Writing prompts
• Report Card grades
TAAP NUMBERS IN 2017-2018
Grade Math Linguistic Verbal STEM
4 total 17 9 8 7
5 total 23 15 10 9
6 total 22 9 12 7
 STEPS TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY

1. Recommendations from parents and teachers are reviewed. Self evaluation forms
are given to students.
2. Current data is collected and reviewed- MCAS scores, Report Cards, formal and
informal assessments.
3. Students are given the Cognitive Abilities Test and Divergent Thinking Assessment.
4. A team gathers to review each candidate and recommends students for the
program.
5. Students and families are notified at the beginning of the new school year.
ASSESSMENT TIMELINE
Parent Nomination Forms due by May 4, 2018 5:00pm
Student Evaluation due by May 4, 2018 5:00pm
CogAt testing – May 21, May 22, May 23
Team meets to determine eligibility the first week of September
Families notified by September 7 , 2017
Classes begin Monday, September 10, 2018
LINKS TO PARENT NOMINATION FORM AND
STUDENTS APPLICATION
Parent Nomination
https://goo.gl/forms/okEOXJPbNEInvNoX2

Student Application
https://goo.gl/forms/8MWMsqR1k7M0r3Ou2
QUESTIONS
https://taap456.weebly.com