What is Whole Group Enrichment?
Students in kindergarten and first grade participate in whole group enrichment. The lessons are designed to supplement, extend, and go beyond the regular curriculum. Components of the program include hands-on activities that are curriculum-related and process-oriented.
How are students evaluated?
Our district uses the Kingore Observation Inventory to help identify giftedness in young students. Seven areas of giftedness is monitored through whole group enrichment, they are: Advanced Language, Analytical Thinking, Meaning Motivation, Perceptive, Sense of Humor, Sensitivity, and Accelerated Learning. The KOI helps cast a wide net and helps identify behaviors not assessed through standardized testing.
Kindergarten Whole Group
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First Grade Whole Group
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Students from Diverse Cultures
Advanced Language
Demonstrates advanced vocabulary in first language; naturally uses similes, metaphors and analogies to express insights and explain relationships; often fluent in nonverbal communication Analytical Thinking Approaches solutions in a logical manner; analyzes information logically; reasons by analogy; taps into a personal storehouse of knowledge in order to solve problems; relates unrelated ideas; demonstrates abstract thinking; makes symbolic relationships Meaning Motivation Has a strong desire to learn; intense, sometimes unusual interests; demonstrates a large storehouse of information with expertise beyond age group in one or more topics; pursues intellectual or philosophical questions Perspective Effective, often inventive strategies for recognizing and solving problems; develops unique graphics, symbols, or pattern; many highly original ideas; cultural perspective may differ from mainstream view point Sense of Humor Demonstrates an unusual, often subtle sense of humor which may not be understood by mainstream culture; ELL students have difficulty interpreting humor involving puns and word play in English; effectively uses humor to gain peer acceptance Sensitivity Very concerned about human issues, ethics and justice; shows leadership among peers; intensely sensitive to the needs and motivations of others; sets high expectations for self and others; displays empathy through art, nonverbal communication and oral expressions in first language Accelerated Learning Quick to grasp new concepts; unusual ability to communicate with codes, numbers or symbols; mathematics may be most advanced area; applies accumulated knowledge to new situations |
Students from Poverty
Advanced Language
Language is the language of television; vocabulary may be limited to casual register; sentence structure may lack cause and effect relationships; use of figurative language may reflect comparisons to people and entertainers Analytical Thinking May not possess ability to plan, but is intrigued with the idea of planning; discerns patterns and relationships in human behavior but not in ideas Meaning Motivation Demonstrates an extensive memory but may be unrelated to academics; curious and independent; asks questions that are focused on relationships; extensive memory about people and conversations; questions things related to fairness issues Perspective Demonstrates unexpected or unusual points of view through oral language, manipulatives, problem solving and/or art; argues from more than one point of view Sense of Humor Applies finely-tuned sense of humor; creates original jokes; humor often reflects imitations of people and events; tells stories; mimics accurately; humor may seem weird or inappropriate to some Sensitivity Demonstrates a strong sense of justice as defined by poverty; fairness issues; identifies with the anti-hero and sees the anti-hero as the victim; frequently lacks social skills to resolve conflicts without physical action Accelerated Learning May lack basic academic skills and score lower on standardized tests; yet, when shown how to do things that the student considers meaningful, the student learns quickly; math skills often outdistance other academic areas |