Research and Flags

Here are some of the things we did... This Week In Gifted.

Flags!

The Wednesday afternoon grade 1-2 class started looking at flags as a way that we communicate who we are.  We looked at the Canadian flag that is flying out front at Wiltse Elementary.  We brought the flag down to the bottom of the flagpole and many of us were surprised at how big it was.  We talked about what it means when a flag is at half-mast.  The students then went on the computer to explore different flags of the world.  Many of the students were inspired to make coloured sketches of the flags they found.  Below is a slideshow with some of our favourite flags.  Included are some of the student sketches and then some of our favourites (the flag images came from Flags of the World and The World Flag Database.)  

Researching Topics in Communication

Last week students brainstormed a variety of possible topics under the broad theme of communication.  This week the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday grade 3, 4 and 5 classes all spent some time doing research on their topic.  The ASPIRE students (Summerland gr 4 & 5) faced challenges as the computer system was operating very S L O W L Y.  The students are finding out some interesting things in their research.  For instance, Olivia found out that when there is a noisy background frogs communicate by flapping their hind feet in the air.  Who knew?

Audio Recording with Audacity

The Wednesday and Thursday morning grade 5 classes have been the guinea pigs for trying out Audacity.  Audacity is a free open source software program for recording and editing audio (it can be downloaded here).  We will be using this program to record our radio shows.  We encountered a few problems with the program not launching, so not all were able to try it out.  Great problem solving though by Connor and Josh.  Hopefully the bugs are worked out now and it will work for everyone.  

The Wrap Up

These were a few of the things we did this week.  Thanks for checking in with us!

Brainstorming, Scytales and Straw Bridges

Here are some of the things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

Brainstorming

This week all of the students in grades 3 to 5 brainstormed topics to research under the broad heading of communication.  We started out with each class as a group suggesting topics. 

Communication Research Topic Ideas

Then students worked individually or in pairs; writing topic ideas on post-it notes and sticking them onto large sheets of paper.  Using post-it notes meant that if a student wrote down an idea and wasn't happy with it (either the idea, or that it was misspelled or messy) they could just discard it.  Handy for those perfectionists in the group.  It also meant that they could move ideas around on their page and group similar ideas together. 

Post-it note brainstorm

We talked about the DOVE principal of brainstorming:

D--Defer judgement

O--Oddball or outrageous ideas encouraged

V--Vast number of ideas

E--Expand or elaborate on ideas

The hardest DOVE principal for most students is deferring judgement.  We talked about how the key is to start getting ideas down.  Because one idea often leads to another, and another.  Eventually you end up with an idea that really strikes your fancy!  At times in the brainstorming process we stopped and looked at the ideas others were coming up with.  The ideas we liked, we borrowed, or they made us think of new ideas.

After brainstorming, some of the classes were able to start researching the communication topic in which they were most interested.  All of the grade 3, 4 and 5s will be spending time more time on this research in upcoming classes.

Scytales

What is a scytale?  Ask our grade 1 & 2 Wednesday afternoon class!  We continued our exploration of steganography (hidden messages) by creating our own scytales.  Scytales have been in use since at least the 7th century.  A message is encrypted by wrapping a strip of paper (parchment or leather were used in earlier times) around a cylinder.  The message is then written on the paper.  When the paper is unwound, it just looks like a random collection of letters.  To decipher the message, it must be wound around a cylinder of the same diameter as was used originally.  We used long strips of paper and wound them around some wooden cylinders.  At home you could use cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls or wrapping paper rolls.

Straw Bridge Challenge

The Summerland ASPIRE class did the Straw Bridge Challenge.  Last week they were given the instructions for this challenge, but they were encrypted.  Students had to use their code breaking savvy to decrypt the instructions.  This week it was time to do the challenge.  Each small group of students were given 

• 15 thin drinking straws
• 25 cm of masking tape
• 1 pair of scissors

The goal was to make a bridge that spanned a 30 cm gap and was strong enough to support a coffee can.  The can could be rested on the top of the bridge, or suspended below the bridge using string.  The next part of the challenge was to see how many golf balls could be placed in the coffee can before the bridge collapsed.  

This activity encouraged students to think creatively.  They also had to be able to communicate well with their partner(s).  Below are photos of some of the bridges as they were being built:

 

The photos above show three very different approaches to the bridge structure.  The top bridge was the strongest; holding the coffee can and 2 golf balls.

Non-Verbal Communication

Finally, all of the classes have been looking at non-verbal communication.  Whether it is by playing Charades / Funny Faces or by acting out a narrative walk.  So beware; the students are becoming skilled at interpreting the non-verbal signs we all transmit! 

Thanks for checking in to see what we've been up to!

Caesar Ciphers, Enigma and Steganography

The past couple of weeks have been busy!  There are seven different classes in the Gifted Program.  Though they are all working on the same theme, Top Secret Communication, each class is doing slightly different activities depending on the age and interests of the students.  Here are some of the things we have been doing in the past few weeks.

Caesar Ciphers

All of the classes have made their own Caesar Cipher Wheels and have been busy encrypting and decrypting messages.  Students in grades 3 - 5 have all become quite adept at decrypting Caesar cipher messages, even if they haven't been given the key!  One letter words are a big tip off, since they can only be the words/letters "a" or "I".  If there are no one letter words, have no fear!  The students know to look for three letter words that are repeated (as they may represent "the" or "and").  Words with contractions (such as "I'm", "can't" or "she's") are also helpful in breaking Caesar Ciphers as the final letter is usually "m", "t", or "s".

Caesar Cipher Wheel

A wonderful website that the Wednesday and Thursday morning grade 5s have been exploring is the Crypto Club site.  It has tools to help you encipher and decipher messages using a variety of ciphers, including the Caesar Cipher that we have been using.  It also has some fun challenges and games for students to try out.

The Enigma Machine

A student from the Tuesday morning grade 3-4 class brought in her Pocket Enigma, which led to an exploration of the history of the Enigma Machine, how it worked, and the staggering number of possible settings for it.  In many of the classes we have watched this video (or will be watching it soon) on the history and mathematics of the Enigma machine.

Steganography

Steganography, as the Wednesday afternoon grade 1-2 class can tell you, is hidden or concealed writing.  This past week the grade 1-2 class explored steganography as we experimented with invisible inks.  Students painted pictures or messages using lemon juice, milk, vinegar, tonic water, and Tide or baking soda (both diluted in water).  After the paintings had dried we revealed the hidden images/words by using heat (on the lemon juice and milk), painting over them with red cabbage juice (on the lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda) or by shining a UV light on them (for the tonic water and Tide).  

The Wrap Up

These are just a few of the things the students have been doing.  In the weeks ahead we will continue to explore ciphers and code making and breaking as well as looking at non-verbal communication.

Getting to Know You

Yipee, classes are finally under way!  It was wonderful meeting students who I'd not worked with before and to reconnect with those I already know.  The goals of the first week of classes were to get to know each other, and to start encrypting and decrypting messages.  We also talked about this year's theme; Top Secret Communication!  We will be looking at communication in general, as well as investigating codes and ciphers.  We will also be creating our own virtual radio station.  Students in all the classes had some great ideas for the virtual radio station; I'm really looking forward to that coming together later on in the year.  

For the first part of the year we will be spending time learning about different ciphers and codes.  In week 1 we learned about the Caesar shift cipher (try saying that 10 times fast!)  Students encrypted and decrypted messages using this cipher.  Here's another message to decrypt (it has a Caesar shift of 3--use the alphabet strip below to help you solve it):

Question:  Why didn't the teddy bear eat his lunch? 

Answer:  EHFDXVH KH ZDV VWXIIHG!

I know, it's a groaner.

That's all for now, thanks for checking in.

Classes Start Right After Thanksgiving!

It's finally almost time for classes to start up!  I prepared the video below to introduce myself and this year's theme; I encourage students to watch it with their parents.  Hopefully the video will get students curious and/or excited about the theme.  And for those students who don't know me, perhaps after watching the video they will feel like they know me at least a little bit.

I will be e-mailing reminders home to families with their child's class time and day later in the week.  Classes start right after Thanksgiving Monday; I can't wait!

Parent Night Resources

Thank you to all of the parents and caregivers who were able to make it out to the Gifted Program Parent Nights on Tuesday at Trout Creek Elementary School and on Wednesday at Wiltse Elementary School.  I know that this is an incredibly busy time of year so I'm glad you were able to make it.  It was a pleasure to reconnect with parents and guardians as well as to meet so many new faces!

Below are the slides I used in my presentation.  The first set of slides are my introduction to the Gifted Program and the information on emotional intensity.



If you click on the gear icon at the bottom of the slides you can view the speaker's notes.  They appear for the section on emotional intensity and are excerpted from the online article 'Emotional Intensity in Gifted Children' by Leslie Kay Sword.

These second set of slides are the ones on perfectionism that I showed; they were created by Lisa Van Gemert.

Perfectionism: the occupational hazard of giftedness from Lisa Van Gemert

I used the following 2 links extensively in preparing my presentation:

• Emotional Intensity in Gifted Children by Leslie Kay Sword (http://www.sengifted.org/archives/articles/emotional-intensity-in-gifted-children)
• Forget Your Perfect Offering: Perfectionism and the Gifted Learner by Lisa Van Gemert (http://www.giftedguru.com/forget-your-perfect-offering-perfectionism-and-the-gifted-learner/) 

For more resources, the SENG website (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted) has a treasure trove of resources on giftedness.  It's definitely worth a look.

Classes start up right after Thanksgiving (Oct 14th) and I will be in touch before then with reminders.  In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns please get in touch with me at (250)770-7694 ext 6283 or e-mail me at cthompson at summer dot com.  I look forward to working with your children; it's going to be a great year!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back!  I hope that students and their families have had a good summer and that the transition to back to school this week goes well. 

Gifted classes will start up right after Thanksgiving (the week of October 14th).  This week I will be working on finalizing class lists, as well as securing dates for parent nights, hopefully to be held in the fourth week of September.  Once this information is finalized I will be sending it out to families and schools.

I am looking forward to working with the students; October seems so far off!  Along with students from the Penticton, Kaleden, and Naramata schools it is my pleasure to be working with students from Giant's Head and Trout Creek this year (I can't wait to meet you!) 

It's going to be a great year!  I've got some ideas and plans in the works, but they are always just a starting point; the passions and interests of the students really drive where we go. 

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at Wiltse Elementary (250)770-7694 ext 6283 or at cthompson@summer.com      

Hmm, I wonder what this is?