Recently, I met with all of our gifted identified students to go over their affective needs (sometimes called social-emotional needs.) We talked about how affective goals relate to being a better student and/or being a better you. It is a Colorado state requirement that all GT students have not only academic goals but also a social-emotional goal. It is a requirement I am happy to fulfill because at Werner we are always concerned with the whole child and their growth in ALL aspects of their lives. Here is a quick explanation for each grade-level's focus this year. Lessons and discussions in homeroom, with the counselor and with me will be going on all year to support these goals. Next week you will receive your child's ALP in their Friday Folder. In it please look for the colorful copies (yellow for 3rd grade, green for 4th, and blue for 5th.) One of those important papers will be your child's affective needs checklist and their goal they chose to focus on for the year. If you can focus discussions this year at your house on this goal and learning skills and strategies to be successful on that goal, that would be awesome! Each grade level has a different focus. Let me give you some details below... Fifth Grade - Healthy risk taking is the 5th grade goal for the year. We spend time talking about the four types of risks: intellectual, social, emotional, and physical. Students worked with me to brainstorm healthy risks that they could take at school during this school year. They also completed a quick survey about their attitudes towards risk taking. Students have to pick two (one for each semester) that they are willing to take. Risks range from trying the spelling bee, speaking in front of the class, running for Wildcat leader, trying to make a district track meet event, challenges at Eco Week, and many more. Students will reflect at the end of each semester on their activity. The focus is not on being 100% successful but instead focus on being willing to try something new. Click on the document on the left to see what paperwork to expect from your child and see the goal-setting document too. Fourth Grade - The fourth grade goal is related to organization and study skills. Since this is the first year the kids get a planner and begin receiving letter grades of A,B,C,D,F, this seemed like a logical year to spend discussing how that can help students be better learners. Categories on the checklist for organization/study skills are time management, study skills, managing materials, homework, and using their planner. Students could choose any one of these 5 categories to write their specific goal after they reflected on their own greatest area of need. Cleaning out backpacks and desks seemed to be a popular need - and maybe you parents agree! Fourth graders will be hearing about these topics all year as our Werner staff works to reinforce good study habits. Students will reflect again at the end of the year on the checklist and answer questions that ask them to think about how their work in this area might continue to help them in the future. Click the document at the right to see more details. Third Grade - The third graders' goals relate to peer relationships. The overall categories within peer relationships are large group interactions, small group interactions, conflict resolution, and communication. Students completed a checklist to self-evaluate as a pre-assessment. They then took a look at an area they marked as a 1 or 2 and set their personal goal on that specific area. In addition, students had to brainstorm what they might need to help them be successful. Ideas ranged from help from Mrs. Flemister (our counselor) to more patience to suggestions from a teacher about new strategies. We will complete the checklist at the end of the year again and students will reflect on their progress with a form I will provide them. Forms are linked on the left if you want to take a peek.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Tracey BeanWerner Elementary Archives
May 2018
Sign-up for updates: |
Knowledge Peak | Blog |