CHANGES. Gifted Education. Course Syllabus. How History has Shaped the World in which we live

Transcription

1 CHANGES How History has Shaped the World in which we live Course Syllabus Gifted Education School Board of Highlands County

2 CHANGES This year students will be exposed to new and challenging material entitled Changes: How History Has Shaped the World in Which We Live, which will fuse together literature, science, social studies, geography, and computer science. They will be involved in creative, authentic experiences through simulations, mysteries, and active learning. The students will discover that history will connect to our culture today, and the web of history connects us all. Through experiencing and appreciating the goals, struggles, and decisions of past societies, students in our classroom will gain a deeper appreciation for the world-changing issues facing people today. Changes: How History Has Shaped the World in Which We Live During the first part of the year, students will be introduced to the Civil War period. This section of the unit is designed to show the differences that separated the North and the South. Students will be exposed to the events that led up to the war, inventions of the time, what it was like to be a soldier, art from the time period, significant battles, as well as be involved in a simulation which offers interaction and encourages a collaborative approach to learning. Your child will also be introduced to quality literature that reflects life during this time in American history. During our study of the Underground Railroad, students will be introduced to the changes that took place from the 1700 s to the 1800 s. Through an extensive literature-based study, the students will gain knowledge of the events, culture, the terminology used, and the changes that took place. The students will gain knowledge of how the Underground Railroad worked, who traveled on it, and why its very name meant freedom. This will inspire them to be brave when faced with injustice. The study will contain a mystery from the time period that will once again strengthen each student s ability to apply important science concepts to realworld events. While solving the mystery, the students will make deductions, analyze evidence, and develop higher order thinking skills.

3 In the final section of our unit, Immigration, students will be introduced to the gateway to America, Ellis Island. Through a rich curriculum of literature, students will hear the voices of real immigrants, understand how they felt at their first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, and learn about their journey through the Great Hall with the promise of freedom for thousands. This enriched setting will allow children to reenact the journey, allowing them to pass through the examination by a doctor and be questioned by an inspector. The students will also be involved in a mystery centered around that time period which will engage them in hands-on, inquiry-based learning, while strengthening their ability to apply important science concepts to real-world events. They will gain a rich appreciation for the subject matter that they are investigating, and they will learn how to think like real scientists. Students will also be exposed to art for that time period. Code.org and Scratch are online curriculums that assume no prior computer science knowledge. Both provide clear, detailed lessons that are customized or tailored to our students needs and evolving experiences. The courses are designed to be flexibly implemented rather than a rigid pathway based on grade levels. The teacher will decide the path for each student from prior knowledge and student consultation. The one event that will occur before student consultation will be that every student must complete course 2 in Code.org. RATIONALE: This unit, which focuses on the areas of literature, science, social studies, geography, and computer science, will provide an opportunity to challenge students to think critically and creatively and to recognize how certain historical events have shaped America over time. Pull-Out Programs And Specialized Classes Work Programming options for gifted and talented students occur in a variety of ways, and research demonstrates the effectiveness of pull-out and specialized classes and their curriculum in raising student achievement. (National Association for the Gifted)

4 COMMUNICATION: A course syllabus is sent home to parents at the beginning of the school year. A newsletter for parents will be sent home at the beginning of each major section of study. Progress reports, based on the child s Education Plan, will be sent home at the end of every nine weeks. A gifted education website will be maintained with pertinent information at the following site: ASSESSMENT: Students will be involved in broad-based assessment with the Changes Unit. The assessment process will be: natural rather than contrived it will flow with the learning open-ended the child will show what he/she is capable of doing reflect many ways in which children learn students will have opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge through drawing, writing, speaking, creating products, or physically demonstrating STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES: The student will: have a beginning foundation of knowledge of the Civil War, immigration, and the Underground Railroad use literature to convey ways to recognize and understand multiple problems within a complex issue and generate solutions create and present products using various inventive strategies use visual arts to create a product to solve a problem or communicate a perspective connect the context of a reading passage to a real-world experience and recognize opposing viewpoints/perspectives develop critical thinking, logic, persistence, and creativity with problem solving through computer science

5 FLORIDA STATE STANDARDS: LAFS.1.RI.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. LAFS.2.RI.2.6 Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe. LAFS.4.RI.1.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. LAFS.5.RI.1.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text. MAFS.3.MD.3.5 Recognize area as an attribute of plane figures and understand concepts of area measurement. SC.4.N.1.1 Raise questions about the natural world, use appropriate reference materials that support understanding to obtain information (identifying the source), conduct both individual and team investigations through free exploration and systematic investigations, and generate appropriate explanations based on those explorations. SC.4.N.1.2 Compare the observations made by different groups using multiple tools and seek reasons to explain the differences across groups. SC.4.N.1.5 other classmates. Compare the methods and results of investigations done by SC.4.N.1.6 Keep the records that describe observations made, carefully distinguishing actual observations from ideas and inferences about the observations. SC.4.N.1.7 evidence. Recognize and explain that scientists base their explanations on

6 FLORIDA S FRAMEWORKS FOR K-12 GIFTED LEARNERS Student Outcomes Program Goal 4 By graduation, the student identified as gifted will be able to think creatively and critically to identify and solve real-world problems. Student Objectives: The gifted student will: identify and investigate a problem and generate supportive arguments from multiple perspectives of a complex issue analyze the relevance, reliability, and usefulness of data to draw conclusions and forecast effective solutions use and evaluate various problem-solving methods to determine effectiveness in solving real-world problems Student Outcomes Program Goal 5 By graduation, the student identified as gifted will be able to assume leadership and participatory roles in both gifted and heterogeneous group learning situations. Student Objectives: The gifted student will: accept divergent views to positively affect change identify leadership traits and qualities as they appear in different individuals and situations manifest significant leadership skills and organize group(s) to achieve project goals Student Outcomes Program Goal 7 By graduation, the student identified as gifted will be able to develop and deliver a variety of authentic products/performances that demonstrate understanding in multiple fields/disciplines. Student Objectives: The gifted student will: develop products that communicate expertise in multiple fields and disciplines to a variety of authentic audiences

7 create products that synthesize information from multiple sources illustrating solutions to real-life problems

8 CHANGES Calendar of Study WEEK DATE STUDY TOPIC 1 Aug Introduction to Unit; The Civil War Coding Activities (throughout year) 2 Aug 29-Sept 2 3 Sept 5-9 No Mon 4 Sept Wed early release 5 Sept Sept Oct Oct No Fri 9 Oct Oct Oct 31-Nov 4 12 Nov 7-11 The Underground Railroad 13 Nov Field Trip to Fort Meade Frontier Park 6 th Annual Battle of Bowlegs Creek Nov Thanksgiving Break 14 Nov 28-Dec 2 15 Dec Dec Dec Thur early release No Fri Dec 23-Jan 6 18 Jan 9-13 No Monday 19 Jan Winter Break 20 Jan Jan 30-Feb 3

9 22 Feb Feb Immigration Thur early release No Fri 24 Feb Field Trip (TBA) 25 Feb 27-Mar 3 26 Mar 6-10 Mar Mar No Mon 28 Mar Spring Break 29 Apl Apl No Fri 31 Apl Apl May May 8-12 Parent Visits (Last week of gifted classes) 35 May End-of year staffings; meet with individual students; no regular gifted classes