What Is One-Day G.A.T.E. ???

 

 

     Literature describing ideal curriculum for gifted learners refers to the need for thematic interdisciplinary units of study which focus on broad-based issues, problems and global themes.  These universal themes are: Change, Conflict, Exploration, Force, Order, Patterns, Power, Structure, Systems, and Relationships.

 

 Goals of the Scholars’ Program:

 

·        To provide learners with a system to organize information from various disciplines

·        To promote greater retention of subject matter as students make connections within, among and across the disciplines

·        To connect this learning to all learning experiences, not just in the GATE classroom;  to apply these concepts at their home schools

·        To work towards becoming a scholar

 

 

Program Components

·        Scholarly Attributes

·        Universal Theme (Systems, Patterns, Relationships)

·        Learning Centers (Focusing on Depth and Complexity)

·        Independent Study (Classroom and Computer Lab)

·        Disciplinarians (Organizing; Goal-Setting; Self-Evaluation)

·        Language of the Discipline

 

 

Curricular Focus

·        Science

·        Spanish

·        Geography/Current Events

·        Language Arts

·        Computer Technology

·        Fine Arts

     

 

Our Purpose

     One of the purposes of the One-Day Program is to provide enrichment opportunities which enable students to develop skills that are transferable to everyday life, including the classroom at their home school.  Another is to help our students explore, develop and express their creativity in various ways.  Finally, we want to help our students become more successful learners by teaching them specific learning strategies.

      Throughout the day we stress the importance of scholarly attributes, which we encourage them to incorporate into their daily lives.

 

 

Scholarly Attributes

 

1.           Coming prepared

2.         Asking meaningful questions

3.         Taking time to ponder

4.        Exercising your intellect

5.         Looking with different points of view

6.         Using varied resources

7.         Setting goals

8.        Saving things

9.        Being academically humble

10.     Taking (intellectual) risks:  thinking “outside of the box”

11.   Always doing professional work:  taking pride in your work

 

 

 

A Few Examples of Past & On-Going Skills & Activities

1.  Research projects – individual and group – in all areas of curriculum

2.     Presentations:  oral reports incorporating visuals, powerpoint, digital movies

3.     Technology skills and application:  webpage design(www.bcsd.k12.ca.us/owens), with web based projects, Power point, word processing and editing, digital still and video presentations

4.     Creation of a newspaper with assistance from Californian employees

5.     Study trips, which include completing a “study booklet” starting before the field trip and incorporating what was learned on the trip. The booklet activities include research, artwork with varied media, vocabulary development, personal reflections and poetry.

6.     Science:  Oceanography (experiments with the properties of water,  in depth whale study)

Flight:  (Bernouli’s principle, birds, study and build kites, hot air balloons, rockets)

Animals:  (Scientific classification, dissection, exotic animal study)

Science Mystery:  (Collect & analyze data, experiment with PH levels, make predictions, observations and conclusions)

7.     Fine Art:  Studying famous artists and composers.  Using various media and methods in our artwork.

8.     “Centers”  including a “Construction Zone” where students have to work independently, read instructions, draw a blueprint, construct a model, make connections to a universal theme and self-evaluate. 


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