AIG News
Academically/Intellectually Gifted (AIG) Program
Dawn Pelletier, AIG Specialist
Meadow View Elementary
December 2016
Volume 7, Number 3
Wrapping It Up in 2016
In This Issue
 Wrapping It Up in
2016
‘Tis the season to be learning! With our winter break right
around the corner, we’ve been quite busy.
 Math Matters
 Strategy Games
Galore
Support for Gifted
Students and Their
Families
http://www.hoagiesgifte
d.org/
http://oedb.org/ilibraria
n/50-essential-links-forthe-parents-of-giftedchildren/
Gifted in Onslow County
Schools
http://onslowaig.weebly.c
om/
Our county’s AIG webpage,
with numerous helpful links
WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING …
Reading classes have wrapped up our study of the brain and the importance of having a
growth mindset.
We have also been making great progress in our Charleston Latin
program. Students can count to ten and translate simple addition
problems (sums to 10) in Latin. They have mastered a counting song,
“Unus, Duo, Tres Romani,” and are learning many new derivatives from
number roots, such as unanimous, septuagenarian, tripod, and decimate.
Why Latin?
Providing an introduction to the Latin language is an important part of our program for gifted
readers. Fourth and fifth graders benefit in many ways from their participation in Charleston Latin
units, which highlight major aspects of Roman culture while emphasizing vocabulary growth. As
we explain to students, there are three goals that guide Latin instruction. We strive to:
Expand student vocabulary through derivative study.
Explore ancient Roman civilization to develop a deeper appreciation for its influences.
Provide a foundation for future language study.
Students may tackle unfamiliar words with more confidence based on their knowledge of Latin
roots, and they will recognize similarities between words in many Romance languages. When
learning about life in ancient Roman, they gain insight into an amazing civilization that has had
tremendous impact on their own culture.
In math, students have been working on solving for unknown values using Hands-On
Equations strategies.
We continued our Math with Purpose: The Great Number Rumble unit. In Chapter
3, we looked at how math and art are integrated. Students tried their hands at
modeling the work of artist M.C. Escher by creating tessellations of their own.
WHAT’S NEXT …
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Beginning a novel study in the new year
Getting started on Unit 3 in Charleston Latin: “The Roman Family at Table”
Working on lessons from NCDPI’s Instructional Resource Project in math
Exploring the connections between music and math
Math Matters
21 -century learners rely heavily on mathematical skills that go way beyond
basic computation and applications. Extensive reasoning and problem
solving are required, and the mathematical foundations established in the
elementary years are crucial for future success.
st
According to David Sousa in How the Gifted Brain Learns, students with high
mathematical ability:
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Contact Me
[email protected]
12.nc.us
Learn and understand mathematical ideas very quickly.
Display multiple strategies for solving problems.
Engage other students in their activities.
Sustain their concentration and show great tenacity in pursuing solutions.
Switch approaches easily and avoid nonproductive approaches.
Operate easily with symbols and spatial concepts.
Quickly recognize similarities, differences, and patterns.
Look at problems more analytically than holistically.
Work systematically and accurately.
Demonstrate mathematical abilities in other subject areas.
Gifted students often thrive on additional opportunities to solve complex
problems or test their wits in strategy games. Such games are a great way
to stay challenged and engaged on winter days!
(910) 478-3522
Strategy Games Galore
Campus Hours
(Room 413)
Love to play chess and other strategy games?
Here are ten board games that I love or are recommended for gifted kids:
7:45 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesdays
Thursdays
Friday mornings
1
2
3
4
5
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Blokus/Blokus 3-D
Qwirkle and/or Ingenious
Gobblet
Mancala
Rush Hour
6 – Quadrillion
7 – Mastermind
8 – Set
9 – Sequence
10 – Any of Gigamic’s wooden games
And some favorite websites to explore … HAVE FUN!!
 Figure This! Mathematics Challenges for Families
http://www.figurethis.org/index.html
 Coolmath.com
http://www.coolmath.com/
 Interactivate
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/
 NRICH
http://nrich.maths.org/forstudents