It's time to get back to reading!

Today during my second grade TAG Time Intervention there were groups of students talking the Language of Literature.......Students have chosen a Book Club that they would like to be members of and together they agree on the pages to be read and then have discussions about the text.  We have modeled and practiced language to use when we are discussing books.

"We understand how important words are so we are making sure our conversations are meaningful and clear.   We really like sharing our book ideas and hearing what our book club partners have to say.   Book Clubs are awesome!"

Math All Stars!

If you would walk into a TAG Time Intervention at Community School on a Friday, you would observe teams of students working together to solve mathematical problems that are set in 'real world' scenarios.  We have declared Friday as Math All Star days!  From second grade to fifth grade students are talking the language of math and collaborating to find the answers to their grade level question.  Teams earn points for correct answers and friendly competition has motivated students to use their math skills to find the correct answers.  Some team names are the Square Roots, the Fast Math  Factories, the Math Deminators and even the Division Duo.  Math skills are being challenged and students are invested in the success of their team.  More to come on many more TAG TIme events!  

"Thinking Out of the Box"

"Thinking Out of the Box is a lot of Brain Work!"    ~JOHNNY age 7- Mrs. Draeger's class at Yahara

"I really like the Brain Teasers we get to do!  Try this one:  Bambi did not have any shelter when the heavy rainstrom struck.  Bambi did not get a drop of rain on her.  How could this happen?"
~Nyllah age 7  Mrs. Draeger's class at Yahara

"We have a chance to read a lot while we do our Brain Teasers."  ~Lacey age 7 Mrs. Deegan's class at Yahara

Middle School TAG is happening!

Future Problem Solvers of America are here and walking the streets of Edgerton!   This week some students from grades 6th-8th were introduced to Future Problem Solvers of America.  FPSA is a critical and creative thinking program that incorportes students working together in teams to cooperatively solve futuristic problems and scenarios.  It requires students to analyze information and research for productive and reliable solutions.  The enthusiasm and motivation was evident as the students agreed to be part of the Edgerton team!  More to come as we get started on our first set of "problems".

Wisconsin TAG Conference

The past two days I have attended the State Talented and Gifted Conference in Wisconsin Dells.  Since the education world is full of acronyms, this is better known as WaTAG.  Along with over 200 gifted and talented educators from the state, I have been a part of valuable discussions and have revisited best practices in the field of TAG.  I am anxious to bring many new ideas back to Edgerton and implement them through our new TAG programming.  Among the most popular discussion topics were using the common core standards as the "springboard" for replacement practice in the area of high achievers and also increasing opportunities for critical thinking skills to be used and practiced.  Watch for future posts that will offer challenges to use your own critical thinking skills!  More to come......

Future Problem Solvers of America

Soon to be coming to Edgerton Schools......Future Problem Solvers of America.  Students will benefit in participating in these problem solving scenarios and work together in teams to research, apply critical thinking skills, and evaluate progress now and in the future.  I will be attending a Future Problem Solvers of America training conference in Verona, WI October 2nd and 3rd.  After the training, students in grades 3-12 may take part in competitive and/or non competitive teams and collabratively work to solve problems posed that parallel our current society.  Students from all over the country take part in this opportunity and in 1997 a Janesville team was Grand Champions!  More information and exciting details to come soon.

Yahara Learning is Going Strong!

Starting Thursday, Sept. 26th, I will get a chance to work in Intervention groups with some of the students at Yahara.  Our group work will revolve around the curriculum area of Reading.  We will meet once a week for 4 weeks and then we will review the groups and may restructure for some Math Interventions.  I look forward to working with classroom teachers to challenge students to "learn beyond their limits'.