K-2

Young children grow and develop at different rates cognitively, physically, and socially. Some children enter school ready for tasks which require concentration and academic skill, while others enter school at a much lower readiness level. It is sometimes difficult to determine in the early years of school those students who are truly gifted.

However, it is possible to recognize at a young age, those children who consistently reach the academic benchmarks sooner than their peers, and who, at this time in their cognitive and academic development, need educational experiences which go beyond those normally offered in primary classrooms.

Though the students are not formally identified gifted, the WIN Program recognizes and nurtures young children who demonstrate the potential for exceptional academic performance in kindergarten, first and second grades.

Discovery Goals:

• To recognize and nurture the academic gifts of young students K-2 from all cultural groups and across all economic strata who have the potential to perform at substantially high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment.
• To provide challenging instructional activities in math, reading, writing, problem-solving, and critical/creative thinking to students in K-2 grades who demonstrate gifted potential.

WIN Activities

The WIN Program nurtures young students through the following:

• Independent study on topics of interest to the student
• Creative problem-solving exercises
• Accelerated math assignments
• Accelerated reading, writing assignment
• Critical/creative thinking skill-building activities

WIN Staff

The regular classroom teacher, the principal and the district work cooperatively to provide activities designed to challenge young scholars and to recognize potential academic strengths.

WIN Methods

In searching for potentially gifted students, all teachers become familiar with their students in the primary classrooms through classroom observations, discussions with other teachers, and instructional activities with the students. The classroom teacher shares with teachers, during PLC time, the students’ progress in the general curriculum and performance on various K-2 assessments.

After observing the child and reviewing assessment information, the teacher will provide enrichment activities.

Teachers constantly examine and re-examine their students, watching carefully for the manifestation of gifted behaviors and the students’ need for differentiated instruction. Teachers take care to include minority, ESL, economically disadvantaged, and culturally different students in all the enrichment activities.

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