S.T.A.R.T.

S.I.G.N.E.T.

START is the gifted education program for the primary grades. Students at this level are identified as potentially gifted. This suggests they have a strong potential to achieve in language or mathematics, and they are presenting themselves as students who are more advanced than their peers. They need enrichment on top of what they are doing in their regular education classrooms.

START goals are to challenge students to develop skills that help them to clarify learning by thinking critically, creatively, and reflectively. In resource classes, identified students are offered a variety of educational opportunities that extend and enrich the county curricula and support the Standards of Learning (SOLs).

The following objectives guide curriculum development in the START program:

Language Arts

• Explore the relationships between words and meanings.
• Analyze, interpret, and extend a variety of literary genres.
• Interpret, analyze, and evaluate data to solve mysteries.

Mathematics

• Use a variety of concrete manipulative materials to explore geometric principles.
• Interpret given data to discover mathematical patterns and solve problems.
• Analyze, sort, and classify patterns based on a variety of attributes.

Students can be referred for START or SIGNET by teachers, parents, community members, or administrators. Please contact Emily Smith or Lisa Sill if you would like more information on the program or if you would like a copy of the referral form.

SIGNET provides services to students identified in the categories of general intellectual ability and specific academic aptitude. These students receive enrichment services during both fourth and fifth grades in a school-based program at Cedar Point Elementary School.  Students are seen for a minimum of three hours and forty-five minutes a week.

SIGNET's curriculum is designed to incorporate student interests by extending the county curriculum while encouraging exploration. The sessions are broken into different learning periods that each has a set of specific goals:

Learning Centers—These centers are divided into as many as four levels of difficulty. There are many different areas of exploration. Students make decisions by choosing individual topics of interest and are guided through independent study with the use of contracts. Center time is a major part of the students’ SIGNET time. It provides an opportunity for work in a chosen area of interest while experiencing various disciplines.

Daily Reflection—At the conclusion of center work each day, students are asked to reflect on their work. They are asked to record the work they accomplished, create a plan or goal for the next session, and offer insight as to the thinking skills they used.

Problem of the Day (Odyssey of the Mind Problems)—This is a block of time dedicated to expanding the students’ expertise in problem solving and critical thinking. Small teams work together, at times in competition, on various projects that involve both time and resource limitations.

T.A.G. (Techniques for Achieving Goals) Units —These are whole-group sessions leading to a culminating activity at the end of the year. These sessions have been instituted to assure that all students will have common instruction on critical areas before moving on to middle school. Topics have been chosen that are directly applicable to classroom expectations and that take into consideration the special needs and interests of gifted students.

SIGNET Gifted Education Resource Teacher
Lisa Sill
silllm@pwcs.edu
703.365.0963, ext. 285