The registration deadline for Center for Talent Development’s terrific Summer Conference for gifted students and their families is fast approaching. Held at Northwestern University’s Evanston campus on Saturday, June 27 from 1 to 5:15 p.m., “Opportunities for the Future” is designed to provide gifted students and their families with a better understanding of giftedness and the variety of options available to students in their education and future careers.

If you’ve already signed up for the conference, please pass along this e-mail to someone you think would be interested. If you haven’t yet signed up, please read through the electronic copy of the brochure by going to the Outreach & Resources portion of the CTD web site —  http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/outreach/ — and signing up for the classes that most pique the interest of you and your family.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at jodyrosenbaum<AT>northwestern<DOT>edu or call me directly at 847-467-0615.

We look forward to see you next month at Opportunities for the Future.

Thank you.

Jody Rosenbaum
Event Coordinator

Genesis: Reading Block 2: Paragraphs and sentence openers due Monday 6/1 at latest.  Reading Block 3: None.  (Writing: Final portfolios due Monday 6/1!)

Legacy: Any straggling reading logs are due by Tuesday 6/2.

Explorers: None.

Genesis: Your final literature circle discussion/role sheet packet is due tomorrow 5/29!

Legacy: Turn in your log of independent reading books for Trimester 3 by the end of the week.

Explorers: None.

Genesis: Block 2 Reading: Literature Circle #2 Meeting/Role Sheet due Wednesday 5/27!  Last meeting/role sheet on Friday!

Legacy: Turn in independent reading log by the end of the week.

Explorers: None.

Genesis: Literature Circle Discussion #2 on Wednesday 5/27!

Legacy: Turn in Trimester 3 reading logs by 5/29.

Explorers: None.

Genesis: Prepare reading and role sheet for Literature Circle #2 (Block 2: due Wed 5/27).  Study sheet for Friday 5/22’s grammar quiz!

Legacy: Continue work on differentiated final assessment for Fahrenheit 451 (Block 2: due Thu 5/21; Block 3: Fri 5/22)

Explorers: Independent Reading Contract due Thursday (Block 5).  Science Fiction Project collaboration this week!

Genesis: Prepare reading and role sheet for Literature Circle #1 (Block 2: due Wed 5/20; Block 3: Thu 5/21)

Legacy: Continue work on differentiated final assessment for Fahrenheit 451 (Block 2: due Thu 5/21; Block 3: Fri 5/22)

Explorers: Independent Reading Contract due Wednesday.  Science Fiction Project collaboration this week!

Genesis: We wrapped up our Civil War literature circles this week.  Students had chosen the book in this genre last week, reading Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs by Mary E. Lyons or Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen.  I was impressed by the quality and depth of students’ literature circle discussions.  Literature circles depend on individual student contribution, and the level of role sheet discussion preparation that students completed for homework was high.  They did a fantastic job Discussion Directoring, Illuminatoring, and Connectoring!  We also focused on grammar/4-line grammar analysis this week, analyzing Phillis Wheatley’s diction after responding to critical thinking questions emerging from one of her poems.  Students will be assessed on their parts of speech mastery next week.  In preparation for their quiz, they are working on collaborative stories that apply the parts of speech with a memorable context/concept.

Legacy: Students developed RAFTs informed by their reading of Fahrenheit 451.  A RAFT is a curriculum strategy that relates Role, Audience, Format, and Topic.  This differentiated approach allow students to exercise creativity within a critical response to a text.  Students’ RAFTs are going well!  They are due Monday 5/18.  We also kept up on our current events with a reading of the article “Don’t!” from this week’s New Yorker.  The article linked self-control capability with future academic/life success–ask your student about it!  Students designed their own experiments to continue the studies’ research during X Block.

Explorers: Students developed their graduation speeches during writing workshop time.  These speeches explored a theme that could communicate an audience “call to action”; students worked to integrate famous quotations with their recollection of personal experiences.  Students also read and discussed selected science fiction stories and in preparation for a collaborative project next week.

Genesis: Finish Phillis Wheatley packet; Literature Circle #3 role sheet due Friday 5/15.  You must have your entire literature circle packet in class.

Legacy: Two RAFTs due Monday 5/18.

Explorers: Graduation speeches due Friday 5/15!  Reading contract due Wednesday 5/20.

Genesis: Continue working on Literature Circle #3 preparation (reading and role sheet).  If you did not finish Sojourner Truth/Phillis Wheatley handouts, work on it for tomorrow.  Keep up your writing projects for Writing Check-in #1 (Moss due Thursday 5/14; Lien due Monday 5/18).

Legacy: Continue working on Reading Check & RAFTs.  RAFTs are due Monday 5/18.

Explorers: Continue working on graduation speech (draft due Thursday 5/14; final due next week).  Reading contracts are due Wednesday 5/18.