This simple picture can generate hours of discussion about Art, Science, Life, Beauty, Math, Poetry, Literature.......  What discussion could you and your chld have about this simple picture?

 

My name is Keith Diehl and I am the Gifted Facilliatator at Miller Elementary School and Mansfield Jr.- Sr. High School.  WELCOME!

 

 

 

 


HAPPY NEW YEAR! It is hard to believe it is 2008 already.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday vacation.  It is now time to refocus on the education at hand.  I have heard that many parents are having difficulty finding appropriate reading material for your advanced readers.  To that end, I have a web site that may be helpful.

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/hoagies_kids.htm

Some thoughts on Challenging Gifted Readers

Gifted children often live in a world of their own ideas.  They think of and tell amazing stories that leave us asking, " Where did that come from?"  Chances are they learned it from TV, the Internet or hopefully BOOKS!

When you look for reading material for your child, think about language, structure, perspective, type of ending and content.  Look at the role models presented and how it fits in your parenting style. 

In looking at the language, look for rich and varied vocabulary. In regard to structure you may want to look for books that don't necessarily follow beginning, middle and end, but may juggle the time sequences.  Perspective- who is telling the story?  Does the reader provide any personal interaction in the story?  Open endings may frustrate some readers but can make for some wonderful family discussion.  Remember to include the classics in your child's library,  They are classics for a reason.  Most importantly model the process of reading and share in the joy of family reading time. 

There is no substitute for reading books to a quality education.

 

 

Returning vistiors please check out the Current Reading link.

 

Welcome to Gifted Education

I hope this will be a very exciting year for the students identified for gifted education at Miller Elementary and Mansfield High School.  I know I am excited about the opportunities ahead of us.  Both schools have instituted an I-block period of the day.  This will give me the opportunity to meet with the identified students on a regular basis and not have to take them out of class.  At Miller Elementary school I meet with each grade level during one of the six I-blocks each cycle.  At Mansfield High I meet with the Jr. High group on three of six days and then the Sr. High on the other three days. 

I am actively contacting parents to set up Gifted Individual Education Plan team meetings.  The team consists of parent(s), students, teachers, administrators and Mr. Diehl.  In these meetings we will try to identify areas of strength and weakness in the students curriculum and look for opportunities to provide enrichment or if appropriate, acceleration.  It is my goal and the goal of Southern Tioga School District to provide a rigorous and, as much as possible, enjoyable curriculum.

I look forward to working with students and parents this year.  Our first areas of emphasis at Miller are Reading Awareness and a hands-on project.  The project is to build a prototype Trebuchet (follow the link above to view or print the plans) in the gifted education room.  This will help Mr. Bubeck and his I-block enrichment group prepare for building models large enough to fire tennis balls. At Mansfield we are doing some Literacy Skills. The students are reading some texts that are above some of their reading levels. (1240 lexile)  This reading is then used to discuss the topic as a group.  (Follow the link above to read the current reading.)  It is a must read for parents of gifted children.

HAVE A FANTASTIC YEAR AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO STAY IN TOUCH.

Sincerely,

Keith Diehl