Dear Friend,
Welcome to Gifted and Talented Education! And welcome to Big Ideas for Little Scholars. I created this website with you in mind. I don’t know your situation, but many GATE teachers are islands, alone in their role with little support or guidance. I would love to help. Here are my recommendations to you if you’re starting from scratch.
FIRST, if you haven’t already, join social media groups for teachers of gifted and advanced students. You can find my list of RECOMMENDATIONS in the menu above! The educators in these groups are very generous in sharing and will answer questions for newbies. Ask for help, and feel free to message me, too, if you’re looking for a specific resource and can’t find it. I might be able to help.
SECOND, don’t stress about setting up your classroom (if you have one). You can put up colored bulletin board paper and draw giant question marks on them, and the kids will be in anticipation of what’s to come. I created the bulletin board shown below as a display space for student work. All I did was put up the background paper and the letters (found here). For other walls in your room, use these quick and easy ideas. For more help and inspiration, join our Facebook PLN and find GT classroom tours and photos!
THIRD, no matter how little time you have with students, I would advise you to do something intellectually challenging from Day One. Yes, it’s important to get acquainted with students, build community, and reassure students that they are safe and welcome. It’s possible to also mix in a little challenge, even if you have limited time, and with activities that won’t intimidate students new to your class. I just collected a few teachers’ favorite first-day icebreakers here, all of which engage students, build community, and lead to thinking and good discussions.
FOURTH, you don’t need to have your daily plans and schedule solidified. I have a tip for you that helped me immensely. I like structure more than routine, and I think it’s fun and advantageous to keep students guessing (and they like it, too). Rather than establishing a set routine for the first few minutes of class, I trained students to read the screen as soon as they walked in the room. On the first day of class, I displayed a WELCOME message with the first thing I wanted students to do, such as “WELCOME TO CLASS! Please find your name, be seated, and begin the activity on your desk.” What I like about the READ THE SCREEN FIRST strategy is that it freed me up to greet students at the door as they arrived, and I could surprise them with different “warm-ups.” If they asked me what to do, I just pointed to the screen. Scroll through the slides below to see what might have been displayed as they entered my classroom.
FINALLY, have a few fillers ready for when you have fifteen minutes of class remaining. Here a few ideas to get you started:
- One-Minute Mysteries (read aloud)
- Whimsical What-Ifs (shared by Shelly– thank you!)
- Short videos – all under 6 min.
- Crazy Daisy Guessing Game
Search the site for more BOY resources, including my Back-to-School MAD GABS, which always get everyone giggling. I hope the resources and articles on the website help you. I wish you all the best as you begin this exciting journey!
Donna
P.S. – If you’re new here, this video tour will help you get the most out of this website!