2014 Dept. of Education Site Visit Report
TALENTED AND GIFTED PROGRAM
Welcome to the Delwood Community School District's Talented and Gifted home page. The purpose of this page is to inform students and parents about resources and opportunities available for high achieving students, and to share all of the amazing things the students accomplish.
The Delwood Community School District Talented and Gifted Program (TAG) provides highly motivated, academically gifted students with an opportunity to realize and develop their exceptional intellectual and creative abilities. The TAG Program expands on the district curriculum while emphasizing higher-order thinking, deep knowledge, substantive conversations and making connections to the world beyond the classroom. Weekly, TAG students in grades 3 - 6 engage in project based learning experiences designed to promote knowledge and skill development through extended investigation, complex questioning, and engaging challenges.
Battle of the Books
The Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading incentive program for students in grades 3 & 4. The purpose is simply to encourage students to read good books and have fun while competing with peers.
A student participates by reading from the book lists below (books are provided by the school). Students may count "books" they have read before. However, they cannot count books that they have only seen on a video or a movie. They must read the book. They should keep a summary so they can review this information before the Battle. Things to think about while reading are characters, setting, important events, and problem/solution.
A typical "Battle" is a tournament or game, like College Bowl or Family Feud, in which students' teams earn points by answering questions about the books on the book lists. A typical competition day begins with a meeting of teams, a morning snack and directions for the day. Students will play several rounds, each against a different team. At the end of the morning, points are totaled and the two teams with the most points are invited to a "Grand Battle" after lunch, with the other teams as their audience.
Third Grade Books:
Abduction
Detective Camp
Friendship According to Humphrey
Liberty Porter, First Daughter
Lost and Found
Million Dollar Putt
No Dogs Allowed
The Lemonade War
The Stolen Sapphire
Winnie at Her Best
Fourth Grade Books:
A Crooked Kind of Perfect
A Dog’s Life
Being Teddy Roosevelt
Iron Thunder
Julia’s Kitchen
No Talking
One-Handed Catch
The Homework Machine
Two Minute Drill
Zoobreak
Additional Resources and Opportunities
For information regarding diverse characteristics and behaviors that are associated with giftedness explore the links below.
The University of Iowa's Belin-Blank Center
Belin-Blank Center Summer Program Appllication
Blast ~ Grades 2-6
Junior Scholars Institute (JSI) ~ Grades 6-8
Blank Summer Institute (BSI) ~ Grades 7 & 8
National Scholars Institute (NSI) ~ Grades 9-11
Secondary Student Training Program (SSTP) ~ Grades 10 & 11