First Grade
Theme: Relationships
Generalizations:
• Everything is related in some way.
• All relationships are purposeful.
• Relationships change over time.
First Graders are our youngest students to participate in the PAT pull-out program. The first grade class meets once a week with the Gifted Specialist for 90 minutes. The unique learning styles and the length of a first grader's attention span make the PAT class an active and exciting place!
First Grade PAT is a learning ground. During this year the students are introduced to many kinds of thinking skills and activities that act as a foundation for the future. During classtime each week, students participate in activities which focus on developing creative, critical, and logical thinking skills. A problem-solving strand is also included that will introduce students to both Spontaneous Problem Solving (problem given to students to solve) and Creative Problem Solving (students decide which problem is most pertinent and then choose a solution).
Students are encouraged to use their creative and critical thinking skills in challenging activities sometimes based on literature selections. They work individually and collectively to complete assignments. Activities to assist students nurture a tolerance for ambiguity and visual thinking are planned to enhance a student's creativity.
Use of the Thinking Hats strategy developed by Edward deBono continues from kindergarten lessons. Working with attribute blocks and analogies continues to develop critical thinking.
Other lessons include problem-solving activities which guide student thinking and help them evaluate possible options to determine the best solution to a problem. First graders enjoy tackling the "Great Paper Clip Bundle" and rescuing the mysterious "Wumba". Creative listening activities and blind sequencing also challenge first graders.
In the spring the first graders will tackle a research project. As part of the research process students will read from multiple sources, take notes, and organize the data to create a product to present to the class. This year's research project is entitled "It's Extinct" and will give students the opportunity to explore the topic of extinct animals.
Every PAT class also includes opportunities for building various thinking skills. Each class begins or ends with quick brainteaser activities that we call anchor activities. These activities usually take less than 15-20 minutes of our class and are done to not only encourage thinking, but to build the ability to assess problems quickly and to push the students in their ability to deal with problems that may be challenging or frustrating. Students are encourage to "Try again" if they do not find a correct solution on their first attempt to encourage persistence and motivation. The students will be introduced to various anchor activities throughout the year. In first grade these include:
• Code Crackers (math and language arts)
• Draw Starts (creativity)
• Elimination Logic (deductive thinking)
• Grid logic (deductive thinking)
• XVO (deductive thinking)
• Logic Links (deductive thinking)
• Visual thinking puzzles
• Spatial thinking puzzles
• Analogies (critical and creative thinking)
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