Last Wednesday night I held an informational meeting for parents regarding the program. Several of my current students were on hand to answer questions. I also had a former student talk about the transition from Proctor to Masco. The meeting was held in my room which offered the opportunity for parents to see evidence of student work. I touched upon the conception of TAAP- to build a program that would address the needs of academically able students in grades 4-6 at Proctor School. Topsfield is one of 15 districts in the state to offer support for students who need advanced academics. Attached is my power point for anyone who missed the meeting. The nomination process will run through May 4th for parents. Students will also need to submit their applications by May 4. The Cognitive Abilities Test will be administered during May 21-23. Please contact me for any more information!
A recent visitor to TAAP witnessed a group of ten 5th graders preparing for their final projects. We began with a simple time of goal setting. They were given 40 minutes to work on their projects- what did they think they could accomplish in those 40 minutes? What would they need? How would they know if they were successful? After a quick accumulation of materials, the students settled down to work. Two students looked up a recipe for salt clay, made the clay, then began to form their projects (The Holy Bull or Ptah and Anubis weighing a feather and a heart). One student wrote a script for a play at a quiet table. Two students were looking up information on computers. One found a hieroglyphic typewriter and began to write her summary in hieroglyphs. One student asked others to be in her film, giving the actors copies of the scripts she had written. One student drew out a map of Joppa, while another drew a large image of Queen Hatshepsut on a poster. Although this was one of my largest groups of students, the room was quiet with each concentrating on his or her individual project and contribution to the the whole. In addition to final projects, students are being asked to write a summary of their story. Using their projects to support the organization of thoughts, vocabulary development, and revision techniques, students applied these skills to the writing process. We are looking forward to sharing our final projects with families and friends at our portfolio share in a few weeks!
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AuthorJan Morris is the TAAP teacher for grades 4-6 at the Proctor School. Archives
May 2018
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