Parent Resources
 Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted  Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students |
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Expectations For 6/7 AGATE Students
READING
Students entering the AGATE program at middle school must be able to read independently at least at their own grade level. Most students read considerably above grade level, including adult books and classics. The students have a rich vocabulary and know how to find the meaning of unfamiliar words. They comprehend literal and figurative meanings in the text. They can infer and draw conclusions. They make connections between what they are reading to other texts, to themselves, and to the world around them.
WRITING
Most students entering the AGATE program at middle school can do creative, expository, and persuasive writing that is organized, developed, original, and insightful. Students are expected to follow conventions of spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage on all final-draft written work that they hand in.
SOCIAL STUDIES AND NATIONAL HISTORY DAY
Social studies curriculum is taught on alternate years. One year focuses on ancient history and geography. The alternate year focuses on the fall of Rome through the Reformation and Washington state history.
All AGATE students in the 6th and 7th grade participate in National History Day.
Students who enter the AGATE program should have the inquiring mind, the curiosity, and the task commitment that will make independent activities and research projects both successful and enjoyable. They should be familiar with the steps of the research process: picking a topic, generating questions, finding resources, gathering and organizing information, preparing the final product, presenting, and doing a self-evaluation. They should be comfortable working independently and able to follow written and oral directions.
THINKING SKILLS
Students in the AGATE program should consistently demonstrate (both orally and in written work) their ability to generalize, elaborate, conceptualize, make connections, and think critically, creatively, and abstractly.
Thinking skills are integrated into all the AGATE curriculum. Projects and activities require students to use creative problem-solving techniques, decision-making skills, brainstorming, convergent and divergent thinking, and all levels of Bloom: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Time issues can cause problems for individual students. Gifted students often are talented in one or more areas and may want to pursue many activities, leading to what has been called the "over-programmed child syndrome." School band, private music lessons, drama groups, dance classes, art lessons, sports, and ASB all take time, energy, discipline, and commitment.
Parents need to make sure their children have time for friends, relaxation, fun, dinner and family time. Many parents solve the time problems by letting their child participate in only one or two extra activities at a time.
READING
Students entering the AGATE program at middle school must be able to read independently at least at their own grade level. Most students read considerably above grade level, including adult books and classics. The students have a rich vocabulary and know how to find the meaning of unfamiliar words. They comprehend literal and figurative meanings in the text. They can infer and draw conclusions. They make connections between what they are reading to other texts, to themselves, and to the world around them.
WRITING
Most students entering the AGATE program at middle school can do creative, expository, and persuasive writing that is organized, developed, original, and insightful. Students are expected to follow conventions of spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage on all final-draft written work that they hand in.
SOCIAL STUDIES AND NATIONAL HISTORY DAY
Social studies curriculum is taught on alternate years. One year focuses on ancient history and geography. The alternate year focuses on the fall of Rome through the Reformation and Washington state history.
All AGATE students in the 6th and 7th grade participate in National History Day.
Students who enter the AGATE program should have the inquiring mind, the curiosity, and the task commitment that will make independent activities and research projects both successful and enjoyable. They should be familiar with the steps of the research process: picking a topic, generating questions, finding resources, gathering and organizing information, preparing the final product, presenting, and doing a self-evaluation. They should be comfortable working independently and able to follow written and oral directions.
THINKING SKILLS
Students in the AGATE program should consistently demonstrate (both orally and in written work) their ability to generalize, elaborate, conceptualize, make connections, and think critically, creatively, and abstractly.
Thinking skills are integrated into all the AGATE curriculum. Projects and activities require students to use creative problem-solving techniques, decision-making skills, brainstorming, convergent and divergent thinking, and all levels of Bloom: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Time issues can cause problems for individual students. Gifted students often are talented in one or more areas and may want to pursue many activities, leading to what has been called the "over-programmed child syndrome." School band, private music lessons, drama groups, dance classes, art lessons, sports, and ASB all take time, energy, discipline, and commitment.
Parents need to make sure their children have time for friends, relaxation, fun, dinner and family time. Many parents solve the time problems by letting their child participate in only one or two extra activities at a time.
