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Beaverton Schools

TAG Plan

William Walker School TAG Plan

2023-2024

 

Philosophy Statement

The staff at William Walker Elementary School is committed to meeting the educational needs of each student. Through an integrated, challenging and rigorous curriculum offered through a variety of learning styles, students will be empowered to discover the joy of learning. Teachers will engage in ongoing student assessments to determine and ensure continuous learning occurs. The pathway which students will travel towards their learning will be varied while encouraging inquiry, world connections and growth over time.

Documentation Plan

The TAG Planning Worksheet will be used by all classroom teachers to record their academic plans for identified TAG students. Parents will be formally given the opportunity to give input in writing regarding their child’s TAG plan each fall and spring. The plan created on the worksheets will act as a road map specifying a student’s rate and level in key academic areas and outlining corresponding plans for instructional strategies.

Assessment

A variety of tools will be used to assess student achievement to ensure that TAG students are placed appropriately in the curriculum to meet their rate and level. These tools include, but are not limited to:

  • Pre and post tests

  • Student conferences

  • Work samples and projects

  • Standardized testing information: OSAS, ITBS, CogAT, NNAT2

  • Kingore Information Inventory (KOI) assessments conducted by classroom teachers in the fall of each year. Students will be observed for six weeks and results tallied. In addition, these tools will also be used for identification purposes.

The results of these assessments will be recorded by the classroom teacher and maintained in one of the following locations:

  • Student portfolio

  • Student collection of evidence

  • Scorebook

  • Test scores

  • Parent recommendation

Differentiated Curriculum/Instructional Strategies

Differentiated curriculum will be used to meet the rate and level of TAG students. Teachers will use a variety of instructional strategies depending on the needs of the students and the academic content area, including but not limited to:

  • Differentiated assignments to promote higher order thinking

  • Interdisciplinary curriculum across several disciplines

  • Extension activities

  • Complex/abstract materials

  • Research/Inquiry projects

  • Curriculum compacting

  • Accelerated instruction

  • Individualized contracts

  • Cluster/flexible grouping

  • Independent study/projects

  • Higher order thinking and questioning strategies

  • Individual instruction

  • Individual learning style emphasis

 

School Options/Enrichment Opportunities

Students will have the opportunity to participate in:

  • District Spelling Bee

  • Math Kangaroo, Global Math Day

  • Portland Writing Conference

  • District and Community writing/art/STEM contests

 

Staff Development Opportunities

  • Workshops

  • Inquiry model of instruction

  • Differentiated Instruction Training

  • Use of technology and internet resources

  • District TAG facilitator presentations

Communication

Communication with staff and parents include the following:

  • Saturday Academy bulletin 

  • Notification in the school newsletter of upcoming District TAG speakers or workshops for parents

  • Ongoing communication with staff regarding TAG processes and procedures.

  • Sharing of TAG-related groups in the community or on social forums (example, OTAG, Hoagies Gifted and Talented Page, etc.)

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Workshop is a teaching structure that…

  1. Brings in authentic work for students to do

  2. Puts the majority of the thinking work on the students

  3. Allows for students to receive feedback and set personal goals for themselves 

  4. Allows students to push themselves further

Reading Voraciously: The Reading Workshop offers students the opportunity to read books at their independent reading level. Volume & choice are key to moving a child up in levels of text complexity.

Small Group Work/Conferring: Students work on individual reading goals, based on teacher feedback, that will challenge their thinking and support reading success.

Writing Voraciously: The Writing Workshop offers students the opportunity to engage in authentic writing tasks at their individual level. Like reading, volume & choice are key to growth.

Small Group Work/Conferring: Students work on individual writing goals, based on teacher feedback, that will improve their craft.

  • Math Talk: Students are pushed to find the most efficient way to solve (beyond just using an algorithm)

  • Work Time: Students work on meaty problems that allow for multiple solution pathways or multiple answers

 

Closing: Students work to articulate their thinking to others

 

Strategies for Advanced Learners

  • Provide opportunities for students to work with mind-alike peers in small groups (book clubs, math tasks)

  • Ask questions that promote mathematical discourse

  • Give a new answer to a problem and ask students to define the new question

  • Create tasks based on thinking skill, content, and product

  • Offer the most difficult questions first

  • Check student understanding at the end of a lesson with exit slips

School TAG Coordinator

Richard Feely