GT+Weekly+Teaching+Strategy+Preassess

= GT Weekly Teaching Strategy: Preasses s = PREASSESS GT AND HIGHLY ABLE STUDENTS

Preassess GT and highly able students so that you can match instruction to the readiness level and interests of the learner.

//Researchers document that gifted and talented elementary students have mastered from 35 to 50 percent of the curriculum before they begin the school year (Ross, 1993).//

Benefits of preassessing students (Kingore, 2004):
 * Preassessment can motivate students to be more involved in and attentive to instruction and learning experiences as they clearly identify what they know and what they need to learn.
 * It helps avoid boredom: students are more mentally engaged when the learning is relevant to their needs and interesting to them.
 * It saves instruction time when teachers do not reteach what students already know.
 * It reduces the amount of grading, as students demonstrating mastery do not complete the tasks planned to help others learn.

Preassessment suggestions:

Use assessment data you already have collected (CSAP, reading inventory, benchmark) to form small groups for differentiated instruction.

Select the two most difficult problems from an Everyday Math lesson to check for mastery of that skill and readiness to move to more challenging work.

Give a spelling pretest at the beginning of the week. If they score 90 or above, let them create their own spelling list from various sources or give them a more challenging list.

Use end of unit tests.

Make students responsible for their preassessment data so they can use it to guide learning and set personal goals.

Use an Alphabetability, Topic Frame, Venn Diagram, or Plus Minus Interesting activity.