4EAcademy
Enrich-Engage-Explore-Extend
Mission and Criteria
Mission
Provide the students of St. Mary’s School who demonstrate exceptional abilities an opportunity to reach their full academic potential by offering them challenging and supportive educational experiences.
Curriculum/Implementation
Thematic units will be developed that will help the students:
Once a week for 30-40 minutes, the students will meet in small groups with Mrs. Schneider, the 4E teacher. Students will be responsible for getting the information they missed; however, they will not be expected to make up all 100% of the work.
Students who are eligible to participate in the 4E Academy are those pupils who exhibit high performance capability in intellectual aptitude, specific academic areas, creativity, visual and performing arts, and/or leadership. Brief summaries of the characteristics of these five areas are:
Intellectually Gifted - Students show early and rapid development of language ability, a large vocabulary, strong powers of reasoning, analysis, or synthesis, and advanced ability to critical thinking and problem solving. Intellectually gifted students often have a high IQ, demonstrate high achievement, and are capable of being very good at most things they choose to do.
Academically Able - Students do extremely well in one or two subject areas. Their performance in these areas exceeds the work they do in other areas. They are often widely read in their area of interest, are enthusiastic, possess a broad knowledge base, and exhibit a high energy level on those school tasks.
Creatively Gifted and Talented - Pupils express their creative abilities in oral, written, and nonverbal forms. They tend to produce many original ideas and are flexible and elaborate in their thinking. Their ideas are often different from those of other students, resisting conformity. They often challenge authority, are adventurous, and have a sense of humor.
Artistically Gifted and Talented - Students show high potential for significant contributions in the visual and performing arts including acting, writing, painting, sculpting, singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument, and/or composing.
Leadership - These students tend to assume responsibility and direct others in activities in both formal classroom and informal/social situations. Their leadership traits may be used either positively or negatively.
Students in grades 2-6 will be eligible for participation in the 4E Academy. Students will be allowed the flexibility of selecting the units that they participate in. However, once a student selects a unit, they must remain committed to it until it is completed. Each unit of study will be approximately 4-6 weeks long.
Students who transfer into St. Mary's School and whose records substantiate that they have been identified as gifted and talented will be allowed to enroll.
The 4E Academy units for 2007-2008 are centered around this year's AR reading theme "Catch the Wave--Dive Into Books."
4E ACADEMY
2007-2008
Name _____________________________ Grade ________
______ Core ______ Satellite ______ No participation
*all units *please select unit(s)
Unit Options:
_____ UNIT 1: OCEAN HABITATS (Sept. - Oct.)
In this unit we will learn about the animals and plants that live in the different habitats of our oceans. In addition to discovering the characteristics and locations of 7 habitats, we will explore the animals and plants that live there and their mutual dependence on each other. We will also touch upon the ecological concerns of each of the habitats.
_____ UNIT 2: OCEANS IN MOTION (Oct. - Nov.)
In this unit we will take a look at ocean action. Driven by forces such as wind, tides, and gravity, currents keep our oceans in constant motion. In addition to learning about waves, tides, and changing sea levels, we will discuss light in the oceans, food chains, and trophic levels. We will also conduct a variety of water experiments involving pressure, the bends, salinity, pollution, and temperature.
_____ UNIT 3: (Grades 1-4) EXPLORING THE UNSINKABLE TITANIC (Dec. - Jan.)
On April 15th, 1912 the White Star Liner RMS Titanic established an unforgettable legacy as she slipped beneath the surface of the Atlantic after a collision with an iceberg. In this unit we will outline the events that led up to the destruction of what was once called the "unsinkable" ship. We will also chronicle the Titanic's doomed maiden voyage, explore the passenger list, plot its voyage in the Atlantic and map the location of the wreckage.
_____ UNIT 3: (Grades 5-6) EXPLORING THE UNSINKABLE TITANIC (Dec. - Feb.)
On April 15th, 1912 the White Star Liner RMS Titanic established an unforgettable legacy as she slipped beneath the surface of the Atlantic after a collision with an iceberg. In this unit we will outline the events that led up to the destruction of what was once called the "unsinkable" ship. We will chronicle the Titanic's doomed maiden voyage, plot its voyage in the Atlantic and map the location of the wreckage. We will also stage a mock trial of the White Star Line, the operator of the RMS Titanic. Survivor Carla Christine Jensen will sue on behalf of her deceased fiancé Mr. Jensen, charging the White Star Line with gross negligence in its operation of the RMS Titanic causing the death of over fifteen hundred men, women, and children, a disproportionate number of whom were third class passengers like Mr. Jensen. The trial involves a plaintiff, defendant, witnesses, a jury, and verdict. We will also learn about the judicial process and negligence law.
_____ UNIT 4: THE OCEAN FLOOR (Feb. - Mar.)
Have you ever wondered how the ocean would look without all that water? How it would look if it were just dry land? Well, if you're standing on the shore watching the sandy beach disappear beneath the waves, you may think that it is probably like a big sandy desert. It's not. In this unit we will discover how the ocean floor is as varied and irregular as the land we can see. We will also build models of the ocean floor and create a miniature deep sea vent.
_____ UNIT 5: THERE ARE ALGAE IN YOUR HOUSE (Apr. - May)
Although fish and other seafood products make delicious, healthy meals for people all over the world, many children would not mind if they never had to eat tuna casserole again. But they would mind if suddenly there were no more cheese and chocolate milk, peanut butter and pudding, frozen desserts and fruit drinks. What could such different foods have in common? Along with hundreds of other common foods and household items, they contain the aquatic plants known as seaweed! In this unit we will discover that, although we sometimes can neither smell nor taste them, many ingredients in our foods and household products come from the sea.