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Gifted Laboratory Newsletter-August 2019

Dear Parents-

     Hello, my name is Frances (Francie) Snyder and I would like to welcome you to

the 2019-20 school year. I have been teaching for over twenty-six years, with the last thirteen years working with the Gifted Population in Manatee County. This year, I will be

working at Abel Elementary on Mondays, Bayshore Elementary on Tuesdays, Prine   Elementary on Wednesdays, and Kinnan Elementary on Thursdays and Fridays.

     I heard a speaker say once, “Your school should have an academic focus not a

project focus.” This is a statement I whole-heartedly agree with, however, the presence

of projects does not mean that academics take a backseat. On the contrary, academics

are as front and center as ever, which is why we began using the Gifted Program's

motto - WE are a Laboratory and NOT a Factory.  Laboratories are

places of exploration, questioning, discovery and the focus is on the learning process. In

factories the focus is usually about the outcome or products. Those in factories are

taught to do something one way and never expected to ask why or to try to find a better

way of completing the task. With those principles in mind, we do what we can to

construct projects in such a way that a multitude of cross curriculum skills are covered.

These skills include: Grade Level State Standards, The State of Florida’s Framework for

the K-12 Gifted Learners, and National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for

Students.

     I have tried very hard to ask for very few supplies throughout the years and that continues. I am only asking for a box of Kleenex and a package of baby wipes.  Finally, if you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to let me know. The best way to reach me is through my school address snyderf@manatees.net.

Thank you,

Frances M. Snyder (Francie)

Educator of the Gifted 

Abel, Bayshore, Kinnan, and Prine Elementary Schools

Project of Heart

Some pictures form the project. 

Newsletter- January 2018

Dear Parents-

       It is hard for me to believe that this school year is already halfway over and we have been very busy with several activities. In December, we began learning some computer programming.  Over eight million other students from around the world participate in Hour of Code, which is a global movement in over 180 countries. Learning computer programming helps nurture problem-solving and creativity.

We are also finishing up our research projects. Students in grades K-3 have been working on researching and writing a book on a specific wild animal of their choice. When these books are complete we are planning to display them in our media center.  Fourth and fifth graders have been working with Genius Hour, which is based on a business practice that Google uses with their developers. They are allowed to use 20% of their time, provided that work has the potential to advance the company. Our guidelines/rules for Genius Hour are as follows:

-You must start with a real-world question or problem.

-Your answer/solution must require research. It must require more than a Google Search.

-Your final project must be shareable.

Finally, within the next couple of weeks, we will begin Virtual Literacy Circles where we are using Edmodo and Google Hangout, free technology programs to communicate with one another and other classes from around the world. These Virtual Literacy Circles do a wonderful job of honing literacy and technology skills and are a big hit with the students.

As a reminder, I have an open door policy and if you have any questions and/or concerns please contact me through email snyderf@manateeschools.

                                          Thank you,

 Frances M. Snyder (Francie)

 Educator of the Gifted

 Abel, Bayshore, Oneco, and Prine Elementary Schools

Saving Tom Turkey

I thought we would take a bit of time today to work on developing our creativity and have some fun in the process. I asked my students to come up with some advertisement to Save Tom Turkey. They enjoyed the work so much that had students begging to skip recess so that they could finish their project. I love days like these.  Here is a bit of their efforts.

Please note that we used PhotoBooth on my Mac to record these videos so all writing will be backward.

Newsletter-October 2017

Dear Parents-

Our Gifted Laboratory is off to a great start this year! One thing we have been striving for is

to keep a focus on our learning process rather than our final products. Since many of the strategies we use in one inquiry will be needed in another, it is my hope this focus will help strategies transfer. This quarter, we have spent a great deal of time exploring and discussing the idea of metacognition, or the awareness and understanding of your own thoughts. We are identifying and exploring these concepts in a variety of subjects from dealing with text to strategy games.

During the next quarter we will be exploring the ideas around Grit. Grit is defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” The research on Grit has shown it contributes to long term success. It proposes individuals who possess a drive to tirelessly work through challenges, failures and adversity to achieve, set goals and are uniquely positioned to reach higher achievements than others who lack similar stamina, no matter their intelligence level. With this in mind, we will spend time defining, listening to experts, holding group discussions and writing reflections on the role Grit plays in our personal success. Throughout the year, these types of explorations will encourage students to own their individual growth process. As a parent, one thing you can do to encourage and/or develop this mindset in your child is to focus your praise on process, learning, and effort (You really worked hard on this and have learned a lot. You did a great job of developing a plan and following it through. You’ve really developed as a musician.), as opposed to ability (You’re so clever. Look how smart you are; you did that so fast. You’re good at math. You’ve got a lot of talent.)

We will also begin to explore the topic of Genius Hour, which is based on a business practice that Google uses with their developers. They are allowed to use 20% of their time, provided that work has the potential to advance the company. Like everything else we do in our program, we will be focusing on the process. There will be mini lessons on strategies such as choosing an appropriate topic, note taking, developing a quality product and other items that may appear throughout. 

Our guidelines/rules for Genius
Hour are as follows:
-You must start with a real-world question or problem.
-Your answer/solution must require research. It must require more than a Google Search.
-Your final project must be shareable.
I am really looking forward to seeing where these students take these projects.

Again, if you need to reach me, the best way is through email snyderf@manateeschools.net.

Thank you,
Frances M. Snyder (Francie)
Educator of the Gifted
Abel, Bayshore, Oneco, and Prine Elementary Schools 

Newsletter August, 2017

Dear Parents,
      Hello, my name is Frances (Francie) Snyder and I would like to welcome you to
the 2017-18 school year. I have been teaching in Manatee County for over twenty years, with the last ten years working with the Gifted Population. This year, I will be working at Abel Elementary on Mondays, Oneco Elementary on Tuesdays, Prine Elementary on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Bayshore Elementary on Fridays.
     I heard a speaker say once, “Your school should have an academic focus not a project focus.” This is a statement I whole-heartedly agree with, however, the presence of projects does not mean that academics take a backseat. On the contrary, academics are as front and center as ever, which is why we began using the Gifted Program's motto - WE are a Laboratory and NOT a Factory. Let me explain, laboratories are places of exploration, questioning, discovery and the focus is on the learning process. In factories the focus is usually about the outcome or products. Those in factories are taught to do something one way and never expected to ask why or to try to find a better way of completing the task. With those principles in mind, we do what we can to construct projects in such a way that a multitude of cross curriculum skills are covered. These skills include: Grade Level State Standards, The State of Florida’s Framework for the K-12 Gifted Learners, and National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Students.
      Finally, I try my best to ask for very little supplies throughout the year and only ask for things that we use a great deal. I want to personally thank you in advance for sending in the items I am requesting and please know the extra help goes a long way.

Supply List:
-2 reams of white copy paper
-4 sharpened pencils
-wide tip washable markers (Crayola are best)
This is going to be an EXCITING year! If you need to reach me, the best way is through email snyderf@manateeschools.net.

Thank you,
Frances M. Snyder (Francie) Educator of the Gifted