The scope and sequence of the K-2 program is grounded in Primary Education Thinking Skills (P.E.T.S.).Primary Education Thinking Skills (PETS) is a systematic enrichment thinking skills program for K-3 students. Its purpose is to help primary aged students develop higher level thinking skills. PETS follows the taxonomy of thinking skills outlined by Benjamin Bloom, presenting lessons in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Students are introduced to Dudley the Detective - Deductive Logic, Yolanda the Yarnspinner - Creative Thinking, Isabel the Inventor - Inventive Thinking, Max the Magician - Mental Manipulation of Shapes, Sybil the Scientist - Analytic Thinking, and Jordan the Judge - Evaluative Thinking. Each character introduces a higher level thinking skill used in his or her job. Each character guides students through a story and a series of activities to introduce and reinforce their type of thinking. Imaginative memory triggers are included with each introductory lesson.
Schedule: The service delivery schedule rotates to best meet the needs of our students. The three rotations are described below:
- Rotation One (push-in, whole class nurturing): 4 sessions for each class. All four lessons focus on one character or higher oder thinking skill.
- Rotation Two (small group pull-out): Based on the data collected during the whole group nurturing, a small group of students are pulled for further extension and/or enrichment. Pull-out sessions are approximately 3-5 classes long. Classroom teachers and the Gifted Education Specialist gather data using the TOPS tool -Teachers Observation of Potential in Students. TOPS is a research-based tool organized around nine domains:
- learns easily;
- shows advanced skills;
- displays curiosity and creativity;
- has strong interests;
- shows advanced reasoning and problem solving;
- displays spatial abilities;
- shows motivation;
- shows social perceptiveness; and
- displays leadership.
Under each domain are examples of behavior that can be used to indicate potential. The tool includes both teacher-pleasing and non-teacher-pleasing behaviors.
- Rotation Three (observation, coaching, and planning) : During the final rotation, I push-in to each classroom again, this time to observe students and provide instructional resources and coaching for our teachers. This is an opportunity for classroom teachers and I to work together to ensure that students are being appropriately and actively challenged. The rotation then begins again, this time with a new character and higher order thinking skill.
