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

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 

Current Events-8/29/17-Student Post

The process we followed for this activity can be found here. 

Recently in gifted class we have learned about Hurricane Harvey in Huston, Texas. Due to  the flooding many people are stranded out in the flood water.  There are shelters, but sadly at the time our video was made there were only two shelters that were open. The people who are not in a shelter were told to stay in their homes. We'll have to hope these people have enough food and things to survive in their houses. If they leave it's likely they'll get hurt and possibly die. Speaking of death, sadly because of this hurricane and the rain two people have died. It's actually kind of sad and scary that people could and die because of the weather.  Unfortunate some have gotten caught in the water with no kind of shelter.  Street signs and things that can float have become a blessing. Yeah, you heard me right... people who get caught out in the water without a car or boat mainly try to float on old signs or things. In the video we watched we saw people floating on an old refrigerator. At least those people were lucky enough to find something to float on. It's really sad that so many people are getting hurt because of the weather. This information I have given you is important because out in Huston innocent people are getting hurt. It's not good that this is happening, I even heard that in some areas people will get a year's worth of rain fall in as little as one week.  We can hope the people will be alright and that this will be over soon. 
Gwen
4th Grade Student

August Newsletter

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 

October Newsletter 2016

Dear Parents-

We have had such fun this quarter getting to know each other! We spent a huge chunk of our time not just discussing things like teamwork and critical thinking through games and projects but each student has had a chance to begin to explore coding with robotics using our Ozobot and simple circuits with our Makey-Makey Kits. The older students are creating a how to video for one of these fun items. In the Gifted Laboratory, we focus on the process and not the final product and the students learned a great deal from this activity.

Also, this quarter our older students have  jumped into Virtual Literacy Circles with the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio with several schools from around the globe. We have been reading and discussing the book through the use of Edmodo and video conferencing software. This book has truly led to some wonderful conversations and we looking for more experience with Virtual Literacy Circles throughout the rest of the year.

Next quarter we will be exploring geography just a bit and we have some fun activities planned. Students will be participating in different projects to explore the world around them and hopefully broaden their horizons.

 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 those families who have sent in the items I requested and please know the extra help goes a long way. If you have not already done so we could still use your help.

Supply List:
-2 reams of white copy paper
-4 sharpened pencils

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

How to Use Makey-Makey and Ozobot

We have spent the last several weeks learning to both the Ozobot and Makey-Makey Kits. Students were then asked to create how to video to help those new to these fun little items. A great deal of problem solving  and fun was had by all.

Iva, Amelia, Sophia, and San Juanita 

Leo, Mason, and Donavan

Natalie,  Jadan, and Desi

"Oh the Places We Will Go"- Breakout

Nothing makes me happier then when my students come into my room, see what we are doing today, and then squeal with delight. This was exactly what my students did this morning when they came into the room saw the Breakout Box. Here are a few of the students' reflection on why others should try Breakout or what they learned during the process.

Newsletter- August 2016

Dear Parents-

I would like to welcome you and your child to our Gifted Laboratory for the 2016-17 school year. Our focus continues to be on the student outcomes from The Florida Framework for K-12 Gifted Learners, which I have attached for your review. It is our true belief that learning should be a lifelong pursuit and that the process is equal to if not more important than the final product. There will be a wide range of critical thinking activities where at each step along the way there will be lessons to learn. Students will be learning strategies, frameworks, and other skills needed to improve their problem solving skills.

Thanks to the use of technology, we will also continue to participate in many global collaboration projects. We will be reading and talking about books through Virtual Literacy Circles, exploring geography with Mystery Skypes, and of course participating in Virtual Field Trips.

Also, this year we will be exploring Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and how we can incorporate these principles into our life. These are timeless and proven principles of fairness, integrity, honesty and human dignity. The Seven Habits are as follows:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first
4. Think Win-Win
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw

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 the four or five families who have sent in the items I requested and please know the extra help goes a long way. If you have not already done so we could still use your help.

Supply List:

-2 reams of white copy paper

-4 sharpened pencils

Thank you,

Frances M. Snyder (Francie)

Brandon's Discovery Eduation 3M Young Scientist

My name is Brandon. In gifted this year, I worked on a project called The Discovery Education 3M Young Scientists Challenge. This challenge is for 5th graders and higher. What you have to do,  is think of a problem in this world that can be solved. It can be any size, it can be about a trash can. Anyway, once you have your problem you have to do research for it. Then you have to come up with a solution for your problem. Now for this step there’s three ways to go. You can either build a prototype for your solution if you need to make something and then gather up all your information, write a well thought out script and make your submission video and register for the challenge. The other way is if you need to build something, but you can’t manage to you can draw a picture for your invention, make a script and make your video. Finally if you don’t have to make invention then just explain in your video how your going to solve your problem.

 The problem I wanted to solve was to come up with a solution to keep animals staying out of your trash because that has happened many, many times. It would take a very long time to explain how my trash can invention so there is a video under these words that is my submission video.I hope you enjoy my Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist submission video.

 I want to thank Ms. Snyder for introducing me to the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Project and everyone who motivated to push on with this project.

Makinzi's Genius Hour Project

I’m Makinzi. For my Genius Hour project I created a blog that gives game reviews. The way I did this was I figured out games that I have played recently, I then wrote a description and a review on those games. Then I had to show a few people to see if those reviews make sense. After I had written five reviews, and an about me page. I made the blog using a personal Google Account account. It took me awhile to get everything set up, but now I finally done with everything. Now I just have to remember to keep posting.   

LINK:

A Gamers Playground Blog

http://agamersplayground.blogspot.com/

San'Tyera's Genius Hour

 My name is San’tyera, I will be telling you about how I did my Genius Hour project for Ms.Snyder's gifted class. In this project, we were told to pick a topic and make a project that is sharable some suggestions for us to do a blog, website, video, etc.; The topic I chose is a project based on dogs getting abused. I experienced my love for dogs at a very young age. From then, I’ve gotten plenty of dogs in my possession. I chose to make a website that tells you what to do, how to comfort them, and who to tell if you ever see an abused dog. In my opinion, my project was really fun and it feels good to know that you were helping out in your community, but one thing you should know if you ever want to do this, is that it’s not easy. It takes lots of time, work, and you really have to question your self like for example asking yourself is this really a benefit for others, or does it just benefit you. In my opinion this is a fun way to keep your brain active and working, and an opportunity to help out in your community.

         

My Genius Hour started off on something about saving dolphins, but I didn't really care to much about it, so Ms.Snyder pulled me to the side and said, "That she could tell that I wasn’t really passionate about it and she told me to try and think of something that I really wanted to." So I was thinking about the deep love I have for animals, but to narrow it down instead of doing animals in general, I thought about my favorite one, which is the domestic dogs. I started asking up questions like “Why do people abuse dogs?” and other questions like that. Then I got had to work on the content for my what I was going to put in my website. Finally, I put it all together and I think it is really cool. 

        

Overall my project was a huge success and it was really fun. You can see my project at;     

dogabusesantyera.weebly.com I hope you enjoy my website :).

Alexia's Genius Hour Progject

Hi. My name is Alexia. I have had so much experience with animals and I love animals a lot. I’ve created a blog about how we can stop animal endangerment and extinction for my Genius Hour Project. I have included information on how we can keep there habitats safe, specific animals, wildlife rehab centers, people and more. I hope this blog changes your opinion or makes you aware that animals are important. I would like to thank Ms. Snyder for helping me so much in this project. I would also like to thank the website pics4learning for the amazing pictures that are in this website.

                               Animals are Important Blog

Savannah's Genius Hour Project

Hello, my name is Savannah. I made a tutorial video of how to draw a Manga girl for a Genius Hour project in Ms.Snyder’s Gifted class. The video is me giving a slide show of  how I drew a Manga girl in a step by step process.

  

  Genius Hour is a project where you have to work on a problem that you think can be solved by your actions and the help of others. This video is the solution to a problem that I often have, which is people not knowing how to draw their own things. It benefits me and others, because they can draw what they want to draw even when I or others are not around.

    

  The hardest part of this project is me trying not to mess up in the voice recording. I tried not to disrupt the other students, and I got nervous that I would. Also, you can’t get complete silence in a room with other people so there’s that too that I got nervous about. I am new at making videos so I often had to pester my teacher.  I would like to give credit to Ms.Snyder for being a wonderful teacher and helping me edit the video. Also, thanks to Brandon G. for helping me take the pictures. Overall I thought it was a fun experience. Thank you for watching. 

Newsletter-January 2016

Dear Parents-

       It is hard for me to believe that this school year is already half way over and we have been very busy with several activities. Again, this December we participated with eight million other students from around the world in the Hour of Code. This is a global movement in over 180 countries. The organizers feel that-Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving and creativity.

            During this quarter some of our older students continued their work on  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.

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

-Your final project must be sharable.

I am really looking forward to seeing where these students take these projects.

Students have each crafted an Action Plan that clearly states what they hope to accomplish. This includes:  the goal, the procedures, a definition of what their completed  project looks like, and how it will be evaluated. We are really looking forward to sharing our work sometime after spring testing.

            Other groups are working on research projects and with all of these projects the process is our focus. There will be mini lesson on strategies such as: choosing an appropriate topic, note taking, developing a quality product and other items that may appear throughout. Our younger students are each working on Animal Projects and have been exploring an animal of their choice.

            Finally, 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. In December we had two Virtual Literacy Circles up and running with several more this spring. 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.net.

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Miss Snyder

Newsletter - October 2015

Dear Parents-

We are off to a great start this year! One of the things we have been striving for in our Gifted Laboratory is to keep the focus on our learning process and not the final products.  Many of the strategies we use in one inquiry will be needed in another and it is my hope that by focusing on the process of learning rather than final products, strategies will transfer. Don’t get me wrong, we are not sacrificing quality, we are attempting to stress if you plan and execute quality throughout you are more likely to produce a quality final product with less stress.  With that theme in mind, we spent some time both exploring and learning to use The Scientific Method. Students worked in small groups to design experiments using bubbles and other materials in the classroom. There were many discussions about the need for measurable data, it is okay for a hypothesis to be wrong, and other elements of the process. There are plans for a lot more Science Technology Art and Math (STEAM) this year in the program.

We have also begun 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 lesson 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. 

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

-Your final project must be sharable. 

I am really looking forward to seeing where these students take these projects. 

We have also begun to explore the idea of Grit, as a personal trait. Grit is defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” The research on Grit has shown it contributes to long term success. The research propose that 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. We have spent time defining, listening to experts, holding group discussions and writing reflections on the role Grit plays in our person success. These types of exploration throughout the year encourage students to own their own growth process.  One thing, as a parent, you can do to help encourage and/or develop this mindset in your child is 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.)

This quarter has brought us some good news as well. Thanks to Donors Choose and some friends of mine, we were able to purchase locks and other supplies for our Break Out Room. Our Breakout Room activities will teach teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, and troubleshooting by presenting participants with challenges that ignite their natural drive to problem-solve. These materials will be used several times throughout the year. Also, we received a three hundred dollar grant from the Manatee Education Foundation entitled “Creative Engineering”. These hands on materials will be utilized throughout the this year to provide inquiry based STEAM (Science, Technology, Arts and Math) Activities. I am looking forward to getting these materials into the students’ hands as soon as possible. If you know an organizations or any individuals who donate to the Manatee Education Foundation please be sure to thank them for what they are doing, not only our gifted laboratory, but so many other classrooms across the district. 

I try my best to ask for very little supplies throughout the year and only ask for things that we use a great deal of. I want to personally thank the four or five families who have sent in the items I requested and please know the extra help goes a long way. If you have not already done so we could still use your help. Thank you in advance

Supply List:

-2 reams of white copy paper

-4 sharpened pencils

Thank you, 

Frances M. Snyder (Francie)

Newsletter- August 2015

Dear Parents-

I would like to welcome you back for the 2015-16 school year. We have several exciting things planned for this year. First, we will be participating in Rock Our World (R.O.W.) which is a global collaboration project where students create music with GarageBand, Video Conference and learn with other students from around the globe. We will also be utilizing technology available to connect with literature and other classes from around the globe through Virtual Literacy Circles.  STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) explorations will be occurring often at all grade levels.  In everything we do the Florida State Grade Level Standards will be infused - with our main focus continuing to be on goals/standards that come from Florida's Framework for K-12 Gifted Learners.

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

Supply List

-2 reams of white copy paper

-4 sharpened pencils

Thank you,

Frances M. Snyder (Francie)

Educator of the Gifted

Newsletter -January 2015

Parents-
It is hard for me to believe that this school year is already half way over and we have been very busy with several activities.
In December we participated with 91,755,200 others from around the world in the Hour of Code. This is a program put on by Code.org and serves as an introduction to computer programing. The students loved these activities and will be continued with other coding activities throughout the rest of the year.

We also worked really hard to complete and share our biography reports on our inventors. These projects are now hanging on the wall outside our classroom. To help students get a better grasp of when each inventor lived, what else was happening in the world and a bit of their inventors impact on society we have created a timeline, which is hanging just above these projects. Please feel free to stop by and check them out. Another activity we participated in while projects were being presented was a thinking routine entitled,”Step Inside”. This routine consists of the following four questions to guide student to think deeper about what was presented. These questions were written about and discussed.

What did this person see, notice or observe?
What did this person understand, know or believe?
What did this person care deeply about?
What did this person wonder about?

A fourth grader after participating in “Step Inside” for the first time said,”Before I was looking at what he did, but now I am really seeing who he truly is."

During the third quarter our fourth and fifth graders will begin using the Challenge Based Learning (C.B.L.) Framework to guide our invention process. I for one am looking so forward to seeing what problems they will choose to solve with their inventions. The primary students will be participating in a CBL challenge entitled “Germs Make Us Sick”. They be exploring the topic through research and science experiments. From there students will work together to build a campaign to prevent the spread of these germs. 

Also, starting in February the fifth grade students will be working with students in Iowa on Virtual Literacy Circles. We will be reading and exploring literature together using video conferencing and other online tools. This is a project that Gina Hill, an educator from Iowa and I created and participated in during the spring of  2011 with much success. Personally, I can not wait to get started.

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

O.R.E.O. Project

  A couple of months ago we finished up our work on The OREO Project,  which I became aware of through the Discovery Educators' Network (The DEN). This annual project put together by Jen Wagner and found on her Projects By Jen Website.  It is the projects 15th Year and extend Math, Language Arts, Critical Thinking, Health and more. 

During one part of the project students stack the original Oreo Cookies, collect, graph and analyze the data. As the students, each took turn doing each of the following jobs: the stacker, data collector, and photographer. They took some great shots and I thought I wold share them here. 

     

October 2104- Newsletter

Dear Parents-

We spent the first quarter exploring the characteristics of a true inventor. Each students also explored real life inventor; such as Ben Franklin, Grace Hopper, Steve Jobs, The Wright Brothers, Temple Grandin...After these projects are complete we will be spending some time comparing and contrasting a few based on their characteristics of these inventors.

Also, this quarter we participated in a couple of quick projects to get our creative juices flowing. First students had a blast building spaghetti and marshmallow towers. In teams they were given the challenge to build the highest tower they could using a set number of dried spaghetti and marshmallows. Some were very successful and everyone learned a great deal. The other creative activity we engaged in was entitled What's in the Bag?. This idea came to us via some friends from The Discovery Educator's Network (The DEN). Each student was given a bag filled with a variety of art supplies with the following directions: Inside this bag you will find a variety of items. Please create something using as many of these items as you can. You may only use the items in your bag scissors,
a stapler and glue. We truly ended up with some wonder ideas.

Finally, starting this quarter we will begin the inventing process. To help us with the process we will be in contact with quirky.com. Quirky is a company that takes individual’s (or team’s) ideas for a product that solve a real world problem and then manufactures some of those product. They will spend sometime with us laying out their process from how they decided which products are manufacture to distribution. After learning about Quirky we will use The Challenge Based Learning  (CBL) Framework to help guide us through our process from defining a problem to our plans for an invention (or our solution).

Since I am only on Oneco’s Campus on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the best way to contact me is through email snyderf@manateeschools.net.

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