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| IN IN GRADES 4 4,

‘|New enrichment —
program
| for gifted pupils

Enrichment programs
sponsored by the Ministry of
Education,. Science and
Technology will be offered
to gifted pupils in 63 grades
4, 5 and 12 classrooms
throughout the province in

September, Education
Minister Dr. Pat McGeer
has announced.

Altogether, 43 of the

province’s 75 school districts
are participating in, the large-
scale pilot project designed
to refine the content and
delivery of learning
programs for bright pupils
who need challenge beyond
that provided by the regular
, school curriculum.

“It is essential that the
school system challenge all
pupils to the limit of their
ability,” Dr. McGeer said.

<The gyre a vesicul bumdoes-it_—_part
+—for “most,

special programs for those
who'learn below the level. of
the core. Now We are taking
the first step in a plan to
provide a higher level of
intellectual activity for
pupils who have the capacity
and desire to excel.”
{

McGeer said ‘that while a
number of school districts
have local y-developed
enrichment programs, there
is nb  generally-accepted
plan for in-depth learning
above the level of the core
curriculum and = for the
development of the creative
thinking powers that go with
it. Districts will be en-
couraged to retain their
existing programs but to

_5 AND 12

integrate them as far as
possible.

SEMINAR

McGeer said that par-
ticipating school | districts
were invited to send selected
teachers to an August 20 to
24 seminar at Jericho Hill
School for the Deaf in
Vancouver to become
acquainted with the special
learning materials that have
been developed in language
arts science, mathematics
and social studies for grades
4 and 5, and in science and
the humanities for grade 12.

Special teaching
techniques will also be
examined. The ministry will
bear all the cost.

“The ne are a vital
peeetuenineneee-aieca

cGeer eersat “THEY Must be
especially good teachers,.

themselves | _interested.in. -

advanced learning, and they
need the special knack of
simulating and — inspiring
their pupils.”

The enrichment materials
were prepared for the
ministry by a project team
under Dr. Stanley Blank of
the University of British
Columbia and an_ advisory
committee of experienced
teachers under the = chair-
manship of B.G. Webber,
the ministry's superintendent
of special programs.

Webber said the material
was prepared for grades 4
and 5 because at that stage

pupils have mastered the
basic skills of ‘reading,
writing and computing.

“School districts have the

option of starting in either
grade, depending on _ the
availability of gifted pupils.
The grade 12 material is
expected to attract pupils
from among those who
would normally write the
provincial government
scholarship examinations.

SPECIAL .
MATERIAL

Webber said that the
special material would
parallel regular course work
but be in greater depth and
complexity. He suggested as
an example that when
regular elementary pupils
are being familiarized with
the. phenomena of rain the

‘different sizes of raindrops,
the various: ways of
méasuring them, and the
relationship between
raindrop size and heavy and
light rainfalls.

Webber said that while the
districts can organize their
gifted pupils any way they
choose, he expects that in
most cases pupils will form
one segment or cluster of a
regular class. The teacher's
special job will be to keep
the pupils’ creative faculties
exercised while they work on
the advanced material
available to them. If there
are sufficient gifted pupils
available, a district’ might

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

SHORE NIGHT SCHOOL NEWS PAGE 15

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