Talent Pool

Talent Pool Identification

Students selected for Talent Pool at Elba Elementary School meet in a resource room for two hours, one day a week, to participate in various mini-courses. And, they meet for a half hour one day a week to mentally spar and challenge each other in centers. A teacher, parent, or peer may nominate students for Talent Pool services. The evaluation process utilizes multiple criteria and is based on intellectual screening, creative behavior checklist, grades, test scores, products, and creativity. Students served in Talent Pool must make a 17 on the State Identification Matrix, or rank above the cut off score on the Talent Pool Matrix. There are currently 31 students served in the resource room. The Talent Pool teacher is available to conduct enrichment activities in the regular classroom upon request.

Mini-courses for the 2004-2005 Academic Year

Is There a Doctor in the House? Fifth and Sixth grade

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a doctor or a nurse? When you participate in this medical mini-course you will find out first hand by performing tasks and utilizing terminology used by medical professionals. Each student who is admitted into the clinic will earn experience points for each project he/she successfully completes. Experience points will be totaled at the end of the clinic and status certificates will be awarded based on the amount of experience each clinician gained. Students may contract to achieve any of the following:

Surgeon General...................................1500 Experience points
Chief of Staff......................................1200 Experience points
Medical Doctor (MD).........................1000 Experience points
Registered Nurse (RN)...................... 800 Experience points
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)......600 Experience points
Hospital Support Staff..................... 400 Experience points

Grab your white jacket and stethoscope - STAT; the learning and fun are about to begin!

Birds, Birds, Birds
Third and Fourth grade

Birds wake us in the morning with their songs and they provide food for our tables. They provide inspiration for artists, inventors and others. Birds dazzle us with their graceful flight, their colorful feathers, and bizarre courtship displays. It seems unlikely that a 300 pound ostrich would have anything in common with a a wasp-sized hummingbird, but all birds, even those as different as the ostrich and hummingbird share common characteristics. We will learn what those characteristics are when we delve into this special group of vertebrates (animals with backbones) called Aves. (Aves is Latin for bird. Words such as avian and aviary are made from the root word Aves.) Let us pick up our binoculars and field guides, and join Ranger Rick in a search to become knowledgeable bird watchers. Ranger Rick's Nature Scope is published by the

National Wildlife Federation,1400
16th St., NW, Washington , D.C. 20036-2266

Early Bird Special! If you would like to start learning about birds before the mini-course begins visit Virtual Birding! http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/virtualbird/educational.html

Pirates All T.P. students

Ahoy Mates! The Jolly Roger is waving, and the crew is ready to loot and pillage as we journey to the vast unknown world of Pirates. Will we meet the notorious Blackbeard, or Anne Bonney? Arrg, now that would be trouble, but this voyage is not for the faint of heart! Pack your compass, your courage, and your bottle of rum (on second thought, scratch the rum) as we seek treasure... Pirate treasure!

The Emperor's New Clothes/ Fairy Tales All T.P. students