Welcome to G.A.T.E.S.

What is G.A.T.E.S?Gifted and Talented Educational Services

Congratulations!

You have been selected to participate in a special class called G.A.T.E.S. You will be able to learn and do lots of interesting things in G.A.T.E.S.

But wait a minute?!

Maybe you’re a little confused. Why did you get chosen to be in G.A.T.E.S.? What will you have to do? What goes on in here?

GIFTED: What does that mean?

TALENTED: What does that mean?

Don’t Worry!

Being in G.A.T.E.S. is great!

You were chosen because you have the ability to become a great thinker. That’s what it means to be gifted and talented. Maybe you have already been thinking of some good ideas!

Learn to Think!

Learning to be a great thinker is like learning to ride a bike, playing an instrument, or learning to read. No matter how good you are at it, you still have to keep practicing. Your G.A.T.E.S. class is giving you a chance to practice your thinking.

Easy Thinking

You probably do pretty well on some things at school without thinking very hard about them. It’s nice if you understand some things easily, but you won’t do any really good thinking if those are the only things you think about.

Tap your head!

Did that take a lot of thinking? Probably not, and you probably did a pretty good job of it.

Now tap your head with your right hand and rub your tummy with your left hand. Did that make you think a little harder? Maybe?!

Thinking Harder

Now, think about how you can touch a nose to an elbow. Could you think of a way to do it? Was that harder?

elbow

Think About This…

1. Did it say your nose?2. Did is say your elbow?3. Are there other types of “noses”?4. Are there other types of “elbows”?

If you think about those questions, does that make you think about other ways of how you can touch a nose to an elbow?

Think in New Ways

Brain Exercises

Thinking about harder things is sometimes scary for kids. They only like doing things that they are good at and that are easy for them. Some kids don’t want to think hard. G.A.T.E.S. is about trying new things, thinking about different ways of doing things, and a place to practice harder thinking! GATES is exercise for the brain!

Are You Wondering?

Maybe you are wondering how people figured out that you have the ability to become a good thinker.

Remember?

Those special tests you took can tell us how good a person is at the thinking skills needed for solving problems or figuring things out, like we do in G.A.T.E.S. If you did well on those tests, it means that you COULD become a good thinker and problem-solver, IF you work at it! IF you practice at it! G.A.T.E.S. is where you get to practice your thinking!

Good Thinkers…

• Think of ideas for helping themselves to be a better learner and thinker

• Learn new things• Figure out ways to solve problems• Try, even if it’s hard• Think about things A LOT!

G.A.T.E.S. is great, but…

It doesn’t mean you are better or smarter than anyone else just because you were chosen to be in here. You probably have friends who are good at doing things, too, like sports, art, singing in front of people, or writing.

Be a Good Friend

Remember to let your friends who will not be coming to G.A.TE.S. with you know why they are special, too. Try to make them feel proud of the things they are good at and the special things that they might get to do. Don’t make them feel bad about not being able to come to G.A.T.E.S. When your G.A.T.E.S. teacher picks you up, be sure to pick up your things quickly and quietly tell your teacher that you are going to G.A.T.E.S. Be discreet! Don’t make a big deal out of it!

Be Thoughtful of Others’ Feelings

Showing off or bragging doesn’t help either. If other kids brag sometimes, you can let them feel good without bragging back. They already know that you are good at things. You don’t have to spoil their excitement about reminding them of what you can and get to do.

Keep in Mind…

• GATES will give you the time to practice thinking!• Some of the things that you’ll work on will be really

fun, but you have to be willing to accept the challenges if/when things get hard.

• You can’t become the best thinker you can be unless you keep trying to think about harder things all the time.

• You can do it, and you will be proud of yourself when you do! If you don’t, you will be wasting your G’s and T’s (gifts and talents)!

If someone asks you about G.A.T.E.S, what will you tell them?