TALENTED AND GIFTED PROGRAM

Welcome to the Delwood Community School District's Talented and Gifted home page. The purpose of this page is to inform students and parents about resources and opportunities available for high achieving students, and to share all of the amazing things the students accomplish.

The Delwood Community School District Talented and Gifted Program (TAG) provides highly motivated, academically gifted students with an opportunity to realize and develop their exceptional intellectual and creative abilities. The TAG Program expands on the district curriculum while emphasizing higher-order thinking, deep knowledge, substantive conversations and making connections to the world beyond the classroom. Weekly, TAG students in grades 3 - 6 engage in project based learning experiences designed to promote knowledge and skill development through extended investigation, complex questioning, and engaging challenges.

Battle of the Books

The Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading incentive program for students in grades 3 & 4. The purpose is simply to encourage students to read good books and have fun while competing with peers.

A student participates by reading from the book lists below (books are provided by the school). Students may count "books" they have read before. However, they cannot count books that they have only seen on a video or a movie. They must read the book. They should keep a summary so they can review this information before the Battle. Things to think about while reading are characters, setting, important events, and problem/solution.

A typical "Battle" is a tournament or game, like College Bowl or Family Feud, in which students' teams earn points by answering questions about the books on the book lists. A typical competition day begins with a meeting of teams, a morning snack and directions for the day. Students will play several rounds, each against a different team. At the end of the morning, points are totaled and the two teams with the most points are invited to a "Grand Battle" after lunch, with the other teams as their audience.

Third Grade Books:

Abduction

Detective Camp

Friendship According to Humphrey

Liberty Porter, First Daughter

Lost and Found

Million Dollar Putt

No Dogs Allowed

The Lemonade War

The Stolen Sapphire

Winnie at Her Best

Fourth Grade Books:

A Crooked Kind of Perfect

A Dog’s Life

Being Teddy Roosevelt

Iron Thunder

Julia’s Kitchen

No Talking

One-Handed Catch

The Homework Machine

Two Minute Drill

Zoobreak

Additional Resources and Opportunities

For information regarding diverse characteristics and behaviors that are associated with giftedness explore the links below.

The University of Iowa's Belin-Blank Center

Belin-Blank Center Summer Program Appllication

  • Blast ~ Grades 2-6

  • Junior Scholars Institute (JSI) ~ Grades 6-8

  • Blank Summer Institute (BSI) ~ Grades 7 & 8

  • National Scholars Institute (NSI) ~ Grades 9-11

  • Secondary Student Training Program (SSTP) ~ Grades 10 & 11

The National Association of Gifted Children NAGC

Hoagies Gifted ~A ton of Awesome Apps: from preschool through high school ~ there are also apps for parents!