O'Neill Public Schools

Dear Parents and Guardians,

You are receiving this letter because your child has been chosen to participate in an enrichment class. Selected students will have the opportunity to come to my room to work on deductive and evaluative thinking.

We will work on our deductive thinking skills during first semester. Once again, we will work with Dudley the Detective to learn more about this type of thinking. We will also solve some mysteries during this semester. One characteristic of students who excel at deductive thinking is to the ability to intuitively see the correct answer. They tend to see the interrelationships between clues and defer judgment until all clues have been collected. Many times they will display outside knowledge about a topic that will help them discover the correct solution.

During second semester we will be guided by Jordan the Judge to learn more about evaluative thinking. We will also put a fairy tale on trial during this semester. The students who are able to evaluate and offer a solution that is based on valid considerations have an opportunity to shine during these specially designed lessons. Students who excel in this type of thinking may be able to see more than one viewpoint, understanding considerations, and supporting decisions and opinions.

I plan to meet with grade three students on Tuesdays for 40 minutes. Since we only meet once each week, there will be expectations for students to do some work outside of class. As a reward for students who complete all necessary assignments, there will be a reward field trip at the end of both semesters.

In addition to the enrichment class, I am offering an after school strategy class for selected grade three students. This class will be held on Mondays from 3:30-4:30 beginning September 19. My decision to have this class is so I have the opportunity to get to know my students better in a more relaxed atmosphere. I plan to have the children play strategy games. My hope is for children to learn to be better critical thinkers and problem solvers, along with many other things like goal decision making, politeness, and evaluation. Please let me know if there is a conflict with this after school time.

I am looking forward to working with the children and helping them to develop their thinking skills. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 336-1400 or via e-mail jbauer@esu8.org