The Explore Program at Cherry Hills Christian is a weekly pull-out class serving academically talented students in first through fifth grade. A variety of integrated units of study require students to use higher level thinking skills while participating in hands-on, open-ended activities. Students come to their Explore Class for one hour each week. Units are four-six sessions long. Students are chosen based on their interest in the topic, and their achievement on their classroom work. Teachers also review the list of gifted characteristics as they consider students.
-Good problem solving/reasoning abilities
-Rapid learning ability
-Extensive vocabulary
-Excellent memory
-Long attention span
-Personal sensitivity
-Compassion for others
-Perfectionism
-Intensity
-Moral sensitivity
-Unusual curiosity
-Perseverant when interested
-High degree of energy
-Preference for older companions
-Wide range of interests
-Great sense of humor
-Early or avid reading ability
-Concerned with justice, fairness
-At times, judgment seems mature for age
-Keen powers of observation
-Vivid imagination
-High degree of creativity
-Tends to question authority
-Shows ability with numbers
-Good at jigsaw puzzles
Units of Study
First Grade
1st - Patterns Everywhere (Unit 1)
Students will be exploring patterns, not only in math and nature, but also in poetry, writing, and art.
1st- Maker-space Exploration (Unit 2)
Student will create, build and explore using a variety of items. From traditional legos, and maker items, to circuit boards, and simple robotics.
1st- Let’s Roll (Unit 3)
Students will be on a roll with dice, wheels, marbles, and maybe even cinnamon rolls in this unit.
Second Grade
Win, Lose, or Draw- There is much more to drawing than as an artist, as the students will find out in this unit as they draw cards, draw conclusions, and are drawn closer to Christ. -Math, writing, reading, art, Bible, science, social studies, computer.
World of Words- This unit gives students the opportunity to play with words in a variety of ways (poetry, one dollar words, riddles, story writing, and more) -Writing, reading, math,computers, art, geography, social studies.
What’s A Matter- Students will be experimenting with different types of matter in this unit. -science, math, art, computers
Bubble-ology- It’s bubblin’ over in this unit as students explore the wonderful world of bubbles. -Math, science, writing, art, computers
Third Grade
The Art of Storytelling- Students will be telling stories with pictures, words, video, and puppetry. -Writing, art, computers, music, social studies, geography
Crack the Code- Students study the history of codes and then experiment with codes, in a variety of formats. -Math, History, reading, writing, social studies, science, computers
Around the World- This unit takes students on a trip around the world through a variety of activities. -Social Studies, science, reading, writing, math, geography, art, computers, music
Fourth Grade
-Inventors, Inventions- Students will research inventions, create their own invention and develop an advertisement for their invention. -History, science, writing, computers, social studies, art, math
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-WASP- The students will explore Aviation through a unit brought to us by Wings Over the Rockies Museum. -Science, Math, Writing, geography, history.
Fifth Grade
-Creative Problem Solvers- This unit challenges students to solve a variety of problems in creative and unexpected ways, including some discovery imagination quick challenges. -math, writing, science, art, computers, drama
-Passion Project- In this unit the students will drive their learning as they discover what they are passionate about, learn more about that, and choose a way of presenting their project. -All Disciplines depending on the subject matter chosen.
-Bridges- Students will cross the bridge...after they build it. This unit includes researching, creating, and testing different types of bridges using a variety of resources. -Math, science, writing, geography, computers
