November Newsletter for Madeira’s 5th Grade Gifted Program

Parents,

Hello! I hope all is well. We have been very busy with all of our projects on Tuesday afternoons.

We had a fantastic presentation from the Cincinnati Museum Center which complemented our “Mystery Disease” problem-based learning simulation perfectly. Ms. Karen spoke about the history of diseases in Cincinnati. We used primary documents, made our own stomachache medicine using apothecary tools, participated in drama activities, held giant microbes, and much more. Some of the students inquired about where to purchase the giant microbes. They can be ordered on I purchased E-coli for our class. If I had to describe them, I would say they are disturbingly cute!

If you visit my teacher webpage, I have parent resource books on parenting a gifted child, research articles (a new one about perfectionism was posted), travel ideas with kid-friendly places all over Ohio and the surrounding states, websites, and more.

Have a great day!

Dr. Alley

We are working on three major projects first semester. They are as follows:

1.Mystery Disease Simulation – The middle school simulation is designed for students in grades 5-8. It is based on an E-coli outbreak. Students are given weekly clues from newspapers, maps of the community, disease reports from the hospital, memos from Dr. Billman at the county health department, and much more. They must compile all of their data to present their theories in a creative way using technology.

There are two great books you and your family may enjoy reading together. Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis andAn American Plague: YellowFever Epidemic written by award-winning author, Jim Murphy. I have read both books, and I highly recommend them. Due to the material, I would suggest a parent-child read-aloud.

2.Algebra Mystery Maze – This is a really fun and extremely challenging math simulation dealing with the order of operations. Students are working in teams solving algebraic equations while earning play money. They use the money in the Maze Supply Store to design a cardboard maze. Each week students receive a state-shaped maze to complete as a warm-up. After the maze warm-up, they receive a maze that must be completed by solving math problems. After the math maze, we discuss the history of mazes around the world. We end our maze exploration with the algebra challenge where students earn play money based upon their accuracy solving problems. Students will learn financial literacy on a basic level during this unit as well.

3.SCRATCH Computer Programming – The third project during first semester is to learn the computer program, SCRATCH. Fifth grader, Henry Manning, will be the teacher during this session. Since we are studying mazes, we will be building a maze using this computer program. Scratch is a free online program designed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

We start our day with a sixth or seventh grade logic puzzle and end our day with lateral thinking puzzles.

EXTRA ENRICHMENT IDEAS:

  1. Cincinnati Ballet – “Peter Pan” will be performed by the Cincinnati Ballet November 7th, 8th, and 9th at the Aronoff Center for Arts.
  2. Trammel Fossil Park (563-1144) on Tramway Drive in Sharonville. This is a free site to dig for fossils. It is safe and accessible. There are educational signs and picnic tables at the site. You will need to bring a bucket and/or bag to take home the fossils. Plus, you may want to bring digging tools. I have a wonderful scavenger hunt sheet with photos of the fossils if you decide to visit. Students can see how many fossils they can find.
  3. The famous painting, American Gothic, is on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum until November 16th. I visited the art museum in September to see the amazing painting by Grant Wood. The art museum is open everyday except Mondays. The admission is free except some special exhibits. Parking is four dollars. If you are a member, parking and special exhibits are free. The art museum is located at 953 Eden Park Drive. The phone number is 721-2787. The museum contains over 60,000 pieces of art spanning 6,000 years. There are lots of free family programs each month which are explained on their website.
  4. The famous Cincinnati Ballet, “The Nutcracker”, will be showing December 19th-27th. I have watched the performance many times, and I always find it exciting. The show is performed at the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
  5. LEGO KidsFest will be held November 7-9 at the Indianapolis Convention Center. Indianapolis has the world’s largest children’s museum. There are so many fun things to do in the city. I have a list on my teacher website under “Travel Ideas” which are listed by city.
  6. “The Polar Express” Train Ride will begin November 14th and end December 14th in Connersville, Indiana. For more information, call 765-825-2054 or visit
  7. Super Saturday is an amazing program for gifted kids, ages 4-14, offered through the dynamic parent support group called PAGE (Parent Association for Gifted Education). Students get a chance to meet with other students who are gifted from around the county. Students choose various classes such as theatre, engineering, chemistry, veterinary science, chess, French, and more. The class offerings change each quarter (Fall, Winter, and Spring). The classes are held at the University of Cincinnati-College of Applied Science on Victory Parkway. There is a link on my teacher webpage, or you can visit the website for Super Saturday at
  8. Creativities Art Studio in Madeira is a great place for kids who are passionate about art and have a creative side. You can find out more information at