Programs for Students

Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program: Beginner (Students)

Looking for a GATE program for your school? Finding such a program can be challenging. After all, gifted students display a variety of talents. How are you going to meet each of their needs? Here's a solution. Jim's GATE workshops focus on skills that are universally valuable to the gifted and talented population. Modules are offered in 3 areas:

  • The Leadership Advantage: Beginner series
  • Secrets of a Super Memory: Beginner series
  • >Cartooning and Creativity: Beginner series

Based on decades of research, Jim's multi-sensory approach includes storytelling, slide shows, custom games, original songs, puppets, magic, high-tech devices, and loads of interaction. The Beginner GATE package is 12 meetings (2 hours each).

The Leadership Advantage: Beginner

You read to young children to instill a love for reading and give them a head start in school. You teach your children to swim so they will enjoy and feel confident around water. You enroll in The Leadership Advantage to help your child develop one of the most valued traits in our society – leadership. Introduce leadership to your child when she/he is developing life-long behaviors. By the end of the course, children have skills that enable them to build positive attitudes, set and attain goals, and reinforce self-esteem.

Topics covered in this class include:

  • Successful people have an “attitude,” try out this attitude for yourself
  • Develop your charisma in 5 steps
  • Practice 5 secrets used by successful “goal-getters”
  • Learn to get rid of fear with the “Sarnoff squeeze”
  • Find out what the T’NACI monster is and how you can slay it
  • Learn how to build your own self-esteem
  • Discover how you benefit others and yourself when you power praise someone

Class Schedule: This is a four part class, two hours per class

Secrets of a Super Memory: Beginner

This class adds the fourth R to Readin', 'Ritin', and 'Rithmatic. The fourth R is Remembering. A big chunk of your child’s academic success is based on remembering. From kindergarten to college, tests measure memory. This is a class in "memory literacy"––a universally beneficial skill. Skills are taught with an emphasis on academic subjects: reading comprehension, social studies, foreign language, spelling, science, and geography. Using the techniques learned in this class, students have:

  • Memorized all 50 states and their capitals in under two hours
  • Learned 100 foreign language words in a weekend
  • Met 10 people at a virtual party and greeted those people a year later by name
  • Listed the 43 presidents of the United States in order after an hour of study
  • Been able to recite and explain the 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution after one hour of study

Secrets of a Super Memory is interactive. There are a lot of games. Walk in on a program and you might see students using the memory skills employed by the Guinness Book record holder for learning foreign languages in a game called “snap.” Later you will see kids physically acting out a story with a surprise memory ending. Watch as students discover one of the secrets of super-spellers. At some point people may be juggling or playing memory games that cover constitutional amendments, geology, human anatomy, or botany.

Class Schedule: This is a four part class, two hours per class.

Creativity and Cartooning: Beginner

Just like you teach a child to ride a bicycle, read a book, or play a musical instrument, you can teach your child how to be creative. It's a skill. There are a variety of tools that you have to master, but once you have them, it is like riding a bike. The earlier your child starts, the more competent she will become in this skill.

    • Find out how a cartoonist like Gary Larson and an inventor like Benjamin Franklin think alike
    • Construct a creativity wheel
    • Discover how to turn on your creativity with second right answers
    • Learn how to use a creativity wallet just like Leonardo da Vinci (a pretty creative guy)
    • Play with the blender technique to come up with something that never existed before

Using cartooning as a tool, Jim shows you how to increase creativity. Cartooning appeals to many children and introduces hands-on training in coming up with imaginative ideas. The principles for coming up with a good cartoon are the same principles used by scientists, managers, film-makers, inventors, writers, entrepreneurs and anyone else who benefits from thinking different. Students can learn up to 5 creativity techniques:

While art techniques are taught, the primary focus of the class is hands-on experience with specific creativity skills. By the end of class, students will have a notebook filled with their creative ideas.

Class Schedule: This is a four part class, two hours per class.

Comments

My son was a very lucky participant in the GATE program this year. It has made a huge difference in him. The days he had GATE, he came home enthusiastic, full of ideas and truly sparkling...It was great to see him challended and motivated. Each year his teachers have told us that it is challenging to keep him interested and learning while also meeting the needs of the other students. Jim Wiltens' GATE program has been a wonderful experience for my son. Peggy Propp, parent