Own The Word

I am teaching "Vocabulary" in a different way this year. For years I have been looking for a better way to help students acquire and use new words. On Wednesday, September 17, I had the privilege of hearing Quality Quinn's presentation at the I.E.T. (Instructional Enhancement Team) meeting at the Schultz Center after school. She inspired me. I came home with her words singing in my head..."teach fewer words better; students in the USA are woefully lacking in the number of words they use when writing; don't depend upon the publisher to give you vocabulary because you (the teacher) know your students; you can tell if a student really knows that vocabulary word when he/she uses the word in their writing; AND students must HEAR (many times), THINK, SAY, READ and WRITE that word before it becomes part of their vocabulary."

Quality Quinn reminded me of my experiences as a student in Norway...at the end of the year I was expected to take the 2 days of written exams right along with all the norwegian students. I took a two week intensive language course before my "teachers' school" began. That's where I found out that I needed lots of practice listening, thinking, speaking and reading long before I was ready to write answers in the norwegian language. I know my students feel just like I did. I know that Quality Quinn was correct when she stated that new vocabulary is acquired with lots of repetition. Therefore, in my classroom I will use "new" words as often as possible in converstation and instruction.

Every Tuesday, students will add 4-6 words to their Vocabulary Books. We will talk about these words and what they mean. I will use the words in sentences. We will read the words in our anthology and in our Guided Reading selected texts. Hopefully, the students will have many encounters with these words. My goal will be for students to successfully use these words in their own writing. That's what I call "Own The Word." When a student uses one of these words in his daily writing, she/he can color the word yellow. Over the entire year, when I am conferencing and observing student writing, I will check to see if the yellow word is used correctly in the sentence. I will put a GOLD circle around the word in that student's Vocabulary Book if they "Own The Word." This is not a one week project for each group of words. Gathering new words will be ongoing, for the entire year. For example, it may take "Suzy" until January to use the new word "commotion," one of this week's words, in her writing. She will receive the gold circle and sticker whenever she uses "commotion" correctly in her own writing.

Parents, I need your help, too. Please do try to use our words in conversations at home. I will post our "new" words every week on this blog (See "Vocabulary" on the left side) and students will write the words into their Planners on Tuesdays. Under the "Links of the Week" students can play a practice game online with these new words (Reading: Vocab #). Some or all of the words may already be a part of your student's vocabulary. But we do have students from other countries in our room who are learning English as a second or even third language. Students must hear, think, say, and read these words many times in order to increase their writing vocabulary.

I am very excited about "Own The Word." Thank you for all you do at home to help me help your student.

Character Traits of the Month

Duval County's 2008- 2009 Character Traits of the Month

August- Responsibility and Attentiveness
September- Citizenship and Cooperation
October- Fairness
November- Patriotism
December- Kindness and Caring
January- Courage and Initiative
February- Respect and Tolerance
March- Honesty and Trustworthiness
April- Self-control
May- Patience and Perseverance

What is Character Education?
-Teaching students how to take responsibility for their actions and to treat others with respect.
-Showing students that there are specific payoffs in life for doing those things.
-Modeling that behavior for students every second that they are with us during the day, and expecting them to do the same.
-Creating an atmosphere at school where students can safely practice those behaviors until such behavior becomes the norm.

For more information about Duval County's Character Education, visit:
http://www.duvalschools.org/static/ourschools/studentinfo/character.asp

Report Card Changes

In an effort to keep parents informed about changes which impact their student(s) in Second Grade and because we have already had Open House, I wanted to share this new information about Spelling and Handwriting on the Second Grade Report Card.

UPDATE 9-16-08: The changes below were "approved by the board."

Promotional requirements remain the same for Second Grade.

Taken from the Student Progression Plan, 2008-09 for DCPS:

(Page 14)
Grade 2: Promotion of students in grade 2 is based on teacher judgment that the student has met Sunshine State Standards/New Standards Performance Standards in reading and mathematics indicated by a final grade of "D" or above.

The changes appear on the table below under 2nd Grade. Also, please read about the new requirements in Health Education, Character Education and Physical Education below the table: (Page 14)

REQUIRED PROGRAM OF STUDY K-5: The required program of study for elementary students in the Duval County Public Schools reflects state and local requirements for elementary education. The areas of study required for each grade, kindergarten through 5, are shown in Table 1. (Click on the table to enlarge):



A. HEALTH EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: Students will receive the minimum amount of instruction in health education, to include human sexuality, substance use prevention, HIV/AIDS, bullying prevention, and other topics as specified in s. 1003.42 and s. 1003.46, F.S. Grade Hours K-3 25 hours/year 4-5 36 hours/year Any student whose parent presents a written request to the principal shall be exempted from the teaching of reproductive health or any disease, including HIV/AIDS, its symptoms, development, and treatment. A student so exempted may not be penalized by reason of that exemption (s. 1003.42 (3), F.S.).

B. CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAM: A character development program shall be required in elementary grades K-5 (s. 1003.42 (2)(s), F.S.).

C. PHYSICAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, all students in grades K-5 will receive a minimum of 150 minutes of physical education per week (s. 1003.455, F.S.).

About the changes:

FROM: Dr. Jeanne Ballentine, Director,
Reading, English Language Arts and ESOL

Rodilyn Bacho-Logsdon, Supervisor,
Reading and English Language Arts

SUBJECT: Removal of Spelling and Handwriting as Separate Subjects in Grades 2-5

DATE: September 4, 2008

During the June 9, 2008, school board meeting, changes for the 08-09 Student Progression Plan were recommended.

Note:
· Change: Spelling and handwriting are removed as separate subjects in grades 2-5
· Rationale: Spelling and handwriting progress are integrated in the Language Arts grade.
· Impact: Students in grades 2-5 will not receive a separate grade in spelling or handwriting on the report card, since spelling and handwriting are integrated in Language Arts instruction.

Principals, please inform your teachers and parents of students in grades 2-5 of this removal and the impact on instruction and grade reporting for these subjects.

NEW: Tropical Storm Fay Make-up Days

Today Duval County Public Schools set new (and different dates from what was posted by DCPS last week) dates for making up days missed because of TS Fay. "Makeup days for students due to Tropical Storm Fay will be on November 10 and December 18 and 19. The storm also required us to move the end of the first quarter, changing the date for Teacher Planning Day from October 20 to October 24. Students will need to now attend school on October 20, not on Teacher Planning Day, October 24."

From: Jill Johnson, Supervisor of External Communications & Media Relations, Duval County Public Schools, 1701 Prudential Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32207-8182, Office - 904.390.2942