In case you missed the Panther Press Articles from the gifted support class, here they are:
Panther Press Article for December 2009
Gifted Support News
Encouraging Your Child To Stretch His or Her Vocabulary Skills In Writing Assignments
There’s an easy way to encourage your child to learn and use more advanced vocabulary in his/her writing. First, make up a list of easy words that your child typically uses over and over in his/her writing. You can start with just a few words and add to the list as more over-used words are noticed. My students have words such as big, fun, good, like, and said on their lists. I tell my students that these worn-out words are “off-limits” and must be replaced with more descriptive vocabulary in their writing assignments. Resources, such as a thesaurus, are a great way to generate word banks of better alternatives. If you don’t have a thesaurus, you can even find one on line. Using words such as towering, amusing, splendid, cherish, and exclaimed instead of the worn-out list will certainly enhance the style in any student’s writing.
Keep Thinking!
Mrs. Zanine
Panther Press Article for November 2009
Gifted Support News
GIFTED WEBSITE UPDATE: www.teacherweb.com/pa/pennridge/mrszanine/index.html
Seylar’s gifted support website is back up and running. Thank you for your patience while it was temporarily frozen. For your records, the address is listed above. For families with a child in the gifted program, this site contains gifted class schedules, copies of newsletters, program summaries, district policies, and much more. But this website is not just for families with a child in the gifted program. The gifted support website can also be a resource for other families as well. It’s a great starting place to help families that may be interested to learn more about Pennridge’s elementary gifted support program and how students become eligible. The site also contains links that any student can use for an extra challenge.
FIRST GRADE AND KINDERGARTEN SUPPORT:
One of my responsibilities at M. M. Seylar is to offer support to the first grade and kindergarten classroom teachers by providing all of their students with opportunities to participate in small group lessons and activities that focus on thinking skills. These workshops challenge students to use thinking skills to their very best ability. Currently, our sessions have been focusing on how divergent thinking can make artwork and writing more interesting. During the year, we will continue to meet at different times to explore ways we can improve problem solving skills and communication skills. Working with the students in a small group setting has been a great way to give each child more individualized attention and encourage each student to follow directions, to take risks, to finish a task to completion, and to cooperate with others. First grade parents should have already received a letter describing my supportive role in the first grade classrooms. Kindergarten parents will soon be receiving a letter explaining how the kindergarten students will have a similar opportunity.
Keep Thinking!
Mrs. Zanine
Panther Press Article for October 2009
Gifted Support News
Helpful Hints from Gifted Support
Dear Parents,
Well, we’re back to school, and your days that seemed so busy over the summer probably just got busier. Often parents want to know what their children can you do to stay on track and on top of all their school assignments and activities. One of the keys to success is for students to get in the habit of getting organized. Of course this is easier said than done, but there are some helpful organizational strategies that we encourage in school and you can reinforce at home.
1.
Keep your desk at
school neat and organized.
Your teachers give you lots of direction on how to do this in
school. Although it may seem like a bother, follow their
advice. You will save yourself the time and aggravation
involved in searching for lost papers. It is well worth the effort and will
save you from missing recess because you have to redo lost work.
2.
Select a place to be your workstation at home.
Keep materials you are likely to use (paper,
pencils, crayons, a ruler, a dictionary) close. Keep your backpack at
this spot and be sure you return all your work to your backpack after you
finish you homework.
Leave your homework folder on top of your work spot
for a parent to review when they have time. Then have your parent put
that folder back into your book bag when they are finished.
3.
Check and double-check
everything.
Before you go to bed, check that you have everything you will
need for the next day at school packed up in your school bag. In
the morning do a quick double check.
At school, check that you have everything you need packed up before you
leave. This is easy to do if you write everything down as
descried in #4.
4.
Use your assignment
book to record ALL of your responsibilities.
It’s great for keeping track of homework, but you can all use it
to make notes about other things you need to keep track of, like the violin,
your library books, or an art smock, that you tend to forget about until the
moment you need them.
Assignment books are convenient for making notes about things you need
mom or dad to purchase for projects, like poster board or pipe cleaners.
Your parents will appreciate knowing about these things right away!
You can even record your afterschool activities in the boxes at the
bottom so that you have a good sense of how busy your nights are. This
can help you when you need to plan a study schedule or work on a long-term
project. Which brings us to the next item …
5.
Think and plan ahead.
Don’t wait until the last minute to get things done. Fill
out your weekly schedule as much in advance as possible, and look ahead as you
make decisions about when to get things done. There are
some evenings that are just too busy to complete a major school project. Break
long-term assignments into smaller steps and record these in your assignment
book as well. Guaranteed this will reduce the stress associated with waiting
until the last minute.
Planning and scheduling work time and fun time is a healthy habit that benefits everyone and often helps families feel more organized and less stressful. Modeling these types of organizational habits will also help your children see their importance and effectiveness.
If anyone has other great organizational tips that they have found effective, please email me your ideas at jzanine@pennridge.org so I can pass it on to others.
Keep Thinking!
Mrs. Zanine