Grammar is typically taught within the framework of writing.  We felt that a daily 15-minute lesson of basic parts of grammar would be invaluable for our students.  Shurley English is a program that addresses grammar specifically.  Our students will then have multiple exposure to grammar in the other pieces of language arts.

We chose Shurley English because we felt it had the ability to reach all types of learners:  auditory, visual and kinesthetic.  Shurley English uses repetition and is constantly reviewing concepts that have been previously learned.  A key feature is that it doesn't teach parts of speech as separate pieces, but always as a part of a sentence.  Much of the practice is done as a whole class.

We didn't want "Friday only" spellers, but we wanted to make sure that basic rules of spelling were taught effectively.  Thus, the Spelling program became Spelling programs:  A marriage between Sitton Spelling and Words Their Way.

Rebecca Sitton's philosophy is based on students spelling where it counts, in everyday writing.  In her program spelling lists are made up of high frequency words that students need to know to write and read well.  Words are not just focused on for a week, but can be tested at any time after the introduction of the word.  The spelling instruction focuses on strategies of teaching spelling patterns, letter-sound relationships, and so on.  The program improves vocabulary by teaching suffixes, homophones, root words etc.  Her approach to spelling is certainly unique.  

In addition, the Words Their Way program does a marvelous job of catching holes that a student may have.  "Words Their Way is set up to help teachers address the needs of all readers and spellers, struggling to gifted, by setting out a clear way to find out each student's development level, then providing the best methods for teaching to that level"  (Quote taken from the website: http://www.trcabc.com/wordstheirway.html )

They have hands-on, ready to use activities for teaching word study, spelling, vocabulary and phonics.  Their material is broken into five stages of spelling.  The ordering of this developmental format compliments the use of any existing phonics, spelling and vocabulary curricula.

Our phonics program will be the "First Hand" Book by Fountas and Pinnell.  Fountas and Pinnell are the authorities on Guided Reading.  As we researched programs multiple places referred to their work.  Phonics play a huge part in how students read.  Research has found that, "the single most important factor in students' reading success is a skillful, informed teacher. In particular, Phonics Lessons provides scientific information about the complex, intricate relationships between letters and sounds and the ways in which they work to support developing readers." (Taken from http://www.phonicsminilessons.com/).  "First Hand" has multiple hands on activities for helping students with:  Early Literacy Concepts, High-Frequency Words, Phonological and Phonemic Awareness, Spelling Patterns, Letter Knowledge, Word Structure, Letter/Sound Relationships, Word-Solving Actions, and Word Meaning.  The ideas and format of "First Hand" will be an invaluable resource for our teachers.

The Zaner-Bloser font is widely recognized and taught.  The style and flow of their letters are more functional for everyday writing, unlike those we found in the other programs we studied.  However, have been very impressed with the teaching methodologies employed by Handwriting Without Tears and First Strokes.  First Strokes also offers a unique multi-sensory package.  Therefore, our students will learn the Zaner-Bloser font following the methodologies of Handwriting Without Tears and First Strokes.  We believe the marriage between these three programs will fulfill all parts of the handwriting rubric (see below).

• Multi-sensory instruction
• Innovative presentation and prompts
• Ability to differentiate between learners
• Explicit intervention information
• Numerous, varied supporting materials
• Ease of use for teachers, students, and parents
• Ability to maintain integrity of program without consumables, OR use of blackline masters over consumables

The Manuscript program will feature the letter groupings and prompts of HWT, along with the multi-sensory activities and manipulatives of First Strokes.  HWT letter groupings have fun letter chants to remember the correct letter formation.  Students will refer to the wall charts of the Zaner-Bloser font.

Cursive will begin in second grade at Lakeview Academy.  Students will continue the use of the Zaner-Bloser font and wall charts for forming letters.  The method for teaching cursive will be centered around the First Strokes letter groupings.  As with the manuscript, multi-sensory activities from First Stokes will be valuable.

Being able to read and then write thoughts is such an important part of Language Arts.  We were drawn to the writers workshop technique for teaching writing.  We feel like it does a good job of helping students want to write.  "Wonder Writers" from Rigby uses the workshop method and is a well designed program.  Highlights of the program are:  1) Components promote the enjoyment of books as well as other types of written language,  2) lessons focus on the reasons and need for writing in our world,  3) mini-lessons help children relate new information to what they already know by beginning each lesson with references to things the children are already familiar with in reading or writing,  4) Lessons connect reading with writing,  5) Often books, letters, and poems, are used as a springboard for teaching a new writing skill,  6) Students are taught to write real things for authentic purposes such as letters and "How To's",  7) Mini-lessons touch on language structure such as: action words, contractions, and punctuation.

Additional strengths of wonder writers are these:  1) It is easy for a teachers to follow and understand,  2) The mini-lessons are simple, straightforward, and tie in to student's background knowledge,  3) The strategy cards can be displayed in the room throughout the year for the teacher to refer students back to, and 4) Mini-lessons included teaching tips and ideas for assessment of each individual skill taught.

Lakeview Academy will use Saxon math for all grades starting in the 2007-2008 school year.  Any questions about this change should be directed to the school's office.

Through our understanding of science and scientific principles, we are better able to observe and understand the world around us.  Because of this, science is an indispensable part of our students education.  Lakeview Academy will be offering Science Works for Kids, by Evan Moor publishing, along with Project WILD written by the state of Utah, and Project Wet.

Science Works for Kids is a series of resource books which connect science to real life.  Each level (K-1, 1-3, and 3-6) contains between 6-10 resource books that cover various science concepts.  They allow students to learn by doing with ready-to-go activities and experiments.

Project WILD is one of the most widely-used conservation and environmental education programs among educators of students in kindergarten through high school.  It is based on the premise that young people and educators have a vital interest in learning about our natural world.  Emphasizing wildlife because of its intrinsic value, Project WILD addresses the need for human beings to develop as responsible citizens of our planet.  * For additional information, please visit www.projectwild.org.

Project Wet (Water Education for Teachers) is an award-winning, nonprofit water education program and publisher.  The program facilitates and promotes awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources through the dissemination of classroom-ready teaching aids and the establishment of internationally sponsored Project WET programs.

The curriculum is a collection of multidisciplinary water-related activities that are hands-on, easy to use, and fun!  The lessons incorporate a variety of formats, such as large and small group learning, whole-body activities, laboratory investigations, discussion of local and global topics, and community service projects.  For additional information, please visit www.projectwet.org.

All of these programs offer engaging lessons and activities that will involve students in hands-on experiments, observations, data collection and record keeping.  Students will gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of how science affects every aspect of daily life.

With technology becoming increasingly prevalent in our society, the world is becoming a smaller place every day.  It is important that students at Lakeview Academy understand the world around them and how they fit into it.  In order to help our students learn about their world in an engaging and effective way, Lakeview Academy offers a Social Studies program which pulls together information from several different resources including reading activities, videos, historical fiction books, maps, and hands-on activities.

Our approach to Social Studies will help students grasp the information presented to them by providing several different modes of learning.  Students will be exposed to reading exercises, hands-on activities, videos, pictures, non-fiction books, historical fiction, maps, etc.  Because of this variety, Social Studies will be an exciting and interesting topic of study for our students.  They will carry what they learn about the world around them, and therefore themselves, with them throughout their lives.  This will help them to become confident, capable, and contributing members of our global society.

In today's international community, the need for accurate and effective communication and understanding is greater than ever before.  It is a well-known and accepted fact that the most effective time for children to acquire a second language is when they are young.  As an International Baccalaureate school, teaching a foreign language is required and additionally, we feel it is an essential part of a balanced education.  Spanish will be offered, due to its immediate usefulness.

Lakeview Academy will be using the Viva el Español program published by the Wright Group.  The program is designed specifically for young children, helping to develop communicative competence in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and Hispanic cultures.  The progression is gradual and linguistically appropriate.  Language acquisition becomes a positive, non-threatening experience, similar to the way children learn their first language.  The textbooks and their accompanying components develop and advance proficiency while promoting basic language-acquisition principles through an enthusiastic, lively and positive approach.  Students not only develop immediate language skills, but are also equipped with useful, life-long language acquisition strategies.

This program has three integrated levels for the primary grades and three textbooks plus a wide array of ancillary material for the upper elementary grades.  This allows teachers to differentiate instruction, as well as provide for cross-curriculum activities and projects.  Teachers will have the tools to integrate math, language arts, science, social studies and art skills into their Spanish instruction.  In addition, the textbook series has been designed with a dual entry point – meaning that the first textbook could be used for a student with no prior Spanish background as well as with students who have had several years of Spanish-speaking experience.

Three specific elements of this program caught our attention.  First, at the textbook level a classroom library or a book, with theme and content tied to each textbook unit is provided.  Secondly, a separate Heritage Speaker Activity Book is included at each level for students who have learned Spanish at home or in their communities.  Last, a separate Cultural Resource Book is provided to deepen the awareness of the Hispanic culture.

Students in the elementary school will spend one hour a week concentrating on Spanish, with the possibility of cross-curricular activities also giving students opportunity for Spanish practice.  The goal is to introduce students to the peoples, cultures, sounds and patterns of the language, preparing them for daily study (45 minutes) and eventual fluency in the middle school.

Lakeview Academy is pleased to offer a comprehensive health education curriculum entitled Health Promotion Wave, published by Health Wave, Inc.  "The broad goal of the program is to develop health literacy in children who through specific learning activities gain the knowledge, skills, and behavior in all areas critical to healthy living.  This is accomplished through a wide variety of hands-on activities and award-winning literature.

Making sure that parents play an integral part in the health education of their children is an additional plus to the program.  "Parent and community involvement are particularly important in promoting a healthy lifestyle and reinforcing positive healthy choices.  The HPW program includes a special parent component for every grade. This well-received feature combines fun activities with informative letters to reinforce important health concepts.  It is designed to help promote cultural diversity, communication, responsibility and respect."

Health Promotion Wave also includes six pillars of character within its curriculum that will reinforce concepts taught in our character education program.  We are confident this program will provide our students with the capacity to make correct choices about healthy living that will last throughout their lives.

Lakeview Academy is pleased to offer SPARK PE and Lifelong Wellness.  This program compliments our health education program.

SPARK, which stands for Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids, is a comprehensive curriculum designed to promote physical activity in a fun, exciting, non-threatening manner for elementary students both at and out of school.  The focus of SPARK is to increase the overall activity levels of students without sacrificing the time allotted for core academic subject areas.  Infused into the existing school curriculum, SPARK teaches students behavior modification skills that are important in the initiation and maintenance of regular physical activity.  Students learn skills and techniques to develop and maintain activity in their school setting, home environment and within peer interactions.  In SPARK Lifelong Wellness, children learn how to be in charge of their own physical activity programs.  The ultimate goal of this program is to foster a physically active lifestyle as a part of everyday life.

The SPARK program strives to challenge and include every student regardless of physical or mental ability and it does that across all elementary grade levels.  We believe that this approach will provide students with a lasting awareness of physical health, which will benefit them their entire lives.  For additional information, please click here.

Lakeview Academy feels that an education in the fine arts is essential to create a balanced learning environment.  Research studies have shown that fine arts "helps [students] to think more creatively and 'outside the box' when approaching other academic subjects as well as real-life situations." (Champions of Change, 1999, p.38, p.39, Figure 1, Teachers College/Columbia University study).

The fine arts program at Lakeview Academy has four separate components:  dance, music, theater, and visual arts.  We feel that a combination of programs will give teachers detailed, well-organized, and comprehensive lessons, which will provide our students with a solid and enjoyable fine arts education.  With the enthusiasm, knowledge and skills learned from this integrated fine arts program, our students will be confident in their own artistic abilities.  They will be capable of greater creativity, gain a deeper appreciation for others' talents and interests, and have a more profound perspective on life.  All of these things will motivate students to make significant contributions in whatever they choose to do.

We invite parents with expertise and experience in these areas to volunteer their time and talent to enhance the learning of our students.  The more knowledge, skills and perspectives we can offer students, the better they will grasp the beauty and importance of the fine arts in their education as well as their everyday lives.

Dance
For the dance component of the fine arts curriculum, teachers will use Dance Teaching Methods and Curriculum Design by Gayle Kassing and Danielle Jay.  This book is written by two women who were professional dancers as well as teachers of dance technique and pedagogy, dance methods, and curriculum design in dance teacher education preparation programs.  This book offers teaching methods and specific applications for teaching ten popular dance forms in grades K-12, how to apply educational theories to dance, and how to incorporate dance education into the national standards for dance.

Music
For music, will integrate the following programs in order for our students to gain necessary musical skills as well as a deep appreciation for various musical genres and well-known composers.  Each program adheres to the National Standards for Music Education.

The This Is Music! series by Alfred publishing contains three differet modules we will be using, starting in the preschool and continuing into the early elementary school years:

• Fiddle Over the Moon - This introductory program uses songs, poems, activities, and games to teach music concepts and vocabulary to students.  Its lessons that are fun and interesting to young students.  They are very interactive while still teaching skills and vocabulary.  It also enhances listening skills with familiar tunes, songs, and poems.  It introduces instruments, creation of new lyrics, and vocal exploration.  With the various activities that reach different styles of learning, this program is a great way to introduce music to young students and begin building a foundation for continued musical education.
   
• Baa Baa Beat - This program is the next level up in the same series as Fiddle Over the Moon.  It builds on the knowledge and experiences that Fiddle Over the Moon gives the students by teaching about more detailed musical concepts and skills.  The lessons focus on things such as notation, compound meter, instrument discrimination, various instrumental ensembles, and performances (vocal and instrumental).  This program also teaches music by body movement, listening, evaluating, games, and playing instruments.  It is very age-appropriate and fun which makes learning about music natural and exciting to young students.
   
• Classroom Music for Little Mozarts - This program continues to build upon previously-learned musical skills while exposing students to various musical styles and concepts.  Each high-interest lesson uses a multi-sensory approach by using stories, discussion, coloring pages, body movement, visual representation, and instruments.  The program also uses 3 stuffed animals - Clara Schumann Cat, Beethoven Bear, and Mozart Mouse to engage the students' interest.  The CD has stories, activities, songs with words, and piano accompaniments.

Other music education programs Lakeview Academy will be using are:

• Music Expressions, published by Warner Brothers, is a national standards-based program that is interdisciplinary and literacy-focused.  It includes authentic music recordings from diverse, real-world musicians.  The lessons include playing instruments, singing, learning musical concepts and skills, class discussion with student reflection, evaluation, and application.  The scope and sequence for this program incorporates movement, composing, improvising, reading and notation, as well as connecting music to other academic subjects and real-world experiences.  This program offers broad musical exposure, knowledge of many musical concepts and skills, and an opportunity for students to analyze and share their personal opinions about musical compositions.
   
• Accent on Composers, published by Alfred Music, introduces students to 22 composers from 6 eras of music, from the Medieval to the Twentieth Century.  This program will be used in grades 1-6 and presents information about the composer's life and music, the world events during that time period, and a listening sample of the composer's music.  By understanding the various musical eras, styles, and genres, students will recognize and discuss music at a deeper level.  To hear a listening example as well as see lesson samples and a list of the featured composers, click here.

Theater Arts
Our theater program will have a two-pronged approach:  1) Reader's Theater, using simple, reading leveled play scripts for the classroom without the need for extra props, costumes, or backdrops, and  2) SRA's Theatre Arts Connections, which has lessons that teach drama concepts, skills and creative expression.  It also allows students to create, design, and direct their own plays and then evaluate the performances.  We feel this is a good blend to allow students the full scope of theater through creating, participating, and evaluating theater arts.

Visual Arts
For the visual arts portion of the fine arts instruction, Lakeview Academy teachers and volunteers will share the Meet the Masters program.  This program has 3 difficulty levels to reach all students and to expand their understanding of visual arts:  Beginner (grades 1-2), Intermediate (grades 3-4), and Advanced (grades 5-6).  There is also a kindergarten component.  Meet the Masters teaches and engages students by exposing them to the personal history and background of several master artists, as well as the concepts, techniques and vocabulary of the visual arts.  Students are then capable and confident enough to create their own masterpieces by applying specific knowledge to their projects.  It also provides multi-media presentations, fun lessons with costumes, and a virtual museum.  For sample lessons and on-line demo, please visit www.meetthemasters.com.

With the prevalence of technology in our homes, schools, workplaces, and communities, keyboarding is an essential, if not critical, skill for our students to develop.  We recognize that this is only the beginning skill in a student's technology toolbox.  At Lakeview Academy, students will be exposed to word processing, spreadsheets, graphs, and presentations as well as other computer skills through their writing and research projects and other various assignments in core subject areas.

Lakeview Academy offers two programs that will together provide a comprehensive keyboarding program for our school.  Each program is well-suited to the interest level and capacity of its target age range.  Where there is greater interest there is usually greater learning.  We feel that each program creates high interest for students and is easy for teachers to maintain and monitor.

The K-3 program is Paws in Typing Town.  This program teaches proper technique and typing efficiency through lessons, practice sessions, speed building sessions, reviews and games which teach younger children the fundamentals of keyboarding.

The 4-6 program is called All the Right Type.  This program continues to teach correct finger position, proper posture, hand position, and keyboard layout within the context of a typing city.  By visiting the Learning Lab, Practice Pavilion, Skill Building, Word Processing Center, Practice and Testing Center students will be able to work at their own pace to develop their keyboarding skills.

We wanted to provide books for teachers to have in their classrooms that cover various levels of reading.  Students can then use them during school or take them home to read with parents.  There are many publishers that provide materials for this purpose.  For this decision, cost played a significant role.  Our goal is to have a respectable library in place for the first year and then continue to add to it with some of the other vendors that we researched.

Reading A to Z is a terrific resource for schools.  They have wonderful reader's theaters and leveled books that can be downloaded from their site.  They require an annual site license for the whole school which is very affordable.  The price is nominal considering the vast number of books that they have available.  Their supply includes: Leveled Readers Benchmark Books and Running Records, Poetry Books, Alphabet Materials, High-Frequency Word Books, Vocabulary Books and Activities, and Fluency Passages  Using A to Z will require us to do our own printing, but that could be a bonus for students that aren't good at returning things.  Overall, we feel it is a great way to supply our teachers with leveled reading libraries.

National Geographic will be our second leveled library resource.  We are impressed with the number of titles they provide as well as the number of nonfiction titles.  The same great photography that is found in their magazines is also in these books.  We feel that will appeal to our students.  A final feature of National Geographic Leveled Libraries is their focus on Social Studies and Science.  These books can be used for those subjects as well as language arts.

Lakeview Academy is required to administer all state-mandated standardized tests, such as the CRT and the IOWA.  Additionally, teachers will make appointments to assess children before the school year begins whenever possible.  Furthermore, teachers will regularly assess students in the classroom with formal and informal tests, quizzes, other types of assessments, and anecdotal records.  Finally, all Lakeview Academy Elementary School students will create a portfolio.

What is a Portfolio?

Purpose:

The purpose and philosophy for student portfolios at Lakeview Academy is to celebrate the learning process of our students and the resulting accomplishments of their hard work for a particular school year.  Portfolios will showcase and highlight each student's actual learning process through which certain skills and concepts were acquired and their ability to effectively demonstrate that knowledge.  Portfolios will also be used as an effective assessment tool, allowing both teacher and student opportunities to modify performance as necessary.

Good portfolio projects do not happen without considerable effort on the part of teachers, administrators, and policymakers. [1]  One of the most important aspects of student portfolios is the opportunity students are given, in consultation with teachers and parents, to set academic goals, engage in self assessment, to reflect and improve on their work.  The skill of evaluating one's work or performance is a vital attribute to not only survive in the "real world", but to become a contributing member.

What does the research say?

Research shows that students at all levels see assessment as something that is done to them on their classwork by someone else.  Beyond "percent correct," assigned letter grades, and grammatical or arithmetic errors, many students have little knowledge of what is involved in evaluating their classwork.  Portfolios can provide structure for involving students in developing and understanding criteria for good efforts, in coming to see the criteria as their own, and in applying the criteria to their own and other students' work.

Research also shows that students benefit from an awareness of the processes and strategies involved in writing, solving a problem, researching a topic, analyzing information, or describing their own observations.  Without instruction focused on the processes and strategies that underlie effective performance of these types of work, most students will not learn them or will learn them only minimally.  And without curriculum-specific experience in using these processes and strategies, even fewer students will carry them forward into new and appropriate contexts.  Portfolios can serve as a vehicle for enhancing student awareness of these strategies for thinking about and producing work--both inside and beyond the classroom. [2]

Introduction and Organization:

At the beginning of each year, teachers will introduce or revisit the concept of portfolios by sharing examples of different kinds of portfolios.  They will also go over specific vocabulary, review the selection guidelines, show students where the portfolios will be kept in their class, and provide students time to personalize their portfolio covers for that year.

Portfolios will be kept in white presentation three ring binders (with the plastic sleeve on the cover).  Inside each binder will be a copy of the table of contents.  It lists the required selection items for each trimester.  It also provides space for the teacher, aide or parent volunteer to see at a glance what selections have been submitted and what is remaining.

The binder itself will be divided according to the different subjects.  The selections for those subjects would be placed in that particular section.  This will create and ensure a sense of consistency for teachers, students and parents.  Selection items will be placed inside sheet protectors for durability.  A digital camera will be used (if available) to document large projects that will not fit into the binder.  Students' work will be taken out of the binder at the end of the year, put in a manila envelope and given to the students to take home, while the binders remain at school.

Collection and Selection:

As students complete various assignments, each classroom teacher will keep and file their assignments throughout the week to be sent home each Thursday.

The task of choosing which assignments would be included in the portfolios will be the responsibility of the students and their parents.  To assist parents and students in their decision, a checklist of items that need to be included in the portfolio by the end of each trimester will be printed on brightly colored cardstock and placed in each child's expandable file and will remain there for the trimester.  Additionally, on the backside of the checklist will be instructions for parents, reminding them of what to do for the Selection and Reflection processes.  When the student returns to school on Friday, the student would place their selected portfolio item(s) in the front pocket of their portfolio binder.  The teacher, aide or parent volunteer can then place these items in their proper page protectors and indicate on the Table of Contents which items have been submitted.

Revision:

Class time will be given at least once per trimester for students to choose and revise one portfolio item.  This will give students an opportunity to show their growth and improve upon a particular item that was especially important to them.  Both the original and revised selection will remain in the portfolio.

Reflection and Connection:

Paulson and Meyer stated that a "Portfolio is done by the student, not to the student." [3]  The reflection and connection process is by far the most vital.  This step separates portfolios from classwork collections.  Students will self-evaluate their work by revisiting the goals they set at the beginning of the year and assessing their progress.  By allowing students to take an active role in this process, they will be better able to internalize concepts learned and recognize where improvements need to be made.

Evaluation Criteria:

The portfolios will be used as an assessment tool by teachers at the end of the year.  Since the items contained within the portfolio have already been graded, the portfolio will be evaluated as a whole based upon specific criteria.  Evaluation and self-assessment is key to the portfolio process; as such, teachers, parents and students will take part in the end-of-year portfolio evaluation and reflections.  Space is provided on the report card under the "Enhancement" section for portfolios, but will only receive a mark on the third trimester report card.  The first and second trimester report cards will show a "NY" indicating "Not Yet Complete."

Showcase:

This is a time of celebration!  After all their hard work, students will showcase their year's journey at the Culmination Event Night for the third tirmester.  During that evening, portfolios will be on display in their classroom for parents and others to come and see the final results of their work.