Dear Parents and Guardians,
I am writing to describe a new initiative that we are beginning today at Flushing Manor for all of our grade Pre-K - 5 students. The initiative is called “Words for Life” and it involves the development of a strong vocabulary background for all of our young students.
As you know, over the past several years we have been implementing the common core standards in all of our classrooms, so that we can give our students the tools they need to ensure success on the NYS Common Core Exams and more importantly, better prepare them for college and career.
The importance of literacy development is essential in preparing students for success in the future. We solidly believe that knowledge of vocabulary is a key element in supporting strong reading comprehension, as well as, effective writing skills. The “Words for Life” initiative involves weekly vocabulary words for each grade across the school. These words are selected by our grade level teams of teachers, based on the learning content for that particular week. Research shows that the more students encounter a word in context, the more likely they will retain the knowledge of the word over time.
In addition to students seeing the words during classroom instruction, we will also be assigning vocabulary homework for students on each grade, involving the use of these words. In the lower grades, these words will be added to the words of the week list. Additionally, students on all grades will be given assessments to monitor their understanding and ability to appropriately use the words.
At home, you can encourage your child to use the words regularly and review definitions for the words over the course of the week. This will help them prepare for the assessments, but more importantly it will also help your child retain the knowledge of the words over time.
If you have any questions about this initiative please contact your child’s teacher or Mrs. L. Di Guglielmo, our curriculum support specialist. We know that with parents as partners our “Words for Life” initiative will be a successful one and it will help our children to be ready for college and career so that they can truly become Learners for Life!
Sincerely,
Anna Dimilta
Principal
I am writing to describe a new initiative that we are beginning today at Flushing Manor for all of our grade Pre-K - 5 students. The initiative is called “Words for Life” and it involves the development of a strong vocabulary background for all of our young students.
As you know, over the past several years we have been implementing the common core standards in all of our classrooms, so that we can give our students the tools they need to ensure success on the NYS Common Core Exams and more importantly, better prepare them for college and career.
The importance of literacy development is essential in preparing students for success in the future. We solidly believe that knowledge of vocabulary is a key element in supporting strong reading comprehension, as well as, effective writing skills. The “Words for Life” initiative involves weekly vocabulary words for each grade across the school. These words are selected by our grade level teams of teachers, based on the learning content for that particular week. Research shows that the more students encounter a word in context, the more likely they will retain the knowledge of the word over time.
In addition to students seeing the words during classroom instruction, we will also be assigning vocabulary homework for students on each grade, involving the use of these words. In the lower grades, these words will be added to the words of the week list. Additionally, students on all grades will be given assessments to monitor their understanding and ability to appropriately use the words.
At home, you can encourage your child to use the words regularly and review definitions for the words over the course of the week. This will help them prepare for the assessments, but more importantly it will also help your child retain the knowledge of the words over time.
If you have any questions about this initiative please contact your child’s teacher or Mrs. L. Di Guglielmo, our curriculum support specialist. We know that with parents as partners our “Words for Life” initiative will be a successful one and it will help our children to be ready for college and career so that they can truly become Learners for Life!
Sincerely,
Anna Dimilta
Principal
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