reading & Writing

     Bay County Academy recognizes the importance of fostering reading for enjoyment, while also teaching students to read for information.  In addition, it is also a high priority to prepare our students to communicate orally and in writing.  We accomplish these goals using a variety of tools and methods. 

Reading

In grades PreK through 5th,  we use Open Court Reading.  Open Court reading focuses on five reading components:

• Phonemic Awareness – connecting letters to sounds
• Phonics – applying the links between letters and sounds to printed words
• Fluency – reading effortlessly with speed, accuracy, and expression
• Vocabulary – learning words meanings and build comprehension
• Comprehension- thinking actively before, during, and after reading

Open Court builds a strong foundation for reading by using a comprehensive, explicit lesson for each day of learning.  There are three parts to every lesson –

Part 1 – Preparing to Read – skills covered:

• Sounds and letters
• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Word Knowledge

Part 2 – Reading and Responding – skills covered:

• Comprehension strategies and skills instruction
• Inquiry and Investigation

Part 3 – Language Arts – skills covered:

• Spelling
• Vocabulary
• Writing process
• Grammar and Usage
• Listening, Viewing and Speaking
• Penmanship

This is a brief overview of our reading program.  If you would like more detailed information about our reading program please feel free to contact our school at any time.

Writing

Our writing program is called CraftPlus.  This program builds and spirals to ensure that all writing-craft skills are taught and practiced.  Each lesson focuses on a specific skill and the skill is taught, modeled and then practiced by the students.  Each lesson has three parts: mini-lesson, workshop, and response.  During the mini-lessons, teachers introduce and define the skill and then model for the students.  During the workshop, students work on research, planning, or writing activities.  Students are often working with partners or in small groups during workshop.  During response, teachers reinforce the skill, allow students to share their work with others, and receive feedback.  Again, this is a brief overview of our writing curriculum and you may contact our school at anytime for further information regarding writing.

Below are some links to websites that can help students with homework or activities to do at home:

• Absolutely Whootie: Stories To Grow By — Entertaining fairytales and folk tales from around the world. Respond online to questions that follow each story, and click to see what other kids had to say, too. Stories are illustrated by kids, too!
  http://www.storiestogrowby.com
• Zuzu — An e-zine featuring the artwork, writing, and opinions of young people.
  http://www.zuzu.org/
• ABCs of the Writing Process ~A Universal Process for Any Writing Task ~ The purpose of this site is to provide a user friendly online resource, for students or teachers, no matter what they are being challenged to write.
  http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/
• Children's Express — A place for children to speak out on issues and topics that affect their lives and future.
  http://www.cenews.org/
• Complete Works of William Shakespeare — Discussion area, complete works, resources on the Internet, chronological listing of plays, frequently asked questions, quotations, glossary.
  http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html
• The Concord Review, Inc. — Essays by high school students, the only quarterly journal in the world to publish the academic work of secondary students.
  http://www.tcr.org
• Keeping A Dream Journal — A how-to article on keeping a dream journal that encourages writing as well as methods for encouraging early observation of purposeful thought through writing and memory. http://home.earthlink.net/~mariejudson/DreamJournal.htm
• Virtually Yours — Kids' Magazine, award-winning, by and for middle schoolers http://longwood.cs.ucf.edu/~MidLink/
• Starfall — Early reading skills, letters and sounds.
  http:// www.starfall.com
• Kotowaza on the Web — Kotowaza means proverbs in Japanese; students' writings about Kotowaza. http://www.kobe-school.net/kotowaza/
• Essays — Students from around the world have contributed essays about their Communities http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/Eyes97/essays.html
• Vocabulary puzzles — 5th grade and up.
  http://www.vocabulary.com
• Web-based Language Arts/Writing program — Grades 3 through 8; "The Neverending Tale" is a choose-your-own-path writing medium that can be used for both creative and expository writing. http://www.coder.com/creations/tale/
• FairyTale Godmother — The theme for this site is enchantment, stories about fairies and magic, accompanied by illustrations. Activities at the site include word find puzzles, a Java-based painting game, and an imagination game where words are interchanged to create new ideas. In "Wild Imagination Maker," click on the window image to see a randomly generated idea for a story.
  http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/
• Guide To Grammar and Writing — Grade Level: 9-12 Online "lessons" explaining grammar rules and problems, categorized in levels -- "Sentence Level," "Paragraph Level," and "Essay Level" -- with subtopics --- includes online quizzes for most lessons --- See past questions and answers from the "Ask Grammar!" section or pose new questions. Great resource for Language Arts students.
  http://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar.htm