It is so hard to believe that we only have about 5.5 months of school left!  Make sure you go by our county Title I building to our fabulous Parent Resource Center and check out some games, books, and many other items! (It is located at our Title I office on Ellis Street~just call first and ask for Ms. Dixie Dalton @ 704.630.6106 or 704.618.4626 and she will be glad to help)!

I believe that children are our future! Teaching them important values, helping them make the right decisions, and educating them is among my top priorities. There is nothing more vital than teaching children. I am honored to be a part of your child's path on their journey through life!
Please contact me if I can be of any assistance:
sheppajg@rss.k12.nc.us
704.639.3000 x226

Our Mission Statement: The Overton staff, in partnership with students and their families, will provide a safe and orderly environment in which all students have the opportunity to achieve academic success and to develop the character, which will enable them to become responsible members of society.

Want to boost your child's Vocabulary?
Here is a list of important Words & Definitions. Use these terms to make fun card games and memory matches with your child!

Genres:
Autobiography - an account of a person’s life written by that person
Article - a piece of writing included in a newspaper, magazine or other publication
Biography - an account of a someone’s life written by someone else
Drama - a play on stage for theater or television
Eyewitness Account - when a person saw something actually happen and did not just hear about it from someone else
Fiction - a story or selection that is written and is not true
Narrative - a report of what has happened
Nonfiction - a story or selection that is true and is about real people
Make-Believe - an action of pretending or imagining
Memoir - an account of one’s memory of certain events or people; autobiography
Menu - a list of foods that are served at a meal or restaurant
Summary - a brief statement of the main points of something
Order Form - a list of items which are to be purchased or may be ordered
Poetry - a kind of writing that usually has a pattern or rhyme
Schedule - a list of the times at which certain things are supposed to happen
Recipe - a set of instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of ingredients required

Concepts:
Cause and Effect - the relationship between two things when one thing makes something else happen
Significance - meaning or sense, showing the importance of connecting
Impact - the influence of one person, thing, or action on another
Main Idea - that which tells what a selection is mainly about
Purpose - the reason for which something is done or written
Opinion - what a person thinks
Mood - the way a story is written to show emotions or feelings, such as happy, sad, exciting, etc.
Tone - a way of speaking or writing that shows a certain feeling
Characteristics - a special quality of a person or thing
Fact - something that can be proven to be true
Details - individual features, facts or items used to further describe
Main Point - the most important fact that the selection is about
Influence - to have power over
Information - something that is told or facts that are learned; news or knowledge
To entertain - to give attention to
To inform - to give facts or information about
Main problem - the major harmful situation needing to be dealt with

Text Features:
Bold print - print that is very sharp and dark so that it stands out
Subheadings - a division of a heading or title
Subtitles - a second title that often explains the content of the writing
Italics - letters slanting upward and to the right, used to call attention to words
Parenthesis - ( ) used to enclose or set off a word or phrase in a sentence
Graph - a diagram that shows the relationship between two or more changing things; connected lines, curves, pie shapes, or bars
Map - a drawing or chart that represents all or part of the earth’s surface
Graphic organizer - another name for a thinking map used to organize information
Empty box - a box with nothing in it
Illustration - a picture or diagram in a story
Heading - a title at the top of a paragraph, chapter, or other writing
Footnotes - A note placed at the bottom of a page of a book or selection that comments on where that part of the text came from
Timeline - a linear representation of important events in the order in which they occurred
Diagram - a drawing, illustration, or sketch
Figure - a written symbol other than a letter
Table - a concise list or guide
Flow Chart - a graphic representation


Processes:
Analogy - a comparison between two things used for the purpose of explanation
Associations - connection or combination
Connections - the state of being connected
Decision - a conclusion reached after consideration
Evidence - anything that makes clear or proves something
Events - happenings
Knowledge - that which is known or learned
Purpose - the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used
Relationships - the way in which two or more things are connected
Strategies - plans to carry out an action

Poetry:
Poetry - a kind of writing that usually has a pattern or rhyme
Poet - a person who writes poetry
Speaker - the person who speaks
Stanza - a group of lines forming a division of a poem
Numbered line - numbered lines of poetry shown beside the printed text

Recipe Terms:
Recipe - a set of instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of ingredients required
Ingredients - any of the foods or substances that are combined to make a particular dish
Utensils - a tool used for a special purpose especially for household
Equipment - anything kept, furnished, or provided for a specific purpose
Bake - to cook by dry heat in an oven
Oven - a heated compartment in a stove, for baking and roasting
Drama Terms
Act- Plays, skits and dramas are divided into acts and scenes.
Cast of Characters- This appears at the beginning of the play and tells who the characters are and who is playing the part.
Curtain - A piece of cloth hung across the front of the stage. It can be opened and closed.
Drama - A story that is meant to be performed by actors on a stage - a play.
Plays - a selection written to be performed by actors on a stage
Props - Things that are used by the actors in a play, drama or skit.
Monologues - When only one person is talking.
Narrator - a person who tells what is happening in a play or skit
Scene - A play, skit or drama is divided into parts called either scenes or acts.
Skits - A very short play. Skits are often funny.
Stage directions - Directions that are usually written in italics, not meant to be spoken and tell the actors what to do, where to move and how to speak their lines.

Other Terms:
Author - a person who writes a story or selection
Brackets -[ ] parentheses of various forms indicating that the enclosed quantity is to be treated as a unit
Definition - the meaning of a word, phrase
Experience - personally encountering or doing something
Selection - another word used for a short reading passage - a poem, recipe, story or article
Reference - a book, passage, etc., to which one is directed
Sentence - a group of words that is used to tell, ask, command, or exclaim something having a subject, verb and punctuation
Margin - the space around the printing on a page
Paragraph - several sentences that express an idea and deals with a specific subject
Phrase - a group of words that does not form a complete sentence but gives a single idea
Quotation marks - punctuation marks that show what someone said
Situation - a critical, problematic, or striking set of circumstances
Vocabulary -all the words in a language
Word - a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds

Figures of Speech:
Exaggeration - to make something bigger, greater, better or worse than it really is
Personification - giving human characteristics to non-human objects
Simile - a comparison of two things using like or as
Metaphor - comparison between two or more unrelated subjects that typically uses "is a" in the sentence
Alliteration - repetition of the same beginning consonant sound in words that are close together

Verbs:
Apply - to work hard at or put into use
Assume - to suppose something to be a fact
Choose - to pick out one or more from a group
Clarify - to make easier to understand
Communicate - to express thoughts, feelings, or information easily or effectively
Compare - to look at two or more things for things that are alike
Contrast - to look at two or more things for things that are different
Construct - to make or build according to a plan
Convince - to cause to believe something
Define - to tell the meaning of or to describe in detail
Develop - to bring or come into being, evolve
Discuss - to talk or write about, giving various ideas and opinions
Elaborate - to find out or decide the value or worth of: judge
Emphasize - lay stress upon; stress
Evaluate - to find out, estimate or decide the value or worth of something
Explain - to show the meaning of or to give details for
Identify - to decide who or what someone or something is
Imagine - to make up a picture or idea in your mind
Infer - to figure out after careful thought
Investigate - to look deeper into something to learn the facts
Justify - to give good reasons for
List - a series of name, words, or numbers set down one after the other
Organize - to arrange or place according to a system
Predict - to say beforehand that something will happen in the future
Present - to make known or to introduce
Pretend - to make believe
React - to respond; to do something because of something else that has happened
Relate - to tell the story of; to have a connection to
Represent - to stand for; a symbol of
Select - to choose or pick out
Solve - to find the answer to or explain
State - to express in words; tell or explain
Summarize - a brief report that tells the main idea or points in a few words

Answer Choices:
About - almost; having to do with
According to - in the order of; in agreement with
Approximately - almost exactly: nearly
Based on - how any given information relates to the main selection
Best answer - most logical solution to a question after eliminating others
Best example - the best model to show what the rest are like or to explain a general rule
Best describes - something that gives the best possible description of what is being asked
Different from - not like the others
Mainly - mostly
Most likely - the one that is probably better than the rest
Most similar - two things characterized by likeness or resemblance
Results of - something that happens as a consequence; outcome
Similar to - having a likeness or resemblance
Some instance - at a given time

Some other ideas also include:
* Have an Indoor Book Picnic- Have your child invite a few friends and ask each one to bring a favorite book to share. You can start them off by reading The Teddy Bears' Picnic by Jimmy Kennedy.
* Schedule a Reading Time- Choose a time that works for both your child and you. Reading can be individual and silent, or you can take turns sharing aloud from your books.
* Science Saturday- Read books about science and together make a list of the things you both learned. Some books to help are from The Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole.
* Choose various materials to read- Look for short stories, newspaper articles, and magazine pieces about current events. Get creative and find weather reports in an Almanac or a delicious sounding recipe. Varying this type of material will expose your child to a wide range of experiences.

I hope that these will help to provide you, the busy parent, with some practical and fun ways to promote your child's learning!