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Da Vinci Parent Survival Guide

For Parents by a Parent

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Topics

• Work Journal• Daily Engagement Record• Work Samples• Work Reflection• Other Resources

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Getting in the Da Vinci Groove

• With so many things coming at you at the start of the school year, it can feel like you’re a deer caught inheadlights, frozen, afraid to move and not sure which way to move. Even more so if you’re new to homeschooling.

• Here are some tips that hopefully will help...

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Where to Start

• Start with your teacher’s Digital Portfolio (DP)• Every teacher sets up their DP differently, so browse

around their DP to familiarize yourself with their layout.

• Da Vinci Resources Page – lots of information! Cruise around the site to see what’s offered. www.Da Vincik8.org

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Projects, Journals and Lesson Plans

• Projects - All teachers have a Project Plan that lasts several weeks long. Most of this work will be done in class.

• Work Journals – All teachers have a Work Journal.

• Lesson Plans – There are nine lesson plans in a school year, each consisting of 20 working days.

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Work Journals• Work Journals – All teachers have a Work Journal that

they’ll require you to turn in.• The Work Journal is a CRITICAL document to fill out for

record keeping.• The Learning Goal is the goal that the child should

achieve by the end of their K-12 academic journey.• The specific level at which the goal is met is different

depending on the level of your child. How a child meets the goal in Core 1 is very different than at Core 4.

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Work Journal (cont)

• The goals are written in “teacher-speak” so you may be wondering what it REALLY means to a regular person…at least I did!

• To find out what that is for your child’s level or if you need a better explanation of what the goal really means, the best place to look is the Da Vinci Resource page > Instructional Support .

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Da Vinci Resources Pagehttp://Da Vincik8.org

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Da Vinci Resources Page – Instructional Supporthttp://Da Vincik8.org/wp/?page_id=227

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Level Specific Learning Goals

• Once on the Instructional Support page, select one of the subjects. It’ll take you to a Skills Overview at the top and individualized by level below.

• The Skills Overview is a good starting place if you need to decide where your child fits.

• Click on the appropriate level skill document for your child.

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Learning Goals – Writing Skills(example)

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Level Specific Learning Goal - Example• In this example from Core 3, one of the Learning Goals under

Reading is “Reading Literature 9 – Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.”

• I’d then go to the Instructional Support page. Let’s say that my assessment of my child is that they are at Level 2 skill level for this item. So I open up the PDF Level 2 skills for Reading Literature… and find Goal #9 to get a better sense of what the goal really looks like for my child.

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Learning Goals – Reading Literature Skills(example)

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Core 3 Work Journal/Lesson Plan

Level Specific Skill Learning Goals

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North Carolina Common Core Instructional Support Tools

• For more examples of how to work with the learning goal for specific levels, review sites like the North Carolina Public School Common Corehttp://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/common-core-tools/

• Use UNPACKING STANDARDS (not the crosswalk)

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North Carolina Common Core Instructional Support Tools (cont)

• To continue with the previous example from the Reading Literature Goal 9, I’d go to the English Language Arts Unpacking standards for 2nd Grade (remember, you need to tailor the level to your child); then look for Goal 9

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North Carolina Common Core Instructional Support Tools (cont)

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Other Resources• Now that you know what skill you’re working on with

your child, you can use various strategies ideas to help child master that goal.

• Use resources provided by Da Vinci:– Online resources are easily accessed via the Da Vinci Resources site

DVIA Sponsored Online Resources . The DVIA Parent Educator Handbook has a nice summary of the various online resources.

– Many OTHER resources by topic (i.e. references from Helen Chan’s math

workshops) and also some highlighted resources. • Or use resources as recommended by your teacher.• Or be creative! A friendly family bowling match makes for

great math lessons including addition, subtraction, averages, probabilities and more!

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Daily Engagement Record

Do not add Saturday/Sunday

Each box must be initialed validating at least the minimum required time was

spent with your child on schoolwork

The date of evaluation should be the same date as the last date on the engagement

record

Must be turned in ON

TIME!

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Work Samples

• Each teacher will collect a specified number of work samples from each subject. Usually 6 per record period (20 days).

• The work samples is a concrete way to demonstrate how your child has been working on the Learning Goals at home.

• Check with your child’s teacher about how many and when they need to be turned in.

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Work Reflection• Work reflection will be required by every teacher.• The number of work reflections and the form on

which to submit them will vary with each teacher.• The work reflection will be associated with the work

samples.• This is a way for you and your child to reflect how

your child engaged this learning goal.• The teacher will also reflect back as well and give

their feedback to you and your child.

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Pulling it all Together

• As you continue to work with through the year, remember to find ways to incorporate the Habits of Heart and Mind and to think about developing Depth and Complexity. Refer back to the DVIA Parent Educator Handbook to review (available on the Da Vinci Resources Site).

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• If you need more help, make an appointment to talk to your teacher and/or connect with other parents.

• Before you know it, the year will be over and you’ll be an old pro!

• There is light at the end of the tunnel!