On this page, Tavan teachers will answer frequently asked questions and explain common terms and acronyms used on campus. If you have any questions, or would like a term defined, please contact us using the form provided on the Meet Your Board Members page above!

“Tavan Education-ese”:  academic and educational vocabulary words used at Tavan

Standards-Based Report Card:  A report card that displays a students’ progress in respect to the educational state standards of Arizona.  All Arizona State Standards can be found on the Arizona Department of Education website:  www.ade.state.az.us/.
In PTO-ease = the report card does not give grades, such as A,B, C, etc.  Instead it shows the students progress towards each of the “goals” they are expected to achieve by the end of the year.  That’s the key – it’s based on year-end expectations.  So, there will be times your child can’t be considered proficient (even if you’re sure they are) if the teacher hasn’t yet taught everything necessary to meet the goal.

Books Before Bedtime:  A reading program at Tavan that encourages parents to read books out loud to their children at night. A book is given to Kindergarten and 1st grade students every night as long as the student returns the book from the night before.

Sight words:  words that students should be able to read by “sight.”  This means that a student can read this word in about 3 seconds because he or she does not need to guess or sound out the word.

Mad Minute:  A one-page math quiz which tests students’ ability to solve basic math facts with accuracy and automaticity.
In PTO-ease = depending on the grade level, it could be addition/subtraction or multiplication/division problems and their goal is to complete the entire worksheet in LESS THAN ONE MINUTE.

Media Center: Tavan’s media center is also referred to as the Tavan library.

Five Pillars of Reading:  The five essential components of reading proficiency – phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Math Connects:  The new math program adopted by Scottsdale Unified School District.
In PTO-ease = the text book & workbook are accessible online (i.e. did he/she forget her homework at school again???).  Go tohttp://www.mhschool.com/math/2003/student/index.html and click on your grade level book.  There are tutorials, practice tests, even the workbook pages.  You’ll need the access code to get into the workbook §  Kindergarten: D24306D8BC  §  1st grade: BA32F421C9  §  2nd grade: A8A7047EA7  §  3rd grade: C4335465DD  §  4th grade: AE5CA9CFE9  §  5th grade: F3D779FC10
Houghton Mifflin:  The name of Tavan’s core reading program.

Guided Reading: small group reading instruction that targets students’ individual reading levels.
In PTO-ease = one good tip I heard from the librarian is that if you have more than a handful (5 fingers) of words that you can’t read or don’t understand on one page, the book may be too difficult.  Of, if you do not have any words that challenge you, then it may be below your reading level.

DRA:  Diagnostic Reading Assessment: – a reading test that determines a student’s reading level.

Accelerated Reading (AR Level): In PTO-ease = a computer program that allows students to test their comprehension of a book.  The software has thousands of books on record, after a student completes the book, they can take a 5-10 question quiz on a school computer to let the teacher know if the student truly understood the book.  It’s important that they not only be able to read the words, but understand and remember what it was about.  As students become more proficient readers, their AR level increases.  An average 1st grade student will have an AR level between 1.0-2.0, an average 4th grader will have an AR level between 4.0-5.0.

Handwriting Without Tears (HWOT):  The handwriting program that is used at Tavan.

ELD:  English Language Development

ELL:  English Language Learner

Early Release Day:  A day when students are dismissed from school at 12:15 PM instead of 3:15 PM.

Literacy Room:  This is a resource room on the Tavan campus filled with leveled books for every grade level. It is also the room where Tavan’s educational specialists work and where parents can go for Title I support.

The name of Tavan’s core reading program. small group reading instruction that targets students’ individual reading levels.       – a reading test that determines a student’s reading level.   The handwriting program that is used at Tavan.  English Language Development  English Language Learner A day when students are dismissed from school at 1:20 PM instead of 3:05 PM. This is a resource room on the Tavan campus filled with leveled books for every grade level. It is also the room where Tavan’s educational specialists work and where parents can go for Title I support.