Friday 27 March 2015

Update - Language/Social Studies

AA Parents,

Here is a brief update on what's been going on..


LANGUAGE - A focus on Spelling (daily - tests on Friday) Students write sentences at home. Proof Editing stories in class. EQAO preparation as well (reading comprehension, and paragraph writing). I will be sending out more EQAO packages for students.

We have started a novel study: FRINDLE

The novel study can be used in four ways:
Independent reading at student created paced
Small group independent reading at student created paced
Small group reading guided by the teacher
Whole class reading guided by the teacher
Each chapter or set of chapters has a particular task:

Vocabulary:
Students need to be able to write the definition/meaning of the word in their own words as the word is used in the story. If they are unable to, they need to find the word in the dictionary and match the correct definition with the context that the word is used in the book.

Short response questions:
The questions come in two forms. The first is basic comprehension directly from the story. This is your “Who, What, Where, When, Why and How” question.

The second form is analysis of information and events in the story. The student is required to explain an answer, respond as if they were in the story, or state what they think the character(s) should do.
The remaining sections are key components in studying literature in a detailed and meaningful way. The directions for each part are given within each section

SOCIAL STUDIES - Looking at the Pioneer Life and comparing it with the modern life. To do this, students will compare the similarities and differences using a Venn Diagram. Once complete, students will write a 4 paragraph paper explaining the similarities and differences in detail. Finally, students will draw two different lives (one of a pioneer and another of their own life)   Soon we will look at how advertising was used to encourage people to come to Canada during the 1800's.

**Please check the your child's work especially for Language. Make sure the their sentences have capital letters and periods (proper punctuation)