Welcome to Grade 7/8 2015/2016
Classroom Information
Core Classroom Teacher: Mrs. Fazl
(Language, Math, History/Geography)
Room: 114
Number of students: 30
Class Parent: Dr. Kristen Ruttan
Rotary Teachers
French: Mme. Gardner
Instr. Music: Ms. Loucks
Gym/Science: Mr. Benedict
Drama: Mrs. Capes
Health: Ms. Standing
Art: Mrs. Jones
Technology Center
This year the students will continue to use technology that they have used in the previous years as well as build on their knowledge by introducing new programs and techniques to their technology portfolio.
- AW (Academic Workspace) - Will help them access their homedrive, tdsb email, Google calendar and Google apps for education.
- Google Apps - Google docs, Google slides, Google forms to complete assignments and share with teachers and classmates.
- Desire 2 Learn (D2L) - Student will be enrolled in the on-line courses(Math, Language, Hitory and Geography) to access course material to complete throughout the year. This platform will help student understand how to navigate through an on-lilne course.
- Math IXL - IXL.com will be used to practise and become proficient in math skills learned in class. Students have the ability to work at their level, grades below to catch-up on skills or move forward to the next grade to improve skills. There are unlimited math questions to be completed at every unit of study and skill.
- Presentations can be completed using - Google Slides, Powerpoint, i movie, Prezi, Bitstrips etc...
Access to AW
How to access your Home Drive and Google apps:
How to get onto AW and your Home Drive from your home computer
1) Go onto www.tdsb.on.ca
2) On the menu bar choose "Elementary Schools"
3) Choose “The Classroom”
4) Choose “Virtual Library”
5) Input your TDSB Username and password (same as when accessing from school)
6) Scroll down to find AW (Academic workspace)
For Google docs:
7)When in Academic Workspace, you can go into the Google tab and scroll over to docs to get into your google documents
For Home Drive:
7) For your home drive, upon entering AW, click on "My Home" and choose "Northlea Elementary and Middle School.
8) Then choose “Documents” from the side menu bar
8) Then choose “Home Drive”
9) Find your “Grade 6” folder
10) Find your “Science folder, Language, Math... folder”
11) Find your project
Monthly Calendar: Important Events
JANUARY
4th - Welcome Back and Happy New Year
5th - Presentation of Memory Box
6th - Begin review for Hana's Suitcase test
8th - Grade 7 History Brochure due (after 5th period)
11th - Hana's Suitcase test
20th - Lice Check Period 3
21st - Intermediate Ski Trip
22nd - PA day
LONG TERM PROJECTS
Spelling
Spelling is assigned every other week. Students are asked to write sentences using each of the vocabulary words and complete assigned questions. (Questions are written in the tracking sheet at the back of their spelling writing books)
They will have a spelling test on the Friday of the week that spelling is assigned.
Problem of the Week (P.O.W)
P.O.W is assigned every other week. The question will be based on the unit of study in Math. Students will be given one class period to begin their P.O.W. The remaining work is homework and is it is due on the Friday of the week it is assigned.
Language Memory Box Project
Memory box written work completed and printed due on Monday December 14th.
Shoebox with decorations are due on Monday December 14th. Completed
Memory box due Wednesday December 16th.
Presentation - January 5th
PARENT CORNER
BLOG
Our classroom will be a part of a blog
BLOG # 2 - Book Worm and Movie Buff
This blog will be used to post students reviews on book they have read and movies they have watched. This site is open to the public and therefore anyone on the web, including classmates, peers, parents and authors can comment on the reviews. The comments will be moderated prior to posting to ensure that only descriptive and constructive feedback is posted.
site: www.northleae6a.blogspot.com
UNITS OF STUDY
LANGUAGE
Reading: Students will be exposed to many different forms of text throughout the first term. We will familiarize ourselves with the layout of non-fiction texts such as the features of text-books, magazine and newspaper articles. Short stories will be read to understand their format. To introduce students to the format of a Novel Study and Literature Circle, we will be reading Hana's suitcase as a class. Students will then use the skills learned and apply it to independent Novel Study and Literature Circle work beginning in January. We will focus on how to systematically write an answer to a reading comprehension question, how to level their work and then add information and detail to improve. Through the peer editing format, student will learn to level another student's work and give each other valuable feedback to improve their work. Through teacher conferencing, students will receive descriptive feedback from the teacher to help improve their sentence structure, vocabulary and grammar.
Writing: Students will begin the year with a writing assignment based on the goals they want to set and achieve throughout the year. The students will revisit this document throughout the year to check off their accomplishments and evaluate the strategies they used to achieve their goals. This piece of writing will focus on the use of paragraphs to divide ideas and topics. Through History, students will also write journal entries, create media presentation and posters where they will be asked to incorporate language features learned in Language. After reading Hana's Suitcase in Reading, the students will be assigned a writing assignment where they will create a memory box/suitcase to resemble Hana's suitcase.
Oral Communication: Students will be asked to participate in both group, partner and individual presentations throughout the term to focus on improving their oral presentation skills. This will be done both through Language and History. They will also be assessed on their ability to participate during partner, group and classroom discussions by asking questions, making comments and helping to progress the discussion.
MATH (student will learn through the use of Nelson Mathematics Text book, 3 part lessons, ONAP, D2L, Word problems from Waterloo University and Math IXL)
Geometry
Students will be exposed to different types of graphs. Given a specific set of data, they will then be asked to use the most appropriate type of graph to graph the data. Students will be exposed to many data gathering techniques using google forms and Excel spreadsheet. They will use these spreadsheets to calculate averages (mean, median and mode) using formula. Students will learn to interpret, evaluate and make value judgments about the data they encounter. They will be exposed to relevant data using Canada Census and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
History (students will learn through the use of the text book Flashback Canada, D2L and other secondary sources)
Gr. 7 - Students will be learning about the interactions between the First Nations people of North America and European Explorers. The impact of the interaction on the people and environment of the past and the present will be investigated. Students will create presentations to display their knowledge of the First Nations people using Powerpoint, Google Slides and skits to demonstrate their understanding of The Age of Discovery. The students will learn about the different groups of people who had an impact during this time such as the Fur Traders, Coureurs De Bois, Missionaries and Acadians. They will create posters and write captain`s logs to demonstrate their understanding of the Fur Trade and Missionaries.
Gr. 8 - Students will be learning about the circumstances before confederation that helped pushed to Nationhood and Confederation. They will be working in groups to discuss then become experts in the factors that lead to confederations, map boundaries, and the decisions of the colonies to join confederation. They will debate, present facts and create posters to persuade the class of their decisions. Students will then discuss the important figures of this time period and how the Nation begins to expand.
