Mrs

Mrs. Claretta Shefrin and Mrs. Diane Rutherford

Welcome to Grade 6

Welcome back to school!! We are very exciting about the upcoming year and working with the grade six students. This is meant to provide parents with an overview of our philosophy and procedures in the classroom.

One of our goals as teachers is to provide student with a positive attitude and nurturing environment that is conducive to a creative, constructive and responsible activity. We hope that children can grow, enjoy learning, feeling trusted, develop strengths and assume responsibility.

We believe in structure, reasonable expectations and realistic and consistent consequences. We try to encourage students to make their own decisions to solve problems and to be responsible for their actions.

An effort is made to reinforce the following messages:

	I respect myself
	I can think for myself
	There is no problem so great that it cannot be solved

We also use smiles, understanding and humor with our students. It is important that the students know that we believe in them, trust them, listen to them and care about them.

If a student is having difficulty following any of the classroom/school rules, we follow the Student Code of Conduct, which has been sent home. It outlines the procedures that teacher is to follow for a student’s inappropriate behavior.

There are six expectations that we have in Grade six:

Show up on time
Be prepared
Do assignments
Listen to others
Respect yourself and all others
Bring your Agenda Book daily

It is understood that in order to maintain a positive learning atmosphere, everyone has to be responsible to the other members of the classroom.

Grade Six Program Overview

Language Arts:

Students will explore and develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing using an integrated approach of various content areas including;

- Class meetings and discussions

- Individual spelling programs

- Six trait writing (writing process)

- Handwriting and grammar skills practice

- Letter and journal writing

- Creative writing, Poetry / choral reading

- Research (note taking, report writing)

- Computer – word processing and keyboarding

- Library book exchange

- Book buddies with younger grades

- Teacher readings

- Class novel studies / Literature Circles/Guided Reading

- Readers Club

- Writer’s Workshop

- Formal Presentations

Mathematics:

Through out the year students will work with a variety of materials, in groups and alone, and will record and reflect on their findings on paper. Mathematical problem solving is also integrated with other subjects. Areas explored will be;

- Patterns and Relations

- Statistics and Probability

- Shape and Space

- Number

Problem solving activities are stressed, both ‘routine’ problems (Using arithmetical operations, for example) and ‘non-routine’ problem which encourage creativity and the development of mathematical reasoning.

Social Studies:

We are learning about Canadian History in Grade 6. The units covered are:

- General Canadian Studies

- First Canadians

- Coming of the French

- Coming of the British

- Confederation

- Life in the 19^th and 20^th Century in Western Canada

Science:

- Diversity of Living Things

- Flight

- Electricity

- Exploring the Solar System

Health:

The Lions Quest Program delivers much of the grade six health curriculums. It encompasses all topic areas and stresses good decision making. Topics include;

- Challenges Facing Adolescents

- Building Self Confidence and Communication Skills

- Improving relations with Peers and Family

- Health lifestyles and Drug Awareness

- Managing Emotions in a Positive Way

Art:

Art activities will be part of all theme areas studied and seasonal topics to represent learning in creative ways. Activities include;

- Viewing and interpreting art (prints, photos, etc.)

- exploring the use of various art media (pencil, paint, crayons, water colors, charcoal, modeling clay)

- Practice in recognizing and producing elements (line, shape, color, value, texture, form and space)

Field Trips:

- correspond to Grade 6 curriculum in different subject

Assessment and Evaluation:

The most important part of assessment is to give children feedback which can help them be the best learner they can possibly be. This happens daily and includes academic, social, behavioral and emotional feedback. All areas will include a combination of self, peer and teacher assessment. Assessment strategies include;

- Daily assignment completion

- Daily teacher observation

- Quality of student learning response and reflection

- Results of teacher made tests/formal testing

- Homework completion

- Project evaluations

- Notes in Agenda planner

- Specific check lists

- Oral tests

- Portfolios, Conferencing

- CAP (Comprehensive Assessment Program)

Student Expectations:

- Students act responsibly at all times.

- Work is always completed on time and is neat and well written

- Students respect one another and all adults.

- Agendas are at school daily – signed by a parent

We strongly believe that the closer we work together, the more successful a learning year we will ALL have! Please feel free to contact me thought the agendas or call the school between 8:30am and 4:00 pm .

FARADAY SCHOOL - GRADE 6 STUDENTS

PERCENTAGE (%) BREAKDOWN IN ALL SUBJECT AREAS

FOR THE REPORTING PERIODS

10% NOTEBOOKS / DUOTANGS

- includes neatness of work.

- all assigned work is present in the

notebooks/duotangs.

- notebooks/duotangs are organized.

10% WORK COMPLETION

- all assigned work is completed by the due date.

- assigned work to be completed includes daily

-assignments, ongoing activities, and long-term projects.

- students have all the necessary supplies

(including pens, duotangs, texts, etc.)

25% PARTICIPATION

- students are able to work co-operatively.

- students display group involvement.

- students display appropriate listening skills.

- students are able to follow directions.

25% ASSIGNMENTS/PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES

- a finished product is evident at the appropriate time.

- the quality of the assignment / project / activity is

acceptable to the expectations given in the

assignment of the task.

- the presentation of the outcome of the

assignment/project/activity is appropriate.

30% CONCEPTS/SKILLS

- students are able to display an understanding

of the concept/skill that is being studied.

- students can apply the concept/skill

in the appropriate situation.

- test results of the concept/skill are recorded and

included in the evaluation.

_____

100% TOTAL

Page edited September, 2006