1. St. Joseph School September 2010 Mrs. M. Medeiros Math Over the next few weeks students will be learning about “Patterns and Relationships.” In grade 6 the focus of the lessons will be on number patterns, pattern rules, variables and equations. They will be using data tables and graphs in order to find relationships. In grade 7, students will be learning about number patterns, applying pattern rules and using a table of values and scatter plots to predict patterns. Both grades will be expected to apply their understanding of relationships between numbers to solve problems. At home help: Please visit our classroom WIKI space and visit the tab “Helpful links and websites.” This tab provides several websites that correlate with the math strands taught in class. This site will provide alternative lessons, interactive math games and practice quizzes that will assist in the understanding of the concepts taught in class. Students will be given a “problem of the week” each week for homework that may or may not correlate with the strands taught in class. The purpose of these problems is to encourage critical thinking and problem solving skills. Literacy Balanced literacy will be a focus in learning throughout the year. Students will receive instruction in Reading, Writing, Word Studies, and Oral Communication. These language skills will be integrated through other subject areas to make the lessons meaningful and interesting to students. To begin the year we will be developing these skills with a focus on “Recount Writing”, where students will have the opportunity to show their History and Social Studies skills by writing a letter from the point of view of a group in Canada’s past. In reading this month students will be focusing on the skill of “predicting” by using a variety of text features to help them make predictions about texts before and during reading. At Home Help: Encouraging your child to read on a daily basis and use the different reading strategies during reading will continue to help them in their understanding of texts, as well as develop their critical thinking skills. History/Social Studies For the next few months we will be studying First Nations and Early Explorers (Grade 6) and the history of New France (Grade 7). In Social Studies students will learn about the characteristics of the North American First Nation cultures, and their interactions with the environment and the positive and negative interactions with European peoples. In Grade 7, the students will examine the roots and culture of the French communities in North America, and changes resulting from the interactions between the First Nation peoples and French and English settlers. Throughout the unit students will be participating in different activities and tasks that will develop their understanding of these issues and will demonstrate their understanding in a final culminating activity. (More details to follow in October). Religion/Fully Alive The virtue for the month is Respect. Respect is an attitude of honouring people and things and caring about their rights. Being respectful is reflected in the courtesy with which we treat one another, the way we speak, and the way we treat other people's belongings. In class, students will explore the understanding of respect through read alouds by making connections with characters in texts, and the world around them. We will also be making connections to our study on New France and First Nations by observing respect of other group’s cultures and values. Science We will be starting Science in October with units on “Heat” (grade 7), and “Space Exploration” (grade 6). More details to follow in October!