1. How do we create a culture of inquiry in our classrooms and in our teaching? How do we cluster expectations for inquiry and to make the intentional reading / writing connections? SMART Goal # 2: By June 30, 2009 HPEDSB boys will independently produce non- fiction writing for an intended purpose and audience. What are the common elements between goal #1 and #2 that will ensure they support each other and not be viewed as separate entities? Establishes a clear purpose Engagement Meaningful integration and application Gradual release of responsibility Higher order thinking Critical questions

2. Eric’s Reflection “I just finished this amazing multi week plan that used the social studies curriculum to drive the language expectations and elicited higher levels of thinking from the students because of the intentional questions I was asking. It set up the reading – writing connection beautifully and the students did exactly what I asked of them, but I was disappointed with the results. Why?...because I had asked them to create a report as the text form to demonstrate in writing what they knew about the content. They were asked to choose a European explorer and write a report outlining what they did etc. They were able to apply what they knew about reports and used all the elements of a report that we had discussed...but the content didn’t reflect the high levels of thinking the students were engaged in as they explored the issues related to First Nation Peoples and European Explorers. It was just a regurgitation of facts.” What was missing? An inquiry question related to the written assignment that would allow them to think deeply about and then ‘report’ on an important issue. Example: ‘How did the arrival of the European explorers impact the First Nations peoples?’.

3. Social Studies 5: Aspects of Citizenship and Government in Canada 6: Canada’s Links to the World How does our government’s involvement in current international issues directly affect our lives? Reading for Meaning 1.8 Responding to and Evaluating Texts 1.9 Point of View Text Form Explanation (to explain an experience or event related to cause and effect) Writing Ideas Organization Reading / Writing Connection Choose texts that are in explanation format as mentor texts that involve the social studies content. Develop guiding questions related to evaluation and point of view to explore during the reading weeks. Literal Questions Inferential Questions Critical Questions

4. How does our government’s involvement in current international issues directly affect our lives? Social Studies 5: Aspects of Citizenship and Government in Canada 6: Canada’s Links to the World DO SAY WRITE Debate Examples: Should our government continue to send foreign aid dollars to Africa? Should the Canadian government continue to send troops to Afghanistan? Should this Canadian government have tried to reach its Kyoto targets? Explanation Related to the inquiry question: How does our government’s involvement in _______ directly affect our lives? (cause – effect – impact) Media Create an electronic photo story portraying the impact of the international issue they chose. Narrate the photo story with information from their written explanation.

5. Math: Data Relationships Read, describe and interpret data and explain relationships between sets of data. (Overall 2) How does our government’s involvement in current international issues directly affect our lives? Use the data available related to an international issue Canada is involved in to explore and understand it more deeply (by reading, describing and interpreting). Examine the relationships between the sets of data to draw conclusions. Use the information gleaned to support or oppose issues identified for debate.

6. Visual Arts Identify the elements of design (colour, line, shape, form, space, texture) and the principles of design (emphasis, balance, rhythm, unity, variety, proportion) and use them when producing and responding to works of art. (Overall 2) What happens when line, balance, rhythm and unity are disrupted or distorted? Make the link to when the balance, rhythm and unity in our lives becomes disrupted or distorted...How do we feel? How do we respond? How do others respond?