Year at a Glance
Some, if not most, of
the areas of the new curriculum listed below will be
covered/discussed/taught this school year in class. However, due to the nature of the new
curriculum, the needs of the students, and the availability of resources, the
areas that we study may veer off in other directions. Also, please do not be concerned if you find
that your child is repeating topics that they have studied in previous years. The nature of our lessons/the curriculum is
based on a continuum of learning which builds on prior knowledge.
Key Information from the New Curriculum
All areas of learning
are based on a “Know-Do-Understand” model to support a concept-based
competency-driven approach to learning. Three
elements, the Content (Know), Curricular Competencies (Do), and Big Ideas
(Understand) all work together to support deeper learning for students.
Core
Competencies For Students
Communication - impart and
exchange information, experiences and ideas, to explore the world around them,
and to understand and effectively engage in the use of digital media.
Thinking - includes specific
thinking skills as well as habits of mind, and metacognitive awareness.
Personal & Social
- need to thrive as individuals, to understand and care about themselves
and others, and to find and achieve their purposes in the world.
Lessons Will Also Focus on the First Peoples Principals of Learning
Learning
ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the
land, the spirits, and the ancestors.
Learning
is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on
connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
Learning
involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions.
Learning
involves generational roles and responsibilities.
Learning
recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge.
Learning
is embedded in memory, history, and story.
Learning
involves patience and time.
Learning
requires exploration of one’s identity.
Learning
involves recognizing that some knowledge is sacred and only shared with
permission
and/or in certain situations.
Language Arts:
Mystery Stories and Mystery Writing
The Peak Novel Study
Literature Circles
Nonfiction and Fiction Writing (focusing on: context; target
audience and purpose, compound to complex sentences, smooth transitions between
thoughts and ideas, grammar; including subject-verb agreement)
Structures and Patterns of Language Text
Compare and Contrast Essays
Poetry (rhyming/limericks/cinquain/free verse/clerihew…)
Letter Writing
Oral, Silent, and Shared Reading
Oral Presentations (focusing on: adjusting volume, tone,
intonation, pace, gestures, and audience connections)
Structured Debates (discussing and comparing ideas and
opinions/supporting judgments)
Reading Skills (focusing on: language development, synthesizing
viewpoints, inferences, connecting themes, and enhanced vocabulary usage)
Readers Theatre
Cross-Curricular Reading Comprehension
Grammar (paragraph writing: topic sentences/creating complex
sentences/expansions of supporting detail/creative and sequential
conclusions/accurate punctuation/descriptive adjectives/nouns/verbs/similes
/metaphors…)
Writing Traits (theory, worksheets and application)
Theme Work
Proof Reading, Revising & Editing (set classroom format)
Math:
Reasoning & Analyzing
Understanding & Solving
Communicating & Representing
Connecting & Reflecting
Review: Subtraction, Addition, Multiplication and Division (short
division/patterns /compensations/substitutions/whole numbers/decimals)
Daily Drills with Graphing (+/-/x/÷/skip counting/number patterns)
Math Journal and Problem Solving Response Sheets (focusing on:
multiple solutions and formats)
Math Games - computation, patterns and logic puzzles
Patterning (tables/charts/predictions/input and output machines)
Subtraction and Addition of Integers
(concretely/pictorially/symbolically)
Equations with Integers
Fractions: Equivalent, Improper, Mixed Numbers, Ordering, Adding
& Subtracting (like and
unlike denominators), Multiplication & Division (like and
unlike denominators)
Order of Operations (with decimals)
Estimating/Rounding
Decimals, Percent (including financial) & Ratios (comparisons)
Financial
literacy – financial
percentage calculations (e.g., sales tax, tips, bill splitting, consignment)
Measurement: Properties of Circles (radius/diameter/circumference
of circles/relating the circumference to pi/determining the sum of the
central angles/constructing circles with a given
radius or diameter)
Measurement: Length, Circumference, Perimeter, Area
(parallelogram/triangle/circles),
Volume, Capacity, and Mass
2D & 3D Shapes
Statistics: Graphing (interpreting/drawing/spreadsheets to
graphs/mean/mode/median /range)
Geometry: Patterns, Angles, Congruent Figures, Lines of Symmetry,
Rotations, Transformations and Reflections (in all four quadrants of the
Cartesian Plane)
Experimental & Theoretical Probability
(using ratios, fractions and percent/experimental probability of two
independent events)
Cultural
Perspectives of First Peoples with the concepts of locating, measuring,
and numbering
and numbering
The Theory of
Evolution and the Diversity of Living Things – Term 1
Natural selection through adaptive radiation
Survival needs and interactions
between organisms and the environment
Earth and Climate
Changes over Time
Fossil records and geological dating
/ life
forms found in fossils and organisms that exist today
Physical and environmental changes that occur over time
/ cyclical
changes in the environment
Evidence of climate change over
geological time and the recent impacts of humans
How humans have changed Earth’s landscape, climate and systems
Efficacy of sustainable practices
Aboriginal ecological knowledge and other traditional practices
(e.g., stewardship and conservation)
Extreme Environments
on Earth and the Solar System – Term 2
Places with severely limiting factors
Sustainable practices and Aboriginal perspectives
Exploration and Canadian contributions
Force of gravity
Newtons Three
Laws of Motion (Class Experiments & Individual/Group Projects) – Term 3
Social Studies:
Anthropological Origins of Humans – Term 1
Early origins of humans in Africa and the migration of early humans
out of Africa
Interactions between early humans and Neanderthals
Technological developments of early humans and the increasingly
sophisticated use of stone tools and early metalworking
The shift of early humans from a nomadic hunter-gatherer way of
life to more settled agricultural communities
The advantages of agriculture over the hunter-gather way of life
Comparison Project on at Least Two Ancient
Civilizations (student choice) – Term 2
Key characteristics of physical environments that affected development
and settlement (e.g., proximity to water, fertile land, natural resources,
defensibility)
The fall of the culture (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic
activity, unsustainable human practices)
Interactions amongst cultures and global positioning (e.g.,
mountain ranges, oceans, rivers)
How humans adapted to their physical environment in ancient
civilizations (e.g., architecture, transportation methods, clothing)
Components that are common to different world cultures/civilizations
How civilizations developed over time and their legacy/impact on
their present day society
Global Issues and Current Events
(Individual/Group Projects) – Term 3
Environmental issues – Canada/globally
Food distribution and famine
Regional and international conflict
The media/current events and public perception
Globalization and economic interdependence
Economic development and protecting the environment
The advantages and disadvantages of urbanization
Global poverty and inequality issues (including class structure and
gender)
French:
Oral Pronunciation and Dialogues
Classroom Commands (review)
Greetings and Daily Life Phrases (review)
Body Parts and Health Phrases
Numbers (review)
Calendar and Time (review)
‘Morning to Night Routines’
Family (review), ‘Home-life’ and ‘Home Conversations’
Clothing and Shopping Phrases
Location and Direction Phrases
Food and Shopping at the Supermarket Dialogues
Food and Restaurant Dialogues
Regular ‘ER’ Verb Conjugation
Directions Dialogues
‘Other’ Verb Conjugations
(pouvoir/etre/avoir/faire/vendre/choisir/mettre/pendre/sentir)
Reflexive Verb Conjugations
Commands
Possessive Adjectives
Adjectives
Questioning (Est-ce que/pouvoir/aimez-vous/reverse verb
questioning…)
Monthly Theme Workbooks
Songs, Raps and National Anthem
Short Stories
Role Playing & Rehearsed Statement Dialogues
Interviews
French Speaking Areas of Canada/Francophone Culture
France - Culture and Traditions
School Life in French Speaking Countries
Symbols of France Artwork
Applied Design Skills & Technologies (3 modules/topics for the
year)
Digital Literacy
Digital Literacy
· Internet safety
· digital self-image, relationships, and communication
· legal and ethical considerations, including creative credit
and copyright, and cyberbullying
· methods for personal media management
· search techniques, how search results are selected and
ranked, and criteria for evaluating search results
· strategies to identify personal learning networks
· Scratch coding (Social Studies project)
· Coding stations work
Entrepreneurship
and Marketing
· role of entrepreneurship in designing and making products
and services
· market niche
· branding of products, services, institutions, or places
· pricing (product/service/profit/break even/record keeping)
Media Arts
· media types, non-digital and digital, and their
distinguishing characteristics and uses
· techniques for using images, sounds, and text to communicate
information, settings, ideas, and story structure
· media technologies and techniques to capture, edit, and
manipulate images, sounds and text for specific purposes
· influences of digital media for the purpose of communication
and self expression
Arts Education
Music:
Band (taught and assessed by Ms. Duthie)
Singing (class performances will cover: rhythmic patterns, melodic
& harmonic parts, performance
etiquette, performance skills, historical & cultural contexts)
Dance (see under PE)
Art & Design:
Colour Wheel (review)
Warm & Cool Colour Art
Elements of Art (line, shape, colour, pattern, and composition)
Through Black and
White Photography
Autumn Themed Pencil and Paint Poster
Positive and Negative Space Collage
Paper Quilling
Shading (water & ink/pencil/charcoal/pastels/water
colour/acrylic paint)
Artist Study – Robert & Sonia Delaunay
Abstract Artwork
On-line Art Projects
Perspective
and Proportion
Stencil
Cities
General
Canadian Artists’ Study
Aboriginal
Art & Processes
Artist
Study – George Seurat
Pointillism
Art Project
Artist
Study – Henri Mattisse
Artist
Study - Cezanne
Artist
Story (Picasso/Van Gogh)
Symbols
of France Artwork
Still
Life Paintings (with connections to “simple & deep thinking questions”)
Dimensional
and 3 Dimensional Design (clay sculpting)
Tessellations
Seasonal
Artwork
Drama:
Voice
(control/projection/inflection)
Skits
Improvisational
Acting & Games
Theatre
Skills
Mini
Plays
Career Education
Identity
Short/Long Term Goal Setting Activities
Leadership/Volunteer Activities (school/community)
Community Activities (Food Bank/Care Home)
Career Planning & Factors that Affect Community Jobs
Mentors/Mentorships
Physical &
Health Education (other activities not listed to be confirmed at a later date):
Cooperative Games
Gymnastics - Cartwheels Gymnastics Club
(TBC)
Hip Hop/Cultural Dances
Volleyball
Badminton
Basketball
Track and Field
Softball
Tennis (January & February)
Kayaking (TBC)
Cross-country Skiing (TBC)
Student Led Games
Physical Education and Health Journal:
(The effects of
different types of physical activity on the body / factors
that influence personal eating choices / practices that reduce the risk of
contracting sexually transmitted infections and life-threatening communicable
diseases sources of health information / basic principles
for responding to emergencies / strategies to protect oneself and
others from potential abuse, exploitation, and harm in a variety of settings / consequences
of bullying, stereotyping, and discrimination / signs
and symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression / influences
of physical, emotional, and social changes on identities and relationships)
