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Re-inventing the wheel isn’t always necessary.
Without question, the most popular post on my blog has been the one about a Year Plan. Because it is my fervent hope to make this blog as useful as possible to teachers who are still in the classroom, I will continue to search for ways to provide what is needed. Today’s post offers a year plan from a lady who was one of my student teachers some years ago.
She was one of the best practicum students I ever had the privilege of working with, and I now find myself being her student at Westpark Middle School where I volunteer once a week. Lana’s expertise with the interactive whiteboard, SMARTboards, has made her the school guru.
But for now, here’s Lana Beierbach’s Year Plan for Grade 7 Language Arts. She didn’t re-invent the wheel, and start from scratch, but borrowed ideas from knowledgeable colleagues. If you have a year plan to share, please get in touch.
Grade Seven Language Arts Year Plan 2009-2010
Mrs. Lana Beierbach
Language Arts is all about communication – giving and receiving information in an effective manner through listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and representing. Throughout the school year, we will use the following Essential Understandings and Guiding Questions as the focus of our learning.
Essential Understandings in Language Arts
- Specific strategies help us understand what we read, view and hear.
- Effective communicators learn how to use language and images skilfully when writing, speaking and representing.
- Authors and presenters use specific techniques to organize their text and make it appealing.
- Communication requires respect, cooperation and collaboration with others
.
Guiding Questions
- What reading, viewing and listening strategies will enhance my understanding of information?
- How can I enhance my communication when writing, speaking and representing information?
- How can I use the structure of texts and the author’s stylistic techniques to help me understand?
- How can I work with others to improve our communication with each other?
The Language Arts Program of Studies focuses on the following outcomes through listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and representing.
1. Explores Thoughts, Ideas, Feelings, and Experiences
_____Uses a variety of texts to explore ideas and personal understandings
2. Comprehends and Responds to Texts
_____Uses strategies and cues to enhance comprehension
_____Responds to different texts
_____Understands genres, structures, and techniques
_____Creates new texts in response
3. Manages Ideas and Information
_____Plans/ Focus
_____Evaluates and selects information
_____Organizes/Records
_____Shares/Reviews
4. Enhances the Clarity and Artistry of Communication
_____Edits for: Ideas, Sentence Fluency, Organization, Word Choice,
Voice, Conventions and Presentation
5. Celebrates and Builds Community
_____Respects others
_____Works with others
We will be using a variety of fiction, non-fiction and mixed media to illustrate the language arts outcomes. Students will have numerous opportunities to choose their reading materials.
Expectations
Materials and Supplies
-agenda for recording homework
-binder with lined loose-leaf paper
-duo tangs (Reader’s Notebook / Writer’s Notebook / other projects)
-blue or black pens
-pencils, erasers, pencil sharpener
-ruler, pencil crayons
- (optional) markers, scissors, coloured pens and highlighters
Behaviour
-Respectful to all students and staff.
-Responsible – come to class prepared and open to learning!
Assessment
Since communication skills are in a constant state of development, assessment is most accurate when observing student growth over an extended period of time rather than focusing on “snapshot” assessments such as a single exam or writing project.
Students will be assessed on established criteria as follows:
Formative: Progress information gathered to show each student’s:
- Goals, Strengths/ Accomplishments, Instruction Needed/ Support
- Self evaluation and goal setting so students take responsibility for their own learning.
Summative: Report card marks will be based on the following:
- Performance assessments and work samples
- Exams and quizzes
Reader’s Notebook
- This duotang will contain a reading record, strategies to use when reading, and responses to reading. Students will choose responses each term for assessment. This is one of the ways understanding of texts will be assessed.
Writer’s Notebook
- This duotang will contain personal topic lists and ideas for writing, organizers for different types of texts, criteria for quality writing, and work in progress. Students will choose pieces each term for assessment.
Writing Portfolio Folder
- The portfolio is a place to keep the collection of written pieces and projects completed throughout the year. It will include pieces chosen by students and pieces assigned by the teacher. Individual pieces will be evaluated each term according to rubrics developed in class. Additional pieces not formally assessed may also be included if the student or teacher desires.
Summative assessments will include, but are not limited to, the following topics. Please note that plans are subject to change based on individual student and class strengths and needs.
| Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 |
| Reading - short stories and articles- comprehension strategies | Reading - building community through shared reading of novels- literature circles | Reading - critical reading |
| Writing - note taking- summarizing from notes
- summarizing references - sentence variety |
Writing - library research reports- creative writing
- word choice |
Writing - critiques- using figures of speech and other stylistic “decorations” |
| Speaking/Listening - book share presentation- following instructions and routines | Speaking/Listening - book share presentation- group work skills | Speaking/Listening - book share presentation- music lyrics comprehension |
| Viewing/Representing - responding to visuals- book share project | Viewing/Representing - elements of a story as depicted in films- book share project | Viewing/Representing- media messages- book share project |
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