Curriculum Corner

Reading:

  • Empower Assessments, Lessons 20-40 (6’s & 7)
  • Reading Comprehension in Alexandria of Africa
  • Visualization
  • Making Connections
  • Asking Questions
  • Novel Study & Literature Circles
  • Spelling Patterns
  • Rhyming
  • r controlled vowels
  • consonant buddies
  • pushy e
  • peeling off prefixes and suffixes
  • sounding our short words
  • We are focusing on reading comprehension strategies
  • We are making connections to the novel with other texts, our own lives, and the world
  • We are using Visualization to deepen understanding when reading
  • We are asking rich questions before, as, and after we read using the Q-chart
  • We are reading chunks of assigned novel independently
  • We are linking Literature Circle roles to Reading Comprehension strategies in follow-up activities
  • This text reminds me of another text/movie I have read/watched
  • I can relate this text to my own personal experiences
  • This text is similar to something happening in the world
  • I can see in my mind a picture of settings, characters, and events
  • I can answer reading comprehension questions using full sentences and complete thoughts
  • I can generate 'juicy' questions that get the group discussing events and offering opinions
  • I can identify the main message/idea/lesson in the chunks read
  • I can engage in discussion about main events in the novel study book
  • I can understand how characters may feel and why they act the way they do
  • I can pick out interesting words/phrases to discuss and explain why I chose them

Writing:

  • Parts of a sentence
  • Structuring sentences
  • Organizing sentences to form a paragraph
  • Writing multi-paragraph pieces
  • Report writing
  • Ideas and Organization
  • Editing Checklist
  • The Writing Process

I have included:

  • the 5 W's- who, where, what, why, and when
  • a topic sentence that introduces the main idea to my reader
  • a topic sentence that is specific and engaging
  • at least 3 supporting details
  • a thorough explanation of each detail
  • a concluding sentence
  • a concluding sentence that restates the main idea
  • I think about syllables (claps) in a word. Every syllable MUST have a vowel (or y)
  • I use the Empower Sounding Out strategy for each syllable to stretch out all of the sounds
  • I use colour-coded mind maps to quickly organize my ideas before I write a draft
  • I make sure my jot notes only have vital words so that my work is original

Math:

Review of Number Sense:

  • mental math (+, -, x)
  • place value
  • fractions
  • decimals
  • x by 10, 100, 1000, 10 000
  • BEDMAS
  • prime & Composite numbers


  • rounding numbers
  • factors, multiples, and G.C.F.
  • placing common fractions on a number line, with corresponding decimals and percentages
  • exponents (gr. 7&8)
  • square roots (gr. 7&8)


  • adding fractions with different denominators
  • Area of triangles (6), parallelograms (7), trapezoids (7), circles (8)
  • experimental and theoretical probability

Social Studies/Geography:

Mapping:

  • Reading maps using symbols, legends, compass rose, lines of latitude and longitude (e.g. political, topographical, populations, mortality rates, waterways)
  • Constructing maps for different purposes
  • reading different types of maps
  • identifying land forms