Language Arts
Reading,
Writing, & Vocabulary Enrichment. These are the backbone of the
language arts curriculum. Students use Vocabulary for Achievement
or Vocabulary Workshop to
build word skills for reading, writing, understanding text and concepts as
well as preparing for the time they may be taking SAT tests. Daily Oral
Language is used by all classes at Cheldelin to improve students' use of
writing conventions. The McDougal-Littel anthology, Literature and
Language, provides short stories, plays, and poems for reading and
discussion as well as language skill exercises.
In the sixth grade, writing tasks are usually in the expository mode and are often integrated with the Social Studies content. These writing pieces are scored with the six dimensions of the Oregon State Department's scoring guide for Writing. Short stories in the McDougal-Littel anthology provide the basis for interpretive discussions ALA Jr. Great Books. These discussion techniques are carried into students' own Literature Circles. Students also learn the skills to be successful with the Oregon State Department's scoring guide for Reading. Components of Comprehension are addressed with a plot diagram. Extending Understanding requires good writing to compare what is being read to what students have read in the past, viewed or know about. Literary elements are explored as a way of analyzing text for the "Reading Critically" portion of the reading scoring guide. All sixth graders read Linda Sue Park's A Single Shard , and many other novels, either read by all members of the class, or chosen by the student, are included in language arts/reading instruction.
Futures Studies has a home in the integrated Challenge Humanities class for identified talented & gifted students. Students are introduced to concepts of futures studies and tools futurists use to explore their own personal future and possible futures of the planet. Science fiction as a genre is explored as one of the tools futurists use to play out a possible future scenario. Future Problem Solving is another tool used to look at possible problems and possible solutions of current issues.