Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.

1. What is contained in the Language Arts Curriculum?
2. What is contained in the Math Curriculum?
3. What topics are covered in Social?
4. Where can I get more information on the curriculum?
5. Why is there homework?
6. How do we know what homework our child has?

What is contained in the Language Arts Curriculum?

I will be using a variety of approaches to teach the basic components of the 
Language Arts program.   There are four basic parts to my L.A. program.  They 
are Guided Reading, Self-Selected  Reading, Writing and Working with words.

Home Reading
Students should be reading nightly, as this will improve areas such as word 
recognition, vocabulary, comprehension and spelling.

Handwriting

Grade fives and sixes will be expected to use cursive writing for all work 
unless otherwise indicated.  

Spelling

The children will be working on various word lists depending on their needs.  
We will be focusing on the pattern in words since Psychological theory suggest 
that the brain functions as a pattern detector not rule applier.

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What is contained in the Math Curriculum?

Math

This year I will be using a mathematics program called �Math Makes Sense.� It is the recommended 
resource for the new math curriculum.  This program reflects current thinking by national, provincial 
and local mathematics groups.  

Students will work on projects as a class, in groups and individually.  They will use concrete 
materials, calculators and computers, and will write, draw, talk, make models and create graphs to 
express their understanding.

Assessing progress requires more than paper and pencil tasks. I use many methods to assess 
thinking, decision-making and understanding.  I encourage students not to worry about making 
mistakes, but rather to try.  Sometimes they learn more if they are making a mistake than if they 
simply did the question correctly.  Please allow me to see your child�s mistakes.  If they are always 
corrected at home I have no way of knowing what skills they require.  Insist that your child try every 
question.  Just saying I don�t know and leaving it blank tells me nothing.  However if I can see their 
attempts I am able to better help them.

Finally and most important, I am striving to ensure that all students achieve success. I encourage 
them to learn in their own ways and to develop their own methods and procedures.

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What topics are covered in Social?

The grade five social studies program focuses on Canadian Identity.  
I have broken the program down into a number of big ideas that we will be focusing on:
1. Identity
2. Canada�s Physical Identity
3. Historical Events that shaped Canada�s Multicultural Identity
4. Being Canadian
5. Refining Canada�s Identity
6. Caring for Canada

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Where can I get more information on the curriculum?

  Grade 5   
http://www.education.gov.ab.ca/parents/handbooks/summaries/5bro.pdf
  Grade 6
http://www.education.gov.ab.ca/parents/handbooks/summaries/6bro.pdf

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Why is there homework?

I would like to solicit your support in helping establish good homework habits.  
I believe that homework is important because it is a valuable aid in helping 
students make the most of their experiences in school.  I assign homework 
because it reinforces what has been learned in class, prepares students for 
upcoming lessons, teaches responsibility and independence, and helps students 
develop positive study habits.  If at anytime you feel that your child has too 
much homework please feel free to call and discuss this with me.

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How do we know what homework our child has?

Students will be recording their homework each day in their "daytimer". I will 
initial the students� entries at the end of the day and I ask that you also 
initial the daytimer each evening over the  "initials" blank so we know that 
you have seen it.  Please help your child get into the habit of carrying their 
daytimer back and forth every day.  There is a space under each date for 
parent/teacher communication, and I�ll check it each morning for notes from you 
as well.

If there is a legitimate reason (illness, for example) why a student is unable 
to finish a homework assignment, the parent must send a note to me on the day 
the homework is due, stating the reason it was not completed.
   
I feel that parents are the keys to making homework a positive experience for 
their children.  Therefore, I ask that parents make it a top priority providing 
the necessary homework supplies and a quiet environment in which to study. I 
recommend that parents set aside a specific time each day for homework to be 
completed.  Parents should provide praise and support for all homework efforts, 
but should not allow children to avoid homework or to do it for them.

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