BUILDING READING SKILLS

By the end of this course, students will:

• demonstrate the ability to read and respond to a variety of texts;
• demonstrate understanding of the organizational structure and features of a variety of informational, narrative, and graphic texts, including information paragraphs, opinion pieces, textbooks, newspaper reports and magazine stories, and short fiction;
• demonstrate understanding of the content and meaning of informational, narrative, and graphic texts that they have read using a variety of reading strategies;
• use a variety of strategies to understand unfamiliar and specialized words and expressions in informational, narrative, and graphic texts.

BUILDING WRITING SKILLS

In this strand, students integrate learning from Strand A as they investigate concepts, develop and apply skills, and make meaningful connections to their lives, their communities, and the environment
By the end of this course, students will:
B1. Relating Science to Our Changing World – assess impacts of climate change on ecosystem sustainability and on various communities, and describe ways to mitigate these impacts
B2. Investigation and Understanding Concepts – demonstrate an understanding of the dynamic and interconnected nature of ecosystems, including how matter cycles and energy flows through ecosystems

UNDERSTANDING AND ASSESSING GROWTH IN LITERACY

By the end of this course, students will:

• demonstrate an understanding of the importance of communication skills in their everyday lives – at school, at work, and home;
• demonstrate an understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the learning process;
• demonstrate an understanding of the reading and writing processes and of the role of reading and writing in learning;
• demonstrate an understanding of their growth in literacy during the course.