Term 2 Update: Room 8

Term 2 Update:  Room 8

Hi students, parents, caregivers and whanau of Room 8.

Everyone has been working hard and making steady progress through the mathematics, reading and written English stages during term one.  I love working with our class - we have some good humour and fun and lots of busy teaching and learning.  We have had loads of compliments from various teachers and other adults about the quality behaviour and efforts of our students, and that makes us all very proud!  

I am so looking forward to everyone leaping ahead in their maths and English this term.  Some students will be offered sessions for a learning boost with Mrs Diana Stewart during terms two and three in either maths and/or English and I will have a chat with parents before that happens.  

Our PE this term will be winter sports codes, including Ripper rugby, football, netball, and hockey.

Health/social studies units will be an ANZAC study and art unit, and the DARE Programme, which is about learning to make wise choices in relation to the use of drugs and alcohol.

In taha Maori, we are hoping to re-build our pepeha/mihimihi, which may include names, places and events that serve as timelines and locators of where we and our people are, where our people came from and where they exist today. Often included are geographical features such as maunga/mountains, or awa/rivers and names of Iwi/tribal rohe/areas.

Also, we are aiming to become more familiar with taking turns leading the Ruruku and waiata which we aim to share each morning as a very brief settling and focussing activity. 

During the second half of this term we will be studying some Electronics science, along with the rest of the senior classes. 

While we await the results of surveys of the homework situation, I will continue to offer maths and English activity sheets and in class, we will work on the English section.

Alternatively, Prototec, Mathletics, and for those enrolled on it, STEPSWEB are all available online if you have internet connectivity, or students are still welcome to do a project on any topic they choose, taking as long as they wish, and bringing their work to school to share when they are ready.  We have had a few really neat mini projects come in so far, ranging from imovies of research ideas, and mechanical and electrical kits, e.g. a crystal radio set.

I am attaching pages with the maths NUMBER stages for year seven and eights to aim for during this year, and the WRITTEN ENGLISH goals for the year groups. 

Each student will have a copy of these in their learning logs, which we will revisit each week, to monitor our achievements and focus on our next steps.  

Here is the blog link for our class:  http://room8hvl.blogspot.co.nz/

Once you have entered the address on your device it should open when you click on it from then on.  Please feel free to write some constructive comments!  Ask your child if you have any hassles getting in!

If you have any questions or just wish to have a chat, please be in touch with me any time out of class hours and feel free to come in to talk.  I am mostly in class from 8.30am and am usually free after 3.15ish, from Wednesday to Friday.  On Monday and Tuesday I am usually free from 5pm onwards after our staff meetings.

My cellphone is 027 4917575 and my email is cdalley@hunterville.school.nz.  I am happy for you to text and I will call back asap.  If you would like email communication with me, please send your email along and I will load it.  Thank you.

Kindest regards,        Colleen Dalley

Student Profile  Stage 6 to Stage 7 Most students will have achieved most items, mostly independently by the:  End of Year 7

Name:
Advanced Additive			to	Advanced Multiplicative	Date achieved
I am learning to ...					I can ...
Knowledge
Read and Order	Decimals to three places, e.g. 6.25 <  6.3 < 6.402
Know	Equivalent fractions including halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, hundredths, e.g.  =   and  = 75% = 0.75
Know	How many ’s, 10’s, 100’s and 1000’s are in whole numbers up to 1000 000, e.g. 387.9 tenths are in 3879.
Recall	All the basic multiplication and division facts up to 10 × 10 = 100, and 100 ÷ 10 = 10,  e.g. 6 × 9 = 54, 72 ÷ 8 = 9
Strategy
Solve + and – problems with fractions, decimals, and integers by:		Splitting fractions and using equivalent fractions, e.g.  +  = o as ( + ) +  = ( + ) +   = 1.
		Using standard place value, reversing, and tidy numbers with decimals, e.g. 2.4 – 1.78 = o as 1.78 + o = 2.4  or 2.4 – 1.8 + 0.02 = 0.62.
		Recognising equivalent operations with integers, e.g. +5 - -3 = o has the same answer as +5 + +3 = +8.
Solve × and ÷  problems with whole numbers by:		Using standard place value (100’s, 10’s, 1’s), e.g. 7 × 56 = o as 7 × 50= 350, 7 × 6 = 42, and 350 + 42 = 392, or 168 ÷ 7 = o as 140 ÷ 7 = 20, 28 ÷ 7 = 4, 20 +  8 = 28 .
		Compensating from tidy numbers, e.g. 252 ÷ 9 = o as 270 ÷ 9 = 30 so 252 ÷ 9 = 28.
		Splitting factors, e.g. 544 ÷ 16 = o as 544 ÷ 2 ÷ 2 ÷ 2 ÷ 2 = 34.
Solve problems with fractions by:		Finding equivalent ratios, e.g. 2:3 is equivalent to 8:12 in the same way as  = .
		Expressing division answers and remainders as mixed numbers and fractions, e.g. 24 ÷ 5 =  = 4.

Student Profile  Stage 7 to Stage 8:  Most students will have achieved most of these items independently by End of Year 8

Name:
Advanced Multiplicative			to	Advanced Proportional	Date achieved
I am learning to ...					I can ...
Knowledge
Find	Least common factors and highest common multiples, e.g. 6 is the HCF of 24 and 42.
Know	Fraction to decimal to percentage conversions for ’s, ’s, ’s, ’s,’s, ’s, e.g.  = 0.6 = 60%
Know	How many tenths, hundredths, thousandths are in decimals, e.g. 2.37 is 2370 thousandths.
Read and order	Fractions with different denominators, e.g.  <  < .
Strategy
Solve problems that involve combining different proportions		Using weighting or averaging, e.g. 25% of 36 combined with 75% of 24 gives 27 out of 60 (45% of 60).
Solve × and ÷  problems with fractions and decimals by:		Using standard place value, reversing, and compensating from tidy numbers, e.g. 0.7 × 3.9 = o as 0.7 × 3 = 2.1, 0.7 × 0.9 = 0.63, and 2.1 + 0.63 = 2.73.
		Converting from fractions to decimals to percentages, e.g. 80% of 53 = o as 8 ×  × 53 = 8 × 5.3 = 42.4.
		Creating common denominators, e.g.  ×  =   or  ÷  = o as  ÷  =  = 2.
Solve problems with fractions, ratios and proportions by:		Using common factors to multiply between and within ratios, e.g. 8:12 as o:21 as 8:12 = 2:3 (common factor of 4) so 2:3 = 14:21 (multiplying by 7).
		Partitioning fractions and percentages, e.g. 85% of 36 = o as 10% of 36 = 3.6, 5% of 36 = 1.8, so 36 – 3.6 – 1.8 = 30.6.

  

WRITTEN ENGLISH  DEEPER FEATURES (The items in bold italics form part of National Standards)

L4i:   To be working towards achieving by end of year 7

L4ii:  To be achieving mostly independently by end of year 8

Impact •      Know how to achieve the purpose; e.g. by using different ways to examine and present their own thinking/knowledge. •      Write to maintain audience interest through, e.g. humour, selected anecdotes, careful choice of language and different language features. •       Choose a clear and logical text structure to suit purpose and audience, with some innovation.

Voice - Sustain sincerity of personal voice. •       Use as needed: conversational tone, humour or special anecdotes to maintain audience interest.

Content & Ideas -Plan effectively as needed by using: •      Mindmapping, keywords, skim, search, graphic organisers and information skills to find and record information needed. •      Clearly and consistently maintain a point of view. •       Include detail, supporting comments or expand on main points.

Sentence Structure •      Use simple, compound and complex sentences that are grammatically correct. •      Use a variety of sentence structures, beginnings and lengths for effect. •      Confidently shape ideas for particular effect or purpose. •      Include paragraphs within which the main ideas are clearly related. •       Include links between paragraphs as appropriate e.g. a topic word or phrase.

Vocabulary & Language •      Use words and phrases specific to topic, purpose and audience, including expressive, academic, technical and subject-specific vocabulary. •      Use dialogue and inner voice to enhance my writing if appropriate. •       Choose to use features such as rhetorical questions (questions not usually needing an answer, using sarcasm or irony e.g. “Who cares?), metaphors and visual language features to engage audience interest and get message across.

SURFACE FEATURES:	Level 4i: working towards…	Level 4ii: achieving…
Spelling   *Demonstrate good understanding of all basic sounds and patterns in written English with few errors.     *Spell high frequency words correctly: all Spell Write lists 1-7.
Punctuation •       Use all basic punctuation correctly and attempt some complex punctuation including semicolons, colons and brackets.
Grammar •      Use most grammatical conventions correctly   (See Level 2i and 2ii for examples) •               Correctly formed sentences •               Consistent use of tense •               Subject-verb agreement •                Consistent use of pronouns and prepositions
Editing •      Ask for and respond to feedback and feed forward on my writing. •      Craft and re craft text by revising and editing, checking that the text meets its purpose, that it is likely to interest the intended audience. •       Proof read text to check grammar, spelling and punctuation accuracy.
Letter Formation •      Write with adequate speed & legibility •       Develop individual style
Publishing -Effectively use a variety of formats to suit the task and intended audience.

L5i   Deeper Features     To be achieving mostly independently by end of year 9 (Along with all the surface and deeper features of L4ii!)
Impact •      Construct a range of texts that demonstrate an understanding of purpose and audience through deliberate choice of content, language and text form.
Voice •      Convey and sustain personal voice where appropriate.
Content & Ideas •      Use a complex range of ideas expressed concisely; e.g. essays, reports, narratives, blogs, feature articles, character profiles, responses to literature, short answers and explanations. •      Develop ideas by adding details or making links to other ideas and details. •      Express ideas to show awareness of a range of dimensions or viewpoints.
Sentence Structure •      Achieve a sense of coherence and wholeness when constructing texts. •      Clearly mark sections and paragraphs that use headings and subheadings (where appropriate). •      Use other organising devices such as topic sentences. •      Use a variety of grammatical constructions in more complex and varied sentences and with greater paragraph elaboration.
Vocabulary & Language •      Use specialised vocabulary relating to a range of topics within and across curriculum areas, including vocab that expresses abstract concepts. •      Use features and structures appropriate to specific text types such as instruction and arguments. •       Use rhetorical patterns such as classifying, comparing and contrasting, defining and describing cause and effect.