Guide Book for TeachersThe Middle International School

of Warsaw (MIS)

Complete Canadian Curriculum FCE & CAE Grammar Program

SAT words

2014/2015

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THE CANADIAN PROGRAM GRADES 7-9

Introduction

Formal education in Poland is divided into three educational stages:

primary/elementary education (Grades 1-6)

middle school/secondary education/junior division (Grades 7-9) ages 13-16

high school education ( Grades 10-12)

In Grade 9 class students take national final compulsory exam to determine the upper secondary level school they will attend.

OVERVIEW

The Canadian Program introduced at the Middle International School of Warsaw (MIS) is based on “Complete Canadian Curriculum” for Grade 7 (Mathematics, Language, History, Geography, Science). Music, Theatre and Art and Health Education are part of Polish Core Curriculum and are taught bilingual.

Language Program is extended with:- Grammar Program based on FCE Cambridge Examination Standards (Grades

7-8)- Grammar Program based on CAE Cambridge Examination Standards (Grade

9)- SAT words & passages, test strategies ( Grade 9)

All Canadian program classes are taught by native English speakers. Without exception, the sole language of instruction is English.

The main aim of the program is provide young students with enhanced exposure to English, it is imperative to note that the Canadian Program is not an ESL program, although much time is spent to instruct students in the fundamentals of English grammar, with the intention of preparing students for standardized Cambridge Language exams ( FCE, CAE).

The Middle International School of Warsaw (MIS) extended Grade 7,8 and 9 Language Program by FCE and CAE standards to allow students to take Cambridge Language exams, because English grammar is the main focus in language learning in the middle school education in Poland and the Canadian Program does devote not enough time to instructing students in grammar fundamentals, while the program introduces students to a broad range of key linguistic skills.

Through a process of English immersion, students increase their fluency in English by gaining exposure to a rich variety of vocabulary from multiple middle

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school subject areas. To complement this, students gain experience speaking, writing, and problem-solving in English, in a much wider variety of situations than is typical of ESL programs. By equipping students with such diverse exposure to the language, two main goals of the program are:

- to improve each student's facility with vocabulary building skills, - to ensure that students can speak, understand, read, and write English in an

abundance of real-world situations, both practical and academic.Not surprisingly, a rigorous academic program like this requires serious effort

and regular practice on the part of students. Students cannot expect to be successful by only using English in their classes, but rather, students are expected to devote some of their spare time on a daily basis to practicing and refining their skills. Since the skills students attain in this program are cumulative, a failure to develop these habits in the early years of the program can result in insufficient skills to succeed in later years.

Nonetheless, with a solid, consistent work ethic, the English-language skills acquired by students in this program will give them a considerable advantage in the future as they enter high school levels education.

THE JUNIOR DIVISION EDUCATIONMIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM AT MIS

The core program objectives are to increase language fluency, build vocabulary skills and critical thinking skills, as well as support student’s creativity and positive work habits.

Junior Division student are already expected to possess an adequate understanding of the fundamentals of English grammar and phonics, as well as a broad vocabulary. In particular, students are expected to read and speak English clearly, and to express themselves unambiguously in a number of written formats.

Since the principal goal of the Canadian Program in the Middle International School of Warsaw is to increase students' fluency in English, it goes without saying that classroom teachers need to devote most of their classroom time to the Language strand of the curriculum. Since teachers have the daunting task of covering the required curriculum with less time than in Canada, it is not merely beneficial but rather imperative for teachers to integrate much of the additional curriculum strands into regular Language classes.

It is crucial to note, that reading can be connected to the English Literature, Science, History or Geography curriculum

Since English is not the first language of the majority of students at this school, practicing grammar concepts is very important for the students.

Mathematics

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Main focus is placed on math terminology. We suggest to introduce most units after they are completed in the Polish Curriculum. This task requires cooperation with Polish math teacher. Students are already expected to possess fundamental math terminology in English, as the focus will continue to involve mathematical problem solving. Solving mathematical problems in a second language is generally more difficult, even for students with strong mathematical skills. Nonetheless, this is immensely beneficial, as it affords students ample opportunity to think logically and systematically in their second language. Since the principal goal of the program is to increase students' core fluency, mathematics units should be introduced to place the heaviest emphasis on using language and verbal reasoning to solve problems.

Language

Language area will receive the most attention during the entire middle school education. Students will continue to become familiar with a wide array of different literary genres by examining an assortment of texts, as well as gain significant instruction and practice producing divergent pieces of written work. In both areas, increased emphasis will be placed on becoming advanced speakers and independent readers, as demonstrated through a combination of oral activities, written work, and research projects.

History

In the Junior Division, students will have ample opportunity to learn about and research different historical time periods, as well as the history and political structure of Canada. In addition to learning new vocabulary, the primary focus will involve familiarizing students with several research methods, in particular by having students complete projects and reports.

Geography

In the Junior Division, students will have ample opportunity to learn about geographic inquiry: location/place; environment, regions, landforms, climate, rivers, agriculture, origins and uses, natural resources. In addition to learning new vocabulary, the primary focus of Geography is to teach students that not all natural resources are able to replenish themselves and underline the necessity to use the natural resources responsibly so that they will continue to be available to us. We put the impact on how the environment is altered as a result of our interaction with it.

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Science

As with Mathematics, the emphasis in Science classes moves away from merely familiarizing students with scientific terminology in English, in order to provide students with opportunities to practice the scientific method by conducting experiments. As a result, students will concomitantly increase their scientific vocabulary by gaining practice researching, hypothesizing, predicting, as well as reporting the outcomes of experiments.We put an impact on the biotic and abiotic members of an ecosystem that affect each other, natural cycles, natural structures, major parts of every ecosystem, succession and adaptation, how human activity can negatively impact ecosystems, forcs on stable and unstable structures, the particle theory of matter, classification of matter, solutions, substances and mixtures. We familiarize students with several research methods, in particular by having students complete projects and reports.

The ArtsIn the Junior Division, students will be introduced to various forms of visual art,

dramatic art, and music during minimum 6 PROJECT WEEKS (weeks with irregular teaching schedule dedicated to different type of activities).

Since students will already be familiar with these concepts from the Polish program, the emphasis will be on experiencing these modes of art in English. Thus, activities like completing English posters or artwork, learning English songs, or performing short dramatic skits in English, discussing theatre performances and movies watched during the film club, are all ways students will use the arts to practice their burgeoning language skills.

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CONTENTS OF “COMPLETE CANADIAN CURRICULUM 7”

Math-Language- History-Geography-Science

2013 Popular Book Company (Canada) Ltd. ISBN: 9781-897457-35-1

MATHEMATICS

1. Exponents2. Square and Square Roots3. Factors and Multiples4. Integers5. Ratios and Rates6. Fractions7. Decimals 8. Fractions, Decimals, and Percents9. Percents10. Angles11. Angles and Lines in Shapes12. Congruent and Similar Figures13. Solids14. Area

REVIEW 1

15. Surface Area16. Volume17. Coordinates18. Transformations19. Patterning20. Algebraic Expressions (1)21. Algebraic Expressions (2)22. Equations23. Data Management (1)24. Data Management (2)25. Mean, Median, Mode26. Experimental Probability27. Theoretical Probability28. Applications of Probability

REVIEW 2

Remarks: Each student works with own practice book. Additional materials can be created by the teacher using “Math makes Sense 7” Practice and Homework Book 2006 by Pearson Education Canada Ltd.

ISBN 0-321-24230-0

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Hard copy available at the school together with Teachers Handbook Math Makes Sense 7.

LANGUAGE

1. New Year’s Resolutions2. The Three Roses: a Czech Folktale3. Mythical Creatures from the World of Fantasy4. Facebook – Are you Revealing Too Much ?5. “My Olympic Hero” Speech Copetition6. Family “Memoirs” – the Gift of a Lifetime7. Superstitions around the Worls8. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank9. The New 7 Wonders of the World10. Harmful Microorganisms11. The Science of Dreams12. Chindogu: Weird Inventions We Can Actually Use13. Totem Poles14. One more Reason to Save the Rainforest

REVIEW 1

15. The Endangered Tibetan Antelope16. One Laptop per Child17. Yummy International Desserts18. After The “Boom”19. From St.Laurent to the Smithsonian20. The Making of a Sea-faring Legend21. The Academy Awards: Oscar’s Big Night22. A Story of What Kids Can Do23. The Truth about Carbs24. Your Carbon Footprint25. The Biofuel Controversy26. A Letter from Sammy in Mali27. The Elements of Fiction28. Who Will Be the Next Man in the Moon ?

REVIEW 2

Remarks: Each student works with own practice book. Additional materials can be created by the teacher using “Complete English Smart 7, The Ultimate Workbook for Developing and Impoving English Skills” 2013 by Popular Book Company Canada Ltd. ISBN 978-1-897164-41-9.

Hard copy available at the school.

EXTENDED GRAMMARPage 7 from 20

Grammar Program for English as a foreign language is very important part of the Ministry of Education expectations and outlines. One unit per week is dedicated exclusively to grammar. Grade 7 and Grade 8 Grammar Programs are based on The Cambridge First Certificate Examination in English Standards (FCE), while Grade 9 Grammar Program is based on The Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English Examination Standards (CAE).

Students work with their own workbook for FCE (Gold Plus Coursebook, CDROM ad CD Pack ISBN 978-1-4058-7678-0 and FCE Gold Plus Maximiser and CD ( with key) Pack ISBN 978-1-405-87679-7 by Pearson Education Ltd. 2008

Grammar contests

UNIT 1 Revision of simple tenses, Present perfect simple and continuous

UNIT 2 Making comparisons; Articles

UNIT 3 Like, as, as if, though, Adverbs; Narrative tenses

UNIT 4 Countable ad uncountable nouns; Future forms

UNIT 5 Indirect speech; Reporting verbs

UNIT 6 Certainty and possibility; Passives

UNIT 7 Relative clauses; Conditionals

UNIT 8 Gerunds and Infinitives; Expressing hypothetical meanings

UNIT 9 Present and past habit; Participle clauses

UNIT 10 Obligation, necessity and permission, It is, there is, get and got

UNIT 11 Ability and possibility; Conditionals

UNIT 12 Passives; have/get something done

UNIT 13 So, such, too, enough, very; Emphasis with what

UNIT 14 Ways of giving advice

FCE Examination is made up of five papers, each testing a different area of ability in English. Each paper is worth 20 % of the total mark. There are five grades, A,B,C are pass grades; D and E are fail grades.

PAPER 1 (READING) 1 hour

The Reading paper has three parts. Each part tests a different reading skill. There are 30 questions altogether. Students write their answers on an answer sheet during the exam.

Part 1 Multiple- choice questions

Part 2 Gapped text

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Part 3 Multiple matching

PAPER 2 ( WRITING) 1 hour 20 minutes

The writing Paper is divided into two parts, and each student has to complete one task from each part. Each answer carries equal marks.

Part 1 This part is compulsory, and there is no choice of questions. Student has to write a letter or e-mail based on given information and prompts. It may be informal or semi-formal.

Part 2 This part has four tasks to choose from. The first three options may include any three of the following:

A letter or e-mail An article A report An essay A story A review

PAPER 3 (Use of English) 45 minutes

There are four parts of the Use of English paper, with a total of 42 questions.

Part 1 Multiple- choice cloze

Part 2 Open cloze

Part 3 Word formation

Part 4 Key word transformations

PAPER 4 (Listening) 40 minutes

There are four parts of the Listening paper, with a total of 30 questions.

Part 1 Extracts with multiple- choice questions

Part 2 Sentence completion

Part 3 Multiple matching

Part 4 Multiple-choice questions

PAPER 5 (Speaking) approximately 14 minutes

There are four parts of the Listening paper, with a total of 30 questions.

Part 1 Interview

Part 2 Individual long turn

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Part 3 Collaborative task

Part 4 Discussion

HISTORY

1. Settlement of New France2. New France – Economic and Political Life3. New France – Social Life4. New France – Cooperation and Conflict5. The Settlement of British North America6. The Causes and Effects of the American Revolution7. The Loyalists and British North America8. The War of 18129. Conflict and Resolution10. The Rebellions of 1837-1838: Causes11. Personalities ad Events of the Rebellions12. Impact of the Rebellions

GEOGRAPHY

1. Themes of Geographic Inquiry: Location/Place2. Themes of Geographic Inquiry: Environment3. Themes of Geographic Inquiry: Region4. Themes of Geographic Inquiry: Interaction5. Themes of Geographic Inquiry: Movement6. Patterns in Physical Geography: Landforms7. Patterns in Physical Geography: Climate8. Patterns in Physical Geography: Rivers9. Patterns in Physical Geography: Agriculture10.Natural Resources: Origins and Uses11.Natural Resources: Technology12.Natural Resources: Sustainable Development

SCIENCE

1. Ecosystems2. Biotic and Abiotic Elements in Ecosystems3. Food Cycle4. Natural Cycles5. Succession and Adaptation6. Human Activity7. Structures8. Centre of Gravity and Stability9. Forces on Stable and Unstable Structures10. Materials and Design

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11. The Particle Theory of Matter12. Pure Substances and Mixtures13. All about Solutions14. Separating Mixtures15. Solutions, Mixtures, the Environment and You16. Heat and the Particle Theory of Matter17. Heat and Volume18. The Transmission of Heat19. Heat and How It Is Produced20. The Greenhouse Effect

REVIEW

TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF POLISH

There are several areas where the structure of either the Polish or English language can present a special challenge to students at the Middle International School of Warsaw. If teachers are aware of these issues, they can be better prepared for lessons, understand the common and recurrent errors that students make and be able to make explicit instruction to address these issues.

In general, Polish has a shallow orthography, so most letters make only a single sound; there are relatively few digraphs (compared to English); virtually no diphthongs and most words can be read by simply sounding and blending the letters. In contrast, English has many phonics rules and exceptions, and the most common 300 words do not follow these rules and need to be memorized by rote. The following table presents some issues that are faced by Polish speakers when learning English. This table presents only some of the most common issues and teachers are strongly encouraged to be aware of the errors that are common in their class so that they can be addressed and corrected.

Issue DescriptionREADING

speed versus comprehension

Students are used to reading quickly in Polish and often try to read quickly in English, which results in loss of comprehension. It is strongly recommended that students are taught comprehension strategies

VOCABULARY

commonly confused words

• I : me• much : many• this/that : these/those• he/she : him/her

PHONICS/ch//sh/

• In Polish, ch is read like h• In Polish, /ch/ is spelled /cz/• In Polish, /sh/ is spelled /sz/

/th/ (voiced and unvoiced)

• neither are present in Polish speech• the unvoiced /th/ as in thumb is often pronounced like f or s• the voiced /th/ as in /the/ is often pronounced as d, v or z• explicitly showing the difference in lip, teeth and tongue placement when

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making the th sounds (compared to f, v, or d) is often helpful

long vowels and vowelcombinations

• in Polish, all vowels have only 1 sound and do not typically form any special pairs. Students need explicit and frequent practice (for fluency and spelling) with long vowels and vowel combinations.

GRAMMARcapitalization • Names of days and months are not capitalized in Polish.

a, an, the • Articles are not present in Polish. Students with early exposure to English may have an intuitive sense of how to use these, but explicit instruction may be needed.

word order • Polish does not follow the subject-verb-object as strictly as English. Students need explicit instruction of this feature of English.

verb to be The forms of the verb be are easily confused and the infinite form (e.g. I be) verb omission Polish inflections allow for verb omissions in some cases. Students need explicit

instruction about using verbs in their sentences.

subject-verb agreement

Polish verbs have a great number of inflections, so the concept is not new to students, though they may not be aware they are inflecting verbs in Polish. Students commonly forgot to add -s in the third person present

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PLANNING FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR

Creating a lesson schedule

At the Middle International School of Waraw (MIS), 8-10 out of 35-38 weekly periods are dedicated to the Canadian Core program. This means that less than one third of the daily lesson plan will be dedicated to the Canadian Core curriculum and to students who are usually not native speakers of English. Therefore, teachers need to use their professional judgment when deciding the aspects of the curriculum which require the most focus during their limited class time.

The primary goal of teaching Canadian Curriculum is to create a strong foundation in the various aspects of the Language Program (reading, writing, verbal communication, extended grammar, spelling, listening). teaching subjects (Mathematics, History, Geography and Science) can be integrated with Language lessons.

To ensure coverage of the curriculum, topics in Mathematics, History, Geography and Science may be weaved into literacy through reading and writing tasks. The recommended breakdown for 240 basic teaching units annually (30 weeks of regular lesson plan with 8 Canadian Program teaching units per week *does not include extra units taught during 6 PROJECT WEEKS) is as follows:

Subject Number of units per year

Mathematics 30 Language 120 Grammar (*extended) 30 History 15 Geography 15 Science 30 Subject Clubs and other 90

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UNIT PLANNING

When scheduling units, the teacher should keep in mind that certain times of the year require extensive interruption to the planned academic program due to holidays or other special events. Additionally, the teacher might want to highlight a celebration, the first day of a new month, or a new season with special activities lasting several lessons or even an entire day. These may or may not be thematically related to the current unit of study, but provide for valuable and engaging learning experiences for students.

Some school-initiated events will interrupt the academic program (e.g. Christmas performance preparations, the end of the year ceremony preparations, Christmas and Easter decorations and crafts, production of own short movies ).

Since classes are expected to create a performance twice a year, planning ahead can save a lot of time and frustration for the teacher. Consider creating a Christmas or end-of-year performance that is thematically related to a unit of study during that semester. That way, when lessons are being used to practice for the play, the students are simultaneously practicing concepts and/or vocabulary for a given unit.

During the school year few trips may take place during dedicated weeks : Green School field trip, excursions connected with current PROJECT WEEKS, philharmonic and theatre trips etc.

Please mind that PROJECT WEEKS ARE DEDICATED TO SPECIAL ACTIVITIES.Prior to each unit, the teacher should decide which expectations are being

assessed in the particular unit, as well as how assessment can be used for, as, and of learning.

At the end of the unit, a similar activity is done once again to show student progress with unit specific vocabulary and concepts. Students will gain confidence as they see how much they have learned during the unit.

For grammar and spelling, the student practice books include assessment pages for each weekly concept.

For History, Geography and Science , the teacher can choose several hand-outs to assess student knowledge, thinking, communication and application skills for the unit.

Each teacher needs to use his or her professional judgment to determine the appropriateness of any activities for the specific class and may choose to modify the ways of teaching or create his or her own assessment tasks as well.

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It is important to remember that each teacher needs to plan units according to the needs of the students as well as his or her own style of teaching.

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DOCUMENTS TO COMPLETE

There are several documents that need to be completed during various times of the year as well as throughout the year. Deadlines for completion will be provided at the beginning of the year.

Document Description TimeNameLong Range Plans Outlining the timeline, themes and

overallBeginning of each semester

expectations for the semester. (twice during the year).Learning Project Outlining the plan for the learning

project,End of each project

Card including lessons, presentations, field trips, summative task, as well as assessment and evaluation rubrics.

Report on Summarizing the achievements, successes

End of each semester (twice

Teacher's and challenges during each semester. The

during the year).

Educational contents of these documents are shared

Didactic Work with the principal during the Teacher's Board (staff meeting).

Semester Report Reporting on the academic and Towards end of eachCards behavioural achievements of each semester (twice during the

student. *See Report Card section below

year).

for further details.Student’s electronic

Recording daily student attendance, Daily for attendance and

Register (LIBRUS) Recording daily lessons and lesson topics.

lessons, varied for student

Recording student marks. marks (at least 2 marks mustbe recorded per month).

After School Recording student attendance and Daily for attendance andActivity Agenda lessons/topics for the club. Lessons(small white *The Long Range Plan must be printed“Dziennik”) and stapled to the appropriate page

of the agenda.

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Teacher Duties and Expectation

Throughout the year, teachers are responsible for several tasks in addition to their regular teaching duties, following school procedure for discipline, homework, and attending staff meetings. The following list provides a description of typical duties:

TASK DESCRIPTIONLearning project/6 Project weeks during the school year

This project weeks are meant to make ongoing learning more engaging (hands-on activities, in-class visits from experts, field trips that go along with this topic). At the end of the unit, the class is expected to show-case their learning through an end-of-unit summative task, which may include student presentations, posters, dioramas, photographs etc. Planning this type of project is quite similar to the way units are normally planned in Canadian curriculum, with great emphasis being placed on the presentation of the work and the summative task.

School decorations/event planning

Approximately twice a year, each teacher, with the assistance of other teachers, will be responsible for decorating the school's main hallway in honour of a holiday or celebration, as well as creating special events to mark the day (e.g. apple bobbing for Halloween; card exchange for Valetine's Day).

English corner Teachers are expected to maintain a bulletin board and an area of the class where English materials are displayed and maintained.

After-school clubs Teachers are strongly encouraged to run an after school club that offers the opportunity to use English in a practical, non-academic setting. Teachers can suggest a club to the Administration at the start of the school year. If required or requested, clubs may be changed at the beginning of second semester. Some ideas for clubs include:• newspaper• athletics/sports (including specific sports)• theatre and music club• book/literature/film discussion club

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REPORT CARDS

Assessment

Each teacher is required to provide a diagnostic, midterm and end test which teachers can administer to mark student progress and achievement. Teachers can utilize additional resources, such as Grade word lists or teacher created resources, to assess and record the progress of certain skills at different times of the year. The teacher may decide to include these assessments as part of the students' report card at the end of each semester.

Please read carefully Appendix 1

SCHOOL'S ASSESSMENT POLICY

Evaluation

Although an important means of communicating student progress to parents, the report card format (see below) used by the Middle International School f Warsaw (MIS) is significantly informal when compared to the standardized model used in Ontario. As such, teachers are given full creative license in terms of how they communicate student progress to parents.

Nonetheless, since consistent commentary about student progress is highly desirable, teachers might consider the format of standardized comments employed by the Ontario system. As such, teachers are encouraged to visit the following links to become acquainted with the Ontario method of commenting on student progress, particularly in the event that this method is unfamiliar to them.

REPORT CARD TEMPLATE

The Middle International School of Warsaw (MIS)2014/2015

Report: Date:

Semester:Student:

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Grade:

Explanation of Educational ApproachDevelopment of skills is very individual in the middle school years and is

professionally recognized as normal for this age group. Emotional and Social growth are as important as Intellectual, Artistic and Physical maturity. This report card is a general summary of student's performance over the term. More importantly, it has been our continuing goal to instill confidence in every student that they can and will learn through cooperation with their teachers, parents, administration, and each other.

Explanation of Assessment ScaleThe following assessment scale represents an average of your child's performance from September to June.

Symbol Assessment6/A+ Outstanding Achievement5/A Very Good Achievement4/B Good Achievement3/C Satisfactory Achievement2/D Needs Improvement1/R Unsatisfactory Achievement

Area of Assessment Mark CommentsReadingWritingVerbal CommunicationSpellingGrammarListening

Area of Assessment Mark CommentsMathematicsLanguageHistoryGeographyScience

Overall Mark

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Area of Assessment Mark CommentsConstructive Participation

In addition to the attached report card template, there is also a brief table outlining the grading scale used in the Canadian Program, something all teachers should become familiar with. Teachers should note that in accordance with official Polish Ministry of Education assessment criteria, each letter grade used by Canadian teachers is associated with a corresponding number grade and percentage.

Please ask School Principal to provide you with current grading scale.

Links for Ontario report card documents

Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario's Schools, First Edition Covering Grades 1 to 12

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/success.html

A comprehensive guide intended for Ontario administrators and teachers. This lengthy document contains sections which may be helpful to teachers at the Middle International School of Warsaw (MIS). However, it is not necessary for teachers to read the guide in its entirety for reporting at the Middle International School of Warsaw (MIS).

Ontario Report Card Templates

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/forms/report/1998/report98.html Provides

helpful comments for learning skills comments.

NOVEL STUDY Recommendations

Please provide School Principal with 2 recommended titles.

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