Inquiry and Innovation

Reading Modules

6th Grade

Grade 7 Modules:

Opportunities

News Reporting

Citizen in Action

Digital Citizenship

Creating a Custom Career Fit

Grade 8 Modules:

Decisions

Advertising

Economics in Action

The Future of Food

Creating a Plan to Make the Most of High School

Scheduling:

Periods 5 & 7

28 students in the class

Project-Based Learning

Increased use of technology

Group Projects

Research and Inquiry:

Each module contains inquiry opportunities for students to research and investigate.

Research skills are taught and applied.

Students will use research skills in the Career, News Reporting, and Citizen in Action Units

Grading in the Module:

Students receive a grade for this course.

The categories are:

Assessments (Written Tests and Quizzes) = 25%

Class work = 25%

Projects = 50%

Homework is not a factor as it generally includes finishing up class work.

Every Module Includes:

Opportunities for students to problem solve.

Opportunities for critical thinking across content areas.

Opportunities to read text reflecting a range of complexity.

Opportunities to engage in challenging assignments.

Writing in the Modules:

Synthesis of Research

Short and extended writing prompts

Note-taking

Reflection pieces

Writing in the Modules

All students need composition books.

Students will complete the majority of their class work in their journals.

All final projects will go in the student portfolio.

Students have a comprehensive project at the end of the quarter that reflects what they have learned through each of the units.

Reading in the Modules:

The Modules reflect the Common Core State Standards.

www.corestandards.org

Career Modules:

Grade 7 Creating a Custom Career Fit

Essential Question: What is the relationship between personal interests and the world of work?

Students prepare for college and careers by assessing their interests, skills, and values and identify, research, and evaluate their career options.

Students must take at least one of the Career Modules during their three years in Middle School.

Shared Inquiry Modules:

Grade 7 Opportunities

Essential Question: In what ways do opportunity and choices affect our lives?

Shared Inquiry

Shared Inquiry™ is a discussion method, a teaching and learning environment, and a way for individuals to achieve a more thorough understanding of a text by discussing questions, responses, and insights with fellow readers.

Shared Inquiry combines a sound theoretical base with proven strategies to engage all readers in higher-order thinking and collaborative problem solving. In Shared Inquiry, participants come together to help each other explore the meaning of a work of literature. Each participant brings a unique perspective that influences how he or she understands the work. Sharing their interpretations, participants gain new insights and deepen or even change their initial understanding.

http://www.greatbooks.org/programs-for-all-ages/pd/what-is-shared-inquiry/

Technology Supported Modules:

Grade 7 Citizen in Action

Majority of the content is located on a Wiki.

Essential Question: Which changes in the community help to make it a better place in which to live?

Books for Modules:

Grade 7 Citizen in Action: Project Citizen

Project Based Learning: