Curriculum 6 Curriculum 7 Curriculum 8 Extracurricular
Math 7-8 Science 7-8 English 7-8 Social Science 7-8 Electives 7-8 P.E. 7-8
Math 6 Science 6 English 6 Social Science 6 Electives 6 P.E. 6
Special Ed ELD GATE SURE
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PASSPORT CLASSES

Students whose STAR California Standards Test (CST) levels are Far Below Basic or Below Basic are automatically placed into Passport to Writing, Passport to Reading, or Passport to Math, depending on individual student need.

Passport to Writing and Passport to Math, meeting daily from 8:00 to 8:50 a.m., are available for grades 6, 7 and 8. The course either lengthens the student's day to an 8:00 to 3:10 schedule, or else replaces what would otherwise be an elective course.

Passport to Reading, for grades 7 and 8, meets for 50 minutes during the regular 9:00 to 3:10 hours, replacing what would otherwise be an elective course.
COURSE TITLE: PASSPORT TO READING 7/8

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Designed by a school district committee, the Passport to Reading class is for students who are struggling with reading skills and in danger of retention. Focus will be placed on hearing the correct sounds, phonics, automatic word recognition, vocabulary, reading and listening comprehension including content area reading, and reading motivation. This is a serious academic class for which homework will be assigned nightly. Activities will include computer work, small group discussion, independent reading, contests, etc. Parent support will be needed and appreciated. Passport to Reading includes use of learning software and other instructional aids: Academy of Reading, Accelerated Reader (Autoskill), Soar to Success (Houghton Mifflin).

CONTENTS OF COURSE:

Phonics: The year will begin with a focus on phonics and word attack skills.

Listening and Reading Comprehension: The teacher will read aloud, model, and talk about comprehension strategies including visualizing, predicting, clarifying, summarizing, and questioning. Students will then practice these same strategies in independent and shared reading.

Vocabulary/Word Study: Students will study vocabulary words from the read-alouds and their independent reading, as well as Greek and Latin roots.

Independent Reading: This is probably the most important component of the program. It provides an opportunity for students to practice skills and strategies they are learning in class. Parent support is strongly encouraged and necessary for student progress.

Homework: Daily homework includes reading for 30 minutes and getting a parent signature.

HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD SELECT APPROPRIATE READING MATERIAL:

1. Find books of interest: sports, mystery, adventure, romance, fantasy, science, fiction.

2. Use the 5-Finger Test.

a. Choose an interesting book.
b. Open the book to a page that is mostly print.
c. Start reading from the top of the page, and each time you run into a word you don't know, put up a finger. A word you don't know is a word you can’t say or a word for which you don't know the meaning. If the word is the name of a person or place, you don't have to count it.
d. Read to the end of the page and see how many fingers you have up.
e. Decide how hard the book will be for you. If you have zero to one fingers up, the book will be easy for you to read; two to five fingers up, the book will be of medium difficulty; six or more fingers up, the book will be a challenge to read.
f. If the book is an easy book or a challenge book, it can still be a good choice for you. It is important, however, that you select a medium book for your independent reading.

3. Go regularly to the public library to check out books. Visit the juvenile and young adult sections.
COURSE TITLE: PASSPORT TO WRITING 6/7/8

CONTENT: Passport to Writing is designed to help students who scored Far Below Basic or Below Basic to develop their skills in writing paragraphs and essays.

Students learn how to write an introduction, body, conclusion, with adequate support. Various types of writing ("domains") are taught: autobiographical narrative, response to literature, persuasive composition, or summary of reading materials.
COURSE TITLE: PASSPORT TO MATH 6/7/8

CONTENT: Passport to Math is designed to help students who scored Far Below Basic or Below Basic to develop and strengthen life-related mathematical skills. The emphasis of the curriculum is to strengthen basic skills in number sense, computational skills and mathematical reasoning.