Manitoba
MY CHILD IN SCHOOL
MY CHILD IN SCHOOL – Informed Parent, Involved Parent

GRADE 7: ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

What your child is learning

Grade 7 children use the four ELA practices as they speak, listen, read, write, view, and represent for meaningful purposes to

  • make sense of themselves, others, and the world (Language as Sense Making)
  • explore the purpose of texts and discover new ways of thinking (Language as Exploration and Design)
  • investigate important issues and advocate for themselves, their communities, and the environment (Language as Power and Agency)
  • use what they know about how language works in meaningful ways for different purposes (Language as System)

An Example of This in Action

The teacher overhears the children discussing a new television series on climate change and uses this as an opportunity to dig deeper into language and literacy around this topic. The teacher designs a rich learning experience during which the children share and record their questions about climate change. Then, as a class, in small groups, in pairs, and individually, they explore a variety of artifacts, art, documentaries, websites, and novels on the topic. As they explore, they compare their personal knowledge, knowledge of other texts, and world knowledge, and consider what is missing in these texts and how different points of view shape these texts. Then, children use this information to think of ways to act on climate change. They create their ideas using mentor texts as models. They look at the text structure (sequence, descriptions) and features (e.g., layout, colour, images, titles). They plan and create multimodal texts (e.g., website, blog, video) that combine audio, text, and visuals. They revise their text based on feedback to improve how their audience will respond. Then, they share it with their audiences and continue to monitor, measure, and adjust for effectiveness.

To find out more about what your child is learning in English language arts, talk to the teacher. You may also refer to the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework: A Living Document.

How your child is assessed

Your child’s learning and progress will be assessed in many ways. The teacher will look closely at their learning by collecting samples of work, listening to them in conversations, and observing them using language in many situations for different purposes.

The teacher will consider the following:

  • To what extent your child is using the four ELA practices?
  • Is there evidence of your child’s learning growth?
    • How much support does your child need over time and across situations?
    • How deep is your child’s understanding of how they create, communicate, and engage in learning?
    • How varied are the tools, techniques, and ways your child uses the four ELA practices in different situations?
    • How have your child’s thinking, feelings, and actions changed? How has their ability to reflect critically on these changes grown?
This evidence of learning will be used to inform you of your child’s progress in English language arts. The teacher will report on your child’s progress three times a year. Here are the categories on the report card and some examples of what the teacher will report on.

Comprehension (Reading, Listening, and Viewing)

  • How does your child use texts such as books, websites, and images to inform themselves about issues, ideas, or topics?
  • How does your child understand what they read, hear, and view?
  • How does your child use what they know about how language works to read, listen, and view?

Communication (Writing, Speaking, and Representing)

  • How does your child use language to create new ideas, solve problems, extend their knowledge, and communicate ideas?
  • How does your child communicate to others when writing, representing, and speaking?
  • How does your child use what they know about how language works to write, speak, and represent?

Critical Thinking

  • How does what your child hears, reads, and views influence what they think?
  • How does your child decide what and whose stories to tell?
  • How does your child use language to influence others when writing, representing, and speaking?

Frequently Asked Questions

WHY ARE CRITICAL THINKING AND CRITICAL LITERACY IMPORTANT?

HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD?