Q: FINE ARTS

KG1 – GRADE 1 : Creating a Reggio-Style ClassroomLearners develop different art techniques such as collage, painting, tessellation, 3D modelling and pencil drawing within a Reggio Emilia style classroom environment, underpinning their knowledge and exploring different outcomes. GRADE 2 Collage Creatures – Collages demonstrating that complex shapes can be created by combining a series of simple shapes.Desert Landscapes – Painted drawings using warm colours and depicting the warm desert landscape.GRADE 3Drawing With Scissors – Abstract collages inspired by the work of Marc Chagall.Ink Creatures – Accidental drawings built from spilled ink.GRADE 4Profile Companions – Profile portraiture depicting a relationship between two figures.Faces – Charcoal portraits exploring value range and proportional drawing. GRADE 5Dalinian Animals – Surrealistic Dali inspired animals in watercolour.GRADE 6Islamic Arabesque Design – Complex Islamic Arabesque pattern on tooling foil.Grade 7 Stop Motion Animation – 60 second Stop Motion Animation.Grade 8Musical Paper Sculpture – Paper sculptures based off a musical composition.Grade 9Plaster Relief Sculpture – Acrylic and Gypsum Plaster relief sculptures. Grade 10Interior or Exterior 2 Point Perspective – An interior or exterior space is created using 2-point perspective digitally or on paper.Grade 11Reduction Self Portrait – Self-portrait created using the reduction process (eraser on charcoal).Grade 12Multiples Sculpture – Sculpture with a message made from multiples of one object.

Question 1

ALBERTA EDUCATION

Accepted Answer

Canada is a vast country of ten provinces and three territories, each of which governs its own elementary, secondary and post-secondary education programs. Although students can transfer easily throughout the provinces, there is no national or federal Education Ministry; rather, each provincial government’s educational system reflects the diversity of its region while exposing the similarities with the rest of Canada and the world.

In the province of Alberta, all Alberta Education accredited schools follow a common and rigorous curriculum for grades 1 to 12.

The strength of the Alberta Program is due in part to the continuous evaluation and controlled parameters of its rich curriculum, which specifies learner outcomes for each subject area. Students in grades 3, 6, and 9 take provincial achievement tests to evaluate grade-level standards and expectations, and Grade 12 students write provincial examinations in core subject areas to qualify for an Alberta High School Diploma. This internationally recognized diploma permits students’ entry into university programs throughout North America and the world.

Academically, Canada consistently ranks high in the international student achievement tests in Reading, Math and Science, and Alberta students rank significantly above the Canadian average.

But standardized testing does not tell the whole story. Increasingly, schools are implementing strategies to increase students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills to prepare them for life after high school.

Student-centered learning is an international educational initiative developing in response to our 21st Century global demands for highly skilled and self-directed thinkers. Training students to be problem solvers means providing them with situations that incorporate cross-curricular competencies; which is why Alberta Education promotes Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL), a “process where students are involved in their learning, formulate questions, investigate widely and then build new understandings, meanings and knowledge” (Focus on Inquiry, 2004, p.1).

IBL is not a textbook or curriculum: IBL is an educational approach that involves administrators, teachers, students and parents in a culture of inquiry – a component of all Alberta Education curricula.

For more information regarding the Alberta Curriculum, please visit the Alberta Parent Resource Website, My Child’s Learning. For specific information outlining Alberta Diploma requirements, or other educational guidelines set out by Alberta Education, see the Alberta Guide to Education.

Question 2

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING

Accepted Answer

Also known as Problem-based learning or Project-based learning or PBL, Inquiry-Based Learning is an approach that has proven to increase students’ abilities to problem-solve using a student-centered delivery of instruction.

While nothing can replace the time needed for systematic math and language skill acquisition, learning opportunities to apply these skills are critical for developing problem solving skills. In IBL, a “problem” or question is presented and students must use their prior knowledge and skills to build direct and meaningful correlations to solve the problem. Math, English, Social Studies, Science, Information and Communication Technology, Fine Arts are explored in combination or simultaneously in real life contexts. Through questions and questioning, teachers and students match project objectives with the Alberta Education’s Specific Learner Expectations.

Projects bring a whole new enthusiasm to the classroom.

The scope and breadth of projects can vary from days to weeks to months. Because students are engaged in projects that are “real” to them – about the real world, their world – their level of concentration and application increase, as do their learning results.

Students learn best when they are actively engaged in activities that are important and meaningful to them. Accomplishing a task independently constitutes learning. Brain research indicates that emotion is the gatekeeper to learning, intellectual functioning is greatly impacted by experience, and personal meaning is the key to memory. (Alberta Initiative for Student Improvement, 2004, p11)

Authentic Assessment, or Performance Assessment, refers to evaluating students throughout the whole learning process and not just at the end of a unit or semester. Students and teachers benefit from these frequent assessment opportunities because strengths and weaknesses are identified prior to the “final exam.” Teachers use standards-based assessment rubrics to evaluate the students learning process at the initial planning stage, the application stage, and the final end-product stage.

As they say in PBL, “The Question is the Answer” because questions and questioning are the forerunners of understanding.

Engaging students in the learning process has astonishing consequences: attendance and academic achievement increase, and students’ overall positive interest in school and learning skyrocket.

Question 3

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Accepted Answer

Early Childhood Education (ECE) – Playing is their job“Children at play are highly motivated and capable of intense concentration”. Alberta Kindergarten Statement, 2005.

Research overwhelmingly supports “Purposeful Play” as a means of developing children’s love for life long learning. Given the opportunity to explore their environment through purposeful play, children acquire important life skills that meet their social, physical, intellectual, cultural, creative and emotional needs. Kindergarten is a transitional period as children move from the home to the “outside world.” CIS is committed to providing a caring, nurturing environment that assists children in developing the confidence and skills necessary to become independent learners.

CIS’ ECE facilities are designed to actively engage children in activities that explore science, language, mathematics, art, drama, music, and physical activity in a purposeful and playful way.

Indoor and outdoor play areas allow for a balance of quiet and loud play spaces; for games, sand, water, and pretend fun. CIS also features a large indoor air-conditioned hall for purposeful play.

Classroom design incorporates day lightening and warm colours for a positive learning atmosphere. And to encourage the love of reading, an extensive KG library provides children with a comfortable setting to explore stories, books, puppets, and their own imaginary world.

Question 4

ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM

Accepted Answer

At CIS, the Alberta Education Elementary curriculum is taught by class teachers through Inquiry-Based Learning. An emphasis is made on teaching students the process of learning so that they gain not only knowledge but also an understanding of the process as well as their own individual learning style.

Class teachers cover the core subject areas of English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. In addition to increasing students’ self-confidence and rapport with their teacher, one of the major benefits of having a class teacher is to facilitate the IBL approach. By spending more time with one group of students, the class teacher knows their strengths and weaknesses and can build on their knowledge base more easily as they incorporate cross-curricular objectives.

The CIS Elementary Program also recognizes the correlation between positive self-esteem, academic success, and physical fitness. Physical Education includes promoting daily physical activity as well as teaching basic knowledge of nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

If you want to know more about Alberta Education Elementary Curriculum please click the buttons below:

Introductory

Curriculum

Question 5

SECONDARY CURRICULUM

Accepted Answer

The curriculum Handbook provides parents with important information on the following:

• Selected learning outcomes for each subject area from the provincial curriculum
• Links to the Alberta Education website where more information can be found
• A questionnaire

Grades 5-8 (Middle School):

Introductory

Curriculum

Grades 9-12 (Secondary School):

Introductory

Curriculum

Question 6

ADVANCED PLACEMENT

Accepted Answer

CIS is proud to offer Advanced Placement Courses to passionate students seeking a level of challenge in areas of academic interest. Advanced Placement courses are offered as enrichment and extension of the Alberta curriculum at grades 10, 11 and 12. Achievement is assessed through AP Exams in May of each school year and may result in course exemption or credit at the university level.

In the 2023-24 school year, CIS is proud to offer AP Drawing, AP Calculus AB, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP French, AP Microeconomics, and two new course offerings of AP World History and AP Statistics.

More information about Advanced Placement is available at https://ap.collegeboard.org/

AP Course Details

Question 7

FINE ARTS

Accepted Answer

KG1 &#8211; GRADE 1 : Creating a Reggio-Style ClassroomLearners develop different art techniques such as collage, painting, tessellation, 3D modelling and pencil drawing within a Reggio Emilia style classroom environment, underpinning their knowledge and exploring different outcomes.

GRADE 2 Collage Creatures &#8211; Collages demonstrating that complex shapes can be created by combining a series of simple shapes.Desert Landscapes &#8211; Painted drawings using warm colours and depicting the warm desert landscape.GRADE 3Drawing With Scissors &#8211; Abstract collages inspired by the work of Marc Chagall.Ink Creatures &#8211; Accidental drawings built from spilled ink.GRADE 4Profile Companions &#8211; Profile portraiture depicting a relationship between two figures.Faces &#8211; Charcoal portraits exploring value range and proportional drawing.

GRADE 5Dalinian Animals &#8211; Surrealistic Dali inspired animals in watercolour.GRADE 6Islamic Arabesque Design &#8211; Complex Islamic Arabesque pattern on tooling foil.Grade 7 Stop Motion Animation &#8211; 60 second Stop Motion Animation.Grade 8Musical Paper Sculpture &#8211; Paper sculptures based off a musical composition.Grade 9Plaster Relief Sculpture &#8211; Acrylic and Gypsum Plaster relief sculptures.

Grade 10Interior or Exterior 2 Point Perspective &#8211; An interior or exterior space is created using 2-point perspective digitally or on paper.Grade 11Reduction Self Portrait &#8211; Self-portrait created using the reduction process (eraser on charcoal).Grade 12Multiples Sculpture &#8211; Sculpture with a message made from multiples of one object.