The ATLAS Learning Expectations are a student-language-based description of the proficiency-based graduation requirements for a Montpelier High School degree. Team Atlas students and teachers collaborated on the creation of the language in the descriptions below. This language describes the skills and knowledge we aim for all Team Atlas students to have by the time they graduate 8th grade.
Writing: I can...
Writing: I can...
- Write clearly and appropriately for a specific audience
- Produce writing with all the necessary elements such as main ideas, thesis, structure etc.
- Support claims and back up what I say with facts
- Connect details together to make sense
- Use a voice in writing that is consistent and keeps an appropriate tone
- Make connections
- Have a clear purpose
- Have good evidence to support all statements
- Connect details to purpose
- Put myself in the main character's shoes
- Define the meanings of unfamiliar words
- Identify key facts and main ideas
- Analyze the author's ideas
- Reflect on the main ideas
- Read a variety of genres
- Think about the reading
- Use many reading strategies to make meaning of a wide range of texts
- Make inferences about the text to understand it better
- Able to summarize/understand the general ideas of the text
- Make inferences/educated guesses
- Combine my ideas with other people’s
- Listen to everyone's ideas
- Contribute to conversation
- Ask helpful questions
- Wait for my turn to speak
- Support claims with evidence
- Use different ways to show ideas
- Argue politely when appropriate
- Use many forms of presentation
- Be polite, calm, and respectful
- Speak calmly and clearly
- Make eye contact
- Know the content I’m talking about
- Find issues and try to solve them
- Participate in the community
- Be respectful and responsible to the community
- Consider the environment
- Address issues with research
- Connect positively with others
- Understand the problems that others may be facing in society
- Participate in after-school activities
- Demonstrate tolerance of a range of ideas
- Create original and unique ideas
- Be willing to take risks
- Experiment with multiple media types
- Incorporate multiple perspectives
- Recognize connections
- Recognize how multiple ideas lead to multiple solutions
- Create products that demonstrate quality and growth
- Make ideas become reality
- Compare various strategies
- Understand what the problem is asking
- Consider many ways to approach the problem
- Reflect on a range of solutions
- Explain my process of thinking
- Agree on a process to get to a solution
- Ask clarifying questions
- Know my group job
- Accept criticism and failure with an open mind
- Manage my time effectively
- Be able to set goals and accomplish them even when things go wrong
- Do my best and double check projects for mistakes
- Complete assignments on time
- Ask relevant questions to improve learning
- Know my strengths and challenges
- Work through challenges
- Work in groups
- Be prepared for class
- Ask for help.
- Seek help from teachers and peers when I need it.
- Work in pairs or a group and put aside my differences to complete my work
- Accept and use feedback to improve my work