The first month of school has certainly flown by! It has been a big month of introductions, and I am very happy to continue to work and get to know the students throughout the year.
Here is a look at some of the things we have done this month!
One thing the students are very proud of, is their work with les 5 au quotidien (Daily 5). This is time during which the students work independently with the French language.
There are 5 different parts. We started "Lire seul"- independent reading. The students have books bags that they fill with books from our classroom library. Then they find their own little nest, and read. In class we discussed that there are different ways to read a book. You can look at the words, look at the pictures, and re-tell the story. In the first month of Grade 1, we are certainly doing a lot of looking at the pictures, and looking at familiar sounds. All of which are great steps towards learning to read in French!
The students knew that we need to be able to read independently, for 30 minutes (and using the full 30 minutes), before we can unlock "niveau 2"- level 2. The students worked very hard, and the minutes started climbing, and then one day, we surpassed our goal, and read for 35 minutes! Niveau 2 unlocked!
Here is a look at some of the things we have done this month!
One thing the students are very proud of, is their work with les 5 au quotidien (Daily 5). This is time during which the students work independently with the French language.
There are 5 different parts. We started "Lire seul"- independent reading. The students have books bags that they fill with books from our classroom library. Then they find their own little nest, and read. In class we discussed that there are different ways to read a book. You can look at the words, look at the pictures, and re-tell the story. In the first month of Grade 1, we are certainly doing a lot of looking at the pictures, and looking at familiar sounds. All of which are great steps towards learning to read in French!
The students knew that we need to be able to read independently, for 30 minutes (and using the full 30 minutes), before we can unlock "niveau 2"- level 2. The students worked very hard, and the minutes started climbing, and then one day, we surpassed our goal, and read for 35 minutes! Niveau 2 unlocked!
Niveau 2 is "Jouer avec les mots"- word work. Here, the students practice spelling French words in a variety of different ways. They can write them on small whiteboards, or on the big. They can make the letters of pipe cleaners, align magnet letters on a cookie sheet, make magic words with the use of a white wax crayon and coloured markers, attach clothes pins representing different letters on a paper plate, etc. The class was very excited to start this level, and they have been doing a great job at it! They are very concentrated when practicing spelling.
It did not take long for us to unlock niveau 3! "Travailler mon écriture"- writing.If a student chooses to do writing during les 5 au quotidien, they can grab a lined sheet of paper from the writing centre, as well as different sentences that they can practice. The sentences have some sight words that we have seen in class, and for home reading. For example: "Il y a un crayon rouge."
Yesterday we managed to during les 5 au quotidien, with the three different niveaux going for 30 minutes. So today, we introduced niveau 4- "l'écoute"- listening. This is probably the most popular niveau. The importance of this level is to listen to the French language. For this, we have Leap Readers in our classroom. We have books such as Dora, Monsters. Inc, Tinkerbell, etc. in French. The students plug headphones into the Leap Reader pen, and touch it to the book. As they touch a word, the pen will read that word to the student. There is the option to read word by word, or page by page. There is also the occasional interactive activity.
The final niveau will be "lire avec un ami"- reading with a friend. We will be holding off on this one for the moment, as the students continue to take full advantage of the silence in les 5 au quotidien. We will do reading with a friend outside of Daily 5.
In French, we continue as well to look at the letter sounds. The sounds that have been work on so far, are i, o, u, a, m, l, v, n, r, and e. The students learn gestures to go with sounds. Please ask your child to show you "les gestes" for the sounds! They always do a great job!
We also practice in class, and in home reading, at blending sounds together, such as "li", mo", etc. We are also practicing some Grade 1 sight words such as "c'est", "voici", et "il y a".
For October, we will continue to work on the letter sounds, and the sight words.
The final niveau will be "lire avec un ami"- reading with a friend. We will be holding off on this one for the moment, as the students continue to take full advantage of the silence in les 5 au quotidien. We will do reading with a friend outside of Daily 5.
In French, we continue as well to look at the letter sounds. The sounds that have been work on so far, are i, o, u, a, m, l, v, n, r, and e. The students learn gestures to go with sounds. Please ask your child to show you "les gestes" for the sounds! They always do a great job!
We also practice in class, and in home reading, at blending sounds together, such as "li", mo", etc. We are also practicing some Grade 1 sight words such as "c'est", "voici", et "il y a".
For October, we will continue to work on the letter sounds, and the sight words.
In math, we have been working on a few different things, mainly number sense, sorting, and patterns. Many times we use centres and students rotate through a different activity each day that practices math skills.
Some of our centres have included forming the number out of modelling clay, and making that same number of clay circles, sorting and grouping objects based one different elements (shape, colour, etc.), continuing a pattern made of cut-out popular figures such as Toy Story characters or Care Bears, and creating our own patterns with cut-outs of animals or fruit.
We will continue using both collective, class activities, as well as centres in math.
Some of our centres have included forming the number out of modelling clay, and making that same number of clay circles, sorting and grouping objects based one different elements (shape, colour, etc.), continuing a pattern made of cut-out popular figures such as Toy Story characters or Care Bears, and creating our own patterns with cut-outs of animals or fruit.
We will continue using both collective, class activities, as well as centres in math.
In science, we are currently working on our colours unit. The students have been on a few "safaris" around the school, hunting for specific colours and snapping photos of them with our imaginary cameras. It's always fun going down the halls together and whispering "clic, clic" (en Français, of course!) and getting our mental snap shots.
This week we worked on mixing colours. Two examples of activities were rolling two primary colours of Play-Doh together to see what it would make, as well as mixing the colours using food colouring and water. We will continue to work on colours this month.
This week we worked on mixing colours. Two examples of activities were rolling two primary colours of Play-Doh together to see what it would make, as well as mixing the colours using food colouring and water. We will continue to work on colours this month.
As you know, we are a Leader in Me school. I am impressed with the leadership in the class on a daily basis! The students are always willing to help, and most of the time, they don't need to be asked. If they see something needing doing, they are on the job! They have also been great leaders in terms of modelling good behaviour, such as walking in the hallways.
We continue to talk about the 7 habits, and use the language on a daily basis. Last week we had two "family reunions" in order to catch up, or get to know our family teachers and students. Our next assembly will be all about Habit 1: Be Proactive/ Sois proactif.
Finally, we are working on our classroom mission statement. The students voted on the four things that are the most important to them in class. We came up with "bilingualism, learning, kindness, and having fun". We are currently putting these together into a song that they chose, and we are just finishing it up, so that we can practice it.
I have greatly enjoyed September, and now it's on to another fun, and busy month. Bring on Octobre!
We continue to talk about the 7 habits, and use the language on a daily basis. Last week we had two "family reunions" in order to catch up, or get to know our family teachers and students. Our next assembly will be all about Habit 1: Be Proactive/ Sois proactif.
Finally, we are working on our classroom mission statement. The students voted on the four things that are the most important to them in class. We came up with "bilingualism, learning, kindness, and having fun". We are currently putting these together into a song that they chose, and we are just finishing it up, so that we can practice it.
I have greatly enjoyed September, and now it's on to another fun, and busy month. Bring on Octobre!