Welcome grade 1s and 2s!

Happy September!

I've had fun unpacking our classroom and am excited to meet my new customers! I'm thrilled to have some grade twos in the mix this year. I'm looking forward to diving into some new material with them and I know they'll be great role models for the grade 1s! For those of you who know me already, nothing much has changed in my routines, so much of this beginning of the year stuff will be a review. I'll try not to bore you!

For my brand new students and parents, I have found this blog to be a great way of staying in touch with families at home. I update often, so sign up for emails or check frequently for the most up-to-date information! I hope you find this to be a very useful tool.

On the first day of school, I will send home a detailed letter outlining some of the subject areas and routines for the year (copied below). You are also invited to write me a letter so that I can get to know your child better and faster! From now on, I will do most of my communicating via this blog in order to save paper. There is already a lot of (hopefully) useful information posted for you below, so when you get a minute, please scroll down!

I look forward to meeting with you all very soon.

Sincerely,
Tamara
tamara.mitchell2@tdsb.on.ca  (don't forget the '2')


Here's the First Day Online Newsletter - please keep scrolling to other posts containing tons of other information that may be helpful as we get started.

A Day in the Life of a First or Second Grader in Room 211

Welcome parents and students of Room 211,

My name is Tamara Mitchell, and I will be your child’s teacher this year at Dewson Public School. I started my education, like your child, in a French Immersion program in Bowmanville, Ontario. I also participated in an exchange trip to France. As well, I come from a very musical family and look forward to sharing my experiences with the class. I’m looking forward to learning about each of my students and creating a community of learners in our classroom.

            Our school day will contain several components that are outlined in the following pages. In addition, we will be establishing a few routines in our classroom, which are discussed later in this letter. I thank you for taking the time to read and discuss this information with your child. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns. I welcome your communication and will respond as soon as I can.

            This newsletter and more will be posted on our class blog (see communication). Please inform me if you cannot access the blog as I will try to limit my use of paper newsletters after today!

Yours in sharing the caring of our children,

 Tamara Mitchell, B. Mus. (Hon), M. Ed., B. Ed. (OISE)

Subject Components

Français

All instruction will take place in French. Each day we will devote a large block of time to our literacy components (these include reading, writing, speaking and listening, with an emphasis on developing French vocabulary). We will use elements of a program called ‘The Daily 5’ or ‘Les 5 au quotidien’. The Daily 5 is a structured language program that helps students develop the daily habits of reading, writing, and working with peers that will lead to a lifetime of independent literacy. The 5 elements of the program are are: Read to Self, Read with Someone (buddy reading), Listen to Reading, Work on Writing and Word Work. In September, we will begin establishing each of these components.

            Once the components are established, students will be able to work independently or in small groups on an activity while I work with a small group on their particular learning needs. Conferences enable me to assess students’ understanding and abilities and give students more focused instruction.

Math

Our math periods will include the following components:

Before the Problem Solving (Introduction to today’s work)

The class gathers and engages in an activity or solves a sample problem that will help them recall prior learning related to the concept being taught.

        Once students are ‘warmed up,’ they are given a problem to solve or an activity designed to build their knowledge related to the unit of study. Before leaving the carpet area, students discuss the problem or activity, paraphrase instructions and ensure that they understand the task at hand and their responsibilities. They may begin to orally plan the strategies that they will use to solve the problem or predict outcomes.

During the Problem Solving

Students work with a partner or in a small group to solve the problem or complete the activity. During this time, I may confer with individuals to assess their skills, knowledge and needs, or I may support small groups of students with similar learning needs.

        Students who complete the activity early are provided with an extension to the day’s work. For example, they may be asked to:

•   try to find another possible way to solve the problem;

•   draw or write a sentence explaining what they did.

After Problem Solving

Students gather to share and discuss their solutions and approaches to the problem/activity. Students learn to evaluate critically (and kindly) the validity and efficiency of the range of approaches demonstrated by their peers. Together we summarize the main points of the discussion and ensure that everyone understands what was agreed upon. I may demonstrate a particular strategy at the end of the lesson and give students another opportunity to apply their learning the following day.

Science and Social Studies

Students work on Science or Social Studies activities or projects related to the current unit of study. Both Science and Social Studies will be highly linked to our literacy component. I will make an effort to provide a wide selection of books related to our current unit of study for students’ use during literacy periods. Students will explore science topics through many hands-on experiments.

This year, the grade 2 students from room 211 and room 214 (the 2/3 split) will have their Social Studies and Science periods with our librarian, Mme Marie-Chantal Gaudreault. Our students are very lucky to benefit from her experience as both a teacher and librarian and will have an entire library worth of books at their disposal for learning about our community and the world. Our grade 1 students will be doing their Science/Social Studies at the same time as the grade 2s, so nothing will ever be missed.

The Arts & Physical Education

Visual art will be integrated into many units of study this year. Students will have opportunities to study the work of well-known artists, show feelings and understanding through art, and work independently on their own creative pieces. Some Music and Drama will also be integrated into our French language study. I look forward to sharing my own musical background with the kids! I’m very excited to share that Mme Mary-Ellen Morgenstern is back at Dewson this year to teach Dance and Drama (nobody does it better). Our students will also be participating in a grade 1/2 French choir led by Mr. Stephen Greene and Mr. Pierre Tredille.

Health & Phys. Ed. will be also taught by Mr. Tredille. We will supplement our gym program with 20 minutes of daily physical activity (DPA or APQ) on non-gym/dance days. Please see the “Dress for Success” information sheet for tips on how to dress safely for gym class.

Dewson is once again using a 10-day (rather than 5-day) schedule. I will provide copies of our class schedule for all families as soon as we work out the kinks. In the meantime, please ensure that your child has running shoes at school every day. These can be left in room 211’s shoe bin unless you need them to be brought home. (It is a good idea to leave running shoes at school even once our gym and dance days have been confirmed, so that they are never forgotten!)

If you are interested in learning more about specific curriculum expectations, please visit the Ministry of Education’s Website: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/

Other Routines & Information

Community Circle

Everyone in room 211, including myself, is part of a community of learners. It takes time to build a community that is inclusive, supportive and appreciative, but this is our goal. We will be participating in many fun community-building activities as a class. Community Circle is one activity that we will use regularly. It is an opportunity for us to share how we are feeling, discuss class agreements, solve problems as a group and celebrate successes. In grades 1 and 2 it is particularly important for children to become comfortable speaking French with their classmates. Community Circle is a great opportunity for this.

Expectations

On the first day of school, we co-created our own set of classroom agreements and signed a class contract that we will refer to throughout the coming weeks and school year. Our agreements center around the following principles:

✓    attentive listening (on écoute)

✓    active participation (on participe)

✓    mutual respect (yourself, others, materials) (on est respectueux)

✓    appreciation & positivity (on dit des choses gentilles)

We will continue to discuss what each agreement looks like. For example, attentive listening means eyes up, hands to yourself and we raise our hand to share. I would appreciate you taking the time to review these agreements with your child.

At-home-work

While there will be very little “homework” in the traditional sense this year, there are many ways that you can support your child’s learning at home. Many children are excited to start school and have homework. If you’d like to say, “Mlle Mitchell gave us this homework”, that’s fine by me!

            First, it is crucial that all students develop a consistent reading routine at home. Students are welcome and encouraged to take a book home everyday to read with a parent or guardian. Reading at home makes a huge difference in a child’s development as a reader, and reading together with a loved one helps children develop an enjoyment and love of reading! There are tips for establishing a reading routine, as well as a link to the TDSB Homework Policy, posted on the class blog. In October/November, we will begin our formal borrow-a-book system and I’ll provide information about it at that time.

            In addition to reading, children will have words of the week beginning this week. These will be high frequency words which children should be able to recognize quickly, regardless of the context (like jumping-off points for reading). Words will match the sound we are focusing on at school so that students can practice what they are learning. Words will come home every Monday and will be posted on the blog as well. This week, and  regularly on the blog, I will provide ideas for how to work with these words at home. The goal is to spend a few minutes playing with these words every day so that your student would be able to recognize them quickly in a sentence. Grade 2s have an additional writing component, which is explained in their cahier.

            Finally, I think it is very valuable to talk to your child about what they have done at school. You may want to expand on what we have done, or review it. I hope that you will find my blog to be an excellent tool for keeping up with the class. I will make every effort to give you conversation starters and specific questions you can ask to get your child talking!

Library Exchange

Our book exchange period will occur every Day 3 and 8 (starting Thursday, September 8th), but books may be returned to our class bin at any time. Students are encouraged to sign out 1 French book on their library code. I appreciate your help in reminding your children to have their books ready to return or renew every week!

Bravo!

I believe in recognizing students for the good things they do at school. The Bravo! note gives me an opportunity to write a short note to students to thank them for an act of kindness or particularly good behaviour (for example, helping a friend or helping to tidy up even when it wasn’t their work area). I will send these notes home, and I hope you enjoy reading them with your child!

Class Blog & Communication

I have created a blog for room 211. This will enable me to provide parents with current information on what we are working on in class, special events happening at Dewson, and other reminders! You can access the blog at http://mllemitchell.blogspot.com/

            Another valuable form of communication between yourself, your child and me, is the communication pocket. I have provided each child with a zipper pocket that they can keep and hopefully reuse next year. All I ask is that you replace it should it ever get lost (they are available for $1.25 at the dollar store). Any notes, forms or work will be sent home in the pocket, size permitting. Please return forms or send notes to me via the pocket - I will teach students how to use their pocket and place any mail for me in the bin on my desk each morning. Please ensure that any forms or money you are sending have your student’s name on it, as there is usually a delay between when I receive mail and when I can go through it with a checklist. Try to make it your child’s responsibility to unpack his/her pocket every morning at school and evening at home, and put it in his/her bag for the next day. This is a great way to start teaching your child how to stay organized.

The best way to reach me is via email at tamara.mitchell2@tdsb.on.ca (don’t forget the 2). I will return emails as soon as I have a minute during school days. You can also send a note in the communication pocket or leave me a message at the school (416-393-9120).

I will be in touch when we are in need of volunteers for trips or special classroom events. If you know that you are interested in volunteering in our classroom, or supervising on a field trip, please let me know by checking the appropriate box on the attached letter. You can also let me know how best to reach you.

Allergies

Please inform me of any allergies or medical conditions your child has, and if they are bringing a puffer, Epi-Pen or other medication to school. All students are to refrain from bringing any products containing peanuts to school. Some children in our class and school have severe allergies to these products. Thank you in advance.

Labeling & Supplies

To limit lost items at school, please remember to label your child’s belongings (e.g., lunch bag, hat, boots & shoes). Thank you! In room 211, all students share classroom supplies (pencils, erasers, markers etc.). Students are not required to bring their own materials, but may do so if they are prepared and willing to share with others.

Getting ready for school

All students will need running shoes for gym. Room 211 has a shoe bin where everyone is encouraged to keep a pair of indoor/gym shoes. On rainy days, an extra pair of socks (or even two) is a great idea. If you like, your child can keep a little bag of clothes on their hook in case they need them.

            In grades 1 and 2 we expect students to prepare themselves for recess with very minimal assistance. Please practice shoe-tying and zippering skills at home. This will help your child, and our class, get to recess and gym on time. Thanks!

Scholastic

Room 211 participates in monthly Scholastic book orders. I encourage you to participate in this program whenever possible. The first order form is attached to this newsletter.

On this blog...

Just by way of introduction...

In the column to your left, you will see the To-Do List (friendly reminders of what's coming up or needs to be returned) followed by my "Wish List". I am always collecting things that I think could be useful at school. Most often, these things would otherwise be garbage, so it’s nice to be able to recycle them and use them in our learning. If at any point you are getting rid of any of the listed items, please send them to school with your child instead and I will store them and put them to good use! Merci!

In the column to the right, you will see several link lists organized by subject area. Please explore the online resources available to us at your leisure, and if you find any others, please send me the address so I can check it out! In particular, I have added many sites that allow you and your child to listen to French words and stories. If you ever have trouble navigating a page or finding the actual thing you're supposed to listen to, please just ask! I have also posted an overview of a few of the sites below. It might help you get started using them.

If you would like to receive an email notification each time I update the blog, simply enter your email address in the box at the top and you will receive a confirmation email. The emails seem to be a bit delayed - sometimes they come in the middle of the night after I write them, but I think people have still found it helpful.

Hope you enjoy!

Tamara

More on Reading!

Dear at-home-teachers,

In the first day newsletter, I stress the importance of developing an at-home reading routine. I’m sure that many families already have some routines in place, such as reading to your child before bed. If I may, I’d like to share some tips that I’ve learned in the last few years - many of these come from experienced teachers and other experts in the area of literacy. 

• I suggest 5-10 minutes a day to begin. You can adjust the length of time as your child grows as a reader, or as you settle into a school-day routine.
• Pick a time when your child can focus. Every child loves to be cuddled and read to before bed - don’t turn this lovely time into work. Pick first thing in the morning, or as dinner is cooking, for example. 
• Do it everyday! Sometimes your child won’t want to, and sometimes you won’t want to. Sometimes you will be very busy and it will seem like an impossible task. Try to be consistent with the time of day and treat it with the same importance as eating a meal or brushing your teeth.
• At first, it will be you doing the bulk of the reading while you help your child review the sounds we are working on at school. Make sure they are involved in the reading as much as they can be, for example, ask them to look for letters or sounds (e.g., “a”). Ask them to tell you what’s happening in the pictures, or guess what will happen next or how the story will end. Ask them to look for words of the week before you begin reading.
• You can read in English too! You don’t need my permission to read to your kids in English, or whatever language you speak at home. Kids can learn multiple languages simultaneously. Because reading and word work is the only at-home-work that I assign, I would love for every family to read at least 1 short French book everyday, but what you read in other languages will also contribute to your child’s growth as a reader.
• But I don’t speak French! Neither did my parents. I think that you’ll find that you are able to follow along and learn along with your child for at least the first few years. I’ll try to explain what I’m teaching the children via the blog so that you can be their “at-home” teacher. Without knowing a syllable of French, you can still work on letter names, holding a pencil properly, tracing letters neatly and in the lines and discuss the pictures in French books.
• Above all, make sure it’s manageable for you and your family. Working with your child is important, but it should always be enjoyable. If it becomes overwhelming, shorten the amount of time, do a few shorter segments, play reading games, take turns reading or talk to me and we can brainstorm solutions together.

I thank you in advance for all your amazing help and dedication this year. Your efforts at home will go a long way and contribute greatly to your child’s success!

Online Options for Beginning French Readers

Here are a few details on some of the language links... hopefully this helps you get started. Please ask me if you have any questions. I will get the kids using these sites later in the year, but if you'd like to start using them now, feel free. Sometimes it's a great way to fill up 10 minutes while you're making dinner!

Centre Soleil http://www.tfo.org/emissions/carmen/

When you click on Centre Soleil, you immediately meet Carmen who sings an introductory song. She speaks to you using fairly simple language, and not too fast. I think many children will understand her instructions, but if not, it's an easy site to navigate. You can colour, play games, or read stories. When you click on the bookshelf, you then have the choice of 3 books to read with Carmen. Once you've clicked on the book you want, she asks you if you want her to read you the story, or, if you want to play with the pictures and the words. If you ask her to read to you, the words light up, karaoke-style, so you can follow along. If you ask to play with the words, you can click on underlined words to hear them, or click on the pictures to hear the associated word. This is an amazing site!

Themed Dictionary http://www.yrdsb.ca/Programs/fi/FrenchAudio/Pages/a-l-ecole.aspx#
Themed Dictionary, you get a list of themes (e.g., l'école, l'hiver, l'alphabet etc.). When you select a theme, there are pictures of commonly used words for that theme. As you run the mouse over them, it will say the name of the object to you. This is very simple for learning vocabulary at home.

Grade 1 Vocab (with audio) http://www.learninghelper.ca/#sec3

When you click on Grade 1 Vocab (with audio) you see a user-friendly menu with choices like songs, sight-words, the sounds of the alphabet and much more. Click on the image beside the choice to continue. If you select sight-words, the numbers, or the alphabet (possibly others), you just scroll over the word Écoute, and it will speak to you. Click Prochain to move on to the next word. If you select songs and poems, it will give you another list of choices to listen to. Again, this sight is great for beginners, and children can probably use it independently after they know how to get on.

BBC French http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryfrench/en_france_all_flash.shtml

When you click on BBC French, you are taken to a visual menu where you can select what you want to hear, they have the numbers from 0 - 21, and other key phrases, such as "Quel âge as-tu?" What I like about this site is that it is children speaking, and each bit of spoken text is accompanied by a little animation which makes it fun to watch and understand.

Sam Sam http://www.samsam.fr/

This site is super fun for kids. There are videos with French narration, and games to play. The only drawback is that there is no written text with the videos, so you can't follow the words while you listen. Still fun though, and there is more variety of stories on this site than any other. You need to subscribe to use most features of this site. It’s free, just click where it says ‘Inscris-toi ici’.

Chansons et Comptines http://comptines.tv/

This is a good alternative to YouTube as all the videos are in French and many have words so you can follow along and sing familiar songs and nursery rhymes karaoke-style. Use the list on the left to see which songs have videos and music.

Finally, check out the Toronto Public Library site. They have a "Hear a Story" section, and if you follow the prompts, you can find French stories on there too!

In the Games (Jeux) link list, you'll find TFO http://www3.tfo.org/jeux

I have to say, if your child is already playing games on the computer or other electronic device, this website has lots of games that are fun, age-appropriate and completely in French. Two that I have tried out are "Caillou" and "Petit Lapin Blanc". The instructions are all oral and in French. The games are simple and fun. It's a good way to start listening to spoken French. 

Scholastic 101

Dear readers,

I realize that grade 1 might be the first time you ever get to do Scholastic. Ordering from Scholastic is completely optional, but I have found that it gets kids really excited about reading, so I provide the forms every month. Here's an explanation of how it works and how to interpret the French catalogue.

Here's what you do:

1. Look through the catalogues and decide what you would like to purchase. Note the item number.

2. Turn to the order form at the back of each catalogue. Find the items you wanted using the item number, and make sure the titles match up. 

3. There are about 5 different columns showing different prices. The pink one is for Ontario, so we always use the price in that column. Circle the price for the item you want. (If you are ordering more than one copy of an item, make a note of how many you would like.)

4. Add up the total cost and the total number of items (this really helps me know that I haven't missed anything when reading your order) and write them in the two boxes at the bottom.

5. Write a cheque, made out to Scholastic Canada Ltd., for the total amount of all orders OR find exact change. Online parent pay is also set up. If you use this option, please let me know - you do not have to send in any money.

6. Send in the order form with your payment by the due date (see to-do list). An envelope or zip lock bag is perfect.

The books usually arrive within 2 weeks, and I will distribute them at the end of the day with the original order forms.

I have found Scholastic prices to be very reasonable, often cheaper than in stores. Plus, when our class order is large enough, we sometimes earn free books for our class library! 

The Club de Lecture catalogue is the only French book catalogue, and it serves a very large age range. You will notice that in the left margin of each two-page spread is a level. The first two-page spread is labeled "Lecteurs Débutants" - that's us! Of course, you are welcome to purchase whatever you like - there's no harm in children looking at books they cannot yet read. However, if you are looking for books with words that your grade 1 or 2 student can start to sound out or read, you will want to stick to the first few pages. There are always books that fit the theme of the season, and audio-books, that are great for any age.

Children are welcome to bring their French books to school for reading time, or for moments when they finish their task a little early.

Hope this helps you navigate the Scholastic catalogues a little bit. I have also posted two links to Scholastic sites in the language section to the right.

Happy reading!