Magical Moment

I just HAVE to write a little note to tell you want happened during art today. Everyone was working away at their collages, and I put on some music, as I often do. The first song on the CD is the full version of the song we are learning for the spring concert. When the singer started, I think every child in our class joined in and started singing as they worked. I couldn't believe what was happening. Teachers often watch little demonstrational videos where there are about 8 kids in the class, and everything goes just perfectly, as if it was scripted. Well, I felt like I was in one of those movies. Donnely stopped in as we were working, and I played the song again, and it happened again! When I finally came to my senses, I tried to recreate the moment in order to video it for you, but by then I had children coming up to me, so it didn't turn out so well (even though they still sang). Anyway, I hope you can imagine this magical class I had today. It made my day!

PS - For our science workshop Tuesday afternoon, we have been asked to bring in lots of newspapers. Each child will need a complete newspaper. If you have a bunch sitting in your recycle bin, that could help others that don't receive a daily paper. Please send them in Monday or Tuesday!

Science update!

In Science, we are well into our unit on materials and structures. We started by talking about man-made v. natural structures, for example our school versus a bird's nest. This led to an interesting discussion about what exactly "natural" means, since everything comes from nature originally. This led to a discussion about how people often use big machines to change natural materials into products or other materials that they need, and how sometimes these machines aren't so good for the environment. You can bring this up at home if you like - look at the furniture you have in your home, what are the materials and how did people make them?

Next, we talked about how structures can be used for different purposes. For example, some furniture is designed to be used at home (e.g., a comfortable sofa), whereas some furniture is designed for use at school (e.g., desks). The scientists completed a sorting activity to decide where different furniture items would be best used.

As part of this unit, we will get to do several hands-on experiments to discover the qualities of different materials. This week, students began working in groups to explore materials that were rough and smooth. One student from each group was the teacher while the others closed their eyes and used only their hands to touch both objects, deciding which was rough and which was smooth. Ask your scientist what objects were rough and what was smooth. Were they ever surprised to find that something was smooth when they thought it would be rough?

We have also conducted some experiments to determine if certain materials are waterproof, and to see what type of wall would be the strongest of 3 designs. We'll keep having fun with this, and our big science workshop is just around the corner.

In other news, tomorrow (Friday), all our writers will be bringing home the letters they have written. We are hoping you can help us send them to the right people, but before you do, check out your student's writing. This is a good indication of what they are able to do independently as they had very little help outside of translating some words and having long words repeated slowly. The accompanying rubric is for you to keep. I apologize that it's not quite as neat as usual - I did an initial circle before the letters were complete and had to change some things around later. I did not put a place for revising on the rubric, but each writer spent a few minutes with me making a few small corrections to their writing. We didn't fix everything (you know perfection is not what we're after, and we want the writers to feel confident) but it's important to get in the good habit of making some simple corrections when we can (e.g., turning majuscules into minuscules). Since most of the people we wrote to don't speak French (this was a big worry for some of us), I have translated each letter into English on the reverse (but see if your writer can read it to you in French)!

Finally, our class has been working on a couple social things in the last couple weeks that you might like to reinforce at home. One of these is being quick and efficient during transition times. Getting dressed and undressed in the hall can take a while, though most students can be extremely quick when motivated. We are still all working on doing what we need to without being loud and without pushing and shoving. Today was a million times better than yesterday, so I know it's possible. Leaving home toys at home is a Dewson rule that will eliminate a lot of distractions during these times.
The second thing we're talking a lot about is making good decisions for ourselves. It can be very tempting to copy what someone else does, especially if they're a friend or if we're feeling annoyed. However, showing someone the right thing to is always a better idea and keeps us out of trouble. Treat others the way you would like to be treated, right? I'm sure if you discuss this with your child, they will say all the right things, but it's much harder to put into practice. Nevertheless, I do see people trying to make very good decisions, so it's not impossible. You can encourage this outstanding citizenship by asking your student if there were any problems at recess, and how they helped solve them.

Thanks for your encouragement!

Words of the Week & Collages

Happy Monday!
This morning we began our collages using the texture rubbings from last week and practice sheets from earlier in the year when we experimented with graphite and ink. The artists are building either a cityscape or an animal and they are looking fantastic!

This afternoon we began our independent visits to classrooms to ask our survey questions. Students who did not have their turn today will be going tomorrow after they practice for us. Check-in tonight or tomorrow and ask your mathematician what class they went to, what they asked and if they spoke completely in French!

Words of the Week

Like in English, another way to make the ‘k’ sound in French is with ‘q+u’.

Most of the words that begin with ‘qu’ are question words. In English, we think of the 5 W’s (Who, What, When, Where, Why). In French, it’s the 4 Q’s: Qui, Quoi, Quand, Que, Pourquoi (and Où).

When you read stories, take time to discuss them using these words. Who was it about? (Qui), Where and when did it take place? (Où & Quand), What happened? (Quoi/Qu’est-ce que), Why did this event happen? (Pourquoi)

This is a good habit to get into, and will help us write complete stories of our own later this term.

que, qui, quoi, quel, quand, quatre

Bonus words: pourquoi, qu’est-ce que

Texture!

Hello families!

To begin, your children gave me the best surprise at the end of the day today. We got an early start learning the song we're planning to perform for the spring concert, because it's kind of a big deal (I studied music, so you know I go all out for these things). It's not a nursery song, it's the real deal with 3 verses and a chorus to memorize. Last week we started learning the first verse, and today I was thinking we would need to re-learn it since it is very wordy. Not so! I started singing and the entire class took over, they sang the whole thing with confidence! We were able to work on verse 2 and it's not even February! So excited! Hopefully we can impress you at the concert (April 30th, save the date).

Today we also began practicing for our survey day next week. I'm not sure if I told you, but each mathematician has planned a survey question with 3 choices and once they have the data, they're going to graph the results. We have permission to visit grade 2 and 3 classes to ask our questions, but of course we need to be very professional about this. The children will be going in pairs, without me, to the other classrooms. They will need to politely ask the teacher if it is a good time, and then ask their question and count up the results, completely in French. We are very excited about this responsibility, and we will all be rehearsing in front of our class before we are allowed to go off into the school. Some students, when they heard what they had to say, decided they wanted to practice at home this weekend. Everyone has a different question, but here is the first thing everyone needs to say after they knock on the door:
"Est-ce que nous pouvons demander deux questions à la classe?"
After they've read out their question, they will go through each choice one at a time to count votes, saying, "Lève la main si tu préfères ...". 
No pressure, but if your student wants to practice, you can help them out with that!

This morning we got started on a neat art project involving texture. We talked about rough and smooth, and how we can create visual texture by doing rubbings over materials with different interesting textures. We used stencils, sand paper, tangerine nets, wire, keys, flooring samples and many other items. Students also found interesting textures around the classroom, from the brick walls, to the drying rack to lego, and the soles of their shoes. They really got into filling their pages with many interesting textures, which we will use to build cityscapes and other fun collages. Check it out!

Words of the week

The letter C can make three different sounds in French. On its own it can be either soft (‘s’) or hard (‘k’). The vowel that follows can help you decide which it is, but there are always exceptions. In general, a c followed by an e, i, or y is soft. A c followed by a, o, or u is hard. When a c has that funny little thing that looks like an S under it (called a cédille) it is always soft. You’ll see in our words with c-cédille that those c’s would normally be hard, but the cédille breaks the rule. This is a lot to remember, so I haven’t shared all this with the kids, they just know that ç makes ‘s’.

The third sound that c can make, when followed by h, is ‘ch’ - sounds like the English ‘sh’.

ça, garçon, glaçon, le chat, le chien, le cochon

Bonus words: la vache, le cheval

Recommended Concert

Dear music lovers,

Every year the Toronto Symphony Orchestra offers several Young People's Concerts, specifically designed for younger listeners. Since our class is so well-behaved during assemblies, and seems to love all the music they do with Mr. Greene and I, I thought this might be something they would enjoy. If possible, I will try to take the whole class to see a performance later in the year, but I wanted to let you know about one that is coming up very soon.

In early February, there is a Young People's concert featuring the piano. Since we are beginning to have some lessons at school, this could be very inspiring. The concert will also feature Saint-Saëns's The Carnival of the Animals, which is a very fun, kid-friendly piece that I hope to use in the class this year. I highly recommend getting tickets to this concert if you can! You can find more information on the TSO website.

Les Amis de Lecture

Dear Science experts & enthusiasts,

Today you are receiving a note about an upcoming workshop from Scientists-in-Schools. Scientists-in-Schools workshops are a phenomenal opportunity for all students - it's like a field trip, but in the classroom. The visiting Scientist brings tons of materials and resources that we don't have at school, sets up engaging, hands-on activities and, in my experience, usually covers an entire unit in one half day, and in a way that children love and can understand. We are very fortunate that the Parent Council is covering the entire cost of this program this year, so this amazing workshop will be completely FREE!

This year I have arranged a workshop for our new science unit on Materials and Everyday Structures. It's not one I've done before, so I'm excited about a new experience and lots of learning for me as well as the class. The workshop will take place Tuesday February 3rd from 12:45-3:30pm.

We will need 5 parent volunteers in order to make the workshop run smoothly, and we will probably need you from 12:25 until the end of the day. Please return the bottom portion of the note, or email me by Tuesday the 20th, if you are interested and available to help out. I'll confirm shortly after that. Thanks!

I am also sending home our January social skills rubric. Our activity today involved working with a group to plan and paint a mural. The trick was, each group had only 4 paint colours and 2 paint brushes for all 4 artists. We were focusing on sharing, taking turns and solving problems using nice words. I was impressed by the cooperation I saw between group members and how everyone took turns and used what they were given without complaining. I planned this activity specifically because we've been running into some problems sharing our markers between our desk groups. We don't have 20 pinks or 20 turquoises, so even though we have plenty of markers and even more pencil crayons, sometimes we don't have exactly what we need right away. It would be worth talking about how well the turn-taking went today, and how we can be just as kind and patient when we need or are waiting for a marker, pencil crayon, book, toy, eraser or anything!

In other cool news, Area 24 is fortunate to be partnering up with Mlle Segreto's 5/6 class for weekly reading buddies. Our buddies will visit us every day 4 and help us with our reading. It is such a benefit to developing readers to have this one-on-one attention. In the spring, our reading buddies might become computer buddies and help us with setting up a password and doing some simple tasks on the school laptops.

Due to schedules and space, we will only work with part of Mlle Segreto's class at a time. At the moment, we are working with the grade 5s. Sixteen students (4 reading groups) from our class will work with the grade 5s while the last group of students with me. Every week we will rotate so that everyone gets time with me and lots of time with their reading buddies. Here is what reading buddies looked like yesterday:

Ask your reader how we sit to read with a partner, who their partner was and what books they read!

Les mots etc.

Dear parents,

I heard from many students that they practiced their air-piano over the weekend, and that they took breaks in between practising (good for the brain!). Thanks for your encouragement! Today we began learning a song that hopefully we can perform at the spring concert. It's a long sing, so we'll see how it goes. Ask your singer to tell you what happens in the song.

Today we started learning how to conduct a survey (un sondage) so that we can gather our own data for future graphs. Ask your student how they do this, and what question they asked their friends today.

We also took a look at some diagrams that I found online or in the newspaper. It's good to see how diagrams are used in real life and all the different ways they can be presented. A fun activity would be to do a newspaper treasure hunt for diagrams with your child. If you find one, explain what it's about and help them interpret the data. Let them know exactly how that information is helpful to you. Good places to look are the sports, weather and business sections. Have fun!

Les Mots de la Semaine

We are now going to start increasing the number of words per week until we reach 10.

This week we have the sound ‘ui’. We’re all familiar with this sound because of one of the first words we ever learned, “oui” (=yes). It sounds just like the word “we” in English.

It is common to see students write “je swi” for “je suis”. This is exactly how it sounds, and they’re using what they know about the letter w, so it’s all good. Because “je suis” is so frequently used, we’ll start correcting it in our writing now so that we get in the good habit of spelling it correctly.

oui, huit, puis, fruit, je suis

Bonus words: juillet, cuillère

Piano Time!

Dear parents,
It's been a good week back at school. We've been reviewing our rules and routines, and especially how to be really good listeners. We had lots of graduations in our borrow-a-book program, so it's clear many of you have been working hard. Keep it up! We have a lot of cool stuff coming up and report cards are just around the corner as well so stay tuned!

Yesterday you received another note about the snack program. As you know from the fall, the snack program depends on parent contributions and the amount of food we receive on a daily basis reflects the amount that we are able to donate to the program. If you are able to make a donation, we would be grateful.

In math, students have now completed their own diagramme à bandes, without the aid of a template. They had to use plain graph paper and draw their own axes, add their scale and choices and think about their data. We know that a bar graph is meant to help us organize what we know, so students are working on making straight lines using rulers and colour coding their graph to make it clear and easy to read. This time, students worked on rearranging our December weather graph to show what it might look like had we done it in summer time. I've never asked grade 1s to create their own graph from scratch, so it was really neat to see them do it pretty well after only 2 days introduction!

Today we finished up the art project we began in December. We painted over our careful pastel work yesterday and today we used blocks to scratch almost all the paint away, making the finished product look old. Here they are:

You've no doubt heard that yesterday we had our first piano lesson. We learned about how to sit properly and how to hold our hand so that we don't get stiff fingers or wrists. Ask your pianist to show you proper hand position. The first thing we are learning to play is a 5-note scale. The songs we will learn will use these notes. Using the right hand, and placing finger 1 (thumb) on middle C, we play 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1. Ask your pianist to sing this for you. As homework for the weekend, each student is going to practice their scale 10 times on the air-piano (or a real one if you have it). Our piano lessons will not be challenging for students who are already taking piano lessons, but we will enjoy listening to some solos now and then.

Science experiment

Before the break we set up a little science experiment about the sun. We cut out a yellow sun and lightly glued it on dark blue paper. Before putting them up in the window, we all made predictions about what we thought might happen. Some ideas were, the paper might feel hot, the paper might become more yellow, the paper might get mushy or the paper might melt. Today we took the suns off and discovered that the blue paper had faded where the sun was not covering it. We talked about the importance of wearing sunscreen in the sun now that we have seen what it can do to paper after only 2 weeks! Ask your scientist what happened and what we can learn from this experiment.

In math we have started organizing data into a bar graph (diagramme à bandes). We have talked about the different parts of this diagram and how to make one that is organized and easy to read. Ask your mathematician what our tips are for making a good diagramme à bandes. We have co-created two already. One on the weather in December (using the weather cards we placed on the calendar every day) and one with our birthdays.

Here we are building with our new blocks from Santa!

In my last post I hinted at some of upcoming activities this term - between outings and complicated in-class projects, there will be lots of opportunities to volunteer. At the moment, it would be great to have some parents come help out in the morning between around 9:20-10:15 am. This is our language time so you would be helping with reading and writing and helping free me up to do some individual reading interviews. If you speak French, even a little, that's great, but we will welcome you either way! If you're interested, just email me to confirm a day. Thanks!

I'll also share with you another compliment I received about our class. Ms. Mary Ann (our superstar gym teacher, who has very high expectations), stopped me today to tell me that our class is SO smart! She said she had to make their game yesterday more challenging and that she does activities with them that she usually saves for junior classes. Continue le bon travail Aire 24!

Welcome back!

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday! I missed our class and am looking forward to getting back to our routines and to some exciting new projects in the second half of the year!

Things to look forward to in 2015 include opening up our piano, reading buddies, a visit from a scientist, a field trip to watch a French movie, Mme Mary Ann's very exciting gymnastics unit, participating in Mr. Greene's choir and the spring concert, the Dance-a-thon and lots more!


This morning, we were thrilled to find that Santa found us at Dewson! He brought us a new bin of blocks, just like we asked for. He also answered our question about his age... somewhere between the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, he thinks. I am also very happy to deliver 9 brand new books for our class, thanks to some of your generous Christmas gifts. It's always exciting to add new books to the shelves - keeps the kids interested!

We are quickly getting back to what we were doing before the break, which includes finishing up our Science unit on Daily & Seasonal Changes, writing an independent letter to a loved one using our success criteria and completing the art project (the Klee face) that we started. In math we are ready to move on to Data Management (my favourite unit) and learn about collecting, sorting and presenting data in a graph. Of course, we're continuing with our borrow-a-book program, so please keep sending in all the books you currently have. We're also continuing with our words of the week and our language centres.

Before the break, we were introduced to the sound ‘en’, which can also look like ‘em’. Well, there are two more ways to make this same sound: ‘an’ and ‘am’.

“Maman” was a bonus word in September, but now we have the tools to be able to catch that final syllable. Again, search for this sound (and others) before starting to read a book. See if it’s in a word you already know or that you can sound out. That way, when you get there, you’ll be able to read more fluidly.

maman, grand, enfant, dans, janvier

Bonus words: le camping, avant

Finally, I was surprised and delighted that several of you were interested in hearing me sing at the church. I know there were a couple families that couldn't make it last time, so I'll let you know that there is another Bach Vespers service this coming Sunday evening beginning at 7pm. This one (Cantata #71) isn't as exciting, in my opinion, but I do have some solo bits. Church of the Redeemer is at Avenue & Bloor, across from the ROM and it should be over around 8pm. No tickets needed, just an offering during the service.