Special Moments

Hi parents,

There's lots going on right now in area 24, so I have lots to share!

I will begin with Social Studies because there is a take-home assignment that I'd like you to know about. This week, we will be having a conversation about special moments in our lives. I will be giving each child a template where they can draw and write about 3 important moments in their own life. I expect they will need your help thinking of the best 3, so I'm going to send the template home. I hope it's fun to reminisce with your child and talk about the major events that have happened. Your child can draw a picture representing each moment, and when back at school, I will help them sound it out in French and write a sentence for each picture.

Some good examples of events would be:

• I said my first word. (J'ai dit mon premier mot.)
• I learned to walk. (J'ai appris à marcher.)
• We moved to a new house. (On a déménagé.)
• I got a baby sister/brother. (J'ai eu une petite soeur / un petit frère.)
• I started school. (J'ai commencé l'école.)
• I won a big hockey game. (J'ai gagné un grand match (tournoi) de hockey.)
• I went to Paris in the summer. (Je suis allé(e) à Paris durant l'été.)

I appreciate you finding a few moments to do this over the weekend. Please remind your child to bring the sheet back on Monday. Thanks!

At the same time, we are moving on to Science and our unit on Structures. We began today, and I am impressed with some of the ideas already expressed. We started talking about what a structure is, what materials can be used to build different structures and that structures can be natural or made by humans. Then we did a little experiment with a lego structure (a bird) and talked about balancing weight on a structure and how we can add to or alter the structure to make it more stable. Ask your child to draw you a little picture of what our bird looked like at the beginning, and explain what we did to it to help make her hold more erasers, and keep her from tipping over. Your child may even be able to re-create this experiment at home using lego.

In Math, we have started talking about 2-dimensional shapes. We will be working on identifying characteristics of shapes, beginning with number of sides. Do a little test to see if your child already knows how many sides the following shapes have: un carré, un rectangle, un triangle, un losange, un pentagone, un hexagone, un octogone. At home, you can build shapes out of popsicle sticks, toothpicks, straws, anything really. Make it a guessing game!
In class we have been working hard to name and colour lots of shapes so that each child will eventually have their own memory matching game to bring home. As you play it, be sure to have your child name the shape on the card they turn over. It's great practise, and it's fun. Look for this game in an envelope later this week or next week! It's for you to keep!

In language, we have now found tons of examples of the "ou" sound. We've been referring to this one for a while, but never officially studied it. In contrast to the tight "u" sound (as in tu or sur), the "ou" sound is rounder, like the English "ooo". Check out the picture below and look for additional words in your borrow-a-book books!

Our new words of the week (sent home Monday) are:

mon, papa, chien, tous, ils, ont

Also in language, we are being introduced to procedural writing (how-to texts). Obviously, in grade 1 we are doing a very simple version of this, but as with all things, this will form a foundation for future grades when students will be writing more complex versions of the same type of text. For instance, often in older grades, students are asked to write out a recipe, or instructions for a game. This year, we have already co-written instructions for how to get ready for recess in the winter, and how to make a snowman. So far, we know that this type of text has a title, a series of steps, and probably a concluding sentence. Students are now going to write their own instructions for how to eat a gingerbread man! They have already begun thinking about the order in which they eat their cookie, some starting with the icing, some the feet, others the head! I'd love to decorate gingerbread men with the class when we complete this writing project. If you're interested in helping on that day, please let me know!

In art we are in the middle of a pastel project that focuses on creating shadows by layering gray and write over a coloured picture (ours are hearts for Valentine's day). I'm also excited to share that next week we will begin working with our artist-in-the-school, Donnely Smallwood who is well-known at Dewson and does amazing work with students and teachers. We will have a half-day workshop every week for 6 weeks. This will replace our regular Mlle Mitchell-led art periods for the duration. 

In other news, we have a simple, but educational, new song that, if you haven't heard, you should ask to hear (it contains the words "sur" and "sous"). I also started teaching a little piano duet to a few students last Friday, and hopefully we'll all be able to work on it regularly. Ask about this!

Don't forget, this month's Scholastic orders are due Thursday.

Talk to you soon,
Tamara

Many notes!

Please be sure to check the communication folder tonight, there were many notes distributed today.
A few conversation starters...

• What are you working on in art?
• What sound are you working on? Can you remember some words with that sound in it? ('ou')
• What happens in the book L'arbre aux ballons?
• What did you have to do in your last math interview?
• Who played the piano today?
• What was our surprise at the end of the day Friday?

... and one question you can help your child think about, in preparation for next week:
What are some special moments that have happened in your life so far?
(e.g., going on a trip, getting a baby brother/sister, moving homes, taking a first step etc.)

Have a great weekend!

Audio Resources on this Blog

Happy Wednesday!

I thought it might be good to introduce you to a few of the resources that I have linked to this blog, which you may not have checked out yet. Several resources in the Language section have a French audio component, which is really great for developing vocabulary. They are definitely worth a look! In class, at least 2 students use the computers every day. When it is their turn, I help them get started on one of these sites.

Centre Soleil
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
When you click on 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)
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
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.

The other fun site is Stories with Sam, however, all the children have now had a turn on this site, so I don't think I need to explain it. This site is super fun for them, 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. Also check out the Toronto Public Library site, linked. They have a "Hear a Story" section, and if you follow the prompts, you can find French stories on there too!

I hope that this encourages you to check out these sites and use them at home. I know that a long list of links seems like a lot to explore, so I thought giving you a little tour might help you decide where you want to begin.

Have fun!