March is our First Nations month

This month, we will learn about First Nations cultures in Sasktatchewan. This includes treaty education, which is required by our province's curriculum. We will do a comparative study about First Nations traditional beliefs and stories. We will also publish a booklet illustrating the foundational beliefs and discuss the importance of animals such as the buffalo in First Nations' culture. And finally, we will study about the "first contact" between First Nations and European settlers in the west, and how this influenced both groups. For Friday's Show & Tell, I ask that students focus on what we are learning at school, and bring items related to our themes in class. These include the following:

Math: We have a new calendar routine which involves counting money. If students have a foreign currency to show, this would be relevant to this theme.

Language arts, Science and Social Studies: Any artifacts related to First Nations cultures would be most welcome. This includes clothing, pictures, etc.. Students can also bring items that are hand-made from natural materials, or artifacts from other cultures around the world.

For the month of March, I ask that students only bring Show & Tell items on Fridays, and please stick to the topics above. (Avoid bringing your favorite toys unless they're hand-made from natural materials, sports equipment etc.)

Practise your quick addition with "Lulu"

We are still working on addition skills in class, although we have taken a quick break for our "100th day" of school. This link has a fun addition game with dice. It is meant for Grade 1s but all students can benefit from mental math practice. I like this game because you can adjust the difficulty to suit your level. If you know that your child struggles a bit in calculation, please have him/ her play this game 10-15 minutes a day. It will really help! The English translation for instructions is as follows:
Jeux de Lulu: "Même quantité"
Same amount?
Click "the eyes" to bring up the dice.
Then click on the number corresponding to the total number of points of both dice.

The numbers are erased except the right answer and a small head appears.
It is green if you're good and red if not.

At the end of the game (dice appear 20 times), if you have less than 5 red heads, you win!

The maximum number appearing on the dice can be set between 6 and 12 using the - and + buttons.

There are three levels in this game

Good luck!

Level 2:

The game principle is the same as level 1 but beware, the dice will disappear and you can not see them again ...

Then click on the number corresponding to the total number of points that you saw on the dice. You have to give an answer in order to move on.

The display time may be adjusted at any time during the game between 1 (the longest) and 7 (shorter) using the - and + buttons for "Speed​​".

Good luck!

Show & Tell

This month's theme is all about our senses. For "Montrer et raconter", students are invited to bring something reflecting this theme. We have two volunteers who are helping students write sentences in French and preparing mini-presentations. Because this takes quite a bit of time, please do not feel you have to send something every week. Every 2nd week is sufficient. Here is the Show & Tell schedule for the next few weeks:

January 20: Bring an object that makes interesting sounds. This is for those students who did NOT bring something on January 13th.

January 27: Bring an object that has interesting colours or textures. Please do not bring anything breakable!


February 3rd: Colours and textures again, but for students who did NOT bring something on January 27th.

February 10th: Bring something with interesting smells or tastes; this could be something as simple as a jar of spice or a salty snack to share. I recommend avoiding perfumes or other strong odours. If you do bring food, please do not send anything with nuts and keep the samples small.

February 17: Smells and tastes again for those who did not get to bring something.

January spelling words

All spelling words for January will be based on our contexts of winter and our 5 senses. Students will also practise writing the days of the week.

Grade 2 students will also practise conjugating verbs in the 1^st group (ending in – er) present tense.

Nouns are either feminine (nf) or masculine (nm.) Students should know this, and know which articles to use: le                la          un         une       les        des

January 8, 2012:

lundi (Monday)             mardi (Tuesday)           jeudi (Thursday)           samedi  (Saturday)

la semaine (the week)

Grade 2: mercredi (Wednesday)           dimanche (Sunday)       activité (activity) nf 

January 16:

il neige (it’s snowing)                 dehors (outside)            skis (skis) nm    patins (skates) nm

froid (cold)  nm

Grade 2: traîneau (a sled) nm   j’ai hâte (I can’t wait for)         

bonhomme de neige (snowman) nm

*January 23:

en bas (down low)        beau / belle (beautiful)   gros / grosse (large)      petit / petite (little)         très (very)

Grade 2: préféré / préféfée (favourite)  moyen / moyenne (medium)

amusant / amusante (fun)

January 30 :

j’entends (I hear)          je vois (I see)                je goûte (I taste)           je touche (I touch)

je sens (I smell)

intérieur (inside)            extérieur (outside)         février (February)  *bonus: Il renifle (he sniffs at [something]- applied to animals)

* Adjectives often change depending on whether the corresponding noun is feminine or masculine. This is why there are two versions of the same adjective in many cases.               

Report Cards!

As I am in the middle of compiling and writing this term's report cards, I thought I would share with you ahead of time some important changes. I also want to clarify exactly how to interpret the grades on your child's report card and what exactly is an "outcomes-based" report.

The Ministry of Education is in the process of changing the curriculum for French Immersion Grades 1 & 2. Therefore, the report cards will begin to reflect these new changes. Here are some answers to questions I know many of you will have this Wednesday as you read through your child's term 1 report card:

1) Why is there no grade for Math? Lakeview School is piloting an outcomes-based report card for Math. This means that we rate your child's progress directly with each outcome at their grade level. The checklist will show you what a Grade 1 or Grade 2 student is expected to learn and do for every component in math. The rating scale from 1-4 describes your child's achievement for each outcome. This way, you know exactly where their weaknesses are in math, and together we target them both at school and at home. This gives a lot more information than just a letter grade.

2) Why is there a separate insert for comments? I did not create this comments page. I am using what the Ministry of Learning initiated as a draft for what will eventually replace traditional report cards. I would appreciate any helpful feedback you may have. We are moving away from separating subjects for Grades 1 and 2 French Immersion. Eventually, the report cards will reflect this full integration.

3) What is the standard for an A,B, or C grade on a report card? For Grade 1, a letter grade "C" means that they are achieving a satisfactory level of learning and performance. For Grade 2, a "B" is a satisfactory level. Please remember that an immersion class is challenging for many students, and a C does NOT mean that your child is doing poorly. There is always room for improvement. If there are serious academic concerns, you would have already been contacted. Please read the top of the report card for a more detailed description of each grade.

I am very proud of how well the students are doing in my class. They are speaking in French,  interacting, and engaged in the learning process. A grade on a report card can never adequately describe how much each child has improved since September.

A very successful store & auction!

We had a great day today. First, we finished a writing assignment and then we started our "auction." Thank-you to those parents that donated items - they were very well received! The students were very excited to participate in the auction, so much that several bid against themselves. This was all virtual money of course, but the prizes were real, and I expected the Grade 2s to use their math skills in keeping track of their spending. The highest bid was for an outdoor paint set that went for $40.

During the afternoon, we had our class store, and all students could purchase items within their budget. They learned very quickly that they couldn't buy everything they wanted, although some students now have an overdraft that they must pay off before our next store & auction.

Our next store and auction will take place on Halloween Day in the morning. I would welcome any Halloween type donations - small treats, toys or decorations. We will work very hard on our counting skills, and addition & subtraction for the Grade 2s. I anticipate even greater participation from all students in our next auction. Remember - don't bid above your means, and don't bid against yourself!

J

September Summary

September just flew by! I don't know if it's because of the warm weather or the students are just kept so busy in class, but October is upon us far too soon. Here are some of the highlights from this past month:
- Student of the day bulletin board: Each student has his or her picture on display with interesting facts about them, all from classmates' input.

- Pattern unit: We explored all types of repeating, growing, and shrinking patterns in math, poems,  songs and phys.Ed activities. The students worked together to create pattern posters, showing specific grade-level learning outcomes. We also took a tour of the neighbourhood and documented patterns around Lakeview School.
- Fall leaves: Please check out the students' fabulous artwork in the hallway and on our window. Many teachers have complimented the students on their work. Our librarian commented that she thought I drew most of the pictures!
- Classroom swap: The Grade 2s work with Mme Suttill's Kindergartens, and I work with all the Grade 1s for one period a day. This gives the Grade 1s a chance to focus on reading skills at their level, and gives the Grade 2s a chance to be a teacher and role model for the Kindergartens, with excellent results!

We will end September with our "store" this Friday, September 30th. I did hand out some "fines" but the students are quickly learning the expectations & responsibilities in the class, and for the most part follow them with few reminders.

Please consider donating to our store. I accept donations at any time. Stickers, small toys, beads or other craft items, collector cards, etc. make excellent items to "sell." If you have any such items that you want to get rid of in your house, I will gladly take them off your hands, provided they are not too big nor fragile. The store items will be priced quite high (I do not want your child to go home with bags & bags of stuff), and I will expect the children to use their math skills to purchase items at our store. Our store hours will be from 1-3 p.m. this Friday afternoon, September 30th. I will show a film in French (rated G of course). All students will pay admission, then visit the store during the film. This will all take place in the classroom. You are most welcome to drop in, maybe even sell a few items for us! Please e-mail me if you have any questions about our store.