lundi le 26 septembre, 2016
Chers familles de division 6,
French Language Arts
Speaking- Every morning students participate in our calendar routine, led by a student asking questions and receiving full sentence answers. To promote and encourage French in the classroom throughout the day, students are awarded fake "dollars" when they speak to the teacher or friend in French, without being asked. Prizes will be awarded at the end of each term to all students, in the order of their dollar amount.
Reading- Last week we began a review of grade 2 basic letter/sound combinations. For example, "in" like in lapin (rabbit), "ou" as in hibou (owl) and "ai" as in maison (house). We will continue to review how to sound out these basic sounds for the next few weeks. Today, with help from their teacher, students selected their first leveled book for the French home reading program in zip lock bags. This is a level they can read independently for 15-20 minutes each night. Parents are encouraged to read the coaching cards and ask comprehension questions if possible. After reading, parents/guardians are asked to initial the reading log. For every five reading entries that are initialed, students received a check mark on our in-class incentive chart. Thank you for your support at home!
Writing- As part of our grade 3 program, students will now learn all the various ways to read and write each sound. For our first grade 3 dictée, we are learning all the different ways to write the sound "é".The first one is "é", also written as és, ée, ées. ed, eds, ers, et, ai and ez. An example of each of these can be found among the dictée words.
Students are also learning about how to write a sentence with a capital letter and period. This week we will break down a sentence and look at the various parts such as nouns, adjectives and verbs.
Our English program will begin next week. You will see the English spelling test come home on Thursday or Friday this week. It will also get posted here in case it doesn't make it home or if your child is absent. I encourage students to practice spelling and/or dictée once each night for about 15-20 minutes.
Math
Last week we started our number sense unit. This means students are learning key counting strategies that are applied when adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. We begin by skip counting forwards and backwards by different amounts, rounding numbers and chunking them into groups of 5 and 10. This helps develop very important mental math counting abilities, especially when we use manipulatives such as dice, jelly beans, tokens and other objects. Practicing at home can also help reinforce what is being learned at school.
Science & Art
This fall we are learning all about what our solar system is made up of. Key elements from our new curriculum include matter, atoms, stars, moons and thermal energy sources such as the sun). This week we are starting with our sun and planets. On Friday we will integrate Science and Art by creating a collage of our solar system...let's not forget the sparkles! Students are excited to learn about Space:)
Social Studies, Indigenous Studies & Social Responsibility
Last week we began learning the significance of our 7 sacred Indigenous Teachings: Truth, Humility, Respect, Love, Wisdom, Bravery, Honesty. Our Aboriginal Assistant Pamela Bourque is hosting a thoughtful circle in our classroom to talk about the animals they represent, along with drumming and singing. Students are learning not only about Indigenous culture, but also how to adopt these teachings into our everyday lives.
Health and Physical Education (PE)
Students are getting into the routine of washing hands before snack and lunch. We've talked about how colds & flus are passed on, and how we can avoid spreading them. In the gym we are reviewing movement skills from grade two (running, jumping, catching, throwing) and how to apply them when playing cooperative games. Rules, teamwork and fair-play are part of the conversation when preparing to play these games.
Other special events to note for the week: Thursday is photo day, so if you have a preferred background colour, please return those forms by Thursday. Friday is Terry Fox Day, so students need to wear a pair of outdoor running shoes for our Terry Fox Run. Friday is also Orange Shirt Day. This is a new celebration day that honors residential school survivors. Students are encouraged to wear anything orange!
Have a wonderful week everyone and I hope you find this weekly blog informative!
Sincerely, Mme Garcin