mardi le 3 janvier, 2017
Bonne Année 2017!
In French Language Arts today, students have orally shared what they did during their holidays. Students were introduced to a past verb tense called "le passé composé". It is made up of two parts: the auxiliary verb avoir = "to be" OR être = "to have" conjugated in the present tense) and the past participle of the verb you are conjugating (ex. the part participle of manger is mangé). For example, Hier j'ai mangé de la pizza (Yesterday I ate pizza). Today students wrote in their journals about what they did during their holidays using verbs in the past tense such as I ate, I went, I saw, etc. They are also using vocabulary they have learned from their dictée, from the classroom word wall and other reference books. Students have new reading groups and will read in small groups with me at least once per week. Our home reading program continues this week and students are encouraged to read in French for about 15-20 minutes each night, whenever possible.
In Math, students are continuing to learn division and how it is related to multiplication. For example, 4X5 = 20, 5X4 = 20, 20÷5 = 4 and 20÷4 = 5. We will use counting objects, games and pencil/paper to learn the different ways to calculate multiplication and division. We will also do some graphing activities where students have to create a graph (for example, by organizing the colours of a smarties box) and reading the graph by answering questions (for example, which colour is the most common?).
In English this week, students will learn to read and identify the short o vowel sound, followed by writing a short story using punctuation, grammar and spelling learned so far. In Science, students will ask themselves a variety of questions to find out what kind of learner they are: verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, body/kinesthetic, musical, visual/spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal and/or naturalist. Some students may be surprised to see there are several ways they like to learn and show their learning.
In PE this week, students will learn the basics of indoor hockey and many aspects of how to play with a team (communication, passing, sharing, encouragement, etc). In Art, students will choose their favourite Chinese Zodiac animal and create a dot picture.
Today we had a special presentation from the BC SPCA about how to care for a pet. Students learned about all the needs of a pet: food, water, shelter, exercise, love, etc. Then shared specific foods, shelters and collars that are good and/or bad for certain animals. The instructor brought a big friendly dog and students learned how to approach her. The first step is to ask permission from the parent/guardian, then the pet owner. Then, approach sideways with your hand down. Finally, watching for positive body language (ex. tail down) and petting on the shoulders or chest are also important for most dogs.
Have a wonderful week everyone! Mme Garcin