An update

I hope everyone had a wonderful break.  Here is some news about our learning over the last little while and where we're headed.
This month, we have been learning about the following sounds:
- é makes the sound ay
- è, and ê both make the e sound like in the English word wet
- the hard c (c dur), which makes a /k/ sound when it is found before an a, o, and u (ca, co, cu) as well as l or r (cl, cr)
- the soft c (c doux), which makes a /s/ sound when it is found before an e, i, or y (ce, ci, cy) as well as when it has a cédille (ç)
- the hard g (g dur), which makes a /g/ sound when it is found before an a, o, and u (just like the hard c rule)
- and the soft g (g doux), which makes a french j sound like in the words we borrow from French like déja vu or mirage

Soon we will be sorting all of the c words from the last 3 word study cycles (there are many!) to find all the soft and hard c as a way to help reinforce the rules we are learning and explore the words in a new way using a Venn Diagram.  We will also be exploring and reviewing the sound ch which makes the English /sh/.

The extra attention to these sounds may help your child in sounding out words at home, especially if they get a reminder here and there from you when needed! :)

Speaking of reading, I should also mention that we have been learning various reading strategies at school.  So far we have learned:
1) when we come to a tricky word, say the first sound of the word and then start again (if the word pops into our head when we do it again, we should double check the letters in the word and the picture to see if it makes sense)
2) if that doesn't work, we should try to sound out the word (keeping in mind of letters that stick together to make new sounds like ou, or on, etc.)
I tell my students to always always always ask the question:  est-ce que ça fait du sens? (Does it make sense?) while reading and to look at it again if it doesn't.  Good readers look at the pictures, the letters, and the other words around the tricky word when decoding. 
I hope that helps you in encouraging your child when reading at home. 

Today, we also learned a new song called Bonjour l'hiver which ties in very nicely to our poster's theme.  Here is the video for those students who would like to practice it at home.

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know.  Have a great rest of the week!

 

Concours d'art oratoire

Our students have been presented three easy French poems and were asked to choose one to memorize and present to our class, after which we will choose a few volunteers to present their poem to the French immersion classes during an assembly. Students will be presenting their poem to the class next Wednesday and Thursday. The school will be holding the French speaking Oral Presentation assembly on March 11th or 12th (the exact date and time is still being finalized), and we will have three students from our class volunteer to present their poems on this day.

Please have your child practice to memorize his or her poem by reading it nightly as part of the home reading program in order to be well-prepared and feel confident in presenting to the class next week. During the presentation we will be looking for:
- a clear and loud speaking voice
- enthusiasm
- audience eye contact
- a relaxed and natural body
- a memorized poem.

You will find your child's chosen poem in the Home Reading duotang tonight. Thanks for your help with this activity. We think it will be great practice and a lot of fun!

Embrasse quatre fois

Students will be singing this song along with Madame Hada's class tomorrow for the seniors at Cosmo's Senior Centre 1-1:30.  We have only practiced this song a few times (this is a new song for me, so Madame Hada has been teaching both groups the words and the gestures to go along with it).  I just happened to find it on youtube.com and thought I would post so that students could practice it at home.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Joyeuse Saint Valentin!

A Quick Update

Just a few quick notes, as I am at home sick today and should be in bed resting:

- Students went on a walking trip with their care partners in Mme De Tilly's Grade 4/5 class today in order to deliver some class-made valentines to members of the community to show kindness for others. 
- Students will be visiting the Seniors at the Cosmo's Seniors Centre this Friday to sing a song together with Mme Hada's class and share a book or two with the seniors in attendance.  We will be there from 12:45-1:30 and, although volunteers are not required, parents are welcome to join us.  Madame Hada and I  are trying to make this a biweekly event. 
- A parent shared an "app" for iPhone that came in handy while working on the home reading and I wanted to share it with you.  It's called iTranslate and there is a free version available on iTunes.  You can type in a word in French and see the translation in English and hear it said in French.  I hope that some of you will benefit from this resource. 
- There is no school for students next week.  School will resume on Monday, February 25th. 
- I hope to blog some more soon as I have many other things to share with you so stay tuned for more information!

Word Study Unit 3 - On patine

We have just finished pulling the words out of our poster this morning, and I am sending home a page in the Home Reading duotangs as homework for the weekend.  I have also posted youtube videos of myself reading the words in order to help students along in reading them.  Here they are:

 

You will notice that there is one word missing from the page sent home (l'écorce).  That is because a student was absent yesterday and we had to add hers in just this morning.  You or your child can add the word to the page yourself.  Merci!

Here is our completed word study poster for your reference:

We spent the last part of the day today celebrating Chinese New Year as an extension to our last word study unit.  This involved reading a few stories, making a dragon puppet, trying to eat a marshmallow using chopsticks, colouring pages, making red fans, and receiving a fortune cookie and a red candy for good luck.  I think the students had a great day.  

Don't forget to hand in your 100 day projects this Monday, February 11th. 
Happy Chinese New Year on Sunday!