October

Building Foundations

Math

This year we are focusing on Number Sense most days. Number Sense is promoting understanding of how numbers relate and connect. We are working with numbers to 20, gradually building to larger numbers. We are using French to play Go Fish with number cards to 20. We have been playing Snap in class to reinforce place value and create understanding of the relationship of the numbers 11-20 to 10. We are using number lines and cuisinaire rods to make connections between numbers. When we build 13 with cuisinaire rods, we can see that it is bigger than 10 and less that 15, but closer to 15 than 20. We have also started to work with 10 frames. 

On Fridays we are practicing building patterns, naming them following the naming conventions (ABC, ABB, ABCD etc.) We will be identifying the core (le coeur) of a pattern, the repeating core. We will be looking at ways to make patterns with all one material or all one colour. 



Literacy

We have started many routines that we will continue through the year. We have been reviewing the letter sounds. We started with the consonants that slide nicely into the next sound when you try to sound our new words. These letters are l, m, n, s, j, ch, r, z, v.  We will be moving on to the letter sounds that are more difficult to blend such as t, p, k, b etc. The students have centres that promote hearing the sounds in words, spelling and reading sight words, playing hangman. These centres are all play based. 

We have started our reading program and are practicing reading alone and with a partner. I have noticed that many of the students are using the first letter sound to guess new words. Over the next few weeks, we will be working on blending letter sounds together to decode new words. The reading bins have many books that are decodable and will help reinforce this skill.

We have also begun writing. We will write stories, reflections as well as record our thoughts and ideas about the learning we are doing. The students' first piece of writing was about their families. Recently we wrote about our favourite season. 

When we write, we start with a detailed picture. The kids are encouraged to write unknown words using the letter sounds they know for example mezn for maison. As they read and write more, their spelling becomes more accurate as does their understanding of French spelling patterns. 

Things you can do at home:

  • With cards you can Play Go Fish or Snap. When playing snap place a 10 card face up and turn 1 other card to add to the ten. When playing encourage your child to play in French. 
  • Practice blending 2 letters together with your child. 
  • Play Hangman at home with your child. Encourage them to sound out the word even when there are only a few letters, humming for the missing letters. 

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