Les aventures des jeunes

Patterns and More Patterns  We have begun our math unit sorting objects and making patterns.  We are using toys and manipulative that we have in the classroom. The skills we have been practicing are: making a pattern, naming patterns and extending patterns.  The students have strips of paper with the name of a pattern, their job is to replicate the pattern. After we practice several times, the children will create a pattern and write the name on a strip of paper.  We willl be looking at different ways to use objects to make patterns such as by the colour of the object, the shape, the size and the direction which the object faces.  Next week we will continue with patterns and play a game with pattern blocks and police cars. A child makes a pattern with a mistake in the pattern. A second child then drives the police car along the pattern until they find and correct the mistake.  We will continue with pattern practice through next week and then begin working o...

A focus on literacy  Literacy Since the March Break, we have been focussing on oral language and writing. As these activities do not lend themselves well to being captured for Freshgrade, there have not been any recent updates. Instead, you will see a complete writing sample coming home Monday the 26th at the end of the day.  To support everyone with their French oral language we have started a new French game involving wearing bracelets in class. There is so much rich conversation in French in class right now! Everyone should be commended for the fantastic effort and risk taking that they are doing every day!   Social Studies We have been reading Robert Munsch books. Robert Munsch writes books about the children he meets across Canada. By reading a variety of these books, it is giving us jumping off points to talk about the various regions of Canada. We have been adding each book to our map of Canada. So far, we have talked about: ·      -- Québec- Carnava...

Water- solid and liquid water We spent the early part of the month exploring water and building our winter vocabulary. One morning we discovered that our Lego people were frozen in ice! This led to a discussion about what makes an object a solid or a liquid. We also took time throughout the day to draw what was happening in the plates on our tables. As the ice began to melt we explored and watched a video about the water cycle. We talked about where in our homes we have seen condensation and steam.  As part of our explorations with solids, we used plasticine to model how the plasticine does not change shape unless we pull it, roll it or otherwise use force on it. We also explored liquids in class. We gathered material and recorded if we thought that they would float or sink. The next day we tested the object to see if our predictions were accurate.  Observing the states of water Geometry Over the last several weeks we have continued to explore 2D shapes. We have been playing "...

 The Gingerbread Man We have been reading a version of The Gingerbread Man (le garçon de pain d'épices). We are continuing to talk about story elements. We read the story together projected on the board. Then we talked about who the characters were in the story. The children were given copies of the characters in the story and coloured them. We read the story a second time and acted some of the story out. Later that same day, the children worked in groups to build the various settings from the story, the house, the farm and the woods. (See the photos above.) After they had finished the setting, they got their characters and retold the story using the characters in the settings. (See the photos below.) Later this week, the children will get a copy of the story to read and colour. They can bring it home and share the story with you. Geometry Over this past week we have been exploring 2D shapes. The children have been using the pattern blocks in class to build triangles, squares, rect...

Story Elements- Characters, Setting and Problem We have started a unit on story elements. We used the story "Gros Ours Grincheux" to introduce story elements. We talked about the characters (les personnages), the setting (l'endroit) as well as the problem in the story. We glued the characters on a chart paper. The main character (the bear) was in the cave and the secondary characters were in the forest. The problem was under the 2 settings.  This is our sorting of the characters from the story "Gros Ours Grincheux" Next we drew a picture of our bedrooms and labelled the picture. We then read a story about a lost Teddy Bear, "Trouvé." In the story a bear finds a stuffy in the woods and tries to  find the owner. From this story we were inspired to have lost a toy in our stories that would introduce a problem into what we were writing about our rooms.  The grade 1's will draw the missing toy hidden in their room somewhere and copy writing. The grade 2...

Fall leaves We began this unit by brainstorming all we knew about fall. We made a list of questions that the class was wondering about fall and leaves. Some of the things that they were wondering were; why the leaves fall, what happened when the leaves are on the ground and if the leaves are living after they fall. We have spent the last few weeks exploring these ideas. As you have seen on FreshGrade, we went outside and looked at the trees. We brought leaves into the class to classify and sort. We read several books about leaves and the different kinds of leaves.  This week to summarize the unit, I asked the children to draw all the things that they know about leaves and have learned about leaves. They shared their drawings with a partner. This learning routine is called "Give 1 Get 1" where the children make a list of knowledge and then shared it with others. We then watched a video about why the leaves change colours. The children went back to their drawings and added the ...

Building a classroom family- Routines We have been learning the routines for the class including coming in to class, snack time, lunch time and all the hand washing routines that we have for this year. We have just started our reading routines and next week I am hoping to add our story bins that are part of our reading time.  We are working on the 100 chart and the idea that numerals are names for "how many" and the numeral always represents that amount. We are also working on place value as we count each day that we have at school.  Being a learner Over the next few weeks we are going to focus on what it looks like to be a learner in a grade 1/ 2 class. In my class we focus a lot on what we think, know and how we get an answer rather than focus on a single answer. I also try to have the students share their ideas and thinking as much as possible.  Next week we will be talking about what a reader, writer and mathematician does. A reader shares their ideas, chooses a "jus...