3èmes: 1. les activités 2. le hockey 3. le soccer 4. la natation 5. le patinage 6. le baseball 7. le ballon-panier 8. la bicyclette 9. la lacrosse 10. la gymnastique
4èmes:
1. Quand mon frère joue au hockey ou au baseball, je vais à bicyclette à la gymnastique.
2. L'été on joue souvent au ballon-panier ou au soccer.
With all this nice weather it feels a bit like the end of the year is near, doesn't it? Yet we still have a full month left, that's 10% of our school year! We still have lots to cover but I hope to also take advantage of the nice days and take our learning outside if possible.
Here's what's happening in the next few weeks:
Tuesday May 29 - French Theatre production
Wednesday May 30 - Last swim lesson.
Thursday May 31 - Dictée #20
Friday June 1 - Heritage Tea in the afternoon. Willows students are encouraged to wear what family members would have worn in 1910.
Thursday June 7 - Spelling #10 (last one of the year!)
2018 is turning into the year of weddings in my family. In early March I attended my brother's wedding in Regina, the following week my brother-in-law's wedding in Mexico, and in June my eldest is getting married as is my husband's youngest cousin. In March I was lucky to experience a "real" Canadian winter in Regina (for a few days), then catch some rays the following week in Mexico. I love the snow so both climates were good fuel to tackle more rain.
This Friday the 13th marks Mlle Nessim's last week in our class. She has been teaching with us since January and the students and I have benefited from her creative ideas and perspectives. Next week she plans on returning to Abbotsford to start her teaching career closer to her family. We wish her the best. She will be missed!
Math: This past week we started to work with multiplication. Our goals this year will be to understand multiplication concepts such as arrays, skip counting, and repeated addition, as well as using multiplication to solve word problems. Students will show their knowledge by using equations, drawings, number lines, ...
According to the new BC Curriculum, "memorization of facts is not intended for this level". Despite this, many students are already familiar with multiplication facts to 5s, and some even know them to 9s and beyond! The best way to learn facts of any kind is by playing games.
Many of you dice games in our student-led conferences back in March. Here's a dice game to practice multiplication and arrays. We tried it out in class this past week:
The goal is for each player to cover as much of the page by drawing rectangles representing the numbers rolled in the dice. To expand the game, write the product (the answer) inside the rectangle. Some students may also enjoy using at least one die with more than 6 sides. You can find these at games stores or School House Teaching Supplies.
For more traditional "facts" games, here are some online games: Multiplication facts games . But beware, they look fun but they don't develop brain skills as much as the array game above.
Bonjour!
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Spring Break! There will not be a dictee or spelling the first week to make sure everyone can relax over the break. As mentioned last week, the Spelling Units are here. Our next unit will be Unit 7.
Please welcome the addition of a class calendar to the blog. The link is on this "home" page, on the right side, or here.
For some online French activities over the break, Radio-Canada has many options here.
Enjoy the break and see you back on Wednesday April 4th!
Last week on February 28th as part of Pink Shirt Day, our class spent time meeting a student from Mrs. Ireton Grade 2/3 English class. Students rehearsed how to present themselves and how to ask an interesting question. Then, students played Math games in both classrooms. Mrs. Ireton and I split our classes in 2 so that half of her class could teach half of my students an addition and logic game, while the other half of my class taught her remaining students a subtraction game. The link for our game is also on the Links tab of this blog. Playing games is such a great way to reinforce skills.
Last week we also walked to Cattlepoint and Willows Beach on a sunny, blistery day to observe the wildlife, and to get a sense of space, standing where First Nations lived centuries ago.
Coming up in the next few weeks before Spring Break:
Français - Fairy tales and First Nations Legends
English - Finish reading Stone Fox
Math - Measurement, perimeter, and area
Socials - First Nations
Science - Ecosystems
lundi le 5 mars: Student-led conference forms go home, to be returned ASAP
mardi le 6 mars: Folk dance lessons in P.E.
jeudi le 8 mars: Dictée, Family dance at 6:30pm. Purcase tickets here.
vendredi le 9 mars: Report cards go home
lundi le 12 mars: Author visit-Alison Gear, Scholastic Book Fair to the 16th
mercredi le 14 et jeudi le 15 mars: Early dismissal at 11:52am, student-led conferences from 1 to 5 pm.
jeudi le 15 mars: Spelling Unit #6
vendredi le 16 mars: Last day of school before Spring Break
March 17 - April 2nd - Spring Break
April 4th - return to school. (Please note that there was an error in the date when 1st posted)
April 23 1pm: Afternoon musical performance. Orange cast and Chatham choir
April 24 6pm: Evening musical performance. Orange cast and Chatham choir
April 25th 7:15pm: Evening musical performance. Green cast and Chatham choir
April 27th: Pizza/sushi lunch
I hope everyone enjoyed the winter break! We all came back relaxed, albeit a bit sleepy. I'm afraid this may be a bit of a long post so please bear with me. (I really ought to post weekly.)
Carpet
As you may have heard, our classroom carpet was cleaned over the Christmas holidays as it had not been vacuumed for a few months. I purchased a manual vacuum but not being as powerful as a real vacuum cleaner, the carpet was quite dusty.
I'm so happy that the SD61 has agreed to vacuum our carpets once again. I have taught both with and without a carpet and have found that having a carpet is vital to creating a classroom community. Grade 3s are still wiggly and need to move around throughout the day. While we have movement breaks throughout the day, the carpet gives little bodies another space where they can sit. It's also a place where we can be close together, have discussions, and listen better to one another. The first year I had my carpet, about 4 years ago, I saw a few non-readers start to read, simply because they could flake-out on the carpet with a book. The carpet provided a less-structured environment more conducive to reading, either alone or with a friend. I really hope that the District continues to fund daily vacuuming of carpets. The kids are worth it!
Please send inside shoes to school for your child. Our fields are exceptionally muddy this year due to construction in the fall. We are trying to keep carpets and school clean.
Recap & update on what we are working on right now:
We started 2018 off with a handshaking demo/some practice as we wished each other a "Bonne Année". Key points were to shake not too hard or too soft, and have some eye contact.
Math
In Math we have been practicing how to subtract numbers such as 45 - 18, to harder problems such as 825 - 487. We spent a portion of each day practicing with blocs to understand what happens to the hundreds, tenths, and units when subtracting. We then moved on to learning how to subtract by placing the larger number above the other. This can be a hard concept to grasp for some learners leading some to think that "they are no good at Math". It's up to us adults to encourage and remind them that some skills take perseverance, but that they are still attainable. Grade 3 students can use written calculations, drawings, or blocks to demonstrate their subtraction knowledge on quizzes.
Inuit
In Social Studies we have started to study Canada's North and the traditional Copper Inuit ways of life. As they gain more knowledge, students will be making a project in class. They will be able to work on their own, or in a group with up to 2 other students. Please send a piece of cardboard to class or a cardboard box for the base of the project.
Students also painted some beautiful pictures à la Ted Harrison this past week.
French
In French we have been looking at Masculin/Feminin words, as well as incorporating more of the 6 senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, emotions) into our writing.
Competencies
In English, each week students write about their competencies in the form of "I can..." statements. So far this year we have explored subjects such as: "I can connect with others", "I can contribute to the community"...
This week's topic was "I can define my personal values and choices". I knew this might be abstract for 8/9 year olds, a few of whom find it difficult to voice their opinions. To make it more concrete, we had a class discussion about the Vancouver Aquarium's decision to no longer keep marine mammals in captivity. The important part here was not the individual viewpoints, but to have the ability to say why they were either for or against this.
I was impressed with how well students were able to give reasons for their viewpoints. The discussions were lively and interesting while students made their opinions known and listened to other points of view. After the discussion, students wrote in English about their point of view.
Carnaval
As you have probably noticed from the dictée words, this week is Carnaval week at Willows for French Immersion classes. We will be having a Carnaval assembly in the gym tomorrow, and on Thursday afternoon we will have a presentation about the Métis and their traditions. There will be singing and spoons involved! Please send a long scarf to school for your child to wear as a "ceinture fléchée" (sash) this week.
Ice blocks
Also on Thursday morning, a first for Willows, Immersion classes will attempt to build an ice castle on the basketball courts. In preparation for this, please freeze an ice block at home and bring it to school Thursday morning. You could freeze water inside a clean/empty 2L carton of milk, a tetra pack, or purchase a block at a garage that morning. Students will leave their blocks outside in their line-up upon arrival Thursday. They will go to Music class at the bell, then we will return outside around 9:45 to build our portion of the castle. Should be fun!
Dress-up as your favourite book character day
This will take place next Monday, January 29th.
Student-Teacher
On January 29th we will also be welcoming Beth Nessim, who will be doing her final teaching practicum with us for the next few months. Beth has already visited the class many times this year. I look forward to her energy and new ideas. Having two teachers in a class is always great!
Skip-a-thon
February is skipping month at Willows to promote healthy hearts. Grade 3s will be having a Skip-along at lunch recess on Feb. 6th and 8th. On Feb. 22nd we will have a school-wide Skip-a-thon in the gym throughout the day. Please see notice attached to this week's email for more info.
Valentine's Day
Kids usually like to exchange Valentine's on February 14th. If your child wishes to do this, please include all students in the class. Many thanks!
Upcoming, at a glance:
Jan. 22: Carnaval Assembly
Jan. 23: P.E.
Jan. 25: Dictée, Ice blocs, Metis presentation
Jan. 26: Pizza/sushi
Jan. 29: Dress-up as your favourite book character day
Feb. 14: Red and White day
Feb. 28: Pink Shirt anti-bullying day
Last but not least, this week's audio dictée. Thanks for making to the bottom of this post!
Just two more weeks before the Winter Break. Here's what's coming up:
Tuesday Dec. 12 - P.E., Choir rehearsal in the afternoon
Thursday Dec. 14 - Dictée, Choir rehearsal in the afternoon
Friday Dec. 15 - Pizza/sushi
Monday Dec. 18 - Field trip, afternoon Choir performance in our gym
Wednesday Dec. 20 - Evening choir performance at Oak Bay High School
Thursday Dec. 21 - No dictée or spelling!!
Please send your child's choir uniform to school this week in preparation for next week's concerts.
Last week we started our first Spelling Unit of Grade 3. We will be alternating Spelling and Dictées for the remainder of the school year. This week will be our last Dictée/Spelling of 2017. We will be taking a break from these next week and restart after the New Year.
I will be placing all Spelling Units on a website called "Spelling City". This site uses the class Spelling lists and allows students to play a few games like "Hangman" and "Unscramble". As an added bonus it is free and there is no need to register. This year's lists will always start with a "3", followed by the Unit name. Ex: 3 Unit 1. My previous units from when I taught Grade 4/5 are still up there for anyone to try. You can access it here. Another way to reach the site is to go to: SpellingCity.com/teachers/s showers.
I mainly update this blog to post the new audio dictée, but it also allows me to reflect on the past week and what is to come. Perhaps if I only posted the dictée the post would get out sooner, but I wouldn't get to share the fun things like how fun it was to make bread this past Wednesday!
Making bread in a classroom with 7 & 8 year olds is a whole-day adventure. In the past I would help each student to measure ingredients. In an effort to streamline the process, and to save my sanity, this year I decided to pre-measure ingredients for each group. With the pre-measured ingredients, the dough had extra time to rise since all groups were able to mix the components at the same time.
My goal was to tie-in this baking with our Matter unit, so I tried to point out how the yeast was activated with the warm water and how mixing the ingredients together produced gasses. The proof were the bubbles in the dough.
Mixing ingredients was a cinch. An hour or so later, shaping the dough quickly became very exciting. At some point someone had the idea to add more flour and soon many students were running to the front of the class while stretching gooey dough between their hands. I wish I could have shared the laughs by texting a picture to my night custodian! Everything turned out fine and it really wasn't all that messy after all. I still have to perfect this part of the process though so next time, giving each group a small bowl of extra flour and having more cookie sheets would make it this step easier.
Bread dough is very forgiving and it turned out well in the end. We ate the buns around 2pm, hot out of the oven. Many thanks to all of you who sent in flour, butter, and jam. Every year someone says: "This is the best bread in the world!". I love hearing this and it makes it all worth while. Next time we will have to make a few extra buns for hungry staff who turn up at our door.
On Thursday we wrote-up our "experiment" in our Science duotangs. If you would like to try this at home, the recipe is here. Our dough was a bit too runny so you may need to add more flour.
Friday and Saturday I was sponsored by the District to attend the Google Summit for educators at Oak Bay High School. It was a s 2 day conference packed with all the latest and greatest ideas using Google Apps for Education. I'm really grateful to have been one of the teachers chosen to attend this conference. Oh, and someone in my household may or may not have welcomed a new 360camera into our life.
It was a busy
week with our field trip to the Royal BC Museum, and us teachers writing report
cards for the past few weeks. Luckily we had such an incredible day on
Wednesday, and the end is in sight for the reports.
First, let me
thank Paul, Tracy, Shari, and Daphne for shepherding the students on the bus as well as in
the museum. We were treated to our guide Lesley McGarry's knowledge of
First Nations traditions and ways of learning during our visit of the First
Peoples' Exhibit. While I have visited this gallery many times in the
past decades, hearing her information was like experiencing it for the first
time. The kids were mesmerized by Lesley's delivery, we all were
actually, and they were able to retell many tidbits of information they had
learned on a Mindmap they created later that afternoon in school. I hope
they were able to share some of their experiences at home too.
It's hard to
believe that our first term is already at its end. It seems like we're
just getting comfortable in our new classrooms (new to me too). Exciting
news at Willows this week as the portables/studios/cottages/... are near
completed and the 2 classes will finally get their new digs.For us that means that the library will be
back in business this week and students will be able to have classes in the
gym.
To celebrate our first term of learning together
I would like to celebrate in a small way.I like to make bread with students at least once a year.It’s messy, but fun and delicious. We can also look at it from the point of view of matter changing states from liquid goo to solid as we are starting to look at Matter in Science. I’m planning onbaking this Wednesday, as long
as the kitchen is available.
- Please send along 1 cup of flour or some butter or jam if
possible.
Tomorrow afternoon we have the pleasure of welcoming Gary
Allen and his wolf to Willows, yes that's right, his 90% wolf.Gary will
be speaking about ecosystems and is a speaker in great demand.You can find out more about his program
here:
Mon. Nov. 20 - Author visit
Tues. Nov. 21 - P.E.
Thurs. Nov. 23 - Dictée
Fri. Nov. 24 - Professional Day. No school for students. I will attending the Google Summit for educators on Friday and Saturday at Oak Bay High School.
Please look for a newsletter coming home tomorrow about our upcoming field trip.
What we're working on in class right now:
Math
- Learning and practicing French numbers: Many students enter Grade 3 having difficulty remembering French numbers over 59. Please practice counting by 10s in French at home. To practice matching numbers from 1 to 100 at home, try this game.
- Place Value: We are also learning all about the "House of Math", otherwise known as "Thousands, Hundreds, Tens, and Units", and recognizing that the "2" in 3298, is greater than the "9" because it represents 2 x 100, which is greater than 9 x 10. We will be working with blocs, representing numbers with words and illustrating them, as well as breaking numbers down into smaller parts.
French
- I have started to assess French reading for the first report card and will update the first page of each student's agenda so you can double-check that your child is bringing home the correct reading level.
- This week we should be finishing to read our first French novel together. It's the story of a family vacationing in a house with a bat problem. We have been transforming the non-fiction parts of the story into our own ideas to create an informative poster about bats.
Remembrance Day posters
This past week we started to discuss what Remembrance Day means to us. Many students have connections to this time of the year and were able to share them in class. We also started to work on posters for this occasion. Every year, I invite students to participate in the Canadian Legion's Remembrance Day poster contest. We take time to look at other students' artwork which leads to discussions about what makes an interesting poster. If your child is interested in participating in the contest I will send a form in the agenda. Find out more information about the contest here:
This week's happenings:
Monday Nov. 6th: reading assessments. Please send your child's labeled choir uniform in a labeled plastic bag.
Tuesday: Choir practice, P.E.
Thursday: Choir practice
Friday: Remembrance Day assembly, little buddies
Next week:
Monday Nov. 13th: holiday, no school
Tuesday: P.E.
Friday: Pizza/Sushi, little buddies
Bonjour! Events upcoming in Div. 11:
Mon. Oct. 23: PJ day, bring a book for Drop Everything and Read - a school-wide reading event, also, as mentioned last week, our class will work with a Francophone Theatre group from Vancouver, Cross-country jamboree for some students in the afternoon.
Looking at the weather for this week, Fall is definitively upon us.
Here's a look ahead at the next 2 weeks in our class:
- Tues. Oct. 17 - P.E.
- Wed. Oct. 18 - Choir
- Thurs. Oct. 19 - Dictée, the Great BC Shake-up (Earthquake practice)
- Fri. Oct. 20 - BC-wide Professional Development Day for teachers. I will be attending workshops in Vancouver on Friday and Saturday.
Week of Oct. 23-27
- This week, Willows French Immersion classes will be taking part in some "Art Dramatique" sessions with Theatre de la Seizieme, a professional Francophone Theatre company from Vancouver.
It's the official yearly Fire Drill week at Willows, where we practice getting out of the building quickly and quietly.
Monday: Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Tuesday: Fire drill, P.E.
Wednesday: Official Fire Drill with Oak Bay Fire Dept. attending
French Home reading:
How is the home reading coming along? Is your child able to get his/her 10 minutes a day of French reading? Are you seeing books coming home? Please jot me a note in your child's agenda if he/she needs a reminder to switch-out French books.
Inside shoes:
With the wet weather now here again, please make sure your child has a clean pair of inside shoes for the classroom.
Agendas
I use agendas in my class as an important communication tool between school & home. Please make sure to sign it every night. I tell students that it is their responsibility to ask you to read and sign it, but in reality these young people usually need a hand in remembering. Since we look at our agendas at least once a day, it is also a good place for parents to write reminders (exchange books, bring home water bottle, ...)
Thanks to everyone for visiting the classroom last Thursday night. It was very nice to meet everyone!
This week in Div. 11:
Library book return - Our book exchange system is changing this year. Students in our class will now be able to exchange their books Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, as needed.
Monday - Scholastic due (or Tuesday. Honestly, I don't usually get to it right away!)
Tuesday - P.E.
Wednesday - Choir
Thursday - Music, Dictée
Friday - Orange Shirt Day, buddies with Mme Hallam's class, new dictée words
Topics of note:
French - Writing sentences starting with a capital and ending with a period. Leveled reading in groups. We will also be starting a novel which we will read together, written from the perspective of a First Nations man in Alberta and his experiences growing up on the land.
Math - Pictograms, adding and subtracting (using a number line or a 100s chart if needed), patterns.
Social Studies - Continents and oceans. Willows will be observing "Orange Shirt Day" (http://www.orangeshirtday.org/) on Friday.
Please check the email sent for upcoming field trip information.
This week's audio dictée (you may hear Sammy-the-cat in the background near the end):
Please make sure your child brings a choir uniform ASAP as we are headed for "Musical season" starting soon.
Science
This week we started a study of Thermal Energy in Science. This is a new unit introduced to Grade 3s this year as part of the new BC curriculum.
We started by exploring new technical French words associated with this theme. Some of these multi-syllable words will likely be difficult for our young second-language learners. But I'm hoping that by defining them, illustrating them, and using them as part of experiments, we will all become more familiar with them and use them more fluently.
Our main goals are to find sources of thermal energy, as well as to know basic workings of conduction (heat transfer from a stove element to a pot), convection (heat transfer from rising hot air from a campfire to a pot above it ), and radiation (energy moving in the form of rays through space).
Math
We are beginning to work with multiplication, working with arrays and repeated addition (2+2+2, or 3x2=6).
Français
Over the next few weeks we will be practicing verbs in the present tense and playing games to help us remember them. We will be looking at avoir, être, faire, aller, pouvoir, and ER verbs.
Français/Sciences Humaines
To get into the mood for the upcoming May 9th election, we will quickly be looking at the steps a candidate must go through from a nomination meeting to a provincial vote.
Thursday Mar. 2 - Dictée (see written words in email, also see below for audio dictée)
Friday Mar. 3 - Field trip (please see email)
Mon. Mar. 6 - Author Sigmund Brouwer visits Willows at 9am
Thurs. Mar. 9 - Spelling quiz, Square Dance in the Gym at 9:50, Family Dance in the evening
Fri. Mar. 10 - Theatre presentation in the morning, Pizza/sushi lunch, Report cards sent home
Mon. Mar. 13 - Return Student-led appointment forms (given in the report card)
Wed. Mar. 15 - Student-led conferences (1pm to 5pm)
Tburs. Mar. 16 - Dictée, Student-led conferences (1pm to 5pm)
Fri. Mar. 17 - last day of school prior to Spring Break
Field Trip
Please see email.
There is room on the bus for 4 adults from my class to accompany us. If you would like to join us please let me know ASAP (preferably by email).
Swim lessons
Late last week you will have received a letter regarding upcoming swimming lessons for Grade 3s. Every year at Willows, the school organizes swim lessons for students during the school day. Many years ago when my own kids were students at Willows, municipalities used to pay for Grade 3 students to learn how to swim. Somewhere along the way the municipalities stopped to fund this initiative, but the school continued to facilitate the lessons. Please see the letter sent home for an approximate cost of the lessons. Participating students will not be missing any classwork as typically most, if not all, students participate. Non-participating students will remain at Willows with another teacher and will be given activities. Please return the bottom portion of the letter by tomorrow.
Academics
Français - recognizing and writing nouns/adjectives in the singular and plural forms, writing stories or journal entries with interesting beginnings. Planning/writing an oral presentation.
English - reading "The Stone Fox". Discussing similarities and differences between European and First Nations cultures. Looking at the role of government and taxes in society, working with words with a "u" sound.
P.E. - hockey and various playground games.
Social studies - learning about Inuit culture, and starting projects. These projects will be on display during the student-led conferences March 15/16th.
Math - addition and subtraction with regrouping. Problem solving with addition and subtraction.
Social responsibility - For the anti-bullying day on Feb. 22, students from my class each made a poster with at least 8 tear-away tabs, each containing a compliment, in French or in English. We placed the posters in the hallways throughout the school so other students could take a compliment with them if they needed a one. These were a big hit with Willows students and all the tabs had disappeared by the end of the day.
It's hard to believe that we only returned from the winter break two weeks ago, because we have done so much in class since then!
Firstly, let me wish everyone a Happy & Healthy New Year!
I am always excited to teach from January to March because it seems to be the most productive part of our year. The students have matured since their grade 2 selves in the fall, have settled into routines, and are not yet distracted by warm, sunny days.
Before I forget, please check details of an upcoming field trip in the 2 most recent emails.
This is what we are working on in class:
We started the year by learning how to wish each other "Bonne Année" and how to give a good handshake, not too hard and not too soft.
French - We have just completed a unit on "les noms" (common and proper nouns), and have started to work on the concept of singular and plural. I expect to be working on this for the next few weeks.
Last week we also started working with transition words in French such as: d'abord, ensuite, puis, après, enfin, ... Students practiced using transition words by writing and illustrating what they did over their winter break.
Dictée - The theme of this week's words is "skating" so the students learn French words related to our upcoming field trip.
Cursive writing - While this is no longer in our Grade 3 curriculum, I have decided to continue introducing students to cursive writing. We will not spend much time on this but I believe that it is empowering for children to learn new skills. I plan to chip away at the alphabet when we have 10 minutes here & there.
English - Our spelling list last week included words with the sounds "ea, e, ...". We have also started to read a novel together called "The Stone Fox". I have taught this story many times and it is always a favourite with students. Not to give too much away, the story takes place in winter and involves a dog-sled race.
Social Studies - We are starting to learn about the Inuit.
Science - We held a few experiments in class this past week looking at which objects would float or sink, making predictions beforehand. We also tested what would happen to a sugar cube when dropped into water.
Math - Counting by 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 25. We will soon be starting to add larger numbers such as:
