Focus will be on writing in preparation for the Provincial Achievement Test:
- Functional Writing
- Narrative Writing
Verbs and dictées are ongoing. Check your child's agenda to be informed.
Read! Read! Read! Every month students are expected to read in French 20 minutes three times per week.
Remind App will continue to be used to communicate more specific and immediate information.
Verb retests: When a student is ready for a retest, he-she simply asks for that test. Each student received a personalized chart to glue in their agenda indicating all the verb tests as well as if they successfully completed each one or if a retest is needed. All signed verb tests were returned to students to put in their French Language Arts binder.
The dictée from last week will be returned. The lower the score, the fewer mistakes that were made. The sentences are made based on words that students are expected to be able to spell accurately in grade 6. (These words are on the St Gerard website - homepage.) They have to apply what they have learned about verbs, punctuation, capitalization, plural... when writing these sentences which are said verbally.
New dictée this week will be based on the same word list as last week.
Students will continue to rework and edit the second draft of their opinion letter. (Topic: Virtual School - agree or disagree)
As result of the days with no buses and a special presentation Thursday, it has impacted what we have done this week.
Verb retests will continue into next week.
February 4-7 Verb retests No new verb was added. Your child has to rewrite any quiz he -she has not mastered. There is no set date for a specific quiz. A student can choose to rewrite whichever verb quiz he-she is ready for.
Instead of adding new verbs students will have a dictée. It is a sentence dictée. We did a couple sample sentences in class to give students an idea of what this would look like. The sentences will require students to apply what we have been learning in class since September.
Read! Read! Read! Please make sure your child is reading at least 60 minutes per week in French at home.
To be recorded and signed in the notes section of the agenda.
New verb quiz January 30th - verb "aller" page 12 of the agenda
Students were also asked to copy this one into their agenda or a loose leaf since it is a little bit more complicated than the previous past tense verbs.
Next verb requiz is January 23rd. Verb "er" page 10 of the agenda
Verb requiz returned January 21st --to be signed and returned.
Verb quiz returned January 16th --to be signed and returned.
Happy New Year!
Please make sure to check your child's agenda regularly as the information is communicated to students first and they are asked to copy it into their agenda. Then the same information is later added to this website and potentially also sent through the "Remind App". All information is also kept on the homework board.
Reading for December is due January 9th. I had checked all agendas before Christmas and extended the time to January to get in the required reading minutes The requirement for December was 180 minutes (3 weeks x 60 minutes). The holidays were to give students a chance to "catch up".
Pizza Hut passes for November were given before the Christmas break for those students who made an effort to reach the reading goal.
Verb quiz returned to students on Monday - December 17th. Please sign and return on Wednesday. Retests will be on Wednesday December 19th. If student is not successful, another opportunity will be provided Thursday.
Students have a list of tasks to complete before the Christmas break.
Next week December 13th - New verb quiz - Verbe à l'impératif Monday December 3rd, students identified those verbs that will be included on the quiz (avoir, être, aller, aimer)
December 12th - Verb retest for those who are working on mastery
New month for logging reading for December in the notes section of the agenda. 60 minutes per week
Retests Thursday December 6th - Students who need to do a retest have been informed
Next week - New verb quiz - Verbe a l'imperatif Monday December 3rd, students identified those verbs that will be included on the quiz (avoir, etre, aller, aimer)
Week of December 3rd Retests for students who have a verb yet to master - être, avoir, aller et les verbes du 1e groupe 'er'.
This also includes the verb ending quiz from the week of November 26th. No new quiz for the week of December 3rd.
Already the end of the month of November. Please make sure your child recorded their French reading in the 'Notes' section of their agenda and that you sign by each entry. There are French books at the public library in case your child does not bring one home from the school library. Every week we go to the library and your child should be taking a book of personal interest to bring home. The second book is to be left in class. I give a type of book he-she needs to choose. For example in November, we focused on non fiction books. Your child chose a book related to an animal of their choice.
Quiz Wednesday 28th - verb endings Students received a blue sheet to study. We went over this material during the last week.
Les terminaisons des verbes
Singulier
1. Je ou J’ e - x- ai - s
2. Tu s
Sauf: Tu peux
Tu veux
3. Il d - a - t - e
3. Elle d - a - t - e
3. On d - a - t - e
Pluriel
1. Nous ons
Sauf: Nous sommes
2. Vous ez
Sauf: Vous faites Vous dites Vous êtes
3. Ils ont ent
3. Elles ont ent
Remind App - I hit a snag and something is not working for me at this time. Send me an email if you need to communicate with me.
French home reading - A reminder that your child is required to read 60 minutes per week in French at home. This can be the second book he-she is supposed to take every Wednesday, a book from a personal collection at home or a book from the municipal library. They have a French section upstairs and more advanced books downstairs.
I will be checking their agenda this week to monitor their reading for November. I want to see if they are recording their reading in the Notes section of their agenda as it was explained in class 2 weeks ago.
Book Fair this week November 19th - November 22nd
Students will be visiting the 'Foire de livres' on Wednesday as part of their regular library time.
Throughout the week, students can bring money to purchase books or other items.
Week of November 19th - November 22nd - No new verb to study Instead it is a retest week for any of the verbs we have already had a quiz for. This includes: Avoir Etre Aller or verbs from the first group ending in 'er'. All of them can be found in the agenda. Some students have no retests and others may have up to 4. The last quiz was returned November 15th to be signed and should be returned Monday morning.
Parent Teacher Interviews November 2018
Tuesday 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Wednesday 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm
I will have a sign in sheet just outside my office. My office is room 113 (by the classroom know as the
"fish bowl"). You simply sign up for your 10 minute interview on the day you have chosen to come for interviews.
It is on a first come first serve basis.
Verb test returned to be signed. Retest Thursday November 8th. (p. 9,10 in the agenda)
Next verb quiz is November 14th - verbe 'aller' p. 12 in the agenda
November 6th -- Last day to turn in completed mauve sheet related to the novel students were expected to read in class. After this date, students will be sent to the homework room in the library until they are done.
New month -- This month we finally have an agenda. I will be asking students to track their French reading at home. As communicated in the first class newsletter from "Meet the Teacher Night", the expectation is 20 minutes 3 times a week or simply a total of 60 minutes of reading in French. Use the "notes" section of the agenda. Please include Book Title, Author, # minutes and a parent signature.
October 30th - Quiz returned to be signed.
October 31st - Requiz for students who scored less than 20 /24
November 5th - Verb test (It is the three verbs that students have been practicing over the last 3 weeks. They are être, avoir and verbs from the first group ending in 'er' present tense. Verbs are found in the agenda on pages 9 and 10. They are also repeated towards the back of the agenda too.)
November 1st--due date to complete reading first novel and complete the purple sheet (in their black duotang) that goes along with the novel they chose back in September.
What<s next? We are moving on to reading a non fiction piece of writing about an animal of their choice.
Next verb quiz is next Monday October 29th. Page 10 in the agenda. The example is "aimer" indicatif présent. They will have one verb that starts with a vowel and another with a consonant. Verbs ending in "er" all finish with the same endings with the except of the verb "aller". It is in a category of its own.
Re-quiz Wednesday October 24th. It was returned today. To be signed and returned Tuesday and no later than Wednesday.
AGENDAS ARE TO BE SIGNED EVERY EVENING.
AGENDAS ARE SUPPOSED
TO GO AND FROM SCHOOL EVERY DAY.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ROUTINE TO ESTABLISH.
Students will be writing a 'Functional' writing piece.
Students are working on editing and revising their piece of narrative writing by applying knowledge and skills we have been focusing on in class.
Next verb quiz is Monday October 22nd. I indicated to students what to study on page 9 of the agenda. It can be found in the blue pages of the agenda as well. Verbe être à l'indicatif présent
Readily available on the internet as well.
The quiz from October 15th, will be returned to students October 16th. For those students who were not successful, they will write it again on Wednesday October 17th.
We now have our agendas. (Finally!) Agenda will be checked for parent signature and also to monitor if students are copying what they should at the end of each day from the homework board.
The verb students need to study is on page 9. They also have it in their French binder and it is also just below as well.
Verb Quiz is October 15th
As M. Frattini shared through the Remind app, that for at least the next two weeks all students will be expected to get their agenda signed every day at home and bring their agenda back to school the next morning. We will be checking their agenda every day and after the two week period it will be determined if your child needs to continue to get the agenda signed. Even if your child `graduates' from getting the agenda signed by a parent or guardian, the expectation will still be that the agenda is brought to and from home every day. As part of the morning routine, the agenda is to be place on their desk and opened to the `right` page.
Since we do not have the agenda yet, I asked students to copy the first verb we will review and I checked that it was copied accurately. This sheet is in their FLA binder. Once the agenda is here, the majority of the verbs and verb tenses will be found in it and we will not need to do it this way.
To study: Verbe: Avoir Temps: Indicatif Présent
Singulier Pluriel
1. J'ai 1. Nous avons
2. Tu as 2. Vous avez
3. Il a 3. Ils ont
3. Elle a 3. Elles ont
3. On a
Homework: Students were not really given official homework to do at home other than reading in French during the first three weeks as explained in M. Frattini's letter given at the Open House the first week of school.
The last week of September students who have not completed certain assignments will be asked to complete them at home. Generally homework becomes homework when the majority of the students have completed the assigned work in class.
Those students who are not yet done will be asked to complete it at home.
Reading at home will be an ongoing expectation all year.
120 minutes to 160 minutes per week in French --which works out to 20 minutes 3 to 4 times per week
Homework Room - Every day of the week students can choose to go to the library to work on assignments and projects. A student can also go to study or to read. As long as they are using the time to complete school related work, they are welcome to attend. One rule is that if they need to speak in French. There is a teacher there on supervision. I am typically the teacher there on supervision Thursdays. If your child needs help with their work in FLA or Religion, this is the best day for them to come down to the library.
Students had a quiz on Wednesday September 26th - Pronoms Personnels
Each student copied the correct answers in their FLA binder.
Only students who have not yet achieved 12 out of 12 will be expected to rewrite this quiz until they achieve this mark.
It is really important this concept is mastered before we start working more formally on verbs which will be starting soon.
Some students have to complete their introduction letter at home by Tuesday September 25th.
Writing: Students wrote their narrative baselines this month.
Students also wrote a letter to me to share information about themselves.
Reading: Students will be permitted to choose 2 library books in French every Wednesday.
One French book is a book of their choice that they goes home to do their reading homework.
As explained in M. Frattini's introduction letter students are expected to read 20 minutes per evening in French or English.
Students can meet their reading requirement by reading longer in one seating. What is important is that your child is taking time to read in both languages. It is only by practicing that he-she will improve. Practice will not only improve their ability to read with accuracy, but will help improve their vocabulary in both their writing and oral French.
The agendas have still not yet arrived. I plan to use this tool to have students record their home reading.
The second book is a book that will remain in the class. For this round of reading each student had to choose a French novel. Students were taught the 5 finger method to help them choose a book that is at their level.
Throughout the year the type of book - Fiction or Non Fiction will change as well as the specific genre.
The goal is that throughout the year they will explore different types of books.
I will be completing reading assessments with students during the first term to more formally determine their instructional reading level.
Oral French: I am always listening to monitor if your child is speaking French and how they are communicating in French. That is by far the most important first step to improving their ability to communicate in French. I really ask for your support with this. Encourage your child to always speak in French and explain to them why you chose to send them to a French Immersion school. They have many opportunities to speak in English, but for most students the classroom is the only place they are currently using the French language. At least once per week, there is a more formal opportunity for each student to speak in French where their vocabulary and sentence structure is being assessed.
Their ongoing effort to speak in French is part of their attitude mark for each reporting period.
We are fortunate this year to have a French Language Monitor. Her name is Jeanne. She will be coming to our classroom on average once per week. The goal is for her to expose students to the French culture and to teach them French games.