Sewing is "Sew" Fun!

It's been a very busy week, as usual! 😄 we read the poem "Ma dent" for our shared reading. We practised the "cl" and "fl" initial consonant sounds in "Les cloches" and "Les fléchettes". I read one of my favourite Phoebe Gilman books, "Les beaux cochons de Lili Tire-bouchon". It's such a fun book and I enjoy that it has instructions at the end for making pigs from pantyhose/tights. As we were still lucky enough to have Mme Alicia for one last week, it was a great time to sew with the class for art. For most, it was their first time sewing. The pigs are all very cute, regardless of how well the sewing went (or didn't). They are almost finished. Once all are finished, I want to take a class photo of the students with their pigs and then they will be coming home. Everyone was so excited to make them!

We had lots of catch up time in Math so that students had some time to practise the concepts they have been struggling with especially multi-step word problems. We also spent some time doing math centres on multiplication and division. We will be finishing up multiplication and division next week. 

Today was Mme Alicia's last day and we were sad to see her go. We had a small celebration for her this afternoon. We gave her a French picture book signed by all of the students and I brought cupcakes that I made last evening. I also received a lovely plant from her in a pink tea cup, two of my favourite things, pink and tea! It will be decorating the class for the next few weeks. 

I'm so glad it's finally warm. Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the great weather!

A Lot of Work in a Very Short Week

I'm so surprised by how much has been packed into the past three days. In Language, we read the poem "Petite Lune" as a shared reading. We practised the "ace" sound in " Horace" and the "ice" sound in "Mathis". Tuesday and Wednesday we continued to do Daily 5 Reading and Writing Centres. 

In Math, we continued to Daily 5 math centres on multiplication and division. The class learned about multiplication tables and how to use a multiplication chart for both multiplication and division. Mme Alicia also read the new library book "1 seconde, 1 minute, 1 siècle" to the class as a follow-up to our unit on time. 

In Social Studies, we have finished up Australia and have begun learning about South America. Today we were learning about Brazil and we made some great connections to the celebration of Mardi Gras that we learned about back before the March Break. 

We also had a kick-off assembly this morning for Jump Rope for Heart. A letter (youngest/only) and fundraising envelope (all) went home today. They watched a short video about how heart problems and strokes can affect anybody, regardless of age, and how the advances in research have enabled surgeons to help save children and others affected. Mme McLaren also showed everyone some prizes that will be drawn over the next few weeks during announcements. 

Since I have extra help in the class at the moment, I decided to get started on doing some final GB+ assessments for this school year. I have finished almost half and only have one so far that I need to do again. It's great information for me, but very time consuming as it takes 10-15 minutes per student, one on one, while the rest of the class is working quietly on something (hopefully! 😄) I'm am so thrilled wth all the progress the students are making in reading this year! Once I have completed all of the assessments, I will send home a short note on the most recent progress in reading. 

Have another great long weekend and hopefully some warmer weather too!

A Newcomer, Time Travel, and Dancing Shoes!

This week, we welcomed Mme Alicia Bacile to our class. Mme Alicia is in her first year of the new two-year Bachelor of Education program at Queen's and will be with us for another two weeks. Yay!

We began the week by going "Back to the Past". In Language, we read the poem "Une Maman" for our shared reading as a follow-up to Mother's Day last Sunday. We looked at the "or" sound in "Météore" and the "ur" sound in "La caricature". The students have been hard at work at activities in the various reading and writing centres. 

Working on reading comprehension in a guided group with me

Listening to tales from French-speaking countries around the world on conte-moi.com

Drawing and colouring according to the instructions they read

Listening to the dictée, reading until they find the correct sentence, and then writing it (another guided group with me)

Learning about the verbs "avoir" and "être" in a guided group with me

Practicing spelling patterns in writing activities 

In Math, we spent a few days working on some time activities. The students are required to read and write time to the quarter hour, begin measuring elapsed time, read both analog and digital clocks, and understand the relationship between days, months, and years. The biggest difficulty for most was remembering which was the hour hand and which was the minute hand on analog clocks. 

Yesterday, we began a unit on multiplication and division. We had a whole class lesson on multiplication as repeated addition and division as equal sharing between groups. Today we began a math centre cycle on multiplication and division. I will post some photos of the activities next week. 

On Wednesday, all of the grade twos performed a choreographed dance to the KidzBop version of "Uptown Funk" at the beginning of the school-wide assembly. It took lots of practice but they looked great, even the few reluctant ones hiding in the middle of the group. I'm very proud of all of the work they put into getting ready for this. 

In Social Studies, we have been learning about "Australia". William brought in some great Australian items to share with the class. They were very impressed by the boomerang. On Thursday afternoon, while I was at the board for some computer training, Mme Alicia did a Visual Arts lesson with the class on Australian Aboriginal Art. There are some wonderful works in progress. I'm looking forward to hanging them up in the hall as they finish them up during our next Visual Arts period. 

Today there were some interesting outfits for "Back to the Future". We had our first of three spring fire drills. There will be two more over the next few weeks along with a Lockdown Procedure Practice. 

Fire drill practice during Health with M. Choquette

Have a great long weekend! 

Mostly Missing

It's been a very short week for me after being away sick for most of it. So, there's just a short update about a few things this week and some info about next week. 

In Language, our shared reading was the poem "Un peintre". We practised the "ère" sound in "Un ver de terre" and the "ire" sound in "Vladimir".  I also left some other books as read alouds and some spring writing activities that they did with the occasional teacher. 

While I was away, they continued to finish up money activities and did a bit more practice with 2-digit subtraction with regrouping. 

On Thursday morning, we attended a student musical at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It was really well- done and everyone seemed to enjoy it. 

On Friday, it was the AVPS Dance-a-thon. It was a great fundraiser and great physical activity for the students. 

On Monday, it is "Back to the Past" Day. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of outfits all the children (and parents!) come up with. 

On Wednesday, all three grade two classes will be performing a choreographed dance to the Kidzbop version of "Uptown Funk". We have been rehearsing for about a month and look forward to performing in front of the school and guests. The assembly will begin after the second nutrition break, around 11:25 a.m. Hopefully some parents, grandparents will be able to come see our performance. It would be great if all of the students could wear bright colours and have a pair of sunglasses. 

On Friday, it will be "Back to the Future" Day. The students can let their imaginations run wild as they come up with their own idea of a futuristic outfit. 

Have a great weekend!

Dancing and More

This week in Language, we read the poem "L'hirondelle et le poète" as our shared reading. We looked at the "ule" sound in "La libellule" and the "ar" sound in "Gaspar". They participated in several new activities in our reading and writing centres. 

Hard at work during reading centres

An oral activity

This is what partner reading is all about!

Completing the picture according to what they read

Activities on the verb "avoir"

In Math, we continued to do group lessons on money and our centres were also on money. We will be finishing up money next week and doing a quick unit on time. Then it's on to multiplication and division.

 

Working on multiple step word problems

In Social Studies, we learned about a final Asian country, Japan. We did a follow-up written activity and colouring page. Next week we will move on to Australia. 

We managed to fit in some dance practises on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week. It's really starting to come together. I can't wait for them to show off their moves to you at the May 13 assembly. Hopefully some parents and grand-parents will be able to make it out to see our performance. A note will come home later this week about the time of the assembly. 

Friday, May 8 is our school dance-a-thon. Please send all pledge forms on Friday. 

Have a great weekend in this lovely spring weather! (Finally!😄)