Bonjour!

We have been keeping busy in room 150 :) Last week, we talked about peace. The students worked on "des colombes" (doves) where they wrote what peace means to them.

Chloe's mom came in to do a lovely activity with the class about how their acts of kindness can spread. 

They also made a beautiful wreath for our Remembrance Day ceremony.

We have been continuing to practice reading & writing syllables with the sound "u", with the help of our friend Turlututu la tortue. 

The students have been working on a variety of activities to help them practice words with the sound "u". 

Every day this year, we have started our day with a "Message du jour" (daily message). I wanted to share the progress with you, as we do a variety of activities that help the students to build phonological awareness. Our activities surrounding the morning message have included:
- finding & circling specific letters
- finding & circling specific sounds
- correcting Madame's mistakes (backwards letters, missing capitals, missing punctuation)

- filling in missing letters
- filling in missing words
- finding & circling specific words
And, today, the students found "les contraires" (opposites) and replaced them with the correct word! (Ex., "Henry est le grand mini prof.")

Notes:

1. I am very pleased to see that many students have been reading every night. There is a lot of excitement around the "J'aime Lire" folder, which is WONDERFUL!!! Many students have already read 10 books (using some French books from home or from the library), and I encourage all of the students to keep it up! :)
2. Our class will be visiting the Book Fair tomorrow. If you would like to send some money with your child, please send it in their note tote.
3. Friday is a PD day (no school) as there will be parent teacher interviews.

Have a great rest of your week!

Mme Bena

Happy Monday! I hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend.

Today your child will be bringing home their "J'aime Lire" duotang in their note tote-- this is our home reading program. 

Inside, you will find a pocket with a levelled book, some tips for happy reading at home, a "chenille" (where they will receive a sticker for every 10 books read), and a reading log sheet.

I have spoken to the students about how this program will work, but I wanted to share the instructions with you as well in case there are any questions :)

• Students are encouraged to read at home with an adult (or older sibling) every night if possible. 
• They should keep their J'aime Lire duotang in the note tote, and stored safely in their backpack when it is not being used. That way, we will always have it at school the next day!
• Any French books read at home can be included in the reading log: this includes levelled books sent home in the J'aime Lire duotang, library books, or any French books you may already have at home.
• I will be sending home extra syllable practice or sight word practice for some students. This will also be in the J'aime Lire duotang.
• Students are responsible for choosing a new book each morning when they bring their note tote into the classroom. I will monitor this at first, and give reminders, as we establish this new routine. 
• Please do not read the books to your child; your child should be doing the reading! If they are stuck on a word, you can help them to sound it out. If they need help with every word, that's okay! 
• Early reading skills can include memorization, looking at the pictures to help tell the story, and repeating (echo reading). These are all acceptable ways to practice reading as your child develops their early reading skills.
• The reading program is where students will reinforce the literacy skills taught in the classroom: sounding out words, looking at pictures for clues, recognizing sight words, phonemic awareness, etc. The more they practice these skills, the more their reading fluency will develop!
• I will also be reading with students and adding entries into their reading log.  

We are very excited to start recording all the books we read! Happy reading! :)