Numeric Patterns

Our final focus in exploring patterns will be on how number patterns grow. Answering questions "What comes next?" and "What is the rule?" helps students develop predictions skills. In later grades, students will be able to use what they know about patterns to help them solve more complex problems.

Try these activities with your child:

- As you take walks in your neighborhood, read house numbers together. Talk about why the numbers often increase by 2 and look for the odd and even number patterns. Ask your child why he or she thinks house and apartment numbers are organized that way.

- Make a collection of small items such as buttons, pennies, building blocks, or dried pasta. Use the items to make different patterns. Make patterns that repeat and patterns that grow(e.g., 1 piece, 3 pieces, 5 pieces). Take turns making patterns and guessing each other's patterning rules.

The problem of the week:

One owl has 2 eyes. How many eyes will 10 owls have? Solve the problem in two different ways.

Look at what we did on the Smart Board in class. Ask your child how we solved the problem. 

Other problems/open questions that we explore in class

There are numbers 10 and 12. Make three different patterns that will have the numbers. Identify the core and give a name to each pattern.

There is 5 on the 2nd place in the pattern. What is the pattern? (It is an open question. If your child comes up with several solutions, it's great!)

The rule for a pattern is 1223. Make three patterns.

The rule for a pattern is ABC. What might be the pattern?

The rule for a pattern is ABB. What will be in the 6th place in the pattern? In the 10th?

MONTRE et RACONTE

Please remind your child when it is her/his day for Show and Tell. Participating in this program will contribute to the mark for the oral component in the Report Card.
Every Friday students write down their day for Montre et raconte in their agendas. Please consult the agendas and sign on daily or at least weekly basis.
Thank you for your co-operation.

LE PROGRAMME DE LECTURE

We have started our Reading program with the students. Since the first day of school, we have been reading morning messages in class, which help us learn to decode and comprehend what we read. Students like this type of activity as we read the messages in a big group. The “big group” technique affords everyone to participate and take risks in articulating what is written in French. We also discuss the messages, look for certain information that we need for a day. This contributes to comprehending the read.  Starting from today, students will take turns to find syllables that they know and words that they understand in the message.

The homework exercises teach that letters actually make sounds which, in their turn, create syllables. Syllables create words. Your child needs to practise reading homework on a daily basis. It will help master his/her decoding skills and enlarge vocabulary.

Besides, I read aloud books to children on a daily basis as well. We learn to ask questions about what we have read. For example, after we read Une semaine avec Galette, students gave their opinions about why it is important to know the days of the week. By the way, they adore books from Galette series. Ask your child about them.

With the help of Elmo (the newest version of OHP:)), we started sessions of shared reading. It is when children help me read a book aloud by reading the words that they know how to read.

When the students get used to the reading routines that we are establishing these days, they will be bringing home leveled books for practicing at home. Stay tuned.

PROGRAMME D’ÉCRITURE

In Writing in Grade1, we start learning how to write short sentences. We started with two words sentences. These days, we write 3 -4 words in a sentence. Students know that a sentence starts with a capital letter and finishes with a punctuation mark: a period, question mark, or exclamation mark.

Also, I introduced dictionaries to my students. Each of them has a dictionary in their desks. I demonstrated how to find a word in the dictionary and copy it into a sentence. They are learning how to use this very important writing tool.

Please feel free to reinforce these writing routines at home.

Voilà nos cadres de photo.

Voilà nos cadres de photo.

Aren’t they gorgeous?! Great work!

I put the picture frames into 2 groups. Look at the groups together with your child and ask him/her why Madame did so. We discussed this already in class. Please reinforce at home. Feel free to ask about a rule and name for the patterns that decorate the picture frames.

Bonne chance!

Terry Fox Run

This coming Friday, September the 23rd, there will be Terry Fox Run Assembly in the Gym. It will take place after the first morning recess. Feel free to join.

THANK YOU FOR SENDING $2 TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF THE DRAUGHT IN AFRICA

Mon cadre de photo

Today we wrapped up our 2nd week of exploring  Patterning by decorating Mon cadre de photo (My picture Frame).

The children enjoyed the activity and were really creative. They also were able to identify the rule (la régularité) for their pattern and give it un nom (a name).

I would ask you to send your child’s photo to school. We’ll glue the picture of him/her into the frame and share the work with our peers. Their projects will be displayed in the classroom and will go home later so that the kids would share their chefs-d'oeuvre with you.

Ask them about la régularité and le nom for the pattern they created.

Enjoy and, please, give your little one a big and cuddly hug: they have been working soooooo hard for the whole week.

Math in Class

For the next couple of weeks, we will identify, extend, create and describe patterns as we investigate the question: What is a pattern? Children will be using a variety of materials (manipulatives) that we have in class, as well as creating patterns on paper and working with Smart Board.

You might want to refer yourself to the page Mathématiques (you can find it on the right side panel of this blog) to find out some ideas on how to support your child learning of patterns at home.

Voilà the patterns that the students created in class. They identified la régularité and le nom for their patterns.
Feel free to talk to your child about the math we are doing in class.

Check out this site with interactive activities on patterns:
http://jeux.lulu.pagesperso-orange.fr/html/fleur/fleur3.htm#jeu

Le message du jour

Our morning routines include reading a message from the teacher: Le message du jour. Not only it announces our plans and goals for a day, it serves as a language tool that helps students learn to read, master phonetics concepts, develop grammar knowledge.

This week we concentrate on:

- learning to follow the instructions (our goal)

- putting sounds into syllables, differentiating between vowels and consonants

- identifying a sentence (a capital letter at the beginning, . ? ! at the end)

- developing skills to understand words to comprehend a whole sentence.

Please feel free to ask your child questions on these, e.g.:

What is your class's goal for this week?

What is a vowel? Is sound b a vowel? How do you know?

How do you know that this is a sentence? What do we need to put at the end of this sentence to show that it is over?