The beginning of the school year is a fantastic time to build French vocabulary. Your French Daily and seasonal changes unit is the perfect way to introduce simple vocabulary in your classroom. Your grade one students can easily connect to their prior knowledge, which is important when learning a second
I’ve talked before about how to set up your French sound wall, but what do you do once it’s put together? And why are they so important to your literacy instruction? The last thing you want to do is put it up in your classroom and then never use it.
French task cards have been around for a while and for good reason. They are a great way to review material. However, they can get a little stale if you use them the same way in your classroom all the time. To keep things fresh, I suggest changing up your
Getting students to engage in narrative writing in French can be a challenge, but it is possible to get students to spend more time on writing. How many times has this happened to you? You teach a French writing lesson and then send students to work independently. Two minutes later,
The first day of school can bring a lot of different feelings: excitement, anticipation, nerves, and curiosity. Having fun French back to school activities for the first day of school can help students (and even teachers) open up, feel comfortable, and begin to ease those first-day jitters. Here are five
Over the last few years, there have been some shifts in how we teach reading, and reading best practices. I wish I’d known more about the importance of phonological awareness, French decodable readers, etc. and less about the 3-cueing system 10 years ago. Teaching reading is one of the hardest
Teaching rhyming words in French might seem like fun and games, but it’s actually an essential skill to learn in first grade or when learning a second language! Rhyming is a part of phonological awareness, which allows students to break down and manipulate words. Teaching French rhyming words is essential
When you think about summer, you might feel a wave of relief or perhaps even some desperation! However, not all of our students feel the same way. They might feel sad or anxious about the upcoming change and being out of school. When selecting French books for the end of
If you ever dread teaching writing units, you aren’t alone! Writing is one of those subjects that can be hard to explain. You know good writing when you see it, but explaining it is a whole other issue. Luckily, there are writing activities for students that make introducing French descriptive
When it comes to science units, nothing is better than reinforcing concepts with engaging air and water experiments! That’s why I wanted to share a few experiments you could use with your air and water in the environment unit. These science experiments require limited materials and can be completed in
For years, schools have been using GB+ and levelled readers, but it’s time that we move away from that and towards using best practices, based on science. I have been doing a lot of workshops, and one thing I’ve learned is about the importance of acquiring French phonological awareness skills
We all know that books can be powerful tools! Not only are they fun, but they can reinforce phonics skills, grammar, syntax, and more. But books don’t just fit into your literacy lessons. They can be a great addition to your science lessons! I wanted to specifically share some French
Practicing and learning French vocabulary can get dull, especially when using vocab cards. Over time, we default to the same activities and exercises with students, which can wear our students (and ourselves) down. By keeping activities fresh and new in the classroom, we can challenge students in new ways and
In 2022, coding was added to the Ontario Science Curriculum. If you’re like me, you found the prospect daunting! I’d never taught coding before, and I’d definitely never learned to code. It was completely new. I did a lot of research on how to teach coding, and I played around
Chances are you’ve heard of, and may even have, a word wall! These common teaching tools can help students become familiar with words and develop a stronger vocabulary. But for primary students, word walls miss a key feature we want our students to master: spelling patterns and sounds. That’s why
