La Classe de Mme Caroline

French Narrative Writing in Primary

How many times has this happened to you? You give a great lesson on the writing task at hand then send your students to go do their assignment. 2 minutes later, you hear those dreaded words. “J’ai fini”. You think to yourself, how is this possible? You’ve only been working for a couple of minutes! You ask to see their work and they’ve written one or two sentences and claim they have nothing left to share about the topic you chose. Now what?

In this post, I’ll be showing you how I teach writing in a way that really minimizes “j’ai fini”, gets your students writing the whole time while they stay engaged.

Read more

French Learn to Read Series: Syllables

In this series, I will be showing you how I teach my students to read. Depending on what grade you teach, you may or may not be able to skip some of these sections. It all depends on your students’ prior knowledge. In September, I always do some assessments to see if my students know all their letters and letter sounds. I have created an assessment that you can do with your students if you’re unsure what their abilities are. Click here for a link to the resource. Once you know that your students have their letter sounds, you can start working on syllables.

Read more

French Learn to Read Series: Letter Sounds

Teaching students how to read can be one of the most stressful things to do as a teacher. It isn’t always easy and there are a lot of factors that come into play. It’s important to remember that learning to read is a developmental process and kids progress at their own rate. I’ve reminded parents before that there is a big difference in development between a child born in January and one born in December. They may be in the same grade, but a child born in January has been alive for almost a full year longer than one born in December. That often puts things into perspective for them. And guess what? Those kids do catch up!

Read more

IKEA Hack: DIY Light Table Using a Flisat Table

I recently bought an IKEA Flisat table and I am so glad I did. They are very popular, and for a good reason – they’re so versatile! I bought it to do sensory bins with Baby J (once she grows a bit more), but then I thought “why not make a light bin?” I successfully turned my Flisat into a light table for only $60, making it a much cheaper alternative to traditional ones. The best part? It can be taken out anytime so that both sides can be used for sensory play. In this post, I will be showing you how you can easily do it yourself.

Read more

Teaching French Grammar in Primary

It has been a while since my last post! I had a baby in October so I’ve been focusing on her for the last few months. Isn’t she cute?

I am back now and hope to post here semi-regularly! This week’s blog post is all about grammar. I find this to be the hardest thing to teach in a second language because they make mistakes based on their first language. How many of you are triggered by hearing “je suis fini”, “je j’aime” or “j’ai a”? When they start making mistakes like this every time they say something, it becomes a fossilized mistake and they become even harder to break. In this post, I’ll be talking about how I use La grammaire du jour in Grade One, Grade Two and Grade Three to address these errors. If you’re not sure if this resource is for you, click on this link for a sample of each grade. You can also visit my Freebie Library to find other freebies!

Read more

Back to School: The First Day of School in Grade 1

I’ve created this blog post to share my plans for the first day of school for Grade 1 French Immersion. Each school board in Ontario has different French hours, so I am providing plans for a full day, with a prep period factored in. You may find you need less than this if your board isn’t 100% French. I’ve also created a Back to School Guide that can help you plan other aspects of your return (classroom setup, setting up routines, letters for parents, activities, etc.). If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s a great place to start!

Read more

Back to School: The First Day of School in Grade 2

I’ve created this blog post to share my plans for the first day of school for Grade 2 French Immersion. Each school board in Ontario has different French hours, so I am providing plans for a full day, with a prep period factored in. You may find you need less than this if your board isn’t 100% French. I’ve also created a Back to School Guide that can help you plan other aspects of your return (classroom setup, setting up routines, letters for parents, activities, etc.). If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s a great place to start!

Read more

Back to School: The First Day of School in Grade 3

I’ve created this blog post to share my plans for the first day of school for Grade 3 French Immersion. Each school board in Ontario has different French hours, so I am providing plans for a full day, with a prep period factored in. You may find you need less than this if your board isn’t 100% French. I’ve also created an Back to School Guide that can help you plan other aspects of your return (classroom setup, setting up routines, letters for parents, activities, etc.). If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s a great place to start! I am also including some activities in this day plan are exclusive to this guide.

Read more

Follow @mmecaroline