Mlle Bradbury's Website
Welcome to Grade 2
French Immersion!
"To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world." - Mandarin Proverb
Please check the Calendar daily to find out about Homework and School Events!
French Home Reading
"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
I am so excited to begin a French Home Reading Program for our Grade Two's!
Special thanks to Parent Council, and Mrs. Macaulay for our new Home Reading books.
French Book exchange will take place each MONDAY!
At this point in the year, the 100% program begins targeted focus on Reading and Writing. Prior to Progress Reports, we were focusing on building our oral proficiency and Reading and Writing has not been formally assessed. Reading has looked like shared reading of rehearsed poems, songs and simple texts. Reading is now shifting towards building your child's capacity to read new levelled texts.
Home Reading Duotang
Your Home Reading duotang is very imporant! Please take care of it! It contains the following...
1) Your child's current reading level
2) A reading graph (Parents will inital 1 box for every 10 minutes of French reading)
3) A "Les sons" card. (Use this to help with French pronunciation of vowels, vowel blends and frequent sounds, to help decode new words)
4) A guide of "3 Ways to Read a Book" (Reminds us to read our book all 3 ways)
5) A list of reading strategies to help improve reading comprehension, accuracy and fluency
6) A levelled French book (See inside plastic page protector)
7) Other online reading options including your Raz-Kids login
How to Read at Home
1) Have your child read their book in their head first, then read aloud to you
2) Refer to the list of reading strategies to help your child decode and comprehend their book (If you and your child are both unsure, you can type the word into Google Translate to listen to the pronunciation. This is not always accurate, but it can be helpful)
3) Have your child retell what they have just read in French (A good retell has: 1. Key events from the story that are in chronological order 2. Good, accurate details 3. Vocabulary from the book)
4) Ask your child a couple of comprehension questions (It is ok if they are in English, your child can answer in French and then tell you afterwards what they said in English)
5) Parents will initial one box on the reading graph for every 10 minutes of reading (Students will receive a prize from our treasure box when they complete the whole graph)
6) Re-read the book several times throughout the week!
7) Return the book in the page protector of the green duotang each week or as needed for book exchange.
*Even if you do not speak and read French yourself, you can still provide help to your child by ensuring that they read at an appropriate pace, and remind them of the strategies that they can use to solve tough words. I also suggest having your child read to another family member who speaks French, or buddy-up your child with another older French Immersion student in the neighbourhood.
Ways to get Extra Reading Practise
Students are encouraged to find extra opportunities to read in French, outside of our French Home Reading Program. Below I have some suggestions.
1) Take a French book out from our library at JWB each week (Thursdsay)
2) Take a French book out from a Public Library
3) Look for and read signs and labels in French
4) Visit your favourite web sites in French
5) Listen to audio books in French
6) Consider subscribing to web sites with online books
Moving up Levels
It is valuable to read many books in your child's current reading level, to get familiar with the vocabulary that shows up in the GB+ assessement books.
If you think your child is ready to move up a level, please include a sticky note in your child's duotang, and I will assess their reading at my earliest opportunity. Your child is ready to move up when they can read the text independently first time with more than 95% accuracy (see below) *Note: Assessment texts are more challenging than the practise books your child is bringing home. Difficulty also varies between texts within a level. Your child should be moving up a level a month to stay on target with Grade level expectations!
To move up a level, your child must be capable of the following during a reading assessement...
1) Read a new text with more than 95% accuracy
2) Give a French retell of the text, in chronological order, with accurate details, incorporating vocabulary from the text, without looking at the book
3) Answer French comprehension questions in French about the text
Lost Books
In the event that one of our French Home Reading Books are lost or damaged, there will be a fee of $10.50 to cover the cost of the book.
Have fun reading!
~Mlle Bradbury
