Grade 3 - last entry

All students work is to be sent home before the last day of school.

If you have any questions, please contact me at extension 113.

I have truly enjoyed teaching Social Studies to Grade 3 students this school year. Thank you for all your support at home and for following this blog.

This blog will be re-purposed for the following school year.

Have a wonderful summer break.

Grade 2 - last entry

All the students work are to be sent home before the last day of school. There is a little activity booklet called "Viens à ma fête" which most students have not finished. It is encouraged that students  use the readings and activities in this booklet to consolidate their learning and practice reading over the summer.

If you have any questions, please contact me at extension 113.

I have truly enjoyed teaching Social Studies to Grade 2 students this school year. Thank you for all your support at home and for following this blog.

This blog will be re-purposed for the following school year.

Have a wonderful summer break.

Grade 1 - last entry

Before the end of the school year, student duotangs are to be sent home.

If the three page assessment arrive home this week, you do not have to return the rubric. Instead, if you have questions about this assessment, first read the previous blog entry on how the work has been assessed. If you still have questions, contact me directly at extension 113. The mark on the rubric is not the final mark on the report card. The final mark has been determined using the triangulation of assessment which combines student work, observation and conversation to assess student achievement.

I have truly enjoyed teaching Social Studies to Grade 1 students this school year. Thank you for all your support at home and for following this blog.

This blog will be re-purposed for the following school year.

Have a wonderful summer break.

Grade 1 - assessment sent home

2 pieces of student work are to be sent home this week and next week with one rubric attached.

Please send the signed rubric back. The student work can stay home.

First page is the rubric that describes what they achieved through the mapping activities and action plan making.

Connaissance et compréhension : knowledge and understanding - content learned in class.

Habileté de la pensée : thinking - how they found, organized and planned information and worked  with it. Through the inquiry walk around the school, students were to use their observation and what they knew about our school community to make a plan to improve the environment around our school.

Mise en application : application - how they used their knowledge of simple maps and natural/built features of our community to make their plan

Communication : use of learned vocabulary, clarity of communication
For further information about how student achievement is broken down, please take a look at the page 32-33 of the Ontario Social Studies curriculum document found online at:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/sshg18curr2013.pdf

Reminder : level three means that your child is meeting the Ontario standard set by the curriculum document.

Second sheet is a map dictation. There were 6 questions in total to test students' knowledge of simple maps.

1. Draw a tree across from / in front of the store.

2. Draw a school next to the park.

3. Draw a police station near the park.

4. Draw another tree next to the store.

5. Write a sentence with "loin de" (far from)

6. Write a sentence with "à côté de" (next to)

Students had to correctly comprehend the instructions and use the symbols shown in the legend provided.

Third sheet is the action plan that students created individually. They had to choose what they wanted and why, where they would want it and why. They were asked to use a star sticker to indicate where they wanted what they chose on the simple map and illustrate what they chose next to the map.

Expectations included: use their knowledge of what is around our school and what students want in our school environment. Explain their choice of natural/built feature and of the place clearly and using learned vocabulary.

If you have any questions about this assessment, please call ext. 113 or send an agenda note.

Thank you.

Grade 3 - end of the year

Students' oral presentation marks (3B & 2/3A) have been sent out (except a couple of students who need conference with me). Please sign and return as soon as possible.

For the rest of the school year, students will be focusing on different life aspects of the first pioneers in Upper Canada and how they interacted with the First Nations. A field trip to Black Creek Pioneer Village has been planned to consolidate their learning later in the month of June.

Grade 2 - Reminder and the end of year task.

Students have been talking about traditions and celebrations and how they change over time.

Some students still have not brought back their signed family tree rubric and the homework on their important celebration. Please send them back as soon as possible.

Many students are having difficult noticing differences between how their celebrations were celebrated in the past (by their parents or grandparents) and how they celebrate it now. It would be helpful to discuss with your child(ren) how immigrating to another country, speaking different languages, having different groceries and having new technologies have changed the way we celebrate different celebrations.

Students will be working on an interactive booklet where they will explain different aspects of their important celebration based on the homework they have completed at home.

Grade 1 - final project.

Students have recently toured around the school building to notice natural and built features around it. Now we are making a plan on what we want to have around our school, where we want to have it specifically and explain our choices using a map of the school.

This task is for students to notice the interrelationship between natural and built features in their community. Some questions you could ask:

1. What are some of the good things about the natural features in our neighbourhood? How could we make them better?
2. What are some ways in which people have had an impact on the natural features in the community?
3. What happens when we clear up many trees to build a big mall?
4. Why is there a big park right next to our school?
5. Why do we need new schools in our neighbourhood?

Try making a simple map of your neighbourhood with your child and discuss why they have the services they have available in the area.

Grade 2 - final project about a celebration

Students will be making a little interactive booklet on their most important celebration.

A paper copy of the following message will be sent out this week, along with a homework sheet.

----

Dear family,

In social studies, students have started looking at different celebrations and traditions in different families in our community.

On the homework sheet named “Les traditions et les célébrations chez moi!,” there are questions that students will have to complete with the help of their family members. Have your child(ren) explain the questions written in French. Should there be any difficulty, please visit my primary social studies blog (link below) for the English translation. Students must complete the work themselves through an interview with a family member who can help answer these questions about family celebrations and traditions. This work to be returned by 24th of May.

Thank you for your support.

-----

The following is the translation for the homework sheet.

A tradition is a belief, a custom, a habit or a practice that is passed on from parents to their children. The parents show these traditions orally or by doing it.

A celebration is a festival, feast or party that honours a person (e.g. Mothers day), a religious ceremony (e.g. Easter) or a special moment that happens during the course of the year (e.g. Canada Day).

1. What is your family's most important celebration?

2. What is the date of this celebration?

Does its date change every year? Circle yes no

3. For this celebration

We do / We eat / We wear / We meet

4. Why do you celebrate this celebration?

5. Did your grandparents and parents celebrate it (in the past) in the same way as you do? What are some of the similarities and differences?

6. What are some of your family's traditions?

(example / going out for dinner on Saturdays, spend a week every year at a cottage, going camping winter every winter, take a family picture every year, etc.)

Signature of the adult who helped.

Any questions, please send me an agenda note or call ext. 113.

Thank you very much for your support.

Mr. Jung

Grade 3 - performance task

Students have learned about two main indigenous groups that lived in Upper Canada - the Wendat and the Anishinabe.

Now they are working on a mini project in the format of their choice to compare our lives and the lives of one of these indigenous community in Upper Canada.

The project is to be presented mid-May and the marking rubric will be sent home to be signed and returned.

Grade 1 - mapping skills

We have so far worked on natural and built features of our communities.

Students will now be working on basic mapping skills.

Click here for the vocabulary list.

Grade 2 - Comparing our families

We have been working on a Venn diagram to compare our family structure, origin and celebrations.

We are creating our family trees. Some students still have not brought in their photos and the worksheet to record all the names of their family members. Please  make sure that your child(ren) know(s) the full name of each member. Students are also encouraged to bring in the names written in the original language in addition to the names written with the Roman Alphabet.

Through this activity, students will be further compare the structure of their families and start discussing the countries of personal and familial significance.

Some ideas to support at home:
1. Locate the countries of personal and familial significance on the map.
2. Share the family albums and photos, especially those that depict the family traditions and celebrations to discuss how these practices have changed over time.
3. Discuss different family structures and origins of their friends and cousins and how these differences make each family unique.
4. Discuss local celebrations and how diversity in Canada brings many different people together to different celebrations.

Grade 1 - natural and built features in our community.

Students will learn to describe how people make use of natural and built features of, and human services in, the local community to meet their needs, and what might happen if these features/services did not exist.

Some discussion ideas at home.
1. What is made by the nature and by people around you? Why do we need them and how do we use them?
2. What happens if we don't have garbage bins / safety fences / natural parks, etc.?
3. What can we do to make our community a better place? What more natural and built features do we need around us to make it better?

For the vocabulary list of this unit, please click here.

Thank you for your support.

Grade 3 - First quiz handed out

The first quiz has been handed out. (3B and 3/2A) Please review, sign the rubric and return as soon as you can.

Students are looking at the lives of the Wendat people and this coming week, we will be starting with those of the Anishinabe people to eventually be able to compare how they were similar and different.

After, we will start looking at how the Pioneers lived in Upper Canada and how the Indigenous people and the colonists influenced each other.

Some websites to explore
http://www.huron-wendat.qc.ca/
http://www.projects.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/pioneer/home_fr.htm


Thank  you for your support.

Grade 3 - use of Plickers letter sent home for 3B.

Grade 1 - our needs and services in our community.

We have been discussing what we need to live in our community and what kind of services are available to meet those needs.

Some activity and discussion ideas at home:

1. When you visit different places  in the community, ask your child if s/he knows how to say the place in French (supermarket, gas station, park, places of worship, etc.)

2. Ask why we need these places.

3. When you need to visit a place in our community, tell your child your need and ask him/her where you need to go. Do you know how to say it in French?

4. Ask what places your child would like to see more in our community and why. What is missing in our community and why do you think it is not near where we live?

5. Discuss different occupations in our community and ask why we need them.


Thank you for your support.

Grade 3 - quiz 1

Late March - Early April

We have been learning about different communities that lived in what is Ontario now between 1780-1850.

To study for this quiz, students could use the following resources in their Social Studies duotang.

Printed copies of the presentation we studied in class.
A sheet of multiple choice questions we used to practice in class.
A map of different indigenous groups in Upper Canada and their languages.
A unit vocabulary sheet

Thank you for your support.

Grade 2 - Mini-quiz

Late March - Early April

Students will have a mini assessment on identifying and describing different types of families using the vocabulary that we have discussed so far in term 2.

Students would benefit from reviewing the following post
http://jungrdps.blogspot.ca/2016/03/grade-2-different-types-of-family.html

or the handout with the same texts with images that was given out to be kept in their Social Studies duotang.

Thank you for your support.

Grade 3 - Introduction to the unit: Indigenous People of Upper Canada and Early Settlers

We are learning to identify and describe different communities that existed in Upper-Canada (now part of southern Ontario) in the early 19th century.

We will be looking at two major indigenous groups (the Wendats and the Anishinabe) and then move on to discussing the early settlers from Europe and USA.

Students will receive a paper copy of a PowerPoint presentation that we used in class to introduce this unit. The link to the PowerPoint presentation is here, however, you can only access to this file only while logged onto your child's yrdsb Google Apps account. Contact your child's homeroom teacher for this information if your child does not have it yet.

Grade 2 - Family Tree handout help

Here is the English translation of the handout in case there is any confusion or difficulty understanding the sheet. Your child should be able to explain it to you and conduct an interview with you to fill it in himself/herself.

Where do I come from?                                                                DUE : 29^th of March 2016

1. My complete name

2. Brother(s) or stepbrother(s)

3. Sisters or stepsister(s)

4. My (step)mother’s name

Her family is from…

5. The (step)father of my (step)mother

6. The (step)mother of my (step)mother

7. My (step)father’s name

His family is from…

8. The (step)father of my (step)father

9. The (step)mother of my (step)father

10. Other family members that I want to include in my tree

Signature of the adult who helped

Thank you for your support.

Grade 2 - Family Tree Project Letter

This letter is to be sent out on the 10th and 11th of March.

Dear families,

We will be making a family tree in class. Your child will need to bring in pictures of different family members and/or extended family members. We just need a picture of the head of the person. The head should not be much bigger than about 1 1/2 inch (about passport size), otherwise the people will not fit on the poster, especially when there are many people in your family. Please, do not cut up the pictures, but be prepared that your child will cut it up at school, so send a copy of the picture if you don't want it to be destroyed. Your child should know these people. If you have too many just send in the favorite ones. You might want to label the back of the picture if your child cannot remember the names of the persons. Please put all the pictures in an envelope with your child's name on it and send it in with your child. If you do not have a photograph of your family member, your child can draw a picture of that person. Students will not be penalized for not bringing pictures in.

Also, please take time to complete the handout “D’où est-ce que je viens?” with your child, where students are asked to record the names and the origin of their family members and/or extended family members.

The due date for the pictures and the handout is 29th of March for every grade 2 student. Please DO NOT MAKE A FAMILY TREE! The children will be making it in class.

If you have any question about this project, please contact me (ext. 113). Thank you for your support.

Mr. Jung

Grade 2 - Different types of family

We are learning to identify and describe different family structures and origin.

Qu'est-ce qu'une famille?
Une famille est le lie où l'enfant se sent aimé par les adultes qui en prennent soin.

Une famille monoparental : il y a un parent qui élève les enfants.
Une famille nucléaire : il y a deux parents qui élèvent les enfants.
Une famille sans enfants : il y a deux adultes qui habitent ensemble sans enfants.
Une famille dirigée par les grands-parants : les grands-parents élèvent leurs petits-enfants au lieu des parents biologiques.
Une famille homoparentale : il y a deux adultes du même sexe qui élèvent les enfants.
Une famille multigénérationnelle : Cette famille est créée quand les membres d'une famille habitent ensemble. Souvent ça inclus des cousins, tantes, oncles ainsi que des grands-parents.
Une famille recomposée : Cette famille est créée quand deux adultes, avec des enfants d'une autre relation, déménagent ensemble.
Une famille immigrée : Cette famille habite dans un pays qui n'est pas leur pays de naissance.
Une famille d'accueil : Cette famille prend soin d'enfants qui ont besoin de vivre dans un endroit différent de celui de leurs parents pour une période indéterminée.

Have students identify the type of their own family, a friend's family, a cousin's family, etc.

Grade 1 - Local community vocabulary 2

Students are learning different places and occupations in the community. Students will write a quiz before March break where they will be assessed on the knowledge and understanding of the concept related to this vocabulary.

Please click here to view the occupation vocabulary. Long click on the speaker icon to play slowly. Please be aware that the translation done by Google Translate is not always perfect.
Students are not required to memorize every single word. The core vocabulary (those words that are most age appropriate and pertinent to our own community) will be practiced repeatedly in class and there will always be visuals to help the young learners' comprehension of the new vocabulary.

Here are some links for extension.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXrBEYSV_K0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XuxsdhRFhg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIm0WR9A4bw

Some questions to ask to practice the concept
1. What do you want to be when you grow up and why? How do you say that occupation in French?
2. What do the adults that you know do for a living? How do you say those occupations in French?
3. Why do we need different people with different jobs? Why do we need these people in our community?

Grade 1 - Local community vocabulary 1

Please click here to see the vocabulary for the second unit on the local community. Long click on the speaker icon to listen to the list slowly.

At home, students could discuss

1. What places are there in their neighborhood.
2. How often they go to these places.
3. Why they go to these places.
4. Where they like to go and why.
5. How they get to these places, how far it is and how long it takes (using non-standard measuring units like steps, minutes by car, blocks, houses, etc.)

Grade 3 - End of the Term and the next unit.

Grade 3 students are finalizing their unit on Living and Working in Ontario.

During the second term, we will be working on our Heritage and Identity: Communities in Canada: 1780-1850 unit (For the curriculum information click here and view page 86-89). Please check this blog frequently for updates on how you could support your child(ren) at home during this new unit.

Grade 2 - End of the Term and the next unit.

During the second term, we will be working on our Heritage and Identity : Changing Family and Traditions unit (For the curriculum information click here and view page 76-81). Please check this blog frequently for updates on how you could support your child(ren) at home during this new unit.

Grade 1 - End of the Term and the next unit.

The project about significant places and changing responsibilities are all done. The complete works, along with the evaluation grid, will be sent home in February for parents to sign and return.

During the second term, we will be working on our People and Environment : The Local Community unit (For the curriculum information click here and view page 69-71). Please check this blog frequently for updates on how you could support your child(ren) at home during this new unit.

Grade 3 - important reading about the topography of Ontario.

Important reading! - la topographie de l'Ontario

Students are expected to identify three major land regions in Ontario and how their natural environment influences land uses, jobs and industries that develop in the communities in each region.

Le bouclier canadien

Cette région couvre environ les deux tiers de l’Ontario. La terre est composée de roches, de sable et du sol superficiel, alors ce n’est pas de la bonne terre pour l’agriculture. La région contient plusieurs lacs, rivières, étangs et ruisseaux, ce qui est bon pour les animaux et les plantes. Les personnes aiment visiter cette région à cause de sa beauté naturelle. Le bouclier canadien est riche en ressources naturelles, comme le fer, le zinc, le nickel, l’or et l’argent. Les sources d’eau donnent de l’électricité à la province. Les forêts donnent du bois et l’abri pour plusieurs animaux. Les villes principales dans cette région sont : Sudbury et Thunder Bay, qui se sont développées grâce à l’exploitation minière, l’industrie de la pêche, la foresterie et l’exploitation hydroélectrique.

Les basses terres des grands lacs et du St. Laurent

C’est une des régions les plus populeuses en Ontario. Un grand pourcentage d’Ontarien vit et travaille dans cette région. La terre est généralement plate avec des collines. Le sol est riche et fertile, ce qui est parfait pour l’industrie d’agriculture. Les fermiers exploitent l’agriculture et les animaux dans cette région. Le climat est doux, alors beaucoup de personne préfèrent vivre dans cette région. Toronto et Ottawa sont les deux villes principales dans cette région. Ils sont près de l’eau et des États-Unis, ce qui donne beaucoup d’occasions pour le commerce, les voyages et l’exportation. Beaucoup de personnes travaillent dans ces grandes villes dans diverses industries comme le commerce, la politique, le tourisme, etc.

Les basses terres de la Baie d’Hudson

C’est la région la plus au nord de l’Ontario. Comme son nom le suggère, elle est située au long de la Baie d’Hudson. La région a beaucoup de marais avec des endroits mouillés et bas près de l’eau. Beaucoup d’oiseaux migrent à cette région et il y a beaucoup d’animaux qui vivent dans cette région. Il y a des caribous, des baleines et des ours. Le sol n’est pas approprié pour l’agriculture. Il n’y a pas beaucoup de centre populeux dans cette région. Le climat subarctique le rend moins désirable pour vivre et les coûts de transport le rend une région moins favorable pour les industries. La fourrure et l’exploitation hydraulique sont deux industries dans cette région. La majorité de l’hydroélectricité provient de cette région.

Vue d’ensemble

Chaque région fournit sa propre contribution à la province. L’emplacement de la terre, la qualité du sol, le climat et la proximité à l’eau jouent un rôle dans la détermination du type de communauté, des industries et des plantes et animaux qui vont prospérer dans la région. Les attributs divers de l’Ontario lui permettent d’offrir une variété d’emplois, de communautés et d’habitats pour les personnes et les animaux. Des commerces urbains, aux communautés d’agriculture rurale, aux centres touristiques et les centres de préservation, l’Ontario a beaucoup à offrir!

Grade 2 - The country project and extra activities for support

Students have started a project on a country. Please discuss with your child(ren) which country they have chosen and ask why they chose it, what they know about it already, and what they want to know more about it. Students will be doing a research online on a Chromebook to learn more about it over the next couple of weeks. Students are expected to be able to:
- Locate the country on the world map. (in which hemisphere? in which continent?)
- Demonstrate understanding of differences between continents and countries.
- Ask questions about its population, food, climate and animals (and more) and answer to those questions through research.
- Use a website to find information about it (www.cyber-flag.net) - capital, currency, language, etc. to complete a report.
- Use a Venn diagram to compare their country with another.


Some extra practice activities to help students achieve the curriculum expectations:
1. Open the following page and look at the weather in different parts of the world. Why are they different? http://www.meteomedia.com/ Choose a country and make a prediction about the weather and look it up on this website to check if their prediction was correct.

2. Play geography games to locate different countries. Use a world map to help. Especially the games under "pays du monde"
http://www.jeux-geographiques.com/jeux-en-ligne-Tous-nos-jeux-MONDE-_pageid168.html

3. Watch videos about lives of different children around the world. Discuss why we have different houses, food, traditions, clothes, etc. and how they are related to their natural environment.
http://laoujedors.com/

Grade 1 - some prompt questions to support your child(ren) at home.

We have so far discussed

1. My roles and responsibilities at different places. (example student talk click here)

2. How roles and responsibilities change over time and after certain special events. (example student talk click here)

3. Important people in my life and their responsibilities. (example student talk click here)

We are now talking about special/important places in our lives. Some places and responsibilities that we came up with are : click here.

Some prompt questions

1. What are your responsibilities at home? Do your friends/siblings have the same responsibilities?

2. What new responsibilities do you have now that you are 7?

3. Who are some of the important people in your life and why are they important?

4. What are some special/important places in your life and why are they important/special?

5. What are some new responsibilities now that you go to school?

6. What is your role at home? What is your role at school? What is your role now that your baby sister was born?

7. What new responsibilities do you have now that you have a pet?

8. What is your responsibility in your classroom? What are some of your classmates' responsibilities?

Some activities students can do at home.

1. Draw a family tree and explain the responsibility of each person in the house.

2. Draw a timeline of the significant events in their lives and explain how those events changed their roles and responsibilities.

3. Draw pictures of important people in their lives and explain their responsibilities and roles.

4. Draw a special place in their lives and explain why it is special, what responsibilities they have in this place.

5. Writing practice with the examples from this blog.

Grade 1 - January

Dear parents and guardians,

In Social Studies, Grade 1 students have so far discussed:

- their roles and responsibilities in different places.

- important people in their lives and how their roles and responsibilities are different.

- important events in their lives and how these events change their roles and responsibilities.

In January, Grade 1 students will start a project in which they will create a poster to show at least three important places in their lives and how their roles and responsibilities change in these places.

Please send with your child(ren) three pictures taken in their three important places, if available, by the 11th of January at the latest. Some examples include pictures taken in their relatives' house, school and their place of worship (no trip or vacation pictures taken in places where they do not have particular responsibilities). Students will discuss this topic the first week back and they should be able to tell you which places they have chosen to include in their poster by the end of this week. The size of each photograph must be 4x6 or smaller. All the photos used in this project will only be used for the purpose of this activity and will be sent back home after the project has been evaluated. The number and quality of the photos used in this project will not be assessed for equity reasons. If photos are not available, students will be allowed to draw instead with no penalty. Using real photos is intended to help students engage and see the relevance of their learning to their life better.

For some of the vocabulary we will be using for this project, please click here. Click on the speaker icon to play the pronunciation. Long click to play it slowly.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via agenda or telephone (ext. 113). Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

M. Jung