This site is for Monsieur Leblond's grade eight advisory at Lansdowne Middle School. You can find updates on what is happening in the class, the school, and there is a link for resources that can help you in your learning.
Over the past few weeks students read and learned about the discovery of unicellular orgismes and how they differ from multicellular organismes. Students learned about the organelles of plant and animal cells and the invention and composition of optical microscopes. Classes participated in a microscope lab where they observed aquatic organisms from fresh and salt water environments and were required to sketch and describe what they saw. This coming week we will be reviewing and preparing for a test that will cover these subjects. Students will write the test on Monday, November 23.
English Language Arts
Students worked to complete their second graphic novel summary and continued to plan and complete a a draft of their own graphic narrative.
Sciences Humaines
Student completed and submitted their alternative cartography project. They learned about the use of maps to represent statistical data. Next week students will begin a research project related to local history and the naming of streets.
Français Langue
Students read articles about the BC elections as well as an article about this year's Nobel laureates. We have been covering the differences between passé composé and imparfait verb conjugations. Students will be writing a paragraph this week that incorporates these two verb tenses.
It was a pleasure connecting with parents last week for our Parent-Teacher interviews via Zoom. If you were unable to book a time to meet last week, i'd be happy to arrange a meeting at a mutually convenient time in the coming days or weeks.
After a bit of a hiatus (hiatus being one of our words of the day) i've gotten around to posting a summary of some of the learning that we have covered these past few weeks. Due to Covid and the varying degrees of student engagement with on-line learning before summer holidays, I have tried to start the year somewhat gently for students, to slowly reastablish expectations and routines, and also to mitigate the stress and anxiety that some students and families may be experiencing with the return to school.
Sciences Naturelles
Over the past four weeks we have covered the topic of the Scientific method and have introduced the theories of the origins and evolution of life on Earth, and the discovery of microorganisms. Student completed an experiment exploring the aerodynamics of the flight of a frisbee where they collected data on the characteristics of flight and discussed variables that influened their results. Students also watched and responded to questions related to the BBC documentaries First Life and The Hidden Life of Cells.
After gaining an understanding of the origins and evolution of single cell organisms to multicellular organism we have moved onto the invention of the microscope and the discovery of microorganisms. Student are currently reading a text and responding to questions related to the discovery of cells. We will be using microscopes to observe aquatic organisms next week and looking at the differences and similarities between plant and animal cells.
Sciences Humaines
Students have been working on mapping these past few weeks, starting with drawing a map of Canada from memory to see how different student perceived their country or how well they remembered it from past school activities. From there students completed maps of Canada, the continents, Europe and a map of the world with 35 different countries that needed to be identified.
Students are currently working on a project where they are representing a place that is important to them. We discussed how maps serve a specific purpose and represent certain information - whether it is political boundaries, time zones, elevation, population density, climate, or transportation corridors. Often a specific kind of information is highlighted at the expense of other features. In this regard I presented information about how cartography has evolved and how different cultures have represented their world. Students watched a short documentary about how an indigenous culture - the Zuni of New Mexico represented their land in an alternative cartography project.
Student are currently working to create a map of someplace significant to them - their room, their home, their yard, their neighbourhood, their route to school, their favourite hiking or biking trail. It can be a narrative description or a pictographic depiction. Students can use a wide range of media to represent part of their world that they have a connection to.
English Language Arts
Students were given the choice at the beginning of October between a writer's workshop with Mme. Martin where they are learning about the components of sentences and proper paragraphing or participating in a graphic novel unit. Students who are completing the graphic novel unit have been reading graphic novels and planning their story and the visual elements for their own graphic narrative.
Français Langue
This past month students reviewed the verbes of Dr Mrs. Vandertramp and composed a paragraph using at least eight of the verbs that use être as an auxilary in the past tense. We have also been focussing on current events - the elections in the United States as well as the forest fires that were so devestating for many of the western states. We will be shifting our focus to current events in Canada this week.
Important Dates:
Feux de Foret questions - Week of Oct. 26
Microscope et Cellules questions (3,4,5,6, 7 ou 8) - Wednesday, Oct. 28
Halloween costume contest - Friday, Oct 30.
Graphic Novel Summary #1 - Week of Nov. 2
Nov. 10 Field trip permission form - Friday, Nov 6.
Our first full week together in advisory was spent establishing routines, expectations and reflecting on the skills, attitudes, knowledge, and preparation that contribute to student success. As a class we discussed things that have worked and not worked in the past in order to create a framework of expectations that work for everyone - whether we should have a seating plan, how to mitigate distractions, how to focus in class, and whether we need to schedule more frequent breaks to help students concentrate in class.
Another reason for this discussion was to have student reflect on their own strengths and challenges. I used the metaphor of a toolbox to illustrate what a person might need to get the job done so that students could reflect on the tools they already have and what they might need to be successful this year.
Furthermore, we discussed the framework of SMART goals so that students could create academic goals, inter or intrapersonal goals, as well as health goals. We talked about different strategies that could be used for achieving their goals this term. At the end of each term students will be expected to evaluate themselves and create new goals or strategies for continued growth over the year.
This week students received their class schedules and their locker assignments. Students should have their school supplies and a lock for their locker in order to securely store their personal items should they need them. This includes their cellphones, as these should be stored in their lockers.Yesterday, students received a number of forms that need to be verified or completed and returned to the school.
In Science class, we discussed the relationship between Science and Technology as well as questions that lend themselves to scientific inquiry (open versus closed-ended questions that require research, possibly experimentation, and greater elaboration). In this regard, students created their own science related inquiry and began researching their topic in order to write a brief 1-2 paragraph report on their topic.
In French and English classes we have been playing vocabulary building games and completed a diagnostic spelling test to gauge students' spelling abilities in English.
In Science Humain we have begun a unit on mapping. Students tried to develop a map of Canada from memory that included the provinces and territories. They have since been given an assignment with criteria in support of the completion of an administrative map of Canada.
I was sent this image from family who reside in the North of British Columbia and thought it was worthwhile to share it with you all. It is a unique Canadian unit of measure for safe social distancing.
Teaching and learning can be incredibly rewarding when everyone feels that they are achieving a measure of success, however you may define it. Effective communication is a key component of a good working relationship between all parties involved - teacher and student, student and parent, as well as the relationship between the teacher and parents.
Also, the more your child's teacher knows about your child at the beginning of the year, the more he or she can tailor their teaching to better meet the needs of your child. In this regard, I have sent a questionnaire home with your child this week for parents to fill out. Your answers regarding student extra-curricular activities and previous successes or struggles will go a long way in helping me get to know your child and better support their learning. Students will also be completing a questionnaire and will be developing a learning plan each term in order to address areas that they identify as needing special attention.
Lastly, research shows that when parents are directly involved in their child's education they are more likely to stay in school and achieve greater academic success. Creating routines and establishing a place to work, providing learning resources at home, and being involved in school activities have all been shown to have positive impacts on learning outcomes.
Whatever it is that you choose to do, your engagement in your child's learning along with positive support and encouragement will go a long way to motivating your child to work towards and attain the goals that the set out for themselves this year, whether it is better attendance, higher test scores, or more positive interactions with their peers.
I look forward to working with you and your children to make this year a successful one.
This is the Lansdowne Blog for parents of Grade Eight French Immersion students in Advisory 52. I (Monsieur Leblond) will be posting a weekly summary with important information here for parents regarding assignments, field trips, and events happening in the Lansdowne community. Students will be using Google Classroom to keep abreast of assignments and to submit work completed electronically.
French Canadian culture is very important me as I was raised in French speaking household in Ontario. I will try will try to bring a wide range of life and work experience to my teaching and will strive to make learning meaningful and fun with the ultimate goal of helping foster curiosity, confidence and the desire in students to be lifelong learners.
Through the creation of meaningful projects that relate to our learning, and field trips that situate learning in a context other than the classroom, I hope to create a learning environment where students will be engaged in their learning. As much as possible I will try to create projects that link the curriculums of Sciences Naturelles, Sciences Humaines, Francais Langue, Math and English.
Currently, the school district is advising teachers not to plan field trips, request parent volunteers or guest speakers. I am hoping that the guidelines recently published by the provincial health authority will be adopted by the district and allow us to plan and participate in field trips, especially since being outdoors has been shown to reduce rates of transmission.
My hope is that we can integrate more place-based learning this year to make the learning more relevant and engaging in order to foster more local knowledge and a closer relationship to our community.
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