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BrainNinjasWP

How to Assess French as a Second Language

by BrainNinjasWP

If you're teaching French as a Second language, it can be a challenge marking or grading progress. We made a list of all the ways to assess French (but many are general assessment strategies) that will definitely help you out. Come take a read to see how to assess FSL lessons.

Many French teachers struggle with how to assess French in their upper elementary classes. This is especially challenging for teachers who aren’t feeling confident with their own French skills.

Assessing French is the same as assessing many other subjects that are taught in school, but the degree of progress can vary greatly between students. Here are some of the ways we assess French in our classroom.

[Read more…] about How to Assess French as a Second Language

Filed Under: Classroom Tips Tagged With: assessment, French, French activities, French lessons, FSL Activities, FSL Classroom, FSL Lessons, student assessment

How to Teach French as a Second Language

by BrainNinjasWP

Have you been asked to teach French as a Second Language to upper elementary students but you have no idea where to start? Do you speak some French, but have never formally taught it? Let us help you out. Our lessons are written by a native Francophone speaker who teaches French as a Second Language. Get some ideas to get you started or use our resources to get you through the year. Come see!

Have you been asked to teach French as a Second Language (FSL) or Core French but have absolutely no experience? Maybe you don’t even speak French fluently? Maybe you took French in High School (15 years ago) and you are considered the most qualified in your school. As crazy as that may sound to some…it happens…all the time!

Whether you’ve been asked to teach FSL for the first time or you’re a seasoned teacher who is looking for new ideas, this post is meant for you. These reading, writing, speaking and listening ideas could apply to the teaching of any second language.

[Read more…] about How to Teach French as a Second Language

Filed Under: Engaging Lessons, Teaching Strategies Tagged With: French, French activities, French lessons, FSL, FSL Activities, FSL Classroom, FSL Lessons, upper elementary

How to Learn About Wetlands Without A Pond

by BrainNinjasWP

Are you trying to teach wetlands in Alberta but there isn't a nearby pond and you can't take a field trip? That's exactly why we wrote this series of lessons, activities and assessments. Come take a look to see if they can help you get your planning done so you can enjoy the activities along with your upper elementary science students.

Teaching students about wetlands can be a real challenge when you don’t have access to a pond or field trips to go to a pond. Each year in Canada, we struggle with winter sneaking well into spring, shortening the time available to teach the unit outdoors. If we try to teach the unit in the fall, we often end up with snow within a few weeks of starting the unit. So how are students supposed to learn about wetlands when they can’t actually get to a wetland?

[Read more…] about How to Learn About Wetlands Without A Pond

Filed Under: Engaging Lessons Tagged With: Alberta science, biology, ecosystems, engaging lessons, outdoor activities, science, Teachers Pay Teachers, wetland ecosystems, wetlands

End the School Year With Lasting Memories

by BrainNinjasWP

Are you looking for ways to celebrate the school year with your students? We've collected some of the best ways we spend the last month of school in our upper elementary classroom (and of course we're still learning right up until the end). Come check out these ideas.

Every group of students you teach over the years will leave a special place in your heart. The names and faces might fade a little or get mixed up as the years pile up, but there are always some groups, names and faces that will stick with you. We try to make the end of each year special for our students. For some, the end of the year is a joyous occasion, but for others, it’s sad and summer break is not always wonderful for them. Here are some of the ways we end the school year in special ways to create lasting memories.

[Read more…] about End the School Year With Lasting Memories

Filed Under: Classroom Tips Tagged With: celebrations, classroom celebrations, Classroom Community, end of the school year, End of the Year, English Language Arts, Language Arts, Logic Puzzles, outdoor activities, theme days, Writing Prompts

Mastering the Angles: Innovative Approaches to Teaching Geometry Concepts

by BrainNinjasWP

Are you looking for ways to teach geometry concepts in your upper elementary classroom? This is one of our favourite units. We teach 2D shapes, 3D objects and transformations with interactive math notebooks, task cards, Boom Cards and a huge project where we build an arcade. It's so much fun! Come see how we do this in our math class.

When we start talking about quadrilaterals, trapezoids, and parallel lines, many students get lost quickly. There are so many new and uncommon words introduced in our geometry concepts unit and it is especially difficult for English Language Learners. These are some of the ways we build an understanding of shape and space concepts in our classroom.

[Read more…] about Mastering the Angles: Innovative Approaches to Teaching Geometry Concepts

Filed Under: Engaging Lessons, Teaching Strategies Tagged With: 2D shapes, 3D objects, classroom fun, engaging lessons, geometry, interactive math notebooks, Makerspace, Math, Mathematics, objects, polygons, Project Based Learning, quadrilaterials, shape and space, shapes, task cards, transformations, types of lines

Inexpensive and Easy to Make Mother’s Day Ideas

by BrainNinjasWP

Are you looking for easy to make and inexpensive projects for Mother's Day (or Father's Day or Grandparents Day or basically anyone appreciation day)? As upper elementary teachers, this event usually gets overlooked so we came up with a list of some tried and true gifts we made over the years. Come see if one of them will work for your class this year.

Mother’s Day tends to sneak up on us every year, so this year, we’ve made an effort to show some of the best Mother’s Day ideas we’ve created over the years. It’s funny how we always know when Mother’s Day will be, but it’s in that rush near the end of the school year, so it tends to be something we can do quickly and fairly inexpensively.

While we’ve called this post “mother’s day,” we are very careful to include all types of parent roles throughout the year. It is important to know who is in your classroom and know if there are parents, guardians or even foster parents. Have these conversations early.

So, what types of projects do we do for any parent or guardian appreciation do we create? Read on.

[Read more…] about Inexpensive and Easy to Make Mother’s Day Ideas

Filed Under: Classroom Tips Tagged With: father's day, gift ideas, grandparent's day, Holidays, Holidays and Seasonal, mother's day

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