Day: January 28, 2021

Changing the World / Problem Solving PowerPoint Project

Hello Everyone,

After you have chosen a person who has done something to change the world and solve problems, you will make a PowerPoint presentation about them, and about how you are inspired to make change or solve problems of your own because of what you learned!

Here are the steps for the project:

  • Choose a person using the previous blog post of articles, or the books posted in EPIC to help you decide.
  • Do research on the person, recording your notes in your journal.
  • Experiment with PowerPoint (we did this in class) to make sure you know how to open a new presentation, create new slides, select a theme, insert text boxes, and insert pictures.
  • Create the slideshow per the instructions below, then present it to the class.
  • You may want to make index card notes for your presentation, because you can’t read off of the slides.

Here are the slideshow requirements:

  • Slide One:  Title of your presentation, your name, the date, a picture of the person.
  • Slide Two-Three:  Introduction to your person. Where were they born, their education, their interests, job, birthdate, etc.
  • Slide Four:  What problem they solved and why?
  • Slide Five:  What did they do to solve it?
  • Slide Six:  How you feel about what they did and what problem are you inspired to solve.
  • Slide Seven:  What is your plan to solve this problem? (Your action plan)
  • Limit text on each slide and try to use pictures to illustrate your point. You will be talking to present it, so you do not need too much text.
  • Please do not use fonts that are smaller than size 12 font, and avoid scripty, cursive, capital letters (which indicate shouting), and microscopic, hard-to-read fonts.
  • Use one of the themes on PowerPoint for colours of backgrounds and format, rather than creating your own. You want to avoid using colours that make it hard to read what you have on the screen (such as white on black, yellow on red, etc.)
  • If you use a picture, do not put text directly on top of it, because it is hard to read. You can make a coloured box on top of a picture, such as a white, rectangle box, and then put text on top of that, if you want to create captions for your pictures.

This project will be due February 5th, and then we will do presentations February 8th and 9th, Monday/Tuesday.

Some Things to Do for French!

Hello Everyone,

I would like to post a series of learning videos and lessons about basic French on this blog entry for both grade 4 and 5. It will be updated as needed as we continue with our French learning.

As I explained to the class, the Core French curriculum provides basic exposure for grades 5-7 to French. Because we are a grade 4/5 class, everyone in grade 4 will also participate. The focus for us will be learning basic words, phrases, and interactions in French, as well as some French culture, such as where French is spoken in the world.

Ms. D will also go over the connections between French learning and other languages. For example, we have talked about cognates, idioms, colloquial phrases, and dialects, as well as the linguistics behind how humans make different sounds around the world. We will compare French with our own first languages as we go, because this makes us more globally aware of how language works and is attained. I enjoy our deeper conversations about language!

We have some students who were in French Immersion. While MACC does not have French Immersion support, the students who have past French experience will be asked to do alternative assignments. For example, they may be asked to read French newspapers and comment in French on current events, or they might read the French magazines I have in class and comment on articles. The purpose of any work done at the French Immersion level would be to maintain previously-learned French. It is a good idea to find a friend or family member to have daily discussions in French to maintain any fluency.

If you want to do independent learning of French, there are so many ways online. You could do Duolingo or use the website French-Games.net which has quizzes, vocab lists, and games for practice. You could also try to find a friend who studies French Immersion and get them to have basic conversations with you. Finally, you could try to find items that have writing in both French and English, such as the sides of cereal boxes, instructions for a toy, and brochures, and do comparisons between the two explanations and languages.

Any exposure you can get at this age is helpful for later, and it is not necessary to try and gain fluency now. You will be taking French in Grade 8, and you can continue with those studies in high school. Many students who start French in high school and continue in university also gain fluency and can use it for work or travel in the future. Plus there are other languages out there, such as Chinese, Spanish, Russian, or Japanese. So many options to increase your ability to communicate with others!

Okay, so here are some ways to get started. Please practice videos and lists we go over in class, and we will have Kahoot quizzes and in-class interaction to practice and to test our knowledge.

The Numbers 1-10 – Write and Practice

The Numbers 11-20 – Write and Practice

French Alphabet – Write and Practice

Song About the Months – Write and Practice

Days of the Week with Alexa – Write and Practice

Practice Greetings and How to Say Your Name – Write and Practice

How to Introduce Yourself in French – Practice Aloud

French Greetings with Alexa – Practice Aloud

Feelings in French – Write and Practice

Weather in French – Write and Practice

French Weather and Seasons – Listen and Practice

Why French in Canada – Name Explain, Listen and Take Notes