Page 5 - SN February - Grade 1

EAL

MS. VISNJA PLECAS

Dear Parents,
Grade 1 students continued to develop their English language skills. We read many stories
and talked about the events and characters that we encountered. The students also made
connections to their own experiences. They read simple books with repetitive sentence
patterns and word families. Our writing activities involved writing simple sentences or sim-
ple recounts about an interesting event or character of choice. We played a number of lan-
guage games – each devoted to some aspect of reinforcing the literacy learning that had
taken place in class. We read game cards asking children to make a choice between two
things and they had to reply using full sentences and to justify their choice by stating a rea-
son. We played other games where they had to read and follow instructions in order to
move ahead. Many times we begin lessons with the children sharing experiences, events,
information about favourite foods, sports and activities. They ask each other questions
and comment on the information they have heard. The oral language skills of listening
and speaking are constantly developed in small groups where each child has the oppor-
tunity to say something and be heard. Each book we read, game we play or personal re-
count we listen to is an opportunity to talk about words and how we use them.