Have you ever had any of these problems with your maternelle French writing centre? You send your students and they just… don’t write! They draw, they chat, they are silly, they make crafts, etc. etc… but, no writing! You spend ages setting up an adorable, Pinterest-perfect writing centre, with vocabulary...
Using Thematic French Writing Word Banks in Your Primary Classroom
I’ve said this in many other blog posts, and I’ll say it again… Teaching writing to primary students can be a huge challenge – especially in their second language! This is why I use Thematic French Writing Word Banks. Toss pandemics, virtual teaching, hybrid teaching, back & forth between online...
Using a Writing Continuum in the French Primary Classroom
Who here agrees that teaching writing can be a real challenge? I used to think that too, but now, writing is one of my FAVOURITE subjects to teach, and is definitely my smoothest block of the day! What helped me with that transition? Definitely using a writing continuum! When I...
What Writer’s Workshop Is Versus What It Isn’t
If you read this blog post on this topic, then you know more about how Writer’s Workshop needs to be structured, how easy it is to use it as a framework for teaching writing with different genres and themes, and what the components of the writing process are. In this...
Running Writer’s Workshop in COVID Times
The COVID global pandemic has changed teaching for schools all around the world, and understandably so -- it’s an infectious illness that could spread like wildfire in schools, in particular, if precautions aren’t taken. That doesn’t mean that it’s not hindering how we’ve all become accustomed to teaching, and for...
The Best Way to Structure Your Writing Block
How many times have you found yourself diving into teaching writing in the primary grades only to be greeted with lots of raised hands and not a lot of actual writing? Probably more times than you can count, if you’re anything like me! This post provides an overview of one...
Enseigner les « Textes à structure répétée » avec les Phrases fantastiques
If you've been following me for awhile, you might have read some of my previous blog posts about writing (like this one or this one). You'll know that I don't really believe in having our maternelle students write from prompts each day, and I advocate modeling teaching them how to...
What Are « Phrases Fantastiques » and Why Should You Try Them?
One of the trickiest things to teach in maternelle can definitely be writing. Many of our students can't even speak French yet, but we are expected to teach them the mechanics of writing... PLUS how to write stories that have great content (for their age, of course!). When I first...
Des idées pour travailler l’écriture pendant la lecture guidée
Have you ever noticed how our struggling readers are often struggling writers, too? And if a student has a hard time decoding words, they also have a hard time hearing and recording the sounds they want to write? Makes sense, doesn't it? Reading and writing are so intertwined, and it...
La formation des lettres avec les élèves de la maternelle
Hi! Long time no blog post! Sorry about that - turns out pregnant Andrea is not my best Andrea ;) So, you may hear from me again soon, you may not - balancing is a struggle right now for me! #realtalk Since the back to school season is coming sooner...