The weeks are flying by. The children who were new in September will soon have completed their first year at St. Dominic's. The EAL children are now starting to feel more comfortable in their home classrooms and are doing their best to understand what is going on arouind them. They still enjoy coming to EAL as it is a safe heaven for them three or four times a week. They also get a lot of individual attention which they still need.
Special events:
Arts Week May 24 - 29
Opening concert at 9am.Each day at 12.30pm there will be an instrumental performance by students held in the reception area. We would love to see parents come along and support this.Don't forget the art display which will be in the reception area during the whole week.
Thursday 3 June No school (religious holiday-Corpo de Deus)
Thursday 10 June No school (political holiday -Dia de Portugal)
Friday 4 June /Saturday 5 June
Junior School Theatre Production - Peter Pan (not to be missed- tickets available soon!)
Tuesday 8 June Sports Day Nursery- Yr 2.
Wednesday 9 June Sports Day Yr3 - Yr6
What Happened in the EAL Classroom Last Week
We mentioned last week the importance of hearing your child read each evening and at least once at the weekend. It is really important that they read aloud to help with pronunciation and intonation. Please check that they understand what they are reading as sometimes they are able to read but have little understanding of what they have read.
Beginner's Group2N
(Objective - vocabulary enrichment)
In our oral lesson we focussed on the vocabulary surrounding different sports and the equipment used. Next week we will play the "Guess My Sport Game" to reinforce new vocabulary and provide practice in question asking in the present tense.
Beginner's Group 3VL/4LB
(Objective - practising using homophones/ asking questions in the present and past tense/ assisting with information reports for unit work.)
We continued our work of question asking in both the present and past tenses. We looked at the homophones wear and where and the similarity between we're and were. (English can be very tricky!) We also started to support the children in 4LB with their summative assessment, learning about a specific learning disability.
Beginner's Group 5T
(Objective - Asking questions in the past tense)
We imagined an interview with "Desert island man" and thought up questions we could ask him about his time on a desert island. We continued to focus on the "W" questions and questions beginning with "did."
Beginners Group 6P
(Objective - Researching information /learning new vocabulary/asking and answering in the past tense.)
We only had the children for three out of the six lessons this week, due to the field trip to "Convento dos Capuchos." We read a true account of a jungle survival and have started to construct an interview situation between a journalist and the survivor. We will video the mock interviews for the children to analyse and critique their use of English. We also revised the use of contractions in English eg can't for cannot.
Intermediate Group 4
(Objective - comprehension skills)
We looked at homphones such as wear and where and marvelled at how many homophones there are in English. We read a book together called "What's It like? Blindness" and answered comprehension questions. (Link to classroom unit)
Intermediate Group 5
(Objective - research skills and vocabulary enrichment)
We continued our research into the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 - Pompeii. by looking at other library books. The children have been practising the skill of notetaking and next week will write up their own account of the historically famous eruption.
Intermediate Group 6
(Objective looking at video of summative assessment of "How We Share the Planet unit /looking at usage of present perfect tense with "Just" and unfinished time. )
We looked at the video of the children presenting their information reports and action plans. We critiqued one another's performances with the view to learning from them for next time.
WE started to look at the tricky present perfect tense with emphasis on use with an action which has just happened eg I have just arrived home and unfinished time. eg I have had three cups of coffee today. (when the day has not yet finished)
NB We have stepped up our reading program with the Year 6 groups to ensure that they read aloud to someone at lest once a day. (Please note that it is still important for you to hear them read at home.)
Special events:
Arts Week May 24 - 29
Opening concert at 9am.Each day at 12.30pm there will be an instrumental performance by students held in the reception area. We would love to see parents come along and support this.Don't forget the art display which will be in the reception area during the whole week.
Thursday 3 June No school (religious holiday-Corpo de Deus)
Thursday 10 June No school (political holiday -Dia de Portugal)
Friday 4 June /Saturday 5 June
Junior School Theatre Production - Peter Pan (not to be missed- tickets available soon!)
Tuesday 8 June Sports Day Nursery- Yr 2.
Wednesday 9 June Sports Day Yr3 - Yr6
What Happened in the EAL Classroom Last Week
We mentioned last week the importance of hearing your child read each evening and at least once at the weekend. It is really important that they read aloud to help with pronunciation and intonation. Please check that they understand what they are reading as sometimes they are able to read but have little understanding of what they have read.
Beginner's Group2N
(Objective - vocabulary enrichment)
In our oral lesson we focussed on the vocabulary surrounding different sports and the equipment used. Next week we will play the "Guess My Sport Game" to reinforce new vocabulary and provide practice in question asking in the present tense.
Beginner's Group 3VL/4LB
(Objective - practising using homophones/ asking questions in the present and past tense/ assisting with information reports for unit work.)
We continued our work of question asking in both the present and past tenses. We looked at the homophones wear and where and the similarity between we're and were. (English can be very tricky!) We also started to support the children in 4LB with their summative assessment, learning about a specific learning disability.
Beginner's Group 5T
(Objective - Asking questions in the past tense)
We imagined an interview with "Desert island man" and thought up questions we could ask him about his time on a desert island. We continued to focus on the "W" questions and questions beginning with "did."
Beginners Group 6P
(Objective - Researching information /learning new vocabulary/asking and answering in the past tense.)
We only had the children for three out of the six lessons this week, due to the field trip to "Convento dos Capuchos." We read a true account of a jungle survival and have started to construct an interview situation between a journalist and the survivor. We will video the mock interviews for the children to analyse and critique their use of English. We also revised the use of contractions in English eg can't for cannot.
Intermediate Group 4
(Objective - comprehension skills)
We looked at homphones such as wear and where and marvelled at how many homophones there are in English. We read a book together called "What's It like? Blindness" and answered comprehension questions. (Link to classroom unit)
Intermediate Group 5
(Objective - research skills and vocabulary enrichment)
We continued our research into the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 - Pompeii. by looking at other library books. The children have been practising the skill of notetaking and next week will write up their own account of the historically famous eruption.
Intermediate Group 6
(Objective looking at video of summative assessment of "How We Share the Planet unit /looking at usage of present perfect tense with "Just" and unfinished time. )
We looked at the video of the children presenting their information reports and action plans. We critiqued one another's performances with the view to learning from them for next time.
WE started to look at the tricky present perfect tense with emphasis on use with an action which has just happened eg I have just arrived home and unfinished time. eg I have had three cups of coffee today. (when the day has not yet finished)
NB We have stepped up our reading program with the Year 6 groups to ensure that they read aloud to someone at lest once a day. (Please note that it is still important for you to hear them read at home.)
