South March Students Write French Books for Kindergarten Friends

South March Students Write French Books for Kindergarten Friends
Posted on 06/29/2022
South March Students Write French Books for Kindergarten FriendsGrade 1 Early French Immersion students at South March Public School became budding authors after a year-long journey of writing their very own books to help their kindergarten friends learn how to read in preparation for first grade.

Over the course of the year, the class collaborated with many members of the local community through virtual meetings, where they learned about the process of writing, illustrating, publishing, and selling books. The students heard from author Naseem Hrab (Kids Can Press), author/illustrator Jay Odjick (Scholastics Canada), Facile à Lire Company founder Noémi Berlusand, and OCDSB Print Shop Leader Steve Carr.

Inspired by these conversations and guided by teacher Mme Amanda Szucs, they began publishing a book of ABCs as a class. They went on to author 5-10 page books on topics of their choosing. They used an online tool called BookCreator to type up the books and edit them. They even recorded themselves reading the books aloud, to help their kindergarten peers follow along. The students also applied their math skills to create Google Form surveys and vote for their favorite covers for the class book. The books were printed by OCDSB Print Services and, thanks to support from the OCDSB Innovation and Adolescent Learning, Student Success department, they were donated to the school library for all to enjoy.

While working on the project, the students learned the alphabet, complex sounds, and the most frequently used French words, as well as how to read and analyze simple books in French. Next year, Mme Szucs hopes to continue this project, writing a complete collection of books based on simple syllables, complex sounds, and common vocabulary.

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I am very grateful to have collaborated with so many wonderful individuals from our community. At the beginning, we struggled to have our students put pen to paper. They saw writing in a second language as daunting and unattainable. They felt as though it was an insurmountable task to even write a few short words let alone a complete sentence, and now they are so excited and very much look forward to our daily Writer's Workshop activities. I couldn't be prouder, my heart is full! - Mme Amanda Szucs
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The students were so inspired by the project, they’ve continued to publish books both in and out of the classroom. They recently created books for Father's Day and are currently working on a yearbook to celebrate the end of our year together. They are even publishing books in French at home for their family members and pets!

Take a look at the students’ creative process in the gallery below:
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