Grade 1 Parent Information

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French Immersion Program

Program considerations

The French Immersion program is:

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• open to students starting in Grade 2
• 100% French instruction in Grade 2
• intended to develop proficiency, giving students more instructional time in French
• many students that enter the program continue throughout elementary and into secondary, while some opt out

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Learning skills from Grade 1 help to decide if French Immersion is the right choice

• good development of learning skills: responsibility, organization, independent work, collaboration, initiative and self-regulation
• engaged and confident readers and writers
• engaged and confident problem solvers in Math
• demonstrating a Growth Mindset
• mistakes are valuable
• questions are really important
• keep trying
• don’t give up
• I can grow my brain
• the importance of “YET”

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What will my child learn in Grade 2?

• Ontario Curriculum: Arts, Health and Physical Education, Language, Math, Science and Technology, and Social Studies
• 100 minute Literacy block every day
• 50 - 60 minute Math block every day
• Literacy and Math are integrated across the curriculum - skills are also developed through the Arts, Health and Physical Education, Science and Technology, and Social Studies
• 20 minutes of daily physical activity

Language learning components

• oral language (listening and speaking)
• concepts of print
• writing
• phonemic awareness
• phonics, word work and spelling
• understanding letters and sounds
• vocabulary
• word and language structure
• thinking skills
• reading behaviours

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Comparison of Literacy Skills

Math learning

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NUMBER: Students work with numbers up to 200. They develop and apply their growing understanding of numbers in various ways, such as solving problems involving addition and subtraction. They continue to work with fractions through the context of sharing things equally.

DATA: Students continue to develop their understanding of data as they learn ways to collect, organize, display and interpret more complicated data. They will learn about the likelihood of events happening and how that can be used to make informed decisions, (for example, “If it is likely to rain tomorrow, then I should wear rain boots”).

ALGEBRA: Students use shapes and numbers to continue to learn about patterns and how to extend them. They also learn about equality by adjusting pairs of addition and subtraction statements to make them equal. Students will develop code to move multiple objects from one location to another on a grid at the same time. They will also use mathematical modelling to analyze and create solutions for real-life situations, such as determining the cost of a lunch program.

Source: The Ontario Math Curriculum, 2020

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING: Students practise critical and creative thinking. For example, in financial literacy as students are learning to break down different denominations of money and select different tools and strategies such as making lists of different money combinations, drawing pictures of different groupings and using manipulatives to break down amounts in different ways.

FINANCIAL LITERACY: Students build on their understanding that money has value and identify different ways to represent the same amount of money. For example, how different combinations of coins can add up to $1, and how different combinations of loonies, toonies and bills can add up to $100.

Math Concepts

SPATIAL SENSE: Students continue to develop their spatial sense as they learn to visualize what different shapes look like when they are turned around or taken apart. They learn to recognize and describe more complex shapes and create simple maps of familiar places. Tools such as rulers will be used to accurately measure the lengths of objects, and timers and clocks are used to measure how much time has passed.

Considering French Immersion for my child

• How has my child’s language development progressed?
• How well has my child engaged in the Primary Core French program?
• How has my child’s math development progressed?
• What information has been shared with me about my child’s learning strengths and needs?
• Have I considered the information from the Progress Report?
• Would my family adapt to potentially having students at different schools?
• Have I considered potentially changing schools again if my child decided to demit from the program mid-year?

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Progression of French Immersion Program

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100% intensity

• The Arts (Dance, Drama, Music, Visual Arts)

• French Language Arts

• Health and Physical Education

• Mathematics

• Science and Technology

• Social Studies

• no English Language Arts

80% intensity

• The Arts (Dance, Drama, Music, Visual Arts)

• French Language Arts

• Health and Physical Education

• Mathematics

• Science and Technology

• Social Studies

• English Language Arts (20%)

50% intensity

• French Language Arts

• Science and Technology

• Social Studies/History/Geography

•The Arts

(Dance, Drama, Music, Visual Arts)

•Health and Physical Education

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• English Language Arts

• Mathematics

•The Arts

(Dance, Drama, Music, Visual Arts)

•Health and Physical Education

Parent Informational Links

• Parent Informational Video
• Parent Q&A Video

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Elementary schools with French Immersion 2025-2026

Transportation

Transportation will be provided by the Halton District School Board to French Immersion centres from the associate/home schools for students who are eligible under the current transportation policy.

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www.haltonbus.ca

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