Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?
Cycle 2 has a common curriculum which of course evolves between CP and CE2.
Five orientations define the common base for CP, CE1 and CE2 and are spread across all subjects:
- learning languages to think and communicate;
- mastering the methods and tools for learning
- the formation of the person and the citizen;
- knowledge of natural and technical systems
- representations of the world and human activity.
In Cycle 2, students are encouraged to question their environment, both near and far. All of the subjects taught to them aim to sharpen their curiosity, to teach them to satisfy it and to express it rationally. To question the world, students must master language. Learning French is therefore a priority that does not overshadow other subjects. On the contrary: the better they handle the language, the more comfortable they will be in other areas. They will find it easier to identify vocabulary specific to each subject, understand statements better and answer questions more accurately. Because the teacher is versatile, he or she can take advantage of each activity to remind them of the rules of the language. In short, while doing math or sports, they are also doing French. Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?
The two paths of learning Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?
In most subjects, learning takes two simultaneous paths: comprehension and automation. Understanding a sentence or an operation means giving it meaning. In French, understanding how to go from sound to letters and vice versa is an essential issue. In a broader sense, learning to read also requires understanding a text, beginning to interpret it in order to appreciate it and even grasping what is not always explicit. Automation consists of memorizing knowledge that students will use as a tool. For example, in mathematics, knowing the multiplication tables allows students to improve their ability to calculate an operation whose meaning they have understood. In the same way, in the activities of questioning the world, they can use some dates learned by heart to understand a given situation.
In CP, CE1 and CE2, there is a real gap between the levels of oral and written mastery. What students are able to understand and express through speech is still at a much higher level than what they can read or write. But don’t worry, your children won’t spend three years talking back and forth without holding a pen: it is precisely during this cycle that the teacher gradually teaches them to move from spoken language to paper (and keyboard). Whatever the subject, they begin to understand that speaking or writing is both translating what they think and respecting rules. The teacher builds on this gap: in teaching French or modern languages – foreign or regional – he or she first develops their oral skills to make them understand the importance of these rules before transmitting them in writing. Knowing that one does not say “I’m not hungry”, but “I’m not hungry” already introduces grammatical nuances that will be indispensable in writing. Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?
Understanding and explaining Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?
In these classes, teaching is based on intuitive knowledge acquired outside of school, mainly in the family. This knowledge touches on many areas: social (rules, conventions, customs), physical (knowledge of one’s body, movements), and cultural. The teacher uses this implicit knowledge as a foundation for explicit learning. Students begin to analyse what they previously knew without thinking about it and thus evaluate their own actions (e.g., judging whether a verbal form is correct, understanding a quantity, reasoning logically). This is also the time when they learn to justify rationally. In all activities, they practice not only doing what they are asked to do, but also explaining why they did it the way they did and adapting their answers: they understand that the result of a calculation or the understanding of a text, the appreciation of a work of art or the observation of a natural phenomenon are not justified in the same way. Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?
Finally, in Cycle 2, children acquire fundamental skills that they will use in all subjects and throughout their schooling, and later still in many aspects of life: solving a problem, understanding a document, writing a text, designing an object. The teacher highlights the links between these activities: isn’t there an analogy between solving a math problem and doing research in science? Between reading a text and understanding a work of art? Between understanding a speech and arguing? If the teacher is not there to show students the connections between different domains, only a handful of students will be able to grasp these connections, truly understand them, and then use the common methodologies. Wouldn’t that be a shame? Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?
