Hi, I am Josh and I liked the filed trip to the museum because it was fun and interesting. I found out about four explorers called Zheng He, Marco Polo, Sang Nila Utama and Ibn Battura.
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The children have had a great week as we continued with our inquiry into how exchange systems affect Singapore. We visited the Maritime Museum at Sentosa to discover more about the Maritime Silk Route including the explorers and adventurers who voyaged the seas, some of the goods they traded, the ports they visited and finally how Singapore was influenced.
Some children came back with questions about the old port in Singapore and how the boats brought in goods and about the spices that were traded and how they are used. Many wanted to know more about Sang Nila Utama (the founder of Singapore), Marco Polo (the Italian explorer) and Zheng He (the Chinese explorer). Some children are finding out about the modern day cargo ships and port in Singapore. They have been researching more about their chosen area. In Maths, we have begun our new unit which examines Chance and Probability. The children have begun to explore the language of probability: Impossible/Possible, Uncertain/Certain, Unlikely/Likely and Equally Likely. They were thinkers and identified examples for each term and illustrated these. We will be connecting this to our UOI (exchange systems help our community) and our ISS Fun Fair stall. Grade 2 will create our own Arcade with games that the children will design and create from recycled materials. This was inspired by Caine's Arcade in LA. We looked at the 5 step Design Process and began independently sketching our ideas. The children then did a gallery walk to identify people with similar ideas with whom they could collaborate and began making prototypes this week. This week we did Roll to $0 and subtracting money. I want to learn more about money in the future. We watched videos about children helping people around the world like Muskaan from India who started a library.
By Yuriko This week we had guest speakers from The Salvation Army visit our classroom. They explained how they receive donations of goods either in person or via collection. They then sort these before they are sold in their Family Stores, given to needy families or sent overseas to help people recovering after natural disasters. We will be exploring how we can help organise donations in ISS later in the school year. The children then worked in groups to show this process in the form of a flow-chart. The children have also been investigating where goods come from. They brought in items from home and looked at things in the classroom to discover where they were made. We discussed how the goods might have got to us in Singapore and explored maps and potential routes. We discovered that we are connected to many different countries by the goods that we buy. We were inspired by the actions of other children around the world who have created their own systems of exchange that really help their community. Grade 2 have decided to use Caine's Arcade as the inspiration for our stall at the upcoming ISS Fun Fair and we will be designing and building our own arcade games from recycled materials.
Learn about Muskaan, Jacob, Katie and Caine in these short videos. Muskaan youtube.com/watch?v=Q2LeyOYocWM Jacob www.facebook.com/BBCEssex/videos/1506087309446711/?fref=gs&dti=1533923833575039&hc_location=group Katie http://www.katieskrops.com/start-a-garden.html Caine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkdq96U This week the children consolidated their counting and addition with money and also analysed receipts to see what information they could find. In Literacy we explored fact and opinion and the differences between them. The children sorted statements and began to write their own. As part of our UOI, the class discussed how people earn and use money. We came up with four main ways that people use money: 1. Spend it on things they NEED 2. Spend it on things they WANT 3. Spend it on others (presents or donations to charity etc) 4. Save it We had a guest speaker from the Food Bank Singapore come and talk to us about how we can help to reduce food waste in our own lives and also how we can help those in Singapore who are "Food Insecure" by donating dry goods such as rice, noodles, pasta, tinned food, jars of jam or sauces. There are white donation bins in the school office. This is an exchange system within our school that is helping the wider Singapore community. Our guest speaker told the children that they could get involved by becoming Food Bank Juniors. You can check out their website for more information. http://foodbank.sg/ The children also got the opportunity to visit the Grade 4 Exhibition, which showcased their inquiries into the human body systems. This week a woman from the Food Bank told us that food gets wasted. We should eat all our food. We can donate stuff to the Food Bank like biscuits and noodles.
We went to the Grade 4 Exhibition. I learnt facts about the heart. It was really fun because there was lots of interesting things to learn. By Stefan In Maths, the children have been busy becoming more familiar with money this week. They explored the value of different coins and how to add them by playing the game Roll to $1. We have also been looking at different ways to make an amount and developing our spreadsheet skills. In UOI, we have been sorting goods and services. We also interviewed two Grade 5 students about their experience of planning and running a business at Market Day. The students had lots of questions about how they decided what to sell, how much they made, what they did with the money, whether it was a good or service, would they do it differently etc.. We also paired up with G2.2 to find a reading buddy. The children will read together a few times before they find a new partner. This week they discussed what kind of books they liked to read and then chose a book to read together. I'm the new student in the class. I'm still meeting new people. I still have a lot to know. One of my friend's name is Mia. It is my 4th day at ISS and I can't wait to learn more.
By Fatima The students returned to school excited about this semester and happy to see each other again. We began our new unit of inquiry during which we will inquire into how Exchange systems help our community. As part of our Tuning In, the children thought about any exchange systems that they already knew. We explained "Exchange" as when you give something and get something in return. Some examples that the class generated included: supermarkets, shops, recycling, giving presents, jobs, school, sharing ideas, the Food Bank and the library. We followed up with the library by interviewing Mrs. Grant and finding out more about that particular exchange system. We also began exploring the concept of money. The children have been thinking about money in different ways this week, using the concept questions to guide them. Some of their thinking is recorded below. Form: what is money like? It is round, made of special paper, it can be 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 etc.. Function: How does money work? You can use money to buy things like food or toys Change: How is it changing? In ancient times people used things or gold, people use credit cards now Perspective: What are the different viewpoints? Money can buy things, I like this. It is a little bit dangerous Connection: How is it connected to other things? You can buy lots of different things with money, money has people and secret messages on it Responsibility: What is our responsibility? Don't waste money, we can lend money Reflection: How do we know? We know it is money because it has a mark on it They have been fascinated by the huge range of international currencies they brought in, using magnifying glasses to observe the details and then see where the money was from on a world map. They also used the I see, I think, I wonder framework to help them analyse the money. Some things they wondered included: What the secret words on the bottom of the castle are? What is the number on the side of the note? Why does the coin have a hole in it? Why did they choose this picture for the note? Why does every coin have a different picture? Can I visit the United States to see this place? Will Donald Trump ever be on a note? What is it made from? What do the lines mean? Does the bird mean something? In Maths, we began our learning about money by investigating Singaporean coins and exploring counting strategies such as skip-counting. Everyone is pumped for a Merry Christmas and a happy new year but some people are devastated because their friends are leaving school forever.
The highlights this semester were all the memories with my best friends, all the laughs and smiles. The fun that we shared together, as the ISS community, will last forever in our hearts. By Mia and Odrita |
AuthorGrade 2.1 are a class of 7 and 8 year old students who attend ISS International School in Singapore. We learn together and play together and enjoy sharing our discoveries with you. Archives
June 2018
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