The children have been busy writing reports this week. They published their short reports on different jobs, choosing to either type or handwrite the finished piece. They also brought together their questions, research and notes on their chosen ISS exchange system to write the final report. We focussed on grouping connected ideas or information to make paragraphs. We also collaborated as a class to create a report on the Salvation Army Donation Drive that happened last week. In UOI, the children were excited to begin planning their Market Day event. We discussed why having systems for exchanges is useful and how we might organise our Market Day. The children came to the conclusion that having a system helps to make things EASIER and CALMER. Some of their comments include: We need systems for exchanges so... "it is respectful" (Yuuki) "it is not crazy" (Hugh) "it is not a mess" (Charlie) "it is fair and everyone gets a turn" (Yuuki) "it is organised so that people know what to do" (Maria) "it is safe" (Fedor) "it is pleasant for people" (Ray) They then worked to decide what they wanted to sell, what research they might need to do, what they would need to buy or prepare etc.. We then visited our target audience (K1, K2 and G1) to gather information on what colours, flavours and games they liked. Alongside this, we began exploring our third line of inquiry: How exchange systems affect Singapore. The children investigated where some items in the classroom had come from and we started a chart to record this information. This led to a discussion about how the goods reach us and how this might have changed over time. We learnt a little of Singapore's maritime past and noted down key words from a video resource. We summarised what we had found out together: Singapore is in a good location. It is in the ocean where many shipping routes pass. It was a dangerous place in the past because there were many pirates who raided passing ships. Boats had to pass through the "Dragon's Teeth" to get to Singapore. When the British came they made it safer by building light-houses. We will continue these exciting inquiries on our return from the Chinese New Year break with our trip to the Maritime Museum which showcases the Maritime Silk Route. In the meantime, the children may begin to notice container ships, the Singapore Port or light-houses around Singapore. In our Maths learning, we developed our facility with using coins. Ahead of Market Day, we practised paying, giving and getting change. The children created their own Price Lists during Maths Writing and then role-played buying and selling with a partner. As a class and in small groups, we also examined word problems involving money. We used the strategies of: highlighting key information; deciding what operation to use and then using number lines or column notation to solve the questions. UN Sustainable Development Goal #12: Some students volunteered to feedback what happened during the Salvation Army Donation Drive with the Elementary classes. They worked to prepare a short speech and then visited each class. They also showed the certificate we were presented with.
Student Voice: I liked doing the research from the video. It was so dangerous! (Sara), I'm looking forward to the field-trip. (Fedor), I liked planning for Market Day (Hyuga), I liked asking K1 and K2 questions (Yuuki), I liked making the game for Market Day (Shoichi), I liked working with my group (Maria).
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We started this week by sharing the information we had gathered about our family members' jobs. In pairs, the children had to listen and report back to the class what their partner had told them. We agreed that sometimes it is hard to know what people who work in offices do and that there are so many kinds of jobs that we don't even know exist. The children then had some time to research other jobs using books and online resources. We brought our findings together and from this list, they chose one particular job to write a simple report on. In our Literacy lessons, the children edited and then published this piece. We had two special visitors this week. The first, M. Lebon (our Middle School Drama teacher), shared how he and his students had given performances to various people from communities in Singapore and Cambodia (Singapore General Hospital, Eurasian Society and Sok Sobay). We discussed what had been exchanged and why. M. Lebon led the Grade 2 children in some activities aimed at brightening their mood and making them smile, which had been the aim of the Middle School performances. It was a good reminder that money is not always needed for exchanges that help our communities. Our second guest speaker was Hugh's dad, Marcus. He managed to demystify banks for Grade 2, explaining how deposits, loans and interest work with fun role-plays and real money! The children really learnt a lot and were able to later show their understanding through web-mapping. Their comments in our I used to think, now I think routine included: Banks take and give money, I need to pay interest if I borrow money, banks can help me/people, banks are cool for giving you interest, banks can lend money to customers. Some children began building their own bank and coin sorters during free time. In Maths, we consolidated our adding of money using column addition, counting money and making target amounts in different ways. I would encourage the students to get involved in paying for things and finding the correct change when they are out in the real world. In UOI, the children formed groups or worked alone to deepen their questioning skills. They wrote questions based on our concepts to ask various members of our school community who run exchange systems. This included: Mr. Shen (canteen); Ms. Kate (Book Swap/Book Fair); Ms. Ally (library) and Ms. Jasinska and the G5 students (Grade 5 Market Day). This information will be used to write reports on these ISS Exchange Systems. UN Sustainable Development Goals
#12, Responsible Consumption and Production: Our Salvation Army Donation Drive was a great success. Thanks to all who donated. #3, Good Health and Well-being: On Friday we also had the ES Fun Run which was a great way to end the week. This week we started by sorting some examples of exchanges that we had come up with. The children quickly agreed on three main groups: things we get for money, things other people do for us for money and things we give away that can make us feel good. We explored how people decide how to spend their money and discussed the difference between a need and a want. The children shared their information about how members of their family earn money, which we will follow up next week with independent research. The children also connected their inquiries with our Maths explorations into money. We looked at the names and values of coins (with a Singaporean focus), how we write amounts of money and useful strategies to use when counting money (including making groups of 10 or $1, organising the groups of coins in rows, making notes as you go and physically touching the groups as you count). The children revisited the game Roll to 100 as Roll to $1 and also analysed receipts to see what they could discover. In our Literacy and Daily 5 lessons, the children began using the Typing Club program to develop their keyboarding skills. They are trying to improve in both speed and accuracy. Mrs. Vaughan also led a sentence activity with a focus on using adverbs and how they can add detail to our writing. New vocabulary for this unit, this week included: goods, services, earn, spend, needs, wants, job, buy and sell. Lastly, we visited the Grade 4 Body Exhibition to see what they have been learning upstairs. UN Sustainable Development Goal #12 Responsible Consumption and Production
Grade 2 have organised a Salvation Army Donation Drive, which we have created posters for and announced in assembly. The children returned happy and rested and ready to go. We chatted and caught up with our friends over our Holiday Doodle Sheet. Over the week, the children also worked together to create mini-obstacle courses in class. The children began to explore money, sharing what they knew and investigating different currencies that they had brought from home. They developed their observational skills by using magnifying glasses and doing coin-rubbings. We used the I see, I think, I wonder thinking routine and also explored currency exchanges.
We began tuning in to our new unit of inquiry by playing a trading game and thinking about personal experiences of giving and getting. We unpacked the Central Idea of "Exchange systems help our community", and analysed some exchange systems around school. We also visited the Library to find books that connected to money or exchanges. There was also time for a spot of hula-hooping! |
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 2019
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