Over the last two weeks, the children have been bringing their learning together to share it in various ways. Speaking and Listening
Writing and Presenting
This week, we also visited the National Museum which showcased many artefacts from Singapore's past and allowed us to begin to tune into our next unit from our last theme- Sharing the Planet, through their immersive art exhibit, "The Story of the Forest." Comments about what "Sharing the Planet" means to the students included: kindness, caring, nature, cities, animals, people, jungles and mountains. The students chose workshops and presentations led by the Grade 5 students as part of their Exhibition and inquiry into how "Following your passions can make a difference." The Grade 2 children came back inspired- how can they help prevent animal abuse, how can they be more mindful in their own lives, how can they learn more about their interests? Above all, they were able to see the enthusiasm of the Grade 5 students for their chosen inquiries- how could they too make a difference?
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This week, the children have been developing their collaborative skills. They are working in groups to write and stage a short drama which will share some information they have learnt about an ancient civilisation. They discussed what they needed to do and assigned roles. Later, they worked on their props. Next week, we will write our drama and collaborate with Mr. Tony in Performing Arts. In Literacy we explored how we can tune into new words in our reading and use a thesaurus to expand our vocabulary. We focussed on antonyms (opposites) and then synonyms (words with similar meanings) to begin building a richer choice of descriptive words. To help our spelling and comprehension we looked at the strategies of chunking and using word parts to determine meaning. The children applied this through Compound Words (playground, teapot, skateboard etc) and explored these in their independent reading and word work. As we came to the end of our focus on Multiplication and Division, the children took ownership of their learning by choosing how they would best develop their skills and knowledge. Some chose to consolidate their skills by playing games with others (bingo, multiplication cards etc..), while others preferred to work alone to build stamina or speed (online practise, creating books, practice questions...). They reflected on what they felt confident about, as well as identifying an area to continue to develop. UN Sustainable Development Goal #3 Good Health and Wellbeing:
As part of the Grade 5 Mindfulness group's inquiry we have been taking time this week to calm, focus and reset our minds. The children have experienced some guided meditation, calming music and visuals as well as mindful colouring. Fedor also commented that he found threading beads "mindful". This week, we tuned back in to our unit inquiring into how "We learn about civilisations from what is left behind." Grade 2 came together to role-play archaeologists. The students were each paired with someone from the other class. The sand-pit was used as our dig-site. Step 1: It was sectioned using a grid and then excavated by pairs of archaeologists. Step 2: Once they had found an artefact, they recorded its location, carefully brushed and washed it and took it for further examination. Step 3: The pairs drew, measured and weighed the artefact. Step 4: Next they analysed its materials, appearance and discussed what it could be used for and what it could tell us about the civilisation that left it behind. Step 5: Back in class, the artefact was logged, labelled and bagged for storage. Next we will use what we have found to consider what kind of place the dig-site might have originally been and create a drawing to illustrate this. Earlier in the week, the children used various sources to research artefacts that they could be inspired by. They had each chosen a civilisation they are interested in and sketched and planned what they wanted to make. We began creating our artefacts which we hope to use in a play we will write to share our learning. In our Daily 5 and Literacy sessions, we examined past tense and adjectives. During Maths, the children consolidated their multiplication knowledge through independent practise and games and deepened their understanding of division as "sharing". UN Sustainable Development Goals
#3 Good Health and Wellbeing We will come together as a school community and spend time having fun with our family and friends at the event organised by the PTA. #15 Life on Land Some Grade 5 students organised "Dress as an Animal Day" to raise awareness and funds for the animal charity, SPCA. Independent Student Action: Ray and Yuuki both brought in things to share with the class. Ray brought back various snacks from Thailand which both Grade 2 classes enjoyed. Yuuki made tapioca pearls and used these to make bubble tea for the class. Thank you both for thinking of your classmates and sharing your treats. Sara continues to monitor the K2 playground to make sure that the younger students are safe and that older students don't use the equipment there. Well done for being a responsible and caring member of our school community. Student Voice: Jiahna: I liked to find some artefacts. Today I found a heart-shaped metal dish. Isabelle: We were archaeologists! It was tiring! Maria: We made artefacts. Charlie and I are making a jewellery box with some Ancient Egyptian jewellery. Fedor: This week was fun because of the digging for artefacts. Hyuga: It was so hard to find something but I didn't give up. |
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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