This week, the children explored several art-works and responded in various ways, making connections across many subjects and skill-sets. In Literacy, we examined how the words you choose are crucial when writing poems. The children created their own black-out poems by carefully selecting words. We connected Liu Kang's painting "Life by the River", which can be seen at the National Gallery with the Circle of Perspectives thinking routine. The children looked at the painting and then responded in the following way: I am a ...., I see...., I wonder.... We connected this thinking to our poetry writing and used the repeating verse to create a poem. We wrote the first few verses together and then each student independently wrote a verse to add. The River of Viewpoints I am a scientist, I see many trees, I wonder what they are called. I am an inventor, I see a water village, I wonder if I can design a wheel or filter to help the people. I am an artist, I see many colours, I wonder if I could add more details to the faces to show if they are happy. I am a doctor, I see plants, I wonder if they can be used as medicine. (Hyuga) I am a swimmer, I see a river, I wonder if it is safe to swim. (Sara) I am a martial artist, I see people, I wonder if they want to fight with me. (Sara) I am a bird, I see blue, I wonder why the sky is beautiful.(Yuma) I am an eagle, I see many trees and a river that I can drink water from, I wonder if I can live in a big tree and catch many fish. (Ray) I am an eraser, I see everything is big, I wonder if I can destroy everything.(Erica) I am a goal-keeper, I see no balls! I wonder if anyone knows how to play football in this place. (Fedor) I am a teacher, I see an art-work, I wonder if I could teach it to the students. (Yuuki) I am a person, I see birds, a dog and ducks, I wonder . (Jiahna) I am a fish, I see duck feet above, I wonder if people will fish me. (Maria) I am a traveller, I see some trees, I wonder if they are poor. (Charlie) I am a monkey, I see monkeys in the trees, I wonder if there are more monkeys. (Hugh) I am a dog, I see people, I wonder if they are friendly. (Shoichi) I am an eagle, I see I can fly next to the water, I wonder if there are fish to eat. (Julien) I am a fox, I see all the ducks, I wonder if I can eat all the ducks. (Hyuga). Later in the week, we looked at Henri Matisse's "The Snail". The children simply responded in three words that came to mind as they looked at the image. We saw that colours, shapes and paper were the most common words used. The children were shocked to discover the monetary value, when it was sold in 2007, it fetched $33.6 million. We then used the image to create our own collages or pictures. Some hoped to be able to sell theirs later! In Maths, the children also connected "The Snail" to our learning about shapes. They continued to explore the names and properties of 2-D and 3-D shapes in a variety of ways, including using nets to create 3-D sculptures. The students also developed their technological literacy by designing symbols to represent themselves using shapes and colours. UN Sustainable Development Goals:
We continue to work on these through our everyday choices and actions. We used recycled paper for our 3-D shapes (#12 Responsible Production and Consumption), many of us joined in with G4 Wellness Week activities (#3 Good Health and Wellbeing) and we contributed to the Foodbank for Free Dress Friday (#Zero Hunger). Student Voice: We wrote poems about many things. (Yuuki) We made poems with beginning and ending sounds. (Julien) We made 3-D shapes out of paper and copied it on our own paper that we chose and made and then we made a sculpture out of them. (Maria) We survived technology-free Friday! (Ray) Independent Student Action: Julien brought in his chess set from home to play during free-time. We were able to connect this to 3-D shapes and tessellations. Maria and Charlie continue to work on their "How to Save the Earth" book and shared some of the pages with the class.
0 Comments
This week, the children continued to find out more about what an image can be. We visited the Library to find any books that might connect to "images, shapes or poetry". A diverse selection was chosen by the students, which they have enjoyed reading during Daily 5. We explored our lines of inquiry by discussing various images each day and shared our responses through talking, writing and drawing. We dug deeper into how we can respond to images and used a range of thinking routines to help us structure our thoughts, such as "I see, I think, I wonder", zooming in on one element of an image and imagining what might have happened before and after what is depicted in a painting. The children continue to build their knowledge of types of images and the purpose behind them. On Thursday, we visited the National Gallery and were engaged in exploring and discussing several South-East Asian paintings. The children made insightful comments and enthusiastically participated in role-play, using their observational and thinking skills. Some of the comments included: "There are fourteen people looking at him and there is food on the floor." Yuuki "It looks like they are learning." Ray "They are studying outside." Shoichi "I see a fly on his shoulder, maybe they are poor or in a dirty place." "One looks like he is crying- maybe it is a sad story." Maria "He is so interested, he doesn't notice the fly." Hugh "Maybe he just listened to something bad in the story which made him remember something sad in his own life." Fedor "I see the label telling me information. How old is this painting?" Charlie Back in class, we connected our experience to writing and used Raden Saleh's, huge "Boschbrand (Forest Fire) painting to inspire a story we wrote together. In Maths, the children investigated the properties of 2-D shapes, using many different resources. They are using properties such as number of sides, number or corners/vertices, straight or curved sides and length of sides to identify, name and describe shapes. After reading the book, "Grandfather Tang's Story", by Ann Tompert, they explored tangrams. This developed their problem-solving skills and spatial awareness as they moved and rotated the triangles, parallelogram and square to make different pictures. Some children then planned a story using tangram characters that they will present using stop-motion animation.
This week, we benefitted and contributed to our community in various ways. We also made connections between our prior knowledge and learning and our upcoming unit. Our school community at Paterson campus came together on Tuesday morning to celebrate World Kindness Day. Students and teachers shared smiles, kind words and some food. Back in class we thought about ways we could show kindness. The children also began tuning in to our next unit by adding messages to the art displayed around school. They chose pieces and wrote a short note to the artist, saying what they liked about it or how it made them feel. We will continue to interact with and add to our school displays. Grade 2 later supported and learnt from a student at the High School, when we visited Preston to see a weather station that was built and set up by a current student. Daffa, talked to us about the equipment and showed us the data it collected. This connected well with our learning about the Water Cycle, measurement and data collection. He made this interactive by creating a quiz and the children enjoyed their time at Preston, sketching and being in a "grown-up" classroom. Within our class community, the children collaborated to create a simple picture book, inspired by "It Looked Like Spilt Milk", by Charles G. Shaw. The book is about the different ways that clouds can appear and be interpreted. They created their own clouds and used the structure of the story to describe what it looked like. To further explore perspectives, they each commented on their own and each other's ink paintings (made while exploring how liquids move), by describing what they saw in the picture. Later in the week, the children discussed and then sorted simple images. It was great to hear them make connections and explain sorting as "putting similar things into groups, like we did with solids, liquids and gases." They used the new terms; symbols, signs and logos and two main groups appeared from these images, defined by the class as: Public Signs- they give information to people to help them and keep them safe. Signs or Logos- they tell us about things that we can buy to try and persuade us. Finally, we supported our wider Singapore community by inviting the author, Matthew Cooper, to lead a session with our Grade 2 and 3 classes. Matthew talked about the writing process, read one of his books, "Lost in Singapore" and generally engaged the children in an interesting discussion about animals, Singapore, transport, literary choices and history!
This week, many students and staff celebrated Deepavali/Diwali. The Elementary School students worked together to create a beautiful, temporary art installation. Helped by Ms. Shradha and Ms. Deepa, each class created a peacock feather using everyday classroom materials (so as to reduce unnecessary waste and support UN SDG #12 Responsible Production and Consumption). The children were also able to explore rangolis using sand and back in class we thought about what "light and dark" means to us. After the public holiday, the children explored how they could use solids, liquids and gas to create art-works. We will use these images next week as part of our Tuning In for our new unit of inquiry. Grade 2 also visited the Science Centre on Thursday. In small groups, they explored various exhibits, including those connected to Climate Change, Typhoons and Cloud Rings. Afterwards, the whole grade enjoyed playing in the Waterworks area and had lunch together. On our return to school, the children were able to transfer what they had seen and experienced during the field trip to make connections to how changes in matter can affect their lives and the wider environment. Student Voice: We had fun on the field trip. I liked the Typhoon that blew air and the water play. I want to go back and go inside the skeleton part. (Yuuki) Independent Student Action:
This week, the children continued to work on their individual Science Books. They represented The Water Cycle as a flow-chart, adding labels and titles and made a mini-model of it in action. Then, in small groups, the children conducted an experiment into evaporation. We thought about possible questions we could investigate in relation to condensation and precipitation. A High School student has created a Weather Data-Collection website that we were able to look at and discuss. The children's thinking skills were highlighted when we thought about questions we still had which included:
In Daily 5, we explored Glossaries and they began creating their own. We extended this by thinking of how we might change these depending on who our intended audience was. Some children decided they will share their booklets with K1 and K2 and so will use more pictures. Fedor wants to share his with another Russian student and so he added both Russian and English translations to his glossary. It was great to see them continue to take more ownership of their writing and make connections to the purpose of writing. Later in the week, the students (individually or in groups) planned and carried out their own investigations, which combined matter, measurement and data-collection. Here are the questions they were trying to answer:
Finally, as part of our explorations into measurement, we collaborated with Grade 4 to inquire into to the statement, Grade 4 students wear bigger bags than Grade 2 students. The children worked in pairs to analyse the statement, make a prediction, plan and then collect data to test the statement's truth. We hope to team up with Grade 4 again for more maths inquiries! UN Sustainable Development Goal #15 Life on Land: Connections we made- We need water, food and air to live on land. The Water Cycle helps us get fresh water that we can drink.
Student Voice: "I enjoyed doing my science experiment and I hope that I will learn more about clay." (Sara) "We had fun doing our science experiments." (Ray) "Our first experiment was awful! The second one was ok. The third one was perfect. We learnt not to give up." (Charlie, Maria, Yuuki) This week the children shared the experiments they had carried out during the October break. It was lovely to see their confidence and such a range of inquiries. Many connections were made to their learning across Literacy, Maths and UOI. We had diagrams, tables, labels, captions, procedural writing, photographic booklets and we also watched videos by Erica and Hyuga. The children collaborated this week in pairs and small groups. In the Library, Ms. Ally helped us consolidate our knowledge of some of the features of non-fiction texts that can help us find key words and specific information, including the Contents, Index and Glossary. In pairs, the children found information on their key-word and made notes using a research template. Back in class, they worked in groups to research one stage of The Water Cycle. They discussed which roles they would take on and each took responsibility for one aspect. The children later shared tips on how we can work well with others including; listening to everyone's ideas; using kind words; being fair; making eye contact; being respectful and helping each other. Later the groups created posters to share, along with sound effects and video clips that they had found during their research. One Water Cycle rap that Julien found was particularly popular. As part of third line of inquiry, we began to make connections between changes in matter and the effects on our environment. Ms. Miriam came in to share her experiences with us. She is concerned about how much waste she is generating at home and is experimenting with making compost and eco-enzymes- a type of natural cleaning liquid. She explained how we could do this in class and gave us some she had already made to try in class. The children listened carefully, asked questions and shared their thoughts. Later, they tried to think of some positive effects of changing states of matter (like making compost or baking a cake and rain to help plants grow ) and negative effects (volcanic eruptions, air pollution from cars, islands sinking). Student Voice: We learned about The Water Cycle. My group was Evaporation. I showed my video about science. I dressed up as a witch for the party. (Erica)
Independent Student Action: Maria did her own mini-experiment to see if water would evaporate in class even though it was not in direct sunlight. The children returned to school excited to see friends and continue their learning. We visited the library and the children independently found books that they thought connected to our inquiry into how "Changes in matter affect our environment". They were able to justify their choice in different ways: "I found it in the Matter section", "the title says....", "the picture shows...", "it is about...". We also recapped on the three main states of matter and after reading "The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors", by Drew Daywalt, we played our own version of the game called "Solid, Liquid, Gas". The children later reflected on what factors can cause matter to change and Ms. Hima collaborated with us to explore how TEMPERATURE can cause matter to change its state. We continued to explore the tools we use to measure and began to think about how we can record our information effectively so that it is easy to understand.
Finally, ahead of our explorations into our next lines of inquiry; The Water Cycle and The ways in which matter affects our lives, we had the ISS Swim Gala 2018. Great timing for Grade 2. We began by making predictions about our new unit of inquiry based on what we had done so far. (Visiting the Science Lab, making butter and ice-lollies, using the terms investigate and observe, following the Scientific Method, using touch to describe objects) All the children predicted that we would be exploring How the World Works. We discussed possible concepts that would be a good fit for this unit and Ray suggested "We can do experiments to test things out" as a possible Central Idea. All great thinking before beginning our inquiry. We then explored our real Central Idea of Changes in matter affect our environment. Comments included "change happens when we do something" and "matter is everywhere". To further understand the word "matter", we visited the garden classroom where the children sorted objects in various ways before we settled on Solids, Liquids and Gases. They then used the Visible Thinking routine of I see, I think, I wonder about something they could see in or from the garden. The children deepened their understanding of the Scientific Method and applied this during our visits to the Middle School Science Lab where we integrated our learning about measurement in maths and the properties of matter. We asked: Do all solids have the same mass? What happens when we put different solids in water? Can the mass or density of water change? Do all liquids have the same mass? What happens when we put different liquids in water? Do gases have mass? We noticed that solids have a SHAPE that stays the same unless we do something to it. We extended this to liquids and gases and asked do they have a shape? On Friday, we visited our Preston campus to explore what happens when we mix solids and liquids together and change then change the temperature. We read the instructions, checked we had the correct ingredients and equipment and used measuring skills to follow the cookie recipe carefully. Alongside this learning, we continued to tune into new words and build our scientific and descriptive vocabulary. The children have embraced being scientists, breaking into a scientist song of their own creation and have been overheard making comments such as "what if we add..., what if we changed the temperature? What if we stirred..? How can we measure gas when we can't hold it? It melted, I see steam- that's a gas and so on, let's check, try this....It looks like..." All wonderful scientific thinking. Independent Student Action: Sara began making a list of solids, liquids and gases that she sees. The children completed their independent research, chose how to present their findings and then shared this with the class. The class used books, online resources, videos, surveys and email to research and then shared this through drawings, 3-D models, Google documents and tally charts. The presentations ranged from information about Helen Keller and Braille, ways to communicate in the past, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Mandarin characters, how animals communicate, how email works and the favourite ways to communicate within ISS. We also shared some of our learning in the weekly assembly. We role-played how we say hello, sang a song, demonstrated some sign language and then gave our tips on how to make friends and use communication to help us with SDG #3 Health and Well-being. We reflected on our learning, thinking about how we will use what we learnt in the future. We also identified some strengths and achievements and set goals ahead of the 3 Way Conferences. Towards the end of the week, we began Tuning In for our next unit. In Mandarin, the children made Moon-cakes to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. On their return they were able to identify the ingredients, actions and equipment they had used. They began to use specific vocabulary for materials such as bamboo, metal and plastic. We also explored how we can change cream into butter and orange juice into ice-lollies. The words investigate and observe were added to the vocabulary list this week and we began using the scientific method. Finally, we visited the Middle School Science Lab, where we paired up with Grade 7 students who gave us a tour and explained some the equipment and safety rules. We will be taking over the Lab next week while Middle School are away on Week Without Walls! UN Sustainable Development Goals #3: Good Health and Well-being
This was the SDG linked to our unit. We made the connection between being able to communicate and how we feel. Communicating with others, in ways that we like, can make us feel happier, safer, learn more and therefore increase our well-being. Independent Student Action: Some children from both Grade 2 classes are exploring how to make compost to use in the garden. Student Voice: Hugh: We made orange lollipops by pouring orange juice into moulds and putting them in the freezer for a day. We ate them after assembly. I couldn't taste much- it was a bit yummy but I didn't want to finish it. Erica: Yuuki and I did sign language in Assembly. I felt nervous but afterwards I felt proud. As we moved into the final stage of our inquiry, the children had some time to explore their own questions and become more familiar with how we can begin independent research. After reflecting on what we have learnt so far, the children added any remaining questions they had. We then sorted these in various ways and the children formed common interest groups or chose to work alone. We visited the library to find any relevant books and also explored online and human resources. The students practised citing what they wanted to find out, the source they used and the main ideas that they found out. These important research skills will be developed over the course of the year. We had our second call with Kothari International School in Delhi, during which they shared some of the national symbols, animals and food of India. We also introduced ourselves to our pen-pals. Grade 5 also came for our first Reading Buddy session. The children formed small groups and the Grade 2 students shared books they had chosen. When possible these Read to Someone sessions will occur every week and we will collaborate with our buddies in other ways over the course of the year. Finally, we also had our first Grade 2 field trip to the Botanic Gardens. The children were encouraged and helped to mingle between classes and talk to children that they didn't know well. We used the parachute to develop our listening, collaborative and non-verbal communication skills. Finally, in small groups, we enjoyed a Mindful Walk around the gardens and sketched. UN Sustainable Development Goal of the Week: SDG #2 Zero Hunger Ray found a chapter on "Drought", that he saw connected to how much food can be grown and is therefore available in certain countries. We realised that the weather can play a large role in tackling hunger around the world. We also decided that we could make a difference by not wasting our own food and by using everything we buy. Independent Student Action: Hugh asked to share one of his special things with the class and brought in his remote controlled speed-boat. He explained the different parts and where he has practised using it. Charlie and Maria teamed up with Holly and Amelia from G2.2 to begin creating their own sign language. Student Voice:
Hyuga: I sketched the stage at Botanic Gardens. I liked playing with the parachute. I talked with Kou and Shosuke from G2.2 Maria: We did a finger language. We went to Botanic Gardens and did the parachute. I researched about Braille which is something to help blind people read. |
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
Categories |