This week we have been digging a little deeper into what communication actually is. The children looked at our Central Idea - Communication Builds Relationships - and identified the words that they already knew, the words that they did not know and the words that they felt were important. They then wrote an explanation of what they thought each word meant. After sharing our ideas as a class, the children came to an agreed conclusion that - communication - talking builds - makes relationships - friends This is a great starting point for our inquiry into communication and also for developing new friendships and dealing with different social situations. It has also got us wondering about communication between people who speak different languages and how useful non verbal communication is. Something else that we have focused on this week is retelling stories. This is a great way for children to show their understanding of what they have read and this can be done in many different ways such as verbal retelling, drawing pictures and writing a recount. Below you can watch one group of children retelling the story of the Little Red Hen with words and actions. We hope you enjoy! Finally, to finish the week, the children took part in a fun run. This was an exciting way to introduce the different Houses that the children are members of. The children came to school wearing their House colours - Somerset, Orchard, Raffles and Newton. They also wore a bandana with their house colour and name on it. The children can keep this bandana and bring it to school whenever we have House events, such as sports day. Here are some photos of the children in action.
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This week we have been thinking about how important it is to be able to talk to each other in order to work as part of a group. The children were given the challenge of working together in a team to build a house out of lollypop sticks but they were given one very important rule - no talking! This is what the children thought about this activity - "We couldn't share our ideas but we could act out what we wanted to say. But sometimes people didn't understand our actions!" Said Sam. Noura said, "it was hard." "It was tricky because we couldn't ask for help from our friends." Said Toko. Here is how the houses made in silence turned out - We then repeated the activity, but this time the children could talk to each other. Immediately there was a buzz of excitement and exchanges of ideas as they enthusiastically began to build their new houses. This is what they thought about doing the activity this way - "We could solve the problems with our friends." Miria said. "We all talked about our plan first so we knew what to do." Said Jan. This is how the houses turned out when the children could talk to each other - The children felt that it was much easier to build and work in a team when they could talk to each other. It was great to listen to them talking about what they were going to do and saying things like 'I can show you" and "I'll help you with that part."
Communication really is an integral part of our lives! We have had a fantastic start to the school year! Grade 2.2 has taken part in a number of activities allowing them to get to know each other better and to feel happy and secure in their classroom environment. Being caring and principled are two attributes from the IB Learner Profile and I have been impressed and delighted with how the children have demonstrated these through the level of kindness, respect and consideration that they have shown each other.
After such a great week I am excited about the learning journey that we will have together in Grade 2.2. The children should be very proud of their hard work and positive attitudes this week as I am very proud of each and every member of the class. Take a look at some of the things we have been up to this week - Welcome to the start of the school year. I am looking forward to all of the exciting learning opportunities that we have ahead of us!
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Gemma Cass (known to the children as Ms Cass) and I am originally from England. I have been teaching for 8 years and have had experience teaching children from 3 years old all the way up to adults. Most recently I have been teaching in an international school in Bali, Indonesia, where I was teaching Grade 2 so I have lots of experience with teaching 7 and 8 year olds. I am very excited to be here in Singapore and part of the ISS team. But most importantly, I am very excited about getting to know the children and providing meaningful learning opportunities. Please check back here regularly to see what we have been up to throughout the week and to find information such as timetables and homework. Please feel free to contact me if you have anything you would like to talk about regarding your child and I will be happy to meet with you at a mutually convenient time. Here's to a wonderful year ahead! Ms Cass |
AuthorGrade 2.2 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. School BlogsMr. Pinchbeck - Principal
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June 2016
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