We've had a busy last few weeks finishing up our first math unit as well as our first Unit of Inquiry. We started this week as scientists, exploring different materials (jelly, flour, glue, ice) and writing down our observations - what we saw, smelled, and felt. We began writing what we thought about these things and any wonderings we had. Next week, we will be sorting our questions in relation to our key concepts. This was a fun introduction into our new unit: How the world works. We also had an author visit on Thursday. Blair Reeve visited and read from his book Hobart the Hedgehog Turns Nink. He also discussed rhythm and rhyme with the students and compared his style of writing to Dr. Seuss'. In math, we continued using our math strategies to solve story problems, and students applied their understanding in creating their own story problems. Next week, we will begin investigating data handling and then measurement. A new word sort will go home next week. We are really focusing on conventions in writing and this will continue all year. Students are working on reading through their work and identifying where they need capitals and full stops. They are able to identify this in other people's writing but have a difficult time applying proper conventions in their own writing. Below are some pictures from the last two weeks. Enjoy!
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What an exciting start to the week! Monday morning we headed to the Botanic Garden where we participated in different verbal and nonverbal activities. Kid Quotes: "I liked when I ran with Mr. Nathan. It was difficult to do lots of new games." - Bea "I liked when we played with Mr. Nathan, the blindfold game. I learned all about communication fun verbal and non verbal. I like the talking one." - Eniko "I liked it when I stacked the cups with Ms. M. I learned how to communicate in different ways." - Hagen "I learned how to communicate in different ways. I learned how to communicate very well. For example we learned how to communicate nonverbally and verbally." - Teddy We have been working on recount writing, which includes a focus on past tense verbs and using time order/transition words (after, later, on Monday, three hours later). Student have become more aware of these things in their writing, and are still focusing on using capitals and full stops consistently. In the next week or so, these recounts will be typed and included in the student online portfolios, along with pictures. Stay tuned! We have also started investigating letter writing, and students have written letters to Mr. Nathan and Ms. Vaughan for coming along on our field trip. We will also be looking into appropriate ways to write emails next week. Students have continued this week with their second list of words. They will have these words for two weeks, but during the second week, will choose words that are of interest to them in their reading and writing to focus on as well. As our unit continues to progress, students are now able to give examples of when and where might be best uses for verbal and nonverbal communication. We discussed how we speak to certain people might be different depending on our relationship. We don't talk to Mr. Pinchbeck the same way we speak to brother or sister! Next week, we will continue to explore cross cultural communication. If you are interested in sharing how you communicate, please sign up HERE to share for 10 minutes or so with all Grade 2 students (Wednesday, 14 September). New this week are student nominated Learner Profile awards. Previously teachers have nominated students each week. This year, students will be nominating each other throughout the week when they see exceptional displays of certain attributes. Their certificate will be displayed in the hallway for one week, and then they will be taking it home. The students are very excited for this change! In math, students have continued exploring place value and are really showing they have a deep understanding of this concept. One learning experience during the week involved students 'proving it'. They had to decide which number was smaller: 759 or 739. Then they had to prove it. There were many different strategies used: 100's board, addition and subtraction sentences, skip counting on number lines, building with manipulatives, making the numbers with base ten blocks. Most students realised the value of the number in the hundreds and ones place were the same. They focused on the amount of tens, noting that 3 groups of 10 is smaller than 5 groups of 10. There was some fantastic thinking and explaining happening this week by Grade 2.3! We will continue investigating different strategies to add numbers next week, and hopefully apply the knowledge we gained this week. We are fortunate to have a great relationship with Singapore Food Bank. We have supported them by collecting food and monetary donations in the past. Next Tuesday (13th), someone from the Food Bank is bringing a food box to the Student Action Leadership Team meeting. We will keep the box at the school so we can continuously collect donations to be sent to families in need. This work supports the UN Goal of Zero Hunger which the staff and students in MS have been learning about. We have dates set up for staff and families to volunteer. If you are interested, please choose any dates you are able to participate by clicking here. Have a great weekend! This week the students continued to build their independence in classroom routines. We decided to try starting our mornings with a ten minute relaxation/meditation. It's helping us relax, clear our minds, focus on how need to be during the day and a great way to start our mornings. In math, students continued to develop their understanding of place value. We used ones, tens and hundreds manipulatives to create numbers with partners. Students also went on a hunt around the room to identify three digit numbers. We will continue working with place value and expanding/partitioning numbers in order to develop a solid understanding of the value of each digit in a number. Daily 5 routines continued this week as students practiced their word sorts in different ways. They also recorded their own words to practice from their reading, writing and unit of inquiry. In the next few weeks, students will have more choice in choosing their Daily 5 activities. We are working on recording our choices each day to help us see which activities we are choosing daily. Our unit of inquiry continues as we have started exploring different types of relationships. Students cut pictures from magazines of nonverbal and verbal communication. They then categorized the pictures based on the type of communication but also the different relationships. We will soon be starting to explore the challenges of communicating in an international environment. We are seeking parents who wish to share ways in which they communicate in home countries (language, gestures, and other forms of communication). If you are interested and available to share with all Grade 2 students on Wednesday, 14th of September from 1:00-2:00pm, please sign up on our Google doc for a ten minute session. This week we also had the opportunity to visit the Design Centre. The children were very engaged in the entire process - planning, reviewing, building, reflecting and redesigning. It was great to see students use different forms of communication and teamwork to build a tower. Check the 'Portfolio' tab and click on your child's photo to access their online portfolio. Students began uploading a picture this week and are in the process of creating a document which will be uploaded next week. Most portfolios link, but there are a few which will be fully functioning later next week. We ended the week with the house Fun Run on Friday afternoon. It was a hot and sweaty run but everyone was all smiles as they made their way around the field. We find out next week about house team points! Reminders: Monday 5 September - Field trip to the Botanic Gardens. Students will bring their backpacks with a snack, hat, and water bottle with them to the gardens where we will be engaged in a variety of communication activities. We look forward to a fun filled day! |
AuthorWe are 7 and 8 year old students who live in Singapore. Our teacher, Ms. Luttrell, will be helping us write blog posts throughout the year! Archives
June 2017
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