Celebrating our Love of Reading with Literacy Week!This past week we celebrated our love of reading. We had surprise readers, author visits, books swaps and mother tongue read-alouds. Andy Chua, the author of Fossil Finder series came for a visit. He shared his personal collection of rare dinosaur fossils! We made connections to our current central idea "We learn about civilization from what was left behind". Last but not least, we dressed as our favorite characters to aid in our creative writing! Getting Ready for the Fun Fair!We did it! Our arcade booth at the Fun Fair was a huge success. We worked together to create our own games, wrote game manuals, and made banners! We would also like to thank all of our parents who supported us by volunteering their time and helping us to create one-of-a-kind games. It was a team effort. Grade 2 Arcade Games at the Fun Fair!Fun with Probability!This week we explored some more with probability. We conducted experiments and analyzed the results using mini bags of Skittles candy. Who says math can't be delicious! UOI: Where We Are In Place And TimeThis week we tuned into our new UOI: Where we are in place and time. Our central idea is "We learn about civilizations from what was left behind". We investigated various objects from our past and engaged our thoughts through our focus questions: Function (how does it work?); Change (how is it changing?); Connection (how is it connected to other things?). We used our imaginations and make predictions using clues to figure out what the items were used for.
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UOI: Exchange Systems Help Our CommunityThis week we focused on our third line of inquiry: How exchange systems affect Singapore. To delve into this concept, we studied the maritime history of Singapore using the silk route and visited the Maritime Museum on Sentosa Island. We also compared the current export and import trade routes of the present. We discovered that the geographic location of Singapore is one reason why trade is such an import part of it's history and present. Maritime MuseumDuring our trip to the Maritime Museum, we studied the importance of various shipping ports during the silk route; Oman, Calicut, Malacca, Singapore, and Quan Zhou. We learned the significance of Singapore's geographic location during the maritime silk route and how it developed into the country we see today. Design Thinking Process: Arcade GamesThis week we began to develop prototypes of our arcade games for the Fun Fair. We are learning to use the design thinking process and began our projects with identifying the problem and brainstorming our ideas. We designed our games on paper and began to collect the recycled materials to transfer our ideas from paper to model. To add to our understanding of design, we studied physics and engineering by focusing on energy and motion. We analyzed chain reaction machines and falling dominoes. It will be a fluid process as we constantly test and refine our prototypes using new information that we gather. UOIThis week we focused on "going further" on our line of inquiry: how people earn and spend money. We added on from our conclusion last week; people spend money based on wants and needs, and extended our inquiry internationally to include how countries may import and export goods as well. We explored various items we use on a daily bases to locate the country of origin and placed them on a graphic organizer. Furthermore, we investigated various careers based on the idea that "people earn money by selling goods or providing services". MathematicsThis week we used cooperative games to learn how place value impacts subtraction of money with regrouping. When we play games using manipulatives, it helps us to make sense of abstract concepts. We ended the week with extra practice on problem solving money up to $100. Don't Break the Bank! A fun cooperative game where we mentally add and subtract money amounts up to $1. Sharing Our KnowledgeThis week we were inspired to build prototypes for our Fun Fair. After engaging in case studies of kids just like us taking action, we were inspired by "Cain's Arcade". We decided that designing our own arcade games would be a great idea for the upcoming Fun Fair at ISS. We will go through the design thinking process and refine our creations. Guest SpeakersThis week we had guest speakers from the Salvation Army. We learned about the history of the organization, the flow of goods, and how it impacts communities in Singapore. Unit Of InvestigationThis week we began "sorting out" our central idea: exchange systems help our community with a visit from the Food Bank in Singapore. We discussed many different types of exchange systems, that may or may not, involve currency. We also learned about "food waste" and what we can do to take action! We ended the week with a lively discussion by comparing and contrasting of our needs vs. wants. We discovered that what people have different opinions of needs and wants. MathematicsThis week we continued our problem solving strategies when counting large amount of coins and bills. We then focused on transferring our problem solving skills onto addition of money, using the decimal notation. Fact and OpinionThis week we furthered our comprehension skills by focusing on author's opinion with text evidence. We read "Animals Nobody Loves" by Seymour Simon and thought about the opinion of the author on various types of animals. We determined whether the animals were actually dangerous to humans, or if they were misunderstood. It was fun to search for factual evidence presented by the author. Building Our Love of Reading with Buddies!This week we had a chance to meet with our buddies from G2.1 to share our love of reading. We chose a few titles to share and presented our opinion on why it was worth a read. We love sharing our enthusiasm of reading together! Sharing What We Know!This week, we decided to share what we know about exchange system by bringing currency from around the world. This gave us the chance to discuss exchange rates and ratios. We wondered why there are different values on notes that range from 1 to 1,000? Unit of Investigation: How We Organize Ourselves. This week we engaged in "finding out" more about the central idea: Exchange Systems Help Our Community. We investigated our concept by engaging in experiential learning and "unpacking" our central idea. We compared and contrast "goods" and "services" and discussed different types of exchange systems. We took our research further by interviewing various adults around ISS campus to find out the types of services they provide and what they receive in return. We even had grade 5 visitor to share their experiences with "Market Day". We created presentations, based on our experiences with systems of exchange, and bartered various items with each other from home! All About Author's Purpose!This week we studied author's purpose. We examined the reasons that authors write; to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. We paid close attention during independent reading time to determine the author's purpose of each book. We based our conclusions on evidence from the text. Fact and OpinionThis week we focused on facts and opinions during literacy. We learned that authors provide facts to support their opinions. We determined that facts can be tested and proven, while opinions are based on how a person feels. To help with our understanding, we engaged in "quiz-quiz-trade": an interactive game to practice our listening, speaking, and reading skills. Reading BuddiesThis week we joined with our friends from 2.1 to work on shared reading. Our "reading buddies"help us to build reading skills through purpose and support. We chose some of our favorite books to share with our buddies. We consider this as yet another example of "system of exchange" that helps our community! Word StudyThis week was our week for word study. We worked in our differentiated study groups and sorted our words according to their spelling patterns. Investigations with Money!This week we focused on our problem solving strategies by counting large amounts of coins and bills. We counted using various strategies, and then shared how we added large sums, by categorizing and breaking numbers down into smaller groups. Watch us count! Lunch Time!During lunch we enjoy each others company and have the choice of sitting indoors or outdoors. This week we integrated our new UOI: How We Organize Ourselves and mathematics. We used our inquiry skills to investigate with currency from around the world. We noticed the images, dates, and words. We then classified them according to each currency origin. Computer Skills and UOI!This week Mr. Galiger visited our class to show how we work with google spread sheet. Prior to his visit, we went shopping on-line for groceries and recorded our purchases onto our spreadsheets. We discussed comparing prices and calculating the sum for multiple items. We then learned how to keep an accounting record of how to add and subtract the price of each item using the computer. Mathematics!This week we reviewed place value using the decimal notation. We made our own math game and played "Race for the Dollar". The goal is to reach $1 SDG first by adding using different coin values. Expanding Our Unit Vocabulary!This week, as part of our on-going literacy skills, we focused on building our vocabulary knowledge. We chose interesting words from our reading and writing, as well as words that relate to our UOI. This week we explored our line of inquiry by creating our own images. We decided to use the theme of "Giving" as our message and chose to create our unique pieces during visual arts. We dove into the theme by reading many different books related to giving and discussed all the various ways this meant for us. UOI: Gallery WalkTo explore our three lines of inquiry; respond, evaluate, and create images, we chose to turn our classroom into a living art gallery! We displayed our original art work and invited feed back from each other as the audience. We named our space "The Giving Art Gallery of 2.2". Market Day!This week we participated in Market Day to support the entrepreneurial spirit of the grade 5 students. They culminated their UOI on How We Organize Ourselves with the central idea "Understanding Supply and Demand is essential for a Business to Succeed". We played games, got our faces painted, and bought some delicious treats. We even made donations to help a local animal shelter. We will begin our UOI on How We Organize Ourselves, with a central idea "Exchange Systems Help Our Community", once we return from winter break. It was an exciting sneak peak! Writing Our Holiday Thank You Notes!This week we wanted to show our appreciation to our family and friends by writing a note of thanks and making cards. We drafted friendly letters and finished our writing by publishing them on our handmade cards. Class Celebration!It was an exciting week filled with celebrations. We worked hard as a team to fill up our marble jar. We earn our marbles by working together and demonstrating our PYP leaner profiles as a team. It took us months, and we did it! We chose to celebrate by sharing ice-cream sundaes, fresh popcorn, and watching the Pixar animation "Wall-E". This film showed how images express meaning because of its focus on visual cues, and written dialogue based on haiku like stanzas. We Will Miss You Cesca and Flynn!This week we said goodby to Cesca and Flynn who will be returning to their home countries. We will miss them dearly and feel lucky to have gotten the chance to learn together.
This week we explored various genres of art. This included work from surreal artist Salvador Dali, as well as contemporary street art, and murals. We discussed their meaning and purpose, and talked about our connections with each piece. We also visited the National Gallery and had an up close viewing of several different pieces of artwork made by Indonesian artists. Our field trip to the National Gallery!Our visit to the National Gallery included an up-close look at several different pieces of art and print making workshop. We also got to create our own animals using touch screen computers. We then watched, as our creations came to life in a screen before us. Writing: Learning about the writing processThis week we worked hard to revise our drafts of Mr. Wuffles. We focused on how authors create suspense using transition words. It is a collaborative process, and we are taking the images from David Wiesner's illustrations to create our own meaning. Next week, we will edit and publish our class book to add to our library. Design: Creating our Own EmojisThis week we learned how to create our own signs, symbols, and emojis using google draw. We designed our own images and described the purpose and meaning of our new creations! Share Time!Each week the students are invited to bring an item from home to share. We use this time to share what is important to us, and learn to provide meaningful feedback. This week we had a photograph from a special occasion and a diamante poem! All about Parts of Speech!This week we focused on different parts of speech. We looked for examples of nouns, adjective, verbs and pronouns in our reading and writing. This week we investigated images meant to persuade the audience. We looked at various advertising images from different organizations and discussed their meaning. We wrote down our observations, thoughts, and wonderings in our UOI notebooks. Finally, we created our own images based on the discussions. Studying 3-Dimentional Shapes!This week we focused on classifying and categorizing 3-dimentional shapes. We used various materials to build our own models! Word Study!This week we integrated our UOI with word study by writing our words using a secret code. Various images stood for the alphabet and we practiced decoding each other's lists. Come and take a look! Expressing Meaning Through HaikuThis week we were hard at work analyzing haikus. We discovered that they followed a syllabication pattern of 5-7-5. Next week we will create our own! Shared Writing!This week we focused on looking at the picture book "Mr. Wuffles" illustrated by the award wining David Wiesner. We brainstormed characters' names, and setting to create our own class book. We discussed the illustrations and co-authored the book by including our own fiction writing. Marble Jar!Students in G2.2 have worked hard by cooperating together and earned many marbles this semester. Our jar is almost filled! Once it's filled, we will then vote on how we'd like to celebrate. Way to go G2.2! Happy Birthday Seheon!This week Seheon celebrated his 8th birthday. We wished him love, good health, and loads of gifts on his special day.
This week we focused on many different genres of images and discussed their purpose. We found many kinds of signs all around us and discovered their meaning. We decided that some images are meant to inform us, while others may be to persuade. A Starry Night: Grade 2 ConcertOn 24th of November, grade 2 students performed A Starry Night, as an extension of our central idea: Images Express Meaning. We were inspired by Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night. We made connections to literacy as we interpreted "Kitten's First Full Moon" by Kevin Henkes and incorporated musical instruments to express its meaning. Learning All About Polygons!This week the students in G2.2 focused on the study of 2-dimentional shapes. We categorized many different types of polygons based on their attributes. To extend our thinking, we integrated art as we created our own geometric shapes using rainbow scratch paper. Expanding Our Vocabulary!This week we focused on expanding our vocabulary. We chose interesting words to explore throughout the week and used many different resources to find the meaning. Happy Birthday Daisy! Thank you for celebrating your 8th birthday with the class.On her special day, we celebrated with Daisy as she received wishes filled with love, laughter, "long life" and "big muscles" from the class. What more can you ask for? |
Ms. Claire Park
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