This week we began our new unit of inquiry with tuning into forces: what is pushing and pulling? We were given pictures of activities and with our partners needed to decide if they were a push, pull or both action, then we added these to a Venn diagram. This will form the What I know now section leading into What I now know section of a thinking activity. After this, we chose different statements matching the pictures and acted out the statements which led to us thinking about the pull/push/both forces we use everyday. Observing a variety of tools, we drew these, then labelled them if we knew their names or parts and also walked around our campus identifying machines and their parts. This will lead into a discussion about the 6 simple machines that make up complex machines in our world.
Please see here for information about our new unit of inquiry.
In maths this week:
- Students create problems in which they add some tens to a two-digit number using blocks on a place value mat. They record their work with expanded notation and on a hundred chart.
- We added tens and showed these on a Hundred Chart
- We practised adding 2-digit numbers using the expanded form of addition
For literacy this week:
- We began learning about a new genre of writing called procedural (instructional) writing
- Ms Cora talked us through making a jam sandwich, then we completed a writing task or a cutting & pasting task following her demonstration
- We identified transition works, such as, first, next, then, after that and finally
- We identified imperative verbs (demanding words), such as put, cut, slice, etc
- We worked on sorting verbs into categories
- We practised writing descenders in handwriting
- And, of course, we read books!
Next week, we will dive deeper into learning more about simple machines and how they connect to our specific concepts and lines of inquiry. You can support your child with this unit by identifying and using simple machines around the home. Here are some simple machines you might find around your home.
Next week in maths:
- Students solve addition word problems in a measurement context using strategies based on place value
- Students solve multi-digit addition problems using strategies based on place value. They use a variety of strategies, including a number line.
- Continue building our mental maths skills and understanding
Next week in literacy:
- Guided reading with our small reading groups
- Making words using vowels & consonants
- Identifying procedural writing and when or where we use it
- Writing our own set of instructions
Please see photos here.