We began our busy week with sharing our ‘Shoebox Autobiographies’. The student shared their boxes in small groups of three, changed into different groups for more sharing opportunities, then shared with the whole class. it was so fun to see what the students had put in their boxes and how they had decorated them to reflect who they are. We practised asking good questions about the contents of the boxes and also using our presentation voices. Your child has posted their box and a reflection on Seesaw so please have a look at your child’s account.
Currently we have 4 iPads to share between our 19 students. All the students have been able to get on Seesaw, some have been able to practise spelling and reading on Nessy and, using shared iPads, all have been able to read on the Epic platform.
We have just begun learning about the 6+1 traits of writing by reading a mentor text and identifying the traits. Learning about and how to use these traits will support improving our writing skills throughout Grade 2.
The 6+1 Trait® Writing analytical model for assessing and teaching writing is made up of 6+1 key qualities that define strong writing. These are:
- Ideas, the main message
- Organization, the internal structure of the piece
- Voice, the personal tone and flavor of the author’s message
- Word Choice, the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning
- Sentence Fluency, the rhythm and flow of the language; • Conventions, the mechanical correctness
- Presentation, how the writing actually looks on the page.
We have been making words using our phonics knowledge beginning with short vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u) and practising some handwriting skills.
Our UOI this week has primarily centred on our ‘Shoebox Autobiographies’: presenting these to each other and then the students completed a reflection of their boxes. The reflection asked why they chose particular items and how these showed who they are. We also listened to the story: ‘Alma’ and sent home work for you parents to complete with your child. Thank you for returning these sheets to us – its’ so interesting to hear about how each child got their name. If you are still working on this sheet, please send it as soon as you are able next week. We had a discussion about how what we say and what we do represents different cultures and will continue to add to this brainstorming throughout the year.
In maths, we have continued describing number patterns, deciding if they are ascending or descending and problem solving whether the patterns are using addition or subtraction skills. The students have finished up their tally of our class names and created a bar graph for some of the names of students in our class. Now we are working on developing our analysis skills of given bar graphs and creating our own questions for a survey.
Information about data handling is here: What Is Data Handling?
Please see photos here.
Upcoming:
- Swimming on Monday
- Monday Melt – students can purchase snacks to support the Primary Student Council
- Library on Tuesday
- Grades 4 and 6 Assembly on Thursday
Next week:
Literacy:
- using phonics to make new words
- identifying ideas in a piece of text
- creating our own list of ideas to write about
- guided, independent or shared reading
- practising listening skills
Maths:
- identifying patterns of numbers
- data handling
- place value
UOI:
- beginning a new unit: How we organise ourselves
- Central Idea: Community spaces can have positive effects on the well-being of its community members.
- Lines of Inquiry:
- How community spaces make us feel happy and healthy.
- Community spaces that are designed to look after living things.
- How communities interact with natural spaces in cities.