Weekly Photos Here
The Unit of Inquiry, Who We Are has completed for the time being. We will continue this unit throughout the school year. In December we will revisit, focusing on traditions and beliefs from our cultures. What we did complete last month was a culture collage where students drew images representing their country’s culture. Students partnered with another student who comes from another country and they completed a Venn Diagram looking at the differences and similarities. Students were able to then explain in words what we say and do in our cultures that are alike. A few examples were we all have language, greetings, celebrations, special food, and special clothing.
In English this week we practised colorful semantics. This is a program used to write complete sentences. It will be part of our rotating centers, so it is important the students understand the concept. We used our short vowel tiles to complete CVC words. This will also be part of our rotating centers, as well as using Nessy and Seesaw on our iPads. Once Wida has concluded, hopefully next week, our class will have 12 iPads that will be used regularly during our rotating centers. For phonics the students learned how to mark closed syllable words. The rules of a closed syllable are only 1 short vowel, followed by consonants, such as CVC or CVCC. They were introduced to bonus letters today. These letters are f, l, and s. They occur commonly at the end of words following a short vowel. There are a few exceptions such as yes and bus, but most follow the bonus letter rule.
In math we worked on data. We completed three tally charts followed by three bar graphs. Our data included favorite fruits, letters in our names, and student house colors of 2B. Please ask your child to explain what a tally chart is and what a bar graph is. My hope is that they will tell you a tally chart is where we count how many people represent something. We then use that data and information to create a bar graph. Bar graphs must have a title and the x and y axis must be labeled so we can read the graph.
We have officially begun the new transdisciplinary theme, How We Organize Ourselves. We took a short walk outside and looked at the barren desert. Students were asked to record what they saw, think, and wonder. Our Central Idea for this unit is, community spaces can have a positive effect on its community members. The project our students will be completing in groups is creating their own community space that supports people being happy and healthy. Going outside to look at barren land shows the students how land begins and what people are capable of creating. Next week, Sunday, we will take a walk around ABIS and we will look at all the equipment, such as playgrounds and seating areas, to witness how a space can create a happy and healthy environment for its community. Please look below for the new unit flyer.
In English we will continue practicing colorful semantics in a whole group. The goal is Thursday we will be able to complete our first center circuit. Students will partake in guided reading, colorful semantics, Nessy App, short vowel tiles, and teaching the students how to post on Seesaw. Each group will consist of 4 students. In phonics we will be looking at closed syllables, bonus letters, blends, and digraphs.
For math the students will complete a pre-test about shapes. If you want to talk to them this weekend to review shapes, be my guest. The students will appreciate the preparation very much. We will begin looking at 2D shapes and their properties, such as the name of the shape, number of sides, if the sides are straight or curved, and how many angles a shape has.
IMPORTANT DATES!!!
October 2nd = Teacher CPD in school
October 14th = Parent coffee/workshop
October 16th = Grade 2-3 Assembly
October 16th = End of ASA Term 1
October 23rd = Term 1 reports published
