This morning we had a fabulous opportunity to watch the grade nine drama students present their version of events from Peter Pan. They scripted ideas on how Hook and Pan came to be enemies. The children adored their humorous and animated performance.
Then we burnt some energy off in PE. It is always great to get active!
In class it has been a hive of activity as groups began trying to solve a simple problem like; ringing a bell, popping a balloon, lifting a cup of water, or pushing a ball into a hole by inventing a Rube Goldberg machine. They tested, reflected, made adaptations and tested again. Plenty of perseverance training today! Here's Mimi and Hana's example.
We have had to do a little classroom redecorating in order to have invention spaces for our creative classmates. We also have lovely new carpet throughout Elementary so the place looks fabulous!
Oobleck is very fascinating stuff! The other week Mrs Karyn brought some into class to show us! We used our imaginations and wrote a narrative using the 'what if' scenario of 'what if the ooblek came to life? The children's ideas were fantastic! Ooblek is a non-newtonian fluid. That is, it acts like a liquid when being poured, but like a solid when a force is acting on it. You can grab it and then it will ooze out of your hands. Make enough Oobleck and you can even walk on it!
Oobleck gets its name from the Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew and the Oobleck where a gooey green substance, Oobleck, fell from the sky and caused chaos in the town. We watched the story online, and then made Ooblek ourselves.
In class we have been bringing in our favourite picture books to share. We started doing this today! Hana was the first child to share her book. We will post pictures and their reflections when they share.
"This is my favourite picture book. I like it because it is linked to our previous UOI and our UOI that we have right now. It tells us how to calm down by seeing good in every day. The magic sunglasses changed peoples perspectives...this is one of our concepts in How We Express Ourselves. I felt proud when I read to the class because I was the first one to read." By Hana
On Friday we had the early years team visit us to look at our 'not a box' creations. It was wonderful to see the younger children interact with us, asking questions and studying our own creations. What innovative learners we have in grade two! The related concept to out unit of inquiry was 'imagination'.
Today we began a class rotation designed to unpack the central idea of our unit of inquiry. The central idea for this UOI is :
'How personal perspective influences how we create art'
Children engaged in several tasks. Some looked at the central idea, discussing what the vocabulary actually meant. Then they wrote their own central idea - putting what they thought it meant into their own words. Here are some of their attempts:
'All of us have different personalities and perspectives and that changes how we make art '- Lucas
'We all feel different when we see different things' -Sounavann
'The way that we think affects the way that we make and view art' - Samir
'How we make art makes us feel different ways' - Boramey
'Some people view things in different ways and how we feel isn't always the same so how we make art is different' - Hana
'We all have different ideas, and people are different, so our art will be different' - Sothearath
'How you make art shows how you feel about something' - Ngy Meng
'People are different, so their art is different' - Erika
In other rotations, learners engaged in art activities designed to spark their creativity and imagination. Here are children working on their 'Not a Box' creations motivated by the book by Antoinette Portis. They had drawn up plans as part of a home learning activity, and today some of them began bringing their drawings to life.
We also had a group looking at creating their own piece of original art using nothing but strips of paper and glue. Children were encouraged to reflect on their work through our key concepts.
What is it like? (Form)
Why is it like it is? (Causation)
What are the points of view (Perspective)
The imagination of children never ceases to amaze me. They wove, curled, folded, and cut the paper into unique and original pieces. They are learning to explain why they chose to create it how they did.
This stunning example by Sophia M, became the topic of hot conversation! Children all viewed it with completely different perspectives - linking us directly back to our central idea!
Sophia explained that her design represented 'friendship'. When others looked at it...these are the thoughts it evoked:
'It reminds me of a trampoline'
'I think it is a bunch of flowers'
'I think she was making a rocket ship'
'I think it's like a volcano'
'Maybe the artist was making it look like a jellyfish'
'I don't know what it is...but when I look at it, it reminds me of my grandmother as she loved sculpture'
Wow! Perhaps 'personal perspective influences the way we create art' after all. It clearly influences the way we view it!
Today Mr Matt came and worked with us on an app called 'Scratch Junior'. This is a very early introduction to computer programming. It will be a useful tool when we come to present our narrative writing, as it allows us to present our information in a new and imaginative way. Today we experimented with the tools on this app and then worked collaboratively with a partner to programme our own imaginative scene. This week we may use it to further explain our thinking of one of our unit vocabulary words 'perspective'.
This week we have really been tuning into our new UOI. On Friday, we took the time to engage in another learning provocation. The rotations were designed to get children understanding the concept of 'a big idea' and to help them understand how one common theme can be expressed through various artistic forms. We took the idea 'cafeteria' as all children are familiar with it. Then children moved around five rotations where the teacher and the students created artworks, dramatisations, music, sculptures and dances all based on this common idea.
This week we launched into our new unit of inquiry. We are currently tuning into the unit, and on Tuesday moved around the grade two classes completing a provocation designed to spark our thinking about different art forms and their purpose. Learners made notes using the visible thinking routine 'I See, I Think, I Wonder'. There were carvings, artworks, sculptures, dances, poems, music, and dramatisations for them to look at...all to provoke their thinking around the question 'What is art?'.
To conclude our unit of inquiry, we had our shared 'healthy snack morning' on Friday. Children had planned and prepared their snack and confidently explained to the class why it was a healthy choice. Even the 'not so healthy' snacks, were presented by the children as 'occasional' foods. They explained how you need to be eaten in moderation along with a balanced diet.
Then we got a chance to tuck in!
The classroom still smells like sweetcorn!
Children throughout this unit have been 'taking action' to lead to healthier life choices. During Friday's team time, children shared some of the small steps they have taken. These included:
Going to bed earlier to ensure they have enough sleep and are well rested for the following day.
Choosing a more 'colourful' plate at the cafeteria each lunchtime.
Trying to drink more water, in order for feel less sluggish and improve concentration.
Washing their hands more regularly (and more thoroughly).
Practicing ways to calm down when they are upset or frustrated (listening to the Mind Master - Not the head Hassler).
In reading, we participate in a variety of tasks to build our reading fluency and comprehension. Tasks vary depending on our needs, our current unit of inquiry, and the specific skills we need to acquire.
These pictures were taken during today's reading session.
Collage 1: Guided reading sessions with a focus on building comprehension and being able to make meaning form the story.
Collage 2: Using online tools (in this case Raz kids) to listen to, read, and engage in questions about the story.
Collage 3: Building vocabulary. Here children are using the magnetic letters to create word lists related to our unit of inquiry.
Collage 4: In these pictures, learners are investigating their own unit of inquiry questions...seeking answers using unit books, and online websites and videos.
We love our swimming sessions every Tuesday afternoon. We apologise if we are sometimes a little slow to get changed! If we don't turn up on time to our usual pick up location, you may like to meet us by the pool gate.
Ms Tatiana has been spending time in the grade two classrooms. She has been helping learners fine-tune their understanding of concepts relating to out unit, through the use of the visible thinking tool 'Colour / Symbol / Image'.
Today they worked in small groups around our units themes and related concepts of balance, choice, responsibility, lifestyle, and health.
Today we had Nurse Alison come and talk with the class about being healthy. She talked about the 5 essential elements to keep our body healthy. Who can remember what they were and post their answer as a comment?
At lunchtime, Mrs Karyn went around with her camera and tried to see who was 'eating rainbows'. We wanted to see if children were eating a balanced lunch with a lot of different coloured foods.
We love reading! It is fantastic to see the children self selecting high interest books. Many have been investigating the unit books, to help them find the answers to their own inquiry questions.
As part of our unit of inquiry, students came up with their own questions for investigation. We looked at 'thick' and 'thin' questioning first, to ensure we came up with robust open ended questions, relevant to our inquiry.
As we delve deeper into what it means to be healthy, students are discovering that their is much more involved than just food and exercise. Some of their questions included; How does sleep affect our health? In what ways can friendships affect your health? How can people make themselves happier? How can you keep your brain healthy?
Mr Matt spent some time in our class this week teaching us how to use the app 'Explain Everything'. This will be a fabulous tool to share our learning. We experimented with the tools today, so that we can use this app to successfully share our thinking with others.
It was wonderful to see the children out and about at break times, enjoying the playground and facilities.
We finished our name tags to label our cubby holes.
We enjoyed our free lunch by Epicure at the cafeteria. These free sample lunches will also be available on Monday and Tuesday. From Wednesday, children who have not signed up for the epicure lunches will need to bring their lunch from home, or have it delivered to the baskets at school by 11.30. Children still need a healthy snack for recess.
