Sharing The Planet

Our current Unit of Inquiry is 'Sharing The Planet'. We are looking at urban environments and how we can adapt and modify them in order to bring about sustainable change. During the past few weeks we have been exploring the central idea, looking at unit vocabulary, and deciding on elements that urban environments have in common. In IT we have explored urban environments through Google Earth - taking a scavenger hunt through cities around the world to find examples of infrastructure, recreational areas, services etc.

Nith - Paper Craft

Artist Statement - Nith

“Paper craft inspired me because it looks beautiful, I looked at videos and thought it looked cool. I decided to use flowers because my Grandma’s house had beautiful butterflies and flowers and I felt happy there. I decided to make flowers with paper craft.

I used paper, glue and scissors, and a background in paint. My art is called Flower Rose. I am proud of it because I have never done anything like it before and I learnt new things”.

Shape Art

One of our integrated math strands has been shape. Today we reviewed our understanding of shape and created a piece of art using the 2d blocks. Here are some examples.

Addie Runs Away

"I chose this book to share because I liked it and it reminds me of travelling. The drawings are one way that we can express ourselves, and the writer of the book expressed themselves by giving a message in the story. It was about a girl who ran away because she thought her mum and dad didn't like her. I felt a bit scared when I had to read to the class but when I had finished I felt calmer and kind of proud."

Unit Vocabulary

Today with Ms Tatiana, we reviewed some of our unit vocabulary. Understanding the language we are using will help children make more sense of what we are studying. We looked at pictures and tried to come up with our own synonyms to explain what they mean. Then we carefully matched the words and their definitions.

Puppetry

Today the form of art we looked at was Puppetry.

Puppetry is... the making and manipulation of puppets for use in some kind of theatrical show. A puppet is a figure—human, animal, or abstract in form—that is moved by human, and not mechanical, aid.



We had visiting performers come from the Sovanna Phum Art Association. They presented a one and a half hour show in the Black Box Theatre. It was a combination of small puppetry, storytelling, dance and traditional music. Wow! What a show! The children were really engaged by this traditional Khymer art form.

I have uploaded 3 short clips from todays performance. As part of your homework choose which is your favourite and explain why. What story do you think was being told? What art forms were being used?
                                                                           Example 1:

Example 2:

Example 3:

Not a Box

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'.

Geometry - 'Shape' in art

We have recently reviewed our understanding of 2d and 3d shapes and angles. The learning outcomes for this are to:

• Recognise and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces.
• Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.

Today we made connections between our current unit 'How We Express Ourselves' and this maths strand. We looked at how shape is used in art and how specific artists have created art in which objects and people are broken up into geometric forms.

We looked at cubism as an art form, identifying geometric form in Fernand Leger and Pablo Picasso's work. Then we used shape to create our own original designs...using our imaginations.

Scratch Jnr

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'.

I see / I think / I wonder

Today we introduced a visible thinking routine called See / Think / Wonder. This tool will be used throughout our next unit of inquiry  'How We Express Ourselves'. It will be particularly powerful as we launch into this arts based unit, as it encourages students to think carefully about why something looks the way it does, or is the way it is.

The Purpose: What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?



This routine encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations.
It helps stimulate curiosity and sets the stage for inquiry.

Today we used it by focusing on a collection of interesting images related to our current unit. This helped encourage students to further apply their new knowledge and ideas.

They were asked:
• What do you see?
• What do you think about that?
• What does it make you wonder?

On a personal note...I have just got home and have found this massive spider outside my apartment!

My photo is a bit blurry, but it looked just like the one on the right!

I see: A large spider with freaky eyes staring at me from the wall.

It has slight stripes, long legs, and isn't particularly hairy.

I think: It might be native to Cambodia.

It probably isn't dangerous...but it could be!

This may prevent me from sleeping well tonight!

If there is one spider here...then there are probably more.

I wonder: What kind of spider it is.

Which of the children in my class will be clever enough to find out for me.

How I can get rid of it without killing it...(or having to go near it!)

Guided Reading Rotation

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 Swimming!

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.

CSI - Ms Tatiana

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.

Practising 'Calm'

Part of our UOI has focussed on ways to keep our body healthy, but we have also been looking at factors that contribute to our mental wellbeing. Children are identifying ways in which they relax, and activities that lead to their own positive feelings. This week we spent time talking about ways that we relax, and listened to some meditative music to wind down after a busy day. Luckily nobody fell asleep!

Guest Speaker / Eating Rainbows

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.

Why Do You Come to School?

Explain Everything

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.

Provocation

The central idea in our unit of inquiry is 'Learning about balanced lifestyles helps us understand how the choices we make can affect our health.'

Last week, we formed opinions around provoking statements, selected to encourage our thinking about this. First we did this as a class...placing ourselves on a continuum from 'Strongly agree, to Strongly Disagree', and giving reasons for our choices.

Then we moved around the class and placed our initials on each of the statements, showing whether we agreed of disagreed with them. There was some fantastic discussion!

Learner Profile Certificates

We enjoyed getting together on Friday afternoon at 'Team Time'. We talked about the learning we have been doing during our Unit of inquiry, sang songs, and celebrated achievements.

Well done Erika for being reflective, Nith for being an Inquirer, and Samir for being open minded!

Friday Photos

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.