NTSIS PYP Primary Newsletter (25th November – 29th November 2019)
Transdisciplinary Theme: How we express ourselves
We are thankful for the support from parents and the school community. We are thankful for the teachers who are relentless in making thinking and learning happen in NTSIS. We express our gratitude to Ms Yvonne and all the teachers for making the Thanksgiving celebrations a wonderful event. Thank you for the memories.
What a busy week…
Grade 1:
Central idea:
Sound can help us understand the world and express ourselves
Lines of inquiry:
1. Sources of sounds
2. Expressing ourselves through sounds
3. Responding to sounds
We have just started our new unit of inquiry. The children discussed what they already know about sounds and explored the central idea that sounds help us understand the world and express ourselves. We tuned in by listening to various sounds and guessing what they were. We also talked about the kind of sounds they can hear at home, in school, and outdoors. Parents can help support their child by going on a “listening walk” around their neighborhood. Try to observe things by just listening and concentrating on the sounds around you.
Meanwhile in Math, students made their own subtraction stories and explored the different subtraction strategies they use in class. In Language Arts, we talked about the digraph “sh” and had writing workshops on describing people and monsters using adjectives.
To sum up the week, we joined the whole PYP in celebrating Thanksgiving. We enjoyed watching a play about the history of Thanksgiving. Ms. Karla’s K2 class did a wonderful job with their presentation and props. We even had the chance to eat some delicious pumpkin pies baked by a parent and Ms. Karla. We are looking forward to the PYP Christmas assembly, which will be equally fun and memorable for sure!
What a busy week!
Grade 2:
Central idea:
Imagination is a powerful tool
Lines of inquiry:
1. How we show and enjoy our imagination
2. Our imagination helps us to explore new possibilities
3. Ways in which we can share our imagination
We started our new Unit of Inquiry, under the transdisciplinary theme of “How we express ourselves.” Our pre-assessment was completed through discussions and visual representation. Imagination is certainly a powerful tool and must be continually nurtured and encouraged throughout life.
Line of Inquiry 1: How we show and enjoy imagination, has been met with great energy in the class. The class is wonderful and everyone is excited to explore this new theme. We have seen a group create a rowing boat and row across the carpet. Everyone got to act out a scene and have the class guess what their actions represent.
Math has gotten us looking at Time again. This time, we are understanding intervals of 5 minutes. Some students did so well and were eager to share and help others to understand the concept.
What a busy week!
Grade 3/4:
Central idea:
Stories are created and expressed in a variety of ways
Lines of inquiry:
1. Story structure and elements
2. The purpose of stories
3. Different versions of the same story
We inquired into what a brochure is and what kinds of information could be included. As a summative assessment for unit 2, students created a travel brochure about their own country and presented it to the rest of the class. In last few weeks, we had discovered different cultures and countries. Students listened to, analysed and interpreted Michael Jackson song – Heal the World. They came up with some interesting ideas how to make the world a better place.
In Math lessons, students continued to work on addition and subtraction word problem challenge cards. We also experimented with mental math calculations while solving variety of addition and subtraction problems. In language inquiry, we focused on a superlative form of adjectives. Our week ended with formative assessments in math, language and spelling.
What a busy week!
Grade 5/6:
Central idea:
We express and solve problems differently based on different points of view.
Lines of inquiry:
1. People identifying problems
2. Conflict resolution skills
3. People expressing conflict through the arts
Students learned about the six-step problem-solving process. It is an easy approach to dealing with issues and problems that students face and help them to develop a solution. We have looked at step 1 which is to identify and select the problem using the STAR and PDSA approaches. We also learned about using ratios to compare two quantities and do some practices on it. We read about another explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, whose adventures also brought about great changes in the world and create a timeline of Magellan’s life. We did a lung model using everyday materials such as plastic bottles, balloons, straws, rubber bands and clay. We also learned about how fish and plants take in and give out air. We did an experiment to soak a leaf in a beaker of hot water and observe the air bubbles on the surfaces of the leaf.
This week, we feature specialist subject: Chinese
We practiced free style Calligraphy. We had been working hard on pinyin and combining beginning and ending sounds.
Event: Corn party @Thanksgiving:
