NTSIS PYP Primary Newsletter (27th October– 1st November 2019)
Transdisciplinary Theme: Where we are in place and time
A big thank you to teachers, parents and children for making the Halloween party a success. Amidst the festive frenzies, inquiries and learning continued in the classrooms. Let us have a look at what were learned last week.
What a busy week…
Grade 1:
Central idea:
A city is a place where people work and live
Line of inquiry 1: Things that make a city
Line of inquiry 2: Differences and similarities of cities
Halloween week is finally over and the children surely enjoyed the various activities in the PYP department. We added our own creations to complement the Halloween decorations we had in the classroom. We had fun dressing up and hosting the other students who came to try our spider ring toss game. Sugar rush was also at its highest as we went trick or treating from classroom to classroom. Some students even brought sweets to share with their classmates and friends. We can’t wait for the next opportunity to have fun!
Our UOI learnings focused on the differences and similarities of cities. We started by looking at Nantong and Shanghai and compared both cities in terms of population, land area, and income (GDP). We will continue to explore this line of inquiry this week. In Language, we learned more about verbs by looking at verbs +ing form while in Math, we covered 2-digit addition without regrouping.
What a busy week!
Grade 2:
Central idea:
Connections between people are necessary for personal growth
Line of inquiry 1: How travel has changed the way we connect
Line of inquiry 2: Social connections
Line of inquiry 3: Opportunities to connect
What a busy week!
Grade 3/4:
Central idea:
A sense of interconnectedness and cultural awareness develops through analysing other cultures
Line of inquiry 1: Choices are influenced by geographical location
Line of inquiry 2: Difference between home culture and other cultures
We inquired about different continents and each of the students presented their own
findings about a particular continent and its geographical features. We have also started our group projects on Africa, Europe and Arctic. Students did some research on housing, clothing, food, beliefs, leisure time etc. They also learnt about European landmarks through a reading
comprehension text and worksheets. In Math lessons we continue with understanding of place values-arranging digits to make a number that meets the given criteria, identifying the value of the digit in tens, hundreds and thousands. In language inquiry, students were inquiring about word order in a sentence: verb plus object; place and time and adverbs with the verb. We also celebrated Halloween in spooky Halloween costumes and enjoyed diverse Halloween activities.
What a busy week!
Grade 5/6:
Central idea:
We are who we are because of immigration.
Line of inquiry 1: Migration changes cities
Line of inquiry 2: People of different cultures assimilate
Line of inquiry 3: Migration affects social and environmental conditions
Students enjoyed preparing and design games for the Halloween party. We looked at the factors and things to consider in order of importance when moving to a new country or to leave country. We researched and gathered images that are associated to globalization, migration, trade, capital and movement into PowerPoint slides. We reviewed and practiced on word problems involving the division of a fraction by a whole number and proper fraction by a proper fraction. We also practiced on changing and rewriting direct speech to indirect speech sentences. In science, we studied the three ways to conserve water; reducing, reusing and recycling. In addition to the four sources of water in Singapore.
This week, we feature specialist subject: Music
Theme: Christmas Performance
Central idea: Music is a way to celebrate Christmas.
Line of inquiry 1: Songs that celebrate Christmas.
Line of inquiry 2: Suitable voices help us to express our feelings
Line of inquiry3: Movements enhance music.
Tasks:
Throughout Grade 1 to 6, the children are learning a musical piece for the Christmas performance. A lot of practices have been going on. Hope to see parents at our annual Christmas show.
We celebrated Halloween (31st October 2019)
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. At NTSIS, we celebrate ghosts of Halloween with fun games, sweets and laughter We flaunted our creativity and share our joy. What a treat!
