The Big Dig

In class we have been learning what archaeologists do. Today we had a 'Big Dig' - a simulated archaeological dig in our school sandpit. The area was sectioned off and students carefully and systematically searched for artifacts. We had a great time and uncovered 20 of the 21 hidden items. Tomorrow we will look closer at the objects and try to establish their possible uses. Children are being encouraged to make connections and ask the question "What does it tell me about Cambodia's Past?'

Catch Up

SPORTS DAY FUN

Here are some photos from the last week of semester. We had a fantastic time at our Grade 2-5 sports day. You couldn't wipe the smiles of the kids faces all day! Thanks to the PE team for organising this.

In our unit of inquiry we made comparisons between model cities like Copenhagen and Phnom Penh...identifying the similarities and differences. We continued to investigate in order to find answers to our inquiry questions. We used the creative cycle to assist us with this.

We had fun using creating our own Google Doodles in art class to end our unit.

We had a musical performance in a Public Art space. We had planned to perform on the Amphitheatre but were rained out...so our concert took place in the outdoor gym.

Updated Pictures

Ms Theary took these last week! We are a handsome bunch!

Urban Environments

The week started with parents and caregivers coming in to look at our learning from our 'How We Express Ourselves' unit of inquiry. It was wonderful to see students proudly sharing their learning journeys. They shared their inspiration boards, finished artworks and artists statements, and their book creator journals.

I will add the book creator journals they made to their individual blog pages during the next few days. These were student's personal journals in which they created and reflected on artistic forms they experienced throughout the unit of inquiry. Here is a student example;


This week we began our new unit of inquiry 'Sharing the Planet.'

This is an inquiry into;

Rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

The central idea for our unit is;
By developing an awareness of an urban environment, we can understand and modify the way we live within it.

We spend several sessions tuning into what we already understood about urban environments. Some of the activities we did this week included;

• Numbered heads together (a game to get groups discussing and using important vocabulary related to the unit). Students answered questions and came up with a group response that one group member had to feed back to the class.

• We completed an online survey to give us an overview of the Grade 2 student's prior knowledge.

• We built a city...demonstrating our initial understanding of how urban environments are organised. We then visited the other grade 2 cities and commented on ideas for change. We then had an opportunity to 'modify' our city based on the suggestions from our peers and our class reflections.

• We went to key spots within our school to view what is outside our gates! We recorded what we saw, what we thought, and what we wondered about the urban environment around us.
• We had a 'spiderweb' discussion reflecting our understanding of the city.
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MATHEMATICS
During mathematics we continued exploring our understanding of measurement. In class we have been looking at units of measurement for length, and have been solving problems using what we have learned. On Friday we took our learning outside. With our grade 5 buddies we made paper planes and recorded the distances we threw them in centimetres and metres using tape measures and trundle wheels.

WRITING
We worked on writing character descriptions about a special person or friend. Being able to describe a character in detail will help us when we write our narratives over the next few weeks.

Teamwork in Action

We are integrating with PE during our 'Who We Are' unit of inquiry. Today we put into action two of the key attitudes from this UOI - Commitment and Cooperation! What fabulous teamwork kids!

This week in PE

We continued to focus on one of our unit's attitudes 'Cooperation' in PE. Ask your child about what the objectives were in this game and see if they can reflect on how their team cooperated and problem solved.

Reading

This week, our learning in reading has been centred around the importance of sleep and hygiene. Students have been engaged in guided reading sessions, class shared texts and poems, discussion groups, research and vocabulary activities. We often have Ms Mom and Mr Jon from the EAL team supporting our learning in literacy. We love literacy!

Learning in the Lab

Our current unit of inquiry is 'Who we Are'. Through two of our lines of inquiry, we are trying to gain an understanding of;

• Ways that we can be personally, physically and mentally healthy (function)

• The responsibility we can take for our wellbeing (Responsibility/ reflection)

Today we had a fantastic opportunity to visit the secondary science lab and conduct an experiment. The grade 7 students led us through the activity, overseen by Mr Houterman and Mr Jones. We swabbed the bathroom, the soles of our our shoes, and put our fingerprint inside petri dishes filled with agar. This will allow us to reveal the bacteria hiding all around us. Over the next few days we will learn a little more about germs- identifying ways we can be responsible for our personal hygiene.

On Thursday, we plan to return to the lab to examine and discuss the results. Watch this space!

PE integration

In PE, students have been learning about how the body reacts when we exercise. One of the goals by the end of the unit, is for the students to create either a tag game or a fitness station to increase peers heart rates! Last week they began to notice how their bodies change after exercise. They came up with some great questions for investigation and have started seeking the answers back in class.

Dita and Elena following up on the question they asked in PE this week.

CoCo and HanXi using Google translate to assist them in transferring their understanding from Chinese to English.

Making Sense of Numbers

One of our mathematics sessions this week led to a fascinating investigation into our number system. Children were exploring ways in which two and three digit numbers could be represented. For example they created numbers using place value materials, drew them, expanded them, and recorded them in digits and words. When we were having trouble recording numbers in written form, one child remarked "English counting doesn't make sense". 

This sparked a great conversation as we looked deeper into where the confusions lay. They decided the teens numbers were where things got confusing because the English words changed and there weren't logical patterns. One creative thinker decided that our counting would make more sense if it followed the pattern;

"ten, ten one, ten two, ten three, ten four"

another commented that this wasn't needed because you could keep the teen but make it "oneteen, twoteen, threeteen..." because the rest of the teens numbers did that.

This then promoted questioning as why the tens numbers were the way they are. 

"So if the 'ty' is used in tens numbers like and sixty, seventy, it should be twoty, threety, and fivety!" commented one child. Another questioned "what happened to the 'u' in forty?"

After a great discussion I asked if it was easier to count in their home languages. Many students responded that it was, and children who wanted to record themselves counting in their home or second language were given the opportunity. What a diverse and creative thinking group of learners!

Meet the Class!

I have only had the pleasure of knowing this incredible group of grade twos for four days now, and I already think they are awesome! What an enthusiastic, caring, and knowledgeable group of learners! They have impressed me with their willingness to question, their insightful responses, and their positive attitudes. I can't wait to work with them for the rest of the year!