Grade 2/1 Newsletter
PYP News!
Units 1 and 2: Units one and two are being merged to create a more meaningful inquiry. Unit 1 was introduced for two weeks and then blended into unit 2. One summative task will be used to assess the students’ understanding at the end of unit two.
Unit 1How we organise ourselves Central idea: People organise themselves to meet the responsibilities of different roles. An inquiry into: The different roles people have How being organised helps people The function of various roles
Dear Parents, We are well over half way through semester one. The time seems to have flown. Grade 3, 4 and 5 are all about to complete their first UOI (Unit of Inquiry). The other grades are working to a modified schedule. Some of our teachers are going to regional PYP targeted training in Phuket, Thailand at the end of term which should have positive effects in term 2. We also have Virginia Rojas coming for 2 days of training, specifically on ESL. We are quite excited. Check her out here http://www.ascd.org/professionaldevelo pment/oscb/faculty/RojasV.aspx AS always any questions about PYP or your child in particular come speak to me or email. Neil Johnstone PYP Coordinator njohnstone@hisvietnam.com
Unit 2How the world works Central idea: People apply their understanding of forces to invent and create An inquiry into: Inventions that impact people’s lives How circumstances lead to the creation of important inventions How understanding forces helps inventors Summative task: Students will invent something useful in reallife using forces. They will use an observation sheet to record the procedure.
LANGUAGES: (Including French, EAL and Vietnamese) Writing: Students use the writing process to aid with their writing. The text type focus is procedural writing for both units. The language features include language of instructions, language to indicate time or sequence and the language of description. Reading: Students read books connected to procedural text type which includes fiction and nonfiction books. Books contain roles, responsibilities, forces and inventions. Reading Eggs is a great online reading resource for parents to use at home to encourage and support reading. Listening and speaking: Students will make observations and predictions during UOI experiments and share experiences after language listening sessions. ELS:The current focus in these sessions is the development of phonics skills through interactive and multisensory activities.Wherever possible lessons are linked to the UOI to improve confidence and encourage full participation in the classroom. Vietnamese: Students learned vocabulary and steps to make the Moon cake (Bánh dẻo) relating to forces (push, pull, knead, press etc).
THE ARTS Visual art Grade 2 and 1 will use pull, push and gravity forces to invent and create different art forms.
Music Grade 1 and 2 have been having a great time in music, getting to know each other and learning the new routines of a new music teacher.
Unit 1
MATHS (Stand alone unit) Central idea:Numbers are used for many different purposes in the real world.
Many of our activities will continue through the year as we build our vocal abilities and knowledge of musical concepts, in particular an understanding of pitch and rhythm, movement to music, and steady beat. Grade 1 students are exploring rhythmic patterns and Grade 2 are getting very good at reading rhythmic notation. All classes are enjoying learning about Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We are also spending some time investigating the push and pull forces of various instruments. Mr. Grant
An inquiry into: Different number systems How numbers are used in different ways in the real world How numbers are connected to each other through a variety of relationships Summative task will be a collection of students’ ongoing work and anecdotal notes. The IXL website (www.ixl.com) is a great online resource for parents to support maths home learning.
Key Dates: Wednesday 24th September: Receptiongrade 2 Swimming Gala at Daewoo Friday 3rd October: Autumn Break Monday 12th and 13th October: School closed for staff PD Monday 10th November: Late start, students in school by 10.30 Monday 17th and 24th November: Three Way Conferences Wednesday 19th November: International Day
PSPE
Miss Lisa’s comment: I would like to take this opportunity to thank parents, students and teachers for making me feel very welcome as Head of Elementary. Each and every one of you have made my transition into this role, very smooth. Here at HIS we value home school communication. These newsletters should highlight your child’s learning during the next six weeks, as well as reflecting on what they have learnt.
Grade 2 and 1 have been working on team work during their Co Operation/ Adventure Challenge Unit. They learnt about how to work together to solve problems and identify their role in helping the team have success. The students have been swimming, developing their strokes and practicing for the gala. The forces of push and pull were linked when discussion swimming technique.
Grade 5 sharing their learning about the writing process. Grade 1 showing their use of ICT during reading.
Miss Lisa Hughes
Student Reflections (Ongoing reflections for both units) Grade 1G:Attached is a photo of three children organizing themselves during group work. They were recording the total amount of objects they had counted. Along with one to one correspondence, Grade 1G has been working on subitizing numbers to 12 or 20, and recognising number pairs up to 10 or 20. Our favorite game was playing a class made card game called
Inquiry into forces. Ms. Lisa sharing about forces.
pairs. Grade 2P: How we organise ourselves being organised help us to do our work more easily. We feel good and we can learn. We have the responsibility to carry out our daily classroom duties. Grade 1A: Being organized helps us not to waste time, lose things and get upset. Kites fly best on a windy day when the force of the wind pushes them up and we run very fast. Light materials shaped by sticks work best to lift kites in the air.
Unit 1
Hanoi International School enables all students to realise their full potential in a caring and positive learning environment. Through our broad and balanced international curriculum, we endeavour to develop responsible, globally conscious citizens. We strive to develop the whole child as a lifelong learner with a strong sense of self worth.
Unit 1