Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink...
Hello there,
Thanks to all the awesome families who came out for interviews last week. I am as proud of your kids as you are.
This week, we're launching into our investigation of water. It will connect to both Grade 1 and Grade 2 Science as we look at the impact of water and sanitation in our lives, the lives of other people in different countries, as well as plants and animals. This will overlap into our Reading, Writing, and Social Studies.
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Reading: We will carry on with our guided reading groups. As well, we will be reading poems about water, learn a song about the water cycle, and our read alouds will include Margaret Wise Brown's "The Little Island," and "The Water Witcher." I found an online version of this story set in the Australian outback. You'll find it below.
Writing: Last week, we began looking at examples of procedural writing. This week, we will begin sequencing existing texts into the correct order and begin planning our own procedural writing. We will connect procedural writing to water conservation e.g. how to brush your teeth without wasting water. At home, you can encourage your child to practice explaining how to do something sequentially, starting off with the materials or tools needed. More on this later. Several students still need to complete their written recounts. The journey is slow, but we're getting there. We will continue working on our printing skills and spelling.
Media Literacy: Students will continue working on their final drafts of our hand washing and germ posters.
Math: Measurement. We will continue working on linear measurement and hopefully begin capacity. We will go on a water walk at the end of the week to connect Science and Math to the social issue that many people in developing countries face: having to walk long distances for water.
Science: We will see how our pop bottle plant terrariums enable plants to survive without ever receiving additional water. We will focus on the words: evaporation and condensation. We will also attempt to do some water dowsing in the school yard.
Social Studies: Students have been learning about different designs of houses around the world, by creating booklets of houses they've drawn themselves. This week, they will focus on houses that are designed with water in mind.
Homework:
Grade 1s
- Borrow a book a day and record it in your Reading Log. Parents, please encourage your child to retell the story to you. Ask them if it is a fiction or non-fiction text. How do you know?
- Printing sheet.
- Measurement activity.
- Spelling words. This week, we're looking at word family - ay for the 1s.
- We're starting a book of expressions this week. I will be sending home a duotang with a sheet in it. Each week, they'll read over what the expression means with a parent and draw a cartoon with characters using the expression in a speech bubble. This week, we're starting off with our class favourite "You stole my thunder!" Students use this when they've put up their hand to answer a question and someone calls out the answer. Have fun with this.
Grade 2s
- Borrow a book a day and record it in your Reading Log. Parents, please encourage your child to retell the story to you. Ask them if it is a fiction or non-fiction text. How do you know?
- Measurement activity around the home and filling in the blanks on a hundreds chart.
- Spelling words. This week, we're looking at word family - ell for the 2s.
- We're starting a book of expressions this week. I will be sending home a duotang with a sheet in it. Each week, they'll read over what the expression means with a parent and draw a cartoon with characters using the expression in a speech bubble. This week, we're starting off with our class favourite "You stole my thunder!" Students use this when they've put up their hand to answer a question and someone calls out the answer. Have fun with this.
