Limited Resources and Green Energy Guest Speaker

This week in Grade 1 we used Art to think about sharing limited resources. Students decided what resources they would need to paint a picture related to their unit on Sharing the Planet. We prepared these resources but with only one color per paint tray. The tables came one by one to choose what resources they needed and quickly realized that the first table had taken all of the resources so they would have to make a plan and rethink how they used the resources.

After, they were able to paint sharing those resources, and then they reflected on how others' use or misuse of those resources affects everyone. 

We also were so fortunate to have Mrs. Josie Qian (Grade 2 Lingyi's mom), an environmental engineer, share her time and expertise on green energy with us. 

Students learned about brown energy vs. green energy and got hands-on experience with solar and wind energy. It was super engaging and fun! 

We are very excited to be preparing to share our learning with you in our student-led conferences next week!

Upcoming:

Monday: 

• Turn in Word Study books (remember to not only sort and paste, but practice writing/using your words!)
• Reading Log check

Tuesdays:

• Library

PE Wednesdays and Fridays

Outdoor recess can get quite hot now, so please make sure students have dressed appropriately and have hats.

May 31st - June 4th: Student-Led Conferences

Thinking about trash...

 After collecting what we would throw away in a week, we sorted our trash and organized the data:

We then thought about what we could do with the trash:

The students voted and decided to REUSE the trash by making something:

After we still had 3 bags of garbage that we threw away:

So we wondered: What happens to trash after we throw it away?

Then we followed three PET bottles after they were thrown away to see what might happen. 

We will record how our thinking grew or changed using "I used to think...Now I think" over the weekend on Seesaw.

In maths we have been inquiring into time. What can you do in a second? In a minute? In an hour? 

In writing, we are continuing to write opinions and learning to give detailed reasons and examples to convince our readers. 

Student-Led Conferences!

Please book your student's conference time here.

Upcoming:

Monday: 

• Turn in Word Study books (remember to not only sort and paste, but practice writing/using your words!)
• Reading Log check

Tuesdays:

• Library

PE Wednesdays and Fridays - It is very hot in the afternoons now so please send a short-sleeved shirt and shorts on PE days from now on. 

May 31st - June 4th: Student-Led Conferences 

Sharing the Planet Unit

 In this unit, we inquire into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things.

Central Idea: Our actions affect the earth's resources and people

Lines of Inquiry: 

• limited availability of the earth's resources
• personal choices that help the environment
• 3 Rs 

Concepts:  Form, Connection, Responsibility

Approaches to Learning: Self-management, Social

Learner Profile: Reflective, Balanced, Principled

Learning Goals/Success Criteria:   

Learners can give examples of renewable resources and why they are renewable

Learners can give examples of non-renewable resources and why they are not renewable

Learners can identify a resource they could conserve 

Learners can explain how they could put the 3Rs into practice 

Learners can sketch the journey of trash (pre & post)

How to support your child at home
Noticing, talking, and encouraging curiosity and questioning, as always. As sorting trash is a big part of life in Japan and many countries now, your child helping you sort the burnable, plastic, PET bottles and cans, and burnable trash would be a fun inquiry into how much waste you produce. 

Upcoming:

TODAY Last Scholastic book order for this school year. 

Monday: 

• We will be sorting their trash so please send gloves for your student to use!
• Turn in Word Study books (remember to not only sort and paste, but practice writing/using your words!)
• Reading Log check

Tuesdays:

• Library

PE Wednesdays and Fridays - It is very hot in the afternoons now so please send a short-sleeved shirt and shorts on PE days from now on. 

May 31st - June 4th: Student-Led Conferences (more information soon)

An Inquiry Into Waste: Special Homework Instructions

Sharing the Planet -  An inquiry into waste

The big question: How much waste do we produce?

Process: Students will be given a bag today to collect all of their trash, at home and at school for the following week. Everything that they themselves would normally throw away, except for food waste* is to be collected and carried with them each day back and forth from home to school until next Monday, May 17th. 

Once the trash has been collected, we will examine it closely to see what could be reused or recycled. Let's find out next week, how much trash first-grade students produce in one week!  

*Students should wash any containers that might smell and please only collect things they can count (candy wrappers, bottles, etc.) not things like pencil shavings. 

Homework Reminders

If you are ever pressed for time with homework or it is becoming a struggle, here is the priority and purpose for homework in Grade 1:

1. Reading for 20 mins (this can be independent, reading to someone, or reading with someone, or someone reading to the student). If you only have the time and/or energy for one thing: READ!

• Reading is the most important thing for 6-7-year-olds. Students who read more will have a larger vocabulary, better understanding of the language they are reading in, better reading comprehension skills, and more general knowledge picked up through their various reads.

2. Word Study - either the sort and gluing and after practice the words by writing them, making sentences, or choosing something from the menu.

• Word study helps students become fluent readers with a strong vocabulary and better spellers. Word study isn't about memorizing spelling words but about understanding spelling patterns so they can apply them to any word they want to spell in their writing. 

3. Seesaw - please check weekly to be sure they are caught up in Seesaw. 

• I ask students to reflect in Seesaw at home to solidify and reinforce their learning from school. If I notice a student needs practice with a particular skill I might also assign some practice to help them achieve it. 

4. Maths or anything from Guided Reading

• The purpose of maths homework is to share how we are learning maths in school at home and to help reinforce the concepts. Research has shown little correlation between achievement and homework in the early primary years so this can be saved for last or skipped altogether if there is not enough time or you find it becoming a struggle to get the student to do it at home. Maybe even just give your child the option of picking 2-3 problems on the maths homework and they can return just that. 
• During Guided Reading literacy day, small reading groups read a book together and usually have some practice related to that (finding the main idea, comprehension questions, etc.). This is not necessary to return to me unless you want me to check it. If the student seems interested, it is wonderful and helpful to do it together. Otherwise, please feel free to skip.