Month: October 2017

Plastic, Metal and Wood

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Ms. Heidi brought in some musical instruments. They were made of different materials. The students sorted out the materials into 3 groups. 

Next, the students cut, sorted and glued pictures into the different groups.

A group of students went on a hunt to look for items made out of the different materials.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/925200553734320128

The students then sorted out the photographs they had taken on their journey. They all looked for items in the classroom that were made out of the same materials and put them into the groups. They labelled their groups.

SLO’s

  • develop an inquiring mind
  • ask questions about things in the classroom, places & people at school
  • collect objects related to their study
  • sort and classify objects into categories by attributes (Similarities & Differences)
  • use inquiry to acquire information
  • make statements that reflect their understandings
  • participate in communal classroom activities
  • listen to others
  • name things in the classroom, places and people at school
  • make observations about their immediate environment
  • interpret and analyse visuals and multimedia to gain understanding
  • communicate information using pictures and simple posters

  • sort real objects into sets by one common attribute using own and others’ criteria

  • explain criteria for sorting

  • be able to explain data using simple language such as same and different/more or less/most or least

Expressing Ourselves Through Art

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The plan continues to evolve. The students include more detail and think deeply about how the painting activity needs to be set up. They use the 10 frame to count, and record the information on a large chart. The teachers and students go outdoors in small groups to paint.

Teacher – so has everyone remembered their plan?

  • Reggie “My plan is to make a rainbow.”
  • Abby “I’m making a rainbow too.”
  • Franz “My plan is a really, really big shark.”
  • Reggie “Is this glue or paint? It looks like glue with glitter in it.”
  • Abby “It is glitter, it sparkles. ”
  • Teacher “I see you have painted the sun and raindrops.”
  • Reggie “Well it is a rainbow. Bright light and water can make lots of colours.”
  • Teacher “I like these colours Abby.”
  • Abby “I need the sun, now I need yellow. I like these colours. Now I need white, but this is grey.  This is a rainbow and people go under it.  These are the muddy puddles.”
  • Reggie “I have finished. I painted a rainbow, rain and sunlight makes a rainbow.”
  • Teacher “Tell me about your painting Franz.”
  • Franz “First I do a brown shark, then I do a yellow fish. I like the green.  This is mama shark.”
  • Mia “I make a shark too. This is purple colour. I like purple.”
  • Cornelis “I am making ”
  • Teacher “Why did you choose green Cornelis?”
  • Cornelis “Because I really love green. I am done now.”
  • Teacher “You have finished? Would you like to add anymore details?”
  • Cornelis “Okay yes. I make the floor.  Now I am done.  Let’s not hang it up to dry I don’t want the paint to fall down.  Let’s put it flat to ”
  • Mia “Look, my shark is eating. It is scary.”

  • Teacher “Do you have a plan Yusei?”
  • Yusei (nods head and points to red paint)
  • Teacher “Yusei are you writing with your paint? Is this Japanese writing?”
  • Yusei (smiles and nods head)
  • Kai “I do like the red colour. I am going to use red.”
  • Teacher “So what’s your plan, Kai?”
  • Kai “I don’t know. I love red, it’s my favourite.”
  • Ruby “I want green. I want to make a flower.”
  • Kai “I need a new colour. I am making a golden rainbow so I need some ”
  • Ruby “I want something else now. I want red.  I am painting a big, big rose.”
  • Teacher “I see you like flowers ”
  • Ruby “Yes, I like smelling them. This is a strawberry.  I mix the red and the green together.”
  • Kai “The red here is an apple with sparkly candy on it.”
  • Ruby “And blue with yellow paint can make green.”

Franz: F

Teacher: T

  • T:    你想画什么？What do you want to paint?
  • F： 我要画很大的鲨鱼，是金鲨。I want to paint a very big shark, a golden shark.
  • T： 你想用什么颜色？What color do you want to use?
  • F： 咖啡色和绿色  Brown and green.
  • T： 咖啡色是什么部分？What is this brown part?
  • F： 它的身体。绿色是它的血，所有的动物没有血就会死。Its body. Green part is its blood, all the animals would die if they run out of the blood.
  • F： 我想画小鱼了。小鱼是黄色的。I want to paint fish. Fish is yellow.
  • T： 蓝色的部分是什么？What is this blue part?
  • F： 是快被吃掉的小鱼，我还需要红色。It is a fish that was nearly swallowed by the big fish. I still need red color.
  • T：画画让你的心情怎样？What did you feel when you were painting ?
  • F：让我心情很好 I felt good.
  • T： 红色是什么？What is this red part?
  • F：是它的妈妈，黄色是它的宝宝，后面是尾巴，没有鳍。It is mum. Yellow is its baby. It is a tail at the back, no fins.

Amber:    A

Teacher : T

  • T:   你想画什么？What do you want to paint?
  • A：我想画草地和天空。I want to paint grass and sky.
  • T：黑色是什么？What is the black part?
  • A：是云朵 （A将黑色和咖啡色混在一起）It’s clouds. (Mixed the color of black and brown)
  • T： 你为什么将黑色和咖啡色混在一起? Why did you mix the black and brown?
  • A： 因为这是它的宝宝. Because it is their babies.
  • T：这是什么颜色？What is this color?
  • A ： 蓝色Blue
  • T： 蓝色是什么？What is the blue part?
  • A： 下雨了 It’s raining
  • A：小脚丫 （白色的点点）刺刺的石头（粉色的点），又加上咖啡色
  • Little feet (Point to the white dots) sharp stones (point to the pink dots), add more brown
  • T：为什么又在粉色的石头上加上咖啡色？ Why did you put the brown over the pink stones?
  • A：因为很可爱，会更漂亮。我要画它的外面（用白色涂外层，黑色画在纸的上方）
  • Because it’s cute, and it’s more prettier. I want to paint outside of stone. (Use white to paint and use black to paint the top part of paper)
  • T：黑色是什么？What is the black part?
  • A：是天空要下雨了。黄色的月亮（用黄色画了一个圈），我还想画一个小朋友，她在路上跳，一边跳舞，一边走。It’s about raining . Yellow moon (paint a circle with yellow ), I want to paint a child, she jump on the road, she’s walking and dancing.
  • T：画画让你的心情怎样？what do you feel when you paint?
  • A：很快乐，我还想画小花。（用橘色画了小花）Happy, I still want to paint a flower.(I will draw a flower with orange)

Hannah: H

Amber： A

Teacher: T

  • T：你想画什么？What do you want to paint?
  • H：我想画恐龙（画了两种颜色）I want to paint dinosaur. (paint with 2 colors)
  • T：哪种颜色是恐龙？Which color is dinosaur?
  • H：绿色的是 The green one
  • A：脚在哪里呢？Where are the feet?
  • H：藏起来了They have been hidden.
  • T： 为什么你画得和Amber一样？你想不想改主意？Why did you paint as same as Amber? Do you want to change your idea?
  • H ：好的。（想了一会儿，画了白色的圆），我想画月亮 OK.(Think for a little while, paint a white circle)
  • T：黄色的小点点是什么？What is the yellow dots?
  • H：小星星  Stars
  • T：粉色是什么？ What is the pink part?
  • H：粉色是爱心。They are hearts.

Tyler ： Ty

Teacher : T

  • T：你想画什么？ What do you want to paint?
  • Ty: 我想画汽车，用白色画。没有白色，用蓝色的（拿了紫色）
  • I want to paint cars by white, but there’s no white. I will use blue. (Actually take the purple)
  • T ：除了汽车，那是什么？What is that apart from the cars?
  • Ty: 我要画一个大怪兽。I want to paint a big monster.
  • T：能不能换一种颜色来画呢？Do you want to change the color?
  • Ty: 那我用白色吧。（拿了灰色）我还要画消防车，用黄色来画。
  •      Ok then, I will use white. (Actually take the grey) I still want to paint fire engine with yellow.

Teacher: T

Gunhee: G

Jiwan: J

  • T “What is this colour?”
  • G “Blue”
  • J “…….R”
  • T “What is that colour?”
  • G “Yellow”
  • J “Green (with very soft voice)”
  • T “Are you drawing a fish?”
  • G “No”
  • T “What’s this?”
  • G “Car”
  • T “Jiwan, what are you drawing? Are you doing a tree?”
  • T “(Point to the circles) What are those circles?”
  • G “Gunhee went to the bicycles and pointed to the wheels)”
  • T “Wheels!”
  • G (Repeated after teacher) “Wheels”
  • Teacher: What’s this ?
  • Jasmine: 圆圈。Circle
  • Teacher: What’s the purple part?
  • Jasmine:买菜。Vegetable shopping
  • Teacher: What did you draw?
  • Lawrence:路线。Routes
  • Teacher: What’s the black part?
  • Lawrence: 我最喜欢的。This is my favorite part.
  • Jasmine: 我画了很多线。我姐姐说她喜欢棕色。I drew many lines. My sister said she likes brown.

SLO’s

  • make personal connections to artwork
  • make statements that reflect their understandings
  • state their preferences
  • listen to others’ perspectives
  • engage with, and enjoy a variety of visual arts experiences
  • select tools, materials and processes for specific purposes
  • use their imagination and experiences to inform their art making
  • create artwork in response to a range of stimuli

The Plan

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One student brought in a picture she had created with her mum. She provided explanations about the details included in the picture. She proudly pointed to all the details she had included or coloured herself. She was an artist.

The students were inspired and wanted to create their own picture. We made a PLAN.

Students “Paint.” We need paint to make the paintings! The students began to shout out the colours they would like to have. Red, green, yellow, gold, purple, white, blue, grey, orange, black and brown.

Kai “We can have indigo!”

Teacher “How can we make indigo?”

Kai “Blue and purple make indigo.”

Reggie “Paint brushes.”

Teacher “How many?”

Reggie “3”

Teacher “Why 3?”

Reggie “3 people at a time can paint.”

Franz “Maybe 4 people at a time can paint. Then it is quicker, we spend less time.”

Reggie “We can paint our portfolio boxes.”

Franz “Paper. We need very BIG paper.”

Abby “Maybe we can get it from the library.”

Reggie “We need to paint outside, because if we paint inside, it will take ages to clean.”

Teacher “Paint outside? Where?”

Reggie “The tables?”

Cornelis “The seesaw.”

The students began to think of the pictures they would like to create.

  • Reggie “Rainbow.”
  • Abby “A butterfly.”
  • Franz and Mia “A shark.
  • Kai “A enormous, no, no… humongous cup.”
  • Amber “Fish.”

We wonder how we can express ourselves through art…watch this space…

When Sophie Gets Angry–Really, Really Angry…

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Today we read the book ‘When Sophie Gets Angry — Really, Really Angry‘ by Molly Bang. Anger can be a very upsetting and big emotion for young students. People do lots of different things when they get angry. This story shares what a little girl does when she gets angry. It was a good opportunity to talk about some of the strategies we can use when we feel ANGRY.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tISX0wadZnE

While reading the story, the students made connections with the Zones of Regulation posters displayed in the classroom.

SLO’s

  • explain possible causes for their different feelings and emotions
  • identify positive thoughts and attitudes in themselves
  • identify and explore strategies that help them to cope with change
  • recognise that everyone has feelings, emotions and perspectives that may differ from their own
  • share their own ideas and feelings in an appropriate manner

The Giraffe

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The students were presented with a painting. They observed the painting closely and shared their thoughts and questions.

  • Cornelis “That is a giraffe eating some leaves.”
  • Reggie “Why is it a picture of a giraffe?”
  • Amber “I see a tree.”
  • Franz “Why is the giraffe’s neck so long?”
  • Kai “I see a flower.”
  • Abby “I see grass.”
  • Lawrence (in Mandarin) “It makes me happy. It is drawn very well.”
  • Hannah (in Mandarin) “This picture makes me happy. I like how they have used all the different colours.”
  • Reggie “I think Mr.Robin made it because it is in the Design Centre.”
  • Ryan “I don’t like this brown colour.”
  • Cornelis “I see a bush.”
  • Mia “I can see a butterfly.”
  • Ryan and Yusie “The Sun!”
  • Tyler (in Mandarin) “The blue part looks like the sea. I can see the butterfly, tree and giraffe.”
  • Cornelis “NO! This is the blue sky.”
  • Reggie “It makes me happy because it looks good.”
  • Cornelis “Because it looks beautiful.”

The students continue to wonder who created the painting. They want to create their own paintings and have been thinking about the colours they want to use.

SLO’s

  • describe what they notice about an artwork.
  • make personal connections to artworks.
  • use inquiry to acquire information
  • make statements that reflect their understandings
  • state their preferences
  • listen to others’ perspective

 

The Enormous Turnip – Part 2

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The students have been listening to the story ‘The Enormous Turnip‘ over a period of weeks. They have retold, dramatised and sung the story in Chinese.

Next, they created their own story of the ‘Enormous Turnip’. They first coloured, cut and glued the story in sequence. They were invited to include more characters in their story. The students shared their story with their peers.

A Worm!

Students were encouraged to…

  • sequence and retell a story
  • communicate information using pictures
  • develop fine-motor skills
  • develop listening skills
  • use their own creative ideas to extend stories

Emotions and Feelings

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What makes you happy, sad, angry…? What do you do when you are happy, sad, angry…?The students brainstormed ideas about different emotions.

I am happy when I…

  • …play with trains. (Cornelis)
  • …draw. (Amber)
  • …play with Lego. (Tyler)
  • …read books. (Franz, Ryan, Mia, Abby, Jasmine, Kai)

The students shared how cutting paper, playing with cars, playing with play dough, building houses and robots and playing outdoors makes them happy.

What about when you are sad?

The students explained that they may have a sad or grumpy face when they are sad or cry when they are sad.”

What about when you are angry?

The students shared that they stomp around when we feel angry.

The students drew pictures to share what makes them happy.

The students will begin to explore how they can express themselves through different art forms.

Performers

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The students noticed the stage out in the foyer.

  • Cornelis “You can do the drums or piano or different music on the stage.”
  • Kai “You play the piano and sing songs. They use that microphone.”
  • Mia “Music.”
  • Teacher “Why do people play music?
  • Mia “Because they like to sing and dance and play with that.”
  • Teacher “How does that make them feel?”
  • Many students “Happy!”
  • Franz “I want to sing ‘We will, we will rock you!”
  • Cornelis “When you speak into that microphone it makes it bigger using those big boxes (speakers).”

Many of the students volunteered to sing or perform on stage.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/918690798937370625

 

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/918691295316471809

SLO’s

  • feelings and ideas can be expressed using vocal sounds, rhythms, and instruments.
  • participate in performing and creating music both individually and collectively
  • display audience etiquette and appropriate responses
  • music evokes emotions.

What are some other ways people express themselves? We wonder…

The Garden Plot

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Dramatising a familiar story ‘The Enormous Turnip‘ facilitated the discussion about growing. There are 2 new garden boxes in the Early Years garden. The students had a discussion about our next steps:

  • Reggie “It’s outside. Yeah that’s true, it is outside.”
  • Teacher “What is it?”
  • Cornelis “It’s a box…. not a box.”
  • Kai “You plant seeds in that box.”
  • Teacher “How do you do that?”
  • Ruby “You cover them with mud.”
  • Kai “And then the flowers grow.”
  • Reggie “If they don’t grow you can grow a different one.”
  • Cornelis “You need to dig first and then put the seeds and then water the plants and then wait until it grows.”
  • Teacher “But I can see grass inside the box, so what do we have to do first?”
  • Ruby “We have to cover the grass.”
  • Teacher “What do we cover the grass with?”
  • Ruby “Seeds.”
    Teacher “Do you agree?”
  • Reggie “No. Dig up all the grass out. And then they will be ready.”
  • Abby “We need to water. We need seeds.”
  • Teacher “Where do we get seeds from?”
  • Reggie “A shop.”
  • Franz “Can plant the flower.”
  • Kai “You need to dig up the grass first.”
  • Teacher “Who is going to dig it up?”

All the children agree that they would like to dig the grass up. Franz, Amber and Ryan explain in Chinese.

  • Franz “We need to plant flowers. First we need to put soil inside.”
  • Ryan “The second step is we need to water it then it will get bigger and bigger.”
  • Amber “We need to pull the grass out.”
  • Teacher “What would you like to grow here?”
  • Reggie “Maybe flowers or things you can eat?”
  • Kai “Some carrots.”
  • Ruby “We can grow some strawberries.”
  • Kai “Tomatoes and lemons.”
  • Cornelis “Cabbages.”
  • Franz “We can grow apples.”
  • Reggie “I love strawberries.”
  • Kai “Plums.”
  • Cornelis “I want to put the water.”

The students will begin to create a plan based on their initial ideas.

SLO’s

  • develop an enthusiasm and respect for nature and Earth
  • learn how to take care of things
  • have an appreciation of own environment and all living things in it
  • develop an inquiring mind

Freight Train

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The students listened to the story ‘Freight Train‘ by Donald Crews. In this book the artwork takes the centre stage. The students were encouraged to notice how the author and illustrator used pictures to make the story more interesting. They noticed and shared how the author used details to show the speed of the train as it travels.

Kai “It looks like the colours are melting.”

Franz “It looks like where I live. I have big buildings like that.”

Students were invited to create their own books at the writing corner. They created books about trains, journeys and their families. 

The next day they listened to the story again, and were then invited to colour, cut and create their own book about the ‘Freight Train’. The students were encouraged to put the pages in order depending on the colours of the different carriages.

“What colour comes next?”

SLO’s

  • participate and respond actively to read aloud situations; make predictions, anticipate possible outcomes
  • make connections to their own experience when listening to or reading texts
  • listen and respond to picture books, showing pleasure, and demonstrating their understanding through gestures, expression and/or words
  • tell their own stories using illustrations and words
  • focus on a speaker and maintain eye contact
  • observe, discuss and comment on the information being conveyed in illustrations