What is a Student-Led Conference?

Student-led conferences are a celebration of learning that involves the student and the family. On this day, students take ownership of their learning and share their learning journeys and progress with their families. The SLC’s encourage students to think and talk about their learning with knowledge and confidence. Students use a Student-Led Conference Passport, to help them navigate through the day.

The First Stories

The moviemakers have been creating their stories using the Stop Motion app. Eunbyul was the first to finish his first movie.

We noticed that Eunbyul had taken over 400 photographs to create his 30-second movie. We wondered about the sequence of the story and the positioning of the objects in the photographs. We decided to invite him to present his written story plan and his first movie to the class, hoping that Eunbyul’s peers would be able to give him feedback that could improve his creation.

  • What did they notice in the images?
  • What elements would Eunbuyl need to work on to improve his movie?

The audience was captivated by Eunbyul’s movie. They loved his Pikachoo characters and were excited to see how he brought his characters to life.

Eunbyul explained that he was still unsure of how to show a snowfall. The audience gave him specific feedback to improve his story.

  • Follow the story plan.
  • Make sure pictures don’t include parts of the moviemaker’s body.
  • Take multiple photographs to show the slow movement of the objects

The teachers decided to use two objects to demonstrate what the audience meant by slow intentional movements.

Eunbyul thought about the feedback and went on to make his second movie. This time, he followed his story plan, mindful of the sequence of events that the photographs needed to show.

Excitement about the movies rippled across the class, with Oxford, Oliver and Eli deciding to create their own stories using the app. The team sat with paper and writing tools to create a story plan.

Oxford picked up an iPad and reached out to his friends to learn how to use the app Stop Motion.

  • Oxford “Eunbyul taught me a little bit how to use the Stop Motion app. He showed me where to touch and not touch and he explained how to do it. I go and make it. I first touched the Stop Motion movie app, then I took photos. I took 76 photos for the movie.”

The Language of Lego

The Lego table is a popular space in the classroom. The children gather to use Lego to recreate familiar structures and objects from their experiences. Often they use these objects to engaging storytelling.

A group of three children enjoy creating swords and other objects to tell stories about superheroes. Noticing their continued interest in storytelling and Lego, the teachers wondered how they might stretch the children’s ideas to help them explore a range of tools and materials that they could use to tell their stories.

The team began to put their ideas down on paper, drawing favourite characters and sharing stories that they might want to create.

After a few suggestions, the team were stuck for ideas. We decided to ask the rest of the class if they had suggestions for building with Lego.

  • Jeongyoon – boat, a bike and a house
  • Oliver – a big box to put the Lego

The team had more ideas to work with. They drew their ideas on paper. Then, they used Lego to make the different objects and characters.

How might we use Lego to tell our stories?

The team watched a short animated Lego movie. The creator used a stop-motion app to create it. The team wondered if they could use the same tools to tell their own stories.

What more do we need to tell a story?

We read a familiar story and revisited the elements that help us create and tell stories. Characters, a setting, problems, solutions and events in a story can make it more interesting.

How might we use what we know about storytelling to create new stories?

The children used a story planner to think about the different events that will take place in their Lego stories. They discussed their ideas with each other, adding more details as they received feedback from their friends.

One child tapped into his prior knowledge, connecting with the different craft moves authors and illustrators use to tell their stories. He decided to include speech bubbles (voice) and movement (short strokes to show actions) in his drawings.

How to make Banana Cookies!

One child was excited about bringing his Nana to school one morning. She lives in Australia but visited him during the Chinese New Year holiday. Over the holidays he planned an activity that he could do with Nana in school. They decided to show the children how to make banana cookies.

He bought the ingredients with Nana and then tested his recipe at home. Then, he made a video to share his process with his friends. When school reopened after the holidays, the child invited Nana and his Aunty to school as they were the cookie experts.

Next, we had to work out how many cookies we needed.

  • Motong “We counted how many cookies we need to make.”

  • Jeongyoon “We needed 29 because 4+5=9 and 1+1=2 so we need 29. 15+15=30 so 15+14=29.”

Through their conversations, we noticed that the children were thinking about the operations of addition and subtraction and how they are related to each other.

  • Liz “We made banana cookies.”
  • Motong “We make cookies and Eli’s Nana helped us to make.”

  • Eli “We are putting coconut oil in the bowl and it is good for the cookies because it’s very yummy.”
  • Lydia “We mix the things to make the banana cookie.”
  • Oliver “The cookie was almost finished so I put one little drop of the dough on the paper and then I put it in the oven.”
  • Motong “We put the banana cookies in the oven because it will change the cookies when it is hot.”
  • Oliver “It turns browner.”

The children were exploring the impact of temperature and how it could change textures and substances.

  • Wyatt “We made cookies to take to K2B and ate it.”
  • Motong “We draw how we make the banana cookies.”
  • Eli “We used numbers and words.”
  • Motong “We used spaces (lines and squares) because we know that is 1 thing.”

We observed the children using several ideas to share their ideas on paper. They used a combination of drawing and writing to narrate and tell about the events in the order in which they occurred.

We paused to talk about the K2 writers’ drawings. The children noted that some writers used numbers to show the steps needed to complete a task while others used spaces or drew around a picture to share the same idea (procedures/steps). Some writers used arrows to show ‘the next steps’ in the process. The children noted that including labels with the drawings helps others ‘read’ the information.

Some children used sentences to share their ideas and others used lots of details in their drawings, all important crafts that good writers use to share messages and information with others.

 

A Closer Look at Soil and Compost

Oliver “Oxford and I put the food waste in the compost bin and then we can make dirt with it. We can turn it to soil. It’s because the wormies are eating all of the fruit inside this and poop out the food and the poop and the pee is good for the plants.”

Oxford “I put dirt in the box. Because no people eat so much fruit.”

What can we learn from Authors and Illustrators?

We read a book about growing and plants. We noted that the illustrator showed close-ups of different pictures to help us notice more details.

What helps us take a closer look at things around us?

  • Oliver “We can look at it close by. We can use a telescope.”
  • Eli “We can use a magnify. We can also use our eyes.”
  • Oliver “I want to look at a worm closely and see what patterns it has. I mean stripes.”

What might be in the soil and dirt? If we look closely, what do you think we might see?

  • Wyatt “We can see a caterpillar.”
  • Motong “Ants. Ants eating food.”
  • Morning “We can see a mouse.”
  • Oxford “We can see a spider.”
  • Lydia “Worms.”
  • Oliver “When I was outside I actually see this big beetle and it also was inside the dirt. It was so big. He was always sleeping on the dirt and he wakes up.”
  • Eli “We can use glasses. The thing that has the list at the front.”

The children found a magnifying glass. They thought it could be used to look at the soil. Yui was very excited to use the new tool and used it to explore the classroom.

We wonder what she discovered!

One child volunteered to get some soil from the garden plots that we could put under the microscope.

He took a second sample of soil from under the wood bark. As he dug into the ground he said “This is so hard.”

He made labels to let the children know what the samples were.

Ms. Eileen used the microscopes and the iPads to help us look closely at the soil.

(Garden Plot Soil, Under Wood Soil)

The children were fascinated with the images. We wonder what they might see as they look closely at the soil.

 

The class leader and was in charge of taking all the fruit waste and peels to the compost bin.

Each day we will add to the compost bin to help us make new soil for the plants.

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s)

  • observe carefully
  • seek information
  • ask or express through play questions that can be researched
  • gather information from a variety of sources (people, places, materials, literature)
  • listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas and listen to information
  • participate in conversations
  • use mark-marking to convey meaning
  • document information and observations in a variety of ways
  • share responsibility for decision-making

Non-Fiction Texts

We have begun to explore nonfiction texts during read-aloud sessions. To figure out what a book is mostly about, it is helpful to pay attention to the word or words we see repeated.

  • What repeats on each page in the words?
  • What repeats on each page in the pictures?
  • What is this mostly about?​

As we read the book ‘Sleeping Baby Animals’, the children looked for what was the same on each page. We noted words that were the same on different pages and wrote them down on a whiteboard.

The children joined in with the reading as the text was repetitive. We looked for familiar high-frequency words in the sentences.

Snow is a beautiful sight, but sometimes it can get in the way. We read a non-fiction text to explore the many ways snow can be removed in ‘Goodbye Snow’. We discussed the engaging photographs to learn about the different tools used to remove snow. While reading the simple sentences, we explored initial consonant blends (sn, br, tr) and digraphs (th, sh).

 

Next, the children were invited to create their own non-fiction page. They decided on the theme or topic they wanted to write about. Then they drew a picture and finally included letters, words and sentences to talk about the drawings.

NOT A BOX!

We read the story ‘Not A Box‘ by Antoinette Portis.

The little rabbit is playing with a box, and an unseen adult asks why they are doing different things with it. The rabbit continues to say it’s not a box. It’s a… rocket, burning building, race car, etc…

Inspired by this story the children used their imagination to turn this simple box into anything!

  • Eli “It’s a transformer.”
  • Eunybul “It’s a rocket.”
  • Motong “It’s a boat.”
  • Oxford “It’s a house.”
  • Oliver “It’s a truck.”
  • Wyatt “It’s a race car.”
  • Howie “It’s a shelf.”
  • Liz“I think it’s a bird nest.”
  • Lydia “It’s a hotel.”
  • Morning “It’s a submarine.”

What can these boxes become?

Sharing Information through Non-Fiction Texts

What more could we learn about birds and nests?

We decided to read some nonfiction books about birds. As we read the books, we noticed pictures, photographs, labels, words and sentences, key features of nonfiction texts.

During ‘Writing Workshop’, the children were invited to create their own nonfiction stories or books.

Some children chose to create books about birds, drawing and writing to share their ideas and information. 

We chose one piece of writing to share with the class, helping the children notice key strategies and features that were included in the story.

 

There was a clear idea of a topic. The pages included words and sentences that talked about the pictures. We know that good writers think about questions readers might have about a topic and then find ways to include this information through drawing and writing.

While writing words and sentences, the children were encouraged to say the word out loud, stretch out the word to hear the sounds and then write all the sounds that they heard.

The children began to show an interest in sharing and reading their stories to their friends and teachers.

They understood that bookmaking is a way to share important messages and information with others and began to look for ways to celebrate their work with the community.

We look forward to exploring all the different opportunities that allow us to share the work we do as readers and writers.

Readers, Writers and Mathematicians

At the beginning of the school year, the children wrote the morning message. They used what they knew about letters and sounds to spell the words.

The Morning Message often includes a question or a wondering that leads to discussions, literacy or mathematical activities. While reading the message we identify letters of the alphabet and familiar High Frequency words. The children are encouraged to notice important reminders as writers; spaces between words, capital letters to start a sentence and punctuation at the end of a sentence.

Groups of children often meet with a teacher to work on key literacy skills. These are dedicated times when the children explore books to learn the different skills and strategies that readers and writers use to communicate effectively.

Activities that follow reading experiences usually involve reflecting on reading and using drawing, writing and spoken words to express an idea. The children might share an important part of the story, talk about the characters and settings, or discuss the different ideas presented in fiction and non-fiction texts.

It is important to remember that each child is an individual who works on specific skills while reading independently or collaboratively.

With prompting and support the children:

  • ask and answer questions about key details in a text
  • retell familiar stories, including key details
  • identify characters, settings, and major events in a story
  • ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

Storytelling Through  Story Workshop

We have noticed the children building and creating elaborate stories throughout their day in school. Therefore, we decided to introduce the children to Story Workshop.

What is Story Workshop?

Story Workshop is a classroom structure that is used to support language and literacy. The adults consider the space, environment, story materials, writing tools, books and props that invite storytelling.

Story Workshop is a hands-on approach that allows the children to create, talk about and use drawing and writing to share their stories.

We know that children enjoy creating with a range of materials and loose parts. It’s much easier to start thinking of a storyline when you have physical pieces in front of you.  

As the children manipulate, make, build and design their structures and objects, they begin to create the base of a story. Soon they are ready to add more details, a setting and characters which result in a storytelling experience.

The hands-on experience encourages creativity and imagination. It also helps the children revisit past events that are important to them.

Dedicated quiet times to observe and draw allow the children opportunities to carefully observe and document what they see. The adults in the space listen to the children’s ideas, offering suggestions and supporting key literacy skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

We wonder what stories live in these materials and how the children might use them to tell their own stories. 

Watch this space! 

The Egg Experiment – A Story of Research

A Story of Research

@O had a book full of experiments. He described one to the teacher explaining “The egg becomes soft when it is in the water for 3 days!

  • Teacher “Hmmm, is that so, well can you prove that?”
  • Child “Yes! I can show you!”

He began to make a plan, thinking about how he might share his theories and document the process and findings over time. He drew out his plan, made a list of needed materials, and shared the steps to be taken to complete the task.

At first, the child insisted that the egg needed to be submerged in water. He planned and experimented, even though he subsequently learned that the liquid should be vinegar for the experiment to work.

The teachers encouraged him to complete his first experiment, to observe and document his learning and the outcome of his experiment, to encourage the child to develop the ability to carry out tasks, and to learn through experience.

The child agreed, and documented his observations in his journal, learning new words, and referring to the sight words flash cards to help him spell unknown words.

He labelled his pictures and included details to share the process with others.

He learned how to revisit his journal post on Seesaw, editing and including his daily observations to document his experiment.

The child was excited to begin his second experiment, feeling confident that he knew the outcome.

Through this experience, he practised patience, resilience and learning through ‘trial and error‘.

He questioned to learn more, used observation to gather information and explored patterns and connections. The child used mark-making to share his observations and presented his findings to the community, all important skills, and processes that scientists need in their work. 

Telling Stories with Pictures and Words

Over the last few weeks, we have focused on sharing messages and telling stories during ‘Writing Workshop’. We have observed the children building their stamina for writing and telling stories across pages.

In K2, ‘Writing Workshop’ is a dedicated time for Literacy, where we explore books and texts, learning more about the different ways we communicate messages, information, and stories with others. We explore mentor texts, created by authors and illustrators, to look at how they have used tools, strategies, and techniques to share their ideas and stories with their readers.

During ‘Writing Workshop’, we often confer (discuss) with the children, to help them express the ideas they share orally, through details in their drawings. We decided to look at the different techniques we could use to make our stories more interesting. We know that authors and illustrators spend a lot of time thinking about the books they make, planning their ideas and developing their craft over time. We decided to focus on looking closely at how adding more details to drawings helps the story come alive.

We invited the children to think about how they might communicate information about their story through their writing (letters and words).

We modelled a short story, providing details in the picture and thinking about what needed to be included in the drawing to help readers know all about the experience.

While creating drawings for a story, we noticed that the children often draw over their pictures to show what happened over time (sequence).

We decided to use a mentor text to look at how authors and illustrators use the technique ‘Background Perspective’ to spotlight a central image in an illustration or to show a sequence of events. In his book ‘How to Heal a Broken Wing’, we notice how Bob Graham considers where to position his drawings and how to tell his story using a sequence of pictures that show action, time, feelings and movement.

The children were invited to think about how they might use the technique in their own writing and storytelling.

We noticed the children talking more about their pictures and considering the position of elements in their drawings and the colours and words they might use to share their stories with others.

We are learning how to:

  • use mark-marking to convey meaning.
  • create narratives to share real or imagined experiences or events using techniques, details, and event sequences.

Mouse Paint – A Shared Reading Experience

We read the book Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. We began by looking at the image on the back cover. Does it share any clues about the story?

A few children made predictions about the image (tapping into their prior knowledge):

  • Eli “Maybe a cat will come to eat the mice.”
  • Oliver “A tiger might eat all the mice.
  • Wyatt “A crab is fighting and eating the mice.”

Then, we discussed the front cover. What might this book be about?

The children decided that it had to be about mice and paint, as the title was ‘Mouse Paint’!

Next, we read the book. The children noticed that some words were covered. They used their observational skills and knowledge of letters, sounds and words to suggest possibilities. The children helped sound out and spell the words while using their whiteboards to note their thinking. The alphabet card helped them look for letters and sounds they were unsure of.

We know that children develop their reading skills as they engage in shared reading experiences, practising competencies such as phonemic awareness and comprehension skills.

As we continued to read the book, the K2 readers were able to recognise and read familiar words, ask questions, and make predictions all while developing their reading identities.

Craft Moves – Mo Willems

Mo Willems is one of our favourite authors. We have read his books over and over again. Some of our favourite stories are: ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the BUS!’

How do authors and illustrators use lines, shapes and patterns in their picture books?

When rereading Mo Willems picture books, we noticed how he used letter shapes, lines and shapes to create his drawings.

The writers also noticed the ‘craft moves’ that the author uses when creating books.

We also discussed how books were made and noticed that books have/can have :

  • a title
  • the authors name
  • the illustrator’s name
  • many pages
  • writing or pictures or both on almost every page

We Invited the children to use these ‘craft moves’ when they create their own stories and books.

During sharing time, we highlighted some of the techniques the children had used in their own writing.

Colours and Feelings

Ms. Sue has been talking to the children about feelings and emotions, and the appropriate ways we can express these emotions to show how we feel. We read the story ‘The Color Monster: A Story About Emotions’ by Anna Llenas, to explore the connection between colour and emotions.

 

In this delightful story, a Color Monster wakes up feeling very confused. His emotions are all over the place; he feels angry, happy, calm, sad, and scared all at once! A little girl helps him sort through his feelings to help him define his mixed-up emotions. The images throughout the story helped us think about the different situations that lead to the way we feel. It led to a conversation about the different ways we can express our feelings and emotions through colour and storytelling.

The adults in the space captured the artists’ ideas and stories as they documented their feelings, emotions and stories through their artwork.

Yellow is Happy
From the artist…
Liz “This is yellow, it is happy. This is baby bird and mummy. They are eating fruit. This is small, small bird. Daddy bird is eat worms. Daddy is happy. This is tree. The bird house is in the tree. I am happy because I see the birds. I chose yellow because it is happy. I am happy when I play rabbit with Morning. Morning is the rabbit and I am rabbit mommy. Rabbit mummy plays with the rabbit. At home I am happy when I play with brother George. We play with toy mouse.”

Golden is Surprised

Green is Calm

From the artist…

 Oliver “When I see green, I feel calm down. I think about playing games. My heart feels better. I chose green because it is calm. Bunny is calm because he wants to eat all the carrots. The carrots make him feel calm. The carrots are from the garden. Mr. Seth grows the carrots. There are clouds, they are calm clouds because the sun made them calm. And the sun is also calm because the moon makes him calm. It’s because he is strong, he can also make the sun calm. The dots are calm butterflies. It’s because the ants made them calm. Because they used leaves to make the butterflies calm. There is a farm where the cows live. And its also where you get milk. And the bunny wants to eat the carrots from the growing farm. And there is a rainbow because the day is calm down. Everything is calm down. It is good to calm down because its quiet. Others are learning so quiet is good. And the rabbit is a girl because she has long ears. And the sun are also calm down. The moon makes the sun calm down and the rainbow makes the clouds calm down.”

Pink is Love

From the artist…

Morning “I think pink is love. Love is love her mummy. I used pink and pink. It is love. Because he loves bunny’s mommy. Bunny’s mummy gives Bunny one watermelon. Bunny wants to eat so mummy gives it to him. Bunny and mummy love to eat together. Bunny is in a nest, mummy made a nest for baby bunny and it sleeps in a nest. Mummy closed the doors when bunny is sleeping. Bunny is very small and mum will put the light off and close the nest door. The bunny will cry if she doesn’t close the door because it thinks there will be a monster outside. Mummy keeps Bunny safe. Mummy sleeps in the big nest. If bunny is scared he can open the little window to see mummy. Grandma loves me. I sleep in a little small nest too. My mummy sleeps in the big bed. The bunny is me. The bunny mummy is my mommy.”

We observed how the children used their experiences, imagination and theories creatively. Each stroke on their paper was intentional, showing the actions feelings and personalities of different characters in their stories.

Showing Actions and Feelings

How might we show the actions and feelings of a character? 

Picture books communicate with both words and with pictures. One key way to enhance illustration is to dramatise the artwork. A good character, first and foremost, must evoke a reaction from the reader. It’s the illustrator’s job to capture that spark, that energy, that grabs the reader’s attention.

To explore this further, we decided to read yet another picture book by Mo Williems, ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!’. As we read the story, the children demonstrated the actions and feelings of the characters in the story.

We began to see how the pigeon shared his disappointment, anger, surprise, joy and thoughtfulness. We also noticed how Pigeon moved to show what he was doing or feeling.

During quiet writing time, the children sit with writing tools to express their ideas and stories through pictures and words.

We used Oxford’s drawing to talk about the character’s feelings and actions. Oxford’s story was about a thief who stole money from a shopping mall. A person close to the mall was surprised by what he observed and showed his emotion through facial expressions. Spiderman was around to save the day, making a plan to catch the thief with the stolen money.

Oxford thought about his drawing and wondered what more he could do to show feelings, emotions and action through his artwork. 

Next, we chose a character from our stories and then drew to show all the different ways a character was feeling.  

The children were invited to share why the character was feeling that way. They were excited to share their drawings, using their imagination to extend their initial thoughts.

We were ready to add our new ideas on the chart paper.

We wonder how the children would use these different craft moves in their own writing and storytelling. 

Writing Workshop: Ideas for Writing

The children have been writing and creating their own stories during ‘Writing Workshop’. We gathered to brainstorm ideas for writing.

“What do writers like to write about?” 

The children drew their ideas on post-it notes. Then, they discussed their ideas, sharing more information about the different topics or experiences for writing.

Based on the conversation, we decided how we wanted to categorise our ideas for writing.

Writers write about:

Things they know a lot about…

  • Bunnies
  • Birds
  • Lego
  • Crabs
  • Fish

Things that happened (to them)

  • When I made a sandcastle
  • When I broke my iPad
  • Family
  • When I went to the flower market
  • Playing with blocks

Imaginary stories

  • An octopus in the house

Things that happen (to someone else)

  • When a tiger caught the person

We wonder how we might use some of these ideas for writing when we create books and stories during Writing Workshop time.

When creating and writing we:

  • Use our imagination and experience to tell stories.
  • Explore how ideas are conveyed through drawings, labels and symbols.
  • Talk about ideas we have thought about or drawn.
  • Celebrate creativity.
  • Learn from each other.

Illustration Study: Distance Perspective

The goal of an illustration study is to help the children become more aware of how we can be more intentional and use details in pictures to help us become better storytellers and writers.

We began by introducing the children to the picture book ‘Emperor’s Egg’ written by Martin Jenkins and illustrated by Jane Chapman.

We took time to look through the first pages of the book, to talk about what we noticed about the way the story was presented.

While reading the story, we encouraged the children to think about what was happening using the pictures.

We documented the children’s ideas on chart paper, using marks, symbols and words to take note of the observations.

When discussing the pictures on the first page, Lydia explained that it is hard to see who is standing far away on the ice because the image is so small.

Wyatt agreed and added that the pictures aren’t very clear because it is dark. The illustrator has drawn it this way because they want to show that it is nighttime.

The children continued to share their observations about the image discussing the different elements that share information about time, the weather and the environment.

On the second page, Eli noticed that the author printed words in different sizes. 

We wondered how and why authors make choices about the size and shape of words.  

While listening to the story, we observed how the children made predictions and questioned to learn more about the story. We continued to document the children’s ideas and observations on the

We wonder how the children will use distance perspective when drawing pictures and creating their own stories.

We wonder about the different techniques and decisions authors and illustrators make when creating books for readers.

During time for writing, we will continue to practice using some of these techniques to improve our own pieces of work.

Writing Workshop – What do good writers do?

What do good writers do?

We gathered to talk about writing.

What are some strategies, tools and behaviours good writers use to share their ideas and stories?

The children looked at the stories and pictures they created during ‘Writing Workshop’, to see if they could identify some of the behaviors and strategies they used. We began to document these ideas on chart paper.

We noticed that good writers:

  • Draw pictures using many different writing tools.
  • Create drawings using shapes and lines.
  • Write words using letters from the alphabet.
  • Write their name to let their readers know who created the piece of writing.
  • Make stories about things they love.

As we continue to create during ‘Writing Workshop’, we will add more ideas to our brainstorm.

Morning Meeting

Morning Meeting is a special time for the classroom community. It is a time when we greet the children and adults by name and prepare to settle in to play, explore and learn together. Morning Meeting activities help build a strong sense of community and set the children up for success. The children are encouraged to listen, look at the speaker and manage their bodies, which sets the tone for a respectful and trusting learning environment.

Another component of Morning Meeting is the morning message. The children read and interact with a short message written by the children and/or teacher.

The message may highlight a task for the day or provide information on the day’s activities. Creating and reading the message builds language awareness.

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s) 

  • observe carefully
  • record observations using drawing and emergent writing skills
  • listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas and listen to information
  • participate in conversations
  • understand symbols
  • understand that mark-making carries meaning
  • use mark-marking to convey meaning
  • be self- and socially aware
  • follow the directions and classroom routines
  • share responsibility for decision-making

Launching ‘Writing Workshop’

The children were introduced to ‘time for writing’ through ‘Writing Workshop’. This is a dedicated time when we explore, notice and practice different writing behaviours and skills that help us as readers and writers.

The children prepared their Writing Workshop Folder, using labels, words and pictures to share information. They drew a ‘happy face’ on one side to save the ‘completed’ pieces of writing, and a ‘pencil’ on the other to save their ‘work in progress’.

Then, we offered the children paper to start their K2 writing journey. This was an opportunity for the teachers to explore the children’s interests and passions. Listening to the children’s stories helped us know more about their topics and ideas for writing.

During ‘time for sharing’, the children were encouraged to talk about who, where and what their stories were about. This is an opportunity for the children to learn from each other, grow their craft and learn different techniques and strategies that make their stories interesting to their readers.

As we move forward, the children will revisit their work to either continue their writing or create new pieces of work during the ‘Writing Workshop’ time.

Thorough ‘Writing Workshop‘, the children:

  • use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, or to tell a story.
  • with guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

3 Ways to Read a Book

We have been looking at books, reading different picture books, listened to adults read and retold our favourite stories in K2. We introduced the readers to 3 different ways to read because we know that children learn to read by engaging in the act of reading by “Reading the pictures”, “Reading the Words” and also “Retelling a Familiar Story”.

Each day, we spend time with books to develop good reading habits. We know that reading and exploring books helps children:

  • develop an awareness of print (understanding that print carries meaning, that books contain letters and words, and how a book “works” — such as identifying the front and back covers and that pages are turned)

  • develop phonological awareness (the ability to recognise and manipulate the spoken parts of words — including rhymes, syllables, and phonemes)
  • explore phonics and decoding (understanding of the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language)
  • develop new vocabulary (using the words they hear orally to make sense of the words they see in print)

What do you like to do at school?

We gathered to talk about what we love to do at school. We began by reading The Pigeon Has to Go to School’ by Mo Willems.

Why does the Pigeon have to go to school? He already knows everything! And what if he doesn’t like it? What if he learns TOO MUCH!?!

In this wonderful story, the pigeon explores the different learning options and tries to decide why school might be important.

The story helped us think about the things WE do at school and why these routines or tasks might be important to us.

Does it help us explore new friendships? Does it help us learn about different materials places and people? Will it help us learn new skills?

The children were invited to think about their new space and what they might like to explore while they are at school.

They expressed their ideas through their drawings.

  • Working in the garden and planting flowers
  • Playing with Lego, play animals, dragons and dinosaurs
  • Playing with friends
  • Eating lunch
  • Building with train tracks and blocks
  • Drawing the animals that live under the sea

We wonder how these interests might help us learn more about ourselves, others and the world around us.

We wonder how we might stretch our ideas, perspectives and skills to learn something new. 

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s)

  • use discussion and play to generate new ideas and investigations
  • listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas and listen to information
  • express oneself using words and sentences
  • use mark-marking to convey meaning

Creating Non-fiction Books

We have been exploring nature to learn more about change, responsibility and the choices we make. We began with a deep dive into non-fiction texts, reading many different non-fiction books to learn about the features in of these materials. We thought about non-fiction books that we can we make.

Inspired by non-fiction books, Patrick created and shared a book he made to teach us about ‘poisonous snakes’ and Mason a book about ‘jellyfish’.

We looked closely at a non-fiction book about snakes and compared it with the books the children had made.

  • What can we learn about non-fiction books?
  • What do we notice about the information presented in these books?

The children began by deciding on the topics or themes. We put these ideas down on post-it notes and shared them with the class.

We documented our ideas on chart paper.

We can talk about:

  • what animals/plants can do
  • what they eat or need to survive
  • how they catch their prey
  • how they move
  • how they grow
  • how they change
  • what they look like
  • what they like
  • why they behave in a certain way
  • how they play

Over the last two weeks, during Writer’s Workshop, the children have been creating their own non-fiction books, adding pages and information to share with their readers. A non-fiction checklist helped us think about the way we present ideas and important information.  

Non-fiction Texts

  • What are the key features of non-fiction texts?
  • How are they different to stories?

The children explained that non-fiction books tell you about things. They share true information or facts. They teach us about different things in real life.

We looked at non-fiction books to see how authors and illustrators use pictures and photographs to share information. We noticed how a lot of information can be found by “reading” the photos within nonfiction texts. They noticed the labels, close-ups of pictures and different ways information may be displayed.

While looking through the mentor texts (examples) we brought the children’s attention to the following:

  • The cover of a non-fiction text has a title, pictures or drawings about the topic and the authors and/or illustrators name.

  • There may be a ‘blurb’ at the back of the book that gives you a clue about what the book might be about.

  • Non-fiction books may have a contents page that tells us where each section or chapter begins. The glossary is like a dictionary as it provides an explanation of key words in the text. The index lets you know where to find words.

We began to put down the different features the children noticed about the non-fiction texts.

Some of them include:

  • Photographs
  • Drawings
  • Numbered pages
  • Many pages
  • Writing about the topic
  • New/different information
  • Facts
  • Labels
  • Arrows
  • Captions
  • Headings
  • Close up – Zoom in

When creating non-fiction books we need to:

  • Think of a topic
  • Plan (what we want to include in the book)
  • Think about questions the readers may have.
  • Include pictures and information across pages.

The children were invited to think about a non-fiction book they can make on nature. They used a graphic organiser to help them plan their ideas. We used a KWL Chart to:

  • Share what we KNOW about the topic
  • Reflect on what we WANT to KNOW
  • Share what was LEARNED

We will use a checklist to help us plan and create our non-fiction books.

The children wanted to learn more about the rain, animals, insects plants and more!

Through this process, we will explore a range of non-fiction texts. We will begin to create our own non-fiction texts. We look forward to sharing these books with the community.

Author Study: Mo Willems 

Mo Willems is one of our favourite authors. We have read his books over and over again. Some of our favourite stories are: 

‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the BUS!’

How do authors and illustrators use lines, shapes and patterns in their picture books?

 

Notice how Mo Willems uses letter, lines and shapes to create his drawings.

We can explore drawing, creating and designing through our exploration of lines, patterns and shapes

We Invited the children to create their own stories using familiar characters or their own imaginative characters. The children may want to add their own details, speech bubbles and thinking clouds to add dialogue and thought.

We read to book again and again and looked closely at the different ‘craft moves‘ the author has used.

We explored how we can use some of these ‘craft moves’ in our own writing. We also discussed how books were made and noticed that books have/can have :

  • a title
  • the authors name
  • the illustrators name
  • many pages
  • writing or pictures or both on almost every page

Literacy through Story Workshop

Story Workshop is a hands-on approach that that allows children to create, talk about and use drawing and writing to share their stories. The children are invited to use loose parts at different centers in the classroom to develop their story ideas before moving to write their ideas down.

It’s much easier to start thinking of a story line when you have physical pieces in front of you. Children start manipulating them, making shapes, building structures, adding characters and soon they’ve created the base of a story. The hands-on experience encourages creativity and imagination.

The adults in the space listen to the children’s ideas, offering suggestions and supporting key literacy skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Writer’s Workshop

The K2 writers have continued to create pieces of writing to inform and entertain their readers. We have noticed that their stamina for writing has improved as they sit for longer periods immersed in their books, using pictures and words to tell who, where and what is happening in their stories.

The writers begin by deciding on what pieces of writing to work on during our writing times, choosing a good writing spot and the tools they need to create and make.

They are encouraged to add to their pictures and words across pages. We know that good writers use several strategies to improve their work. Some of them are to:

  • capitalise the first word in a sentence and the word ‘I’
  • say the words slowly, stretch the words out and write letters for each of the sounds heard
  • leave spaces between words
  • write across pages
  • add more details to their pictures and words

Writers in K2 use the alphabet cards, sight words and other tools around them as they write.

Tricycle Agreements

The children have been discussing the ‘Bike Park’ and making plans to change the space, to make it more organized and safe. Hearing the children’s ideas on what we ‘should NOT’ do with the bikes, we decided to invite them to think about what we ‘CAN do’ instead.

The children put their ideas on paper, using drawings, words, sentences and discussion to express their thinking.

Then, we put all the ideas down on one chart paper.

In the next few days, the children will present these ideas to the rest of the Early Years classes and decide if changes need to be made to these agreements. Through this experience, we noticed how the children:

  • documented and shared ideas using drawing, emergent writing and annotating images
  • listened actively and respectfully to others’ ideas
  • participated in conversations
  • shared responsibility for decision-making

Robots All Around!

We have visited many different design spaces in the school. We noticed the interest the children showed in the different machines and robots in these spaces. We decided to read a book about robots.

What do we already know about robots?

What can robots do?

We began by drawing and writing what we already know about robots. Then, the children shared their ideas with a buddy. The children explained how robots:

  • help us stay safe
  • clean the house
  • help us have fun

We noticed that the children were exploring the concepts form, function, systems and jobs.

Next, we read the book ‘Robots All Around!’ together.

We discussed the main idea, made predictions as we read and shared text-to-world connections. We looked carefully at the pictures and discussed new vocabulary.

 

Then, the children drew what they have learned about robots.

  • We wonder what robots the children have at home.
  • We wonder what these robots help us do.
  • We wonder what more we can learn about robots.

3 Ways to Read a Book

We have been looking at books, reading different picture books, listened to adults read and retold our favourite stories in K2. We introduced the readers to 3 different ways to read because we know that children learn to read by engaging in the act of reading by “Reading the pictures”, “Reading the Words” and also “Retelling a Familiar Story”.

Each day, we spend time with books to develop good reading habits. We know that reading and exploring books helps children:

  • develop an awareness of print (understanding that print carries meaning, that books contain letters and words, and how a book “works” — such as identifying the front and back covers and that pages are turned)

  • develop phonological awareness (the ability to recognise and manipulate the spoken parts of words — including rhymes, syllables, and phonemes)

  • explore phonics and decoding (understanding of the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language)

  • develop new vocabulary (using the words they hear orally to make sense of the words they see in print)

Story Workshop

We Are Writers!

We gathered to brainstorm what makes us writers.

  • What do writers do?
  • How are WE writers?

The children shared their ideas, and we documented their thinking on chart paper.

When we write we can:

  • talk about writing
  • write in different languages
  • tell people ‘how to’ do things
  • make books to tell people about ‘real’ things (what is inside a fish)
  • tell true or imaginary stories
  • make books
  • use
    • finger spaces
    • punctuation
    • capital letters for names and at the beginning of a sentence
    • quotation makes
    • speech bubbles
  • tell about things that happened a long time ago (dinosaurs)
  • use words and pictures
  • use paper, notepads, paper and books
  • write with pens, markers and pencils

 

What is Story Workshop?

The writers were introduced to Story Workshop. Story Workshop is a classroom structure that is used to support language and literacy. The adults consider the space, environment, story materials, writing tools, books and props that invite storytelling.

The arrangements of materials inspire storytelling, conversation, imagination concentration, negotiation and investigation. The ‘play’ with materials helps the writers use writing tools to share their ideas using marks, pictures, symbols, words and sentences. The active engagement encourages the writers to write and create complex stories.

The writers may have individual or group workspaces to help them explore a range of materials. A workspace or placemat helps anchor the writer’s workspace so that they can manage and co create stories alongside or with others. Writers are encouraged to record stories using pencil and paper, which can be collated into books.

Writing tools and materials that support writing were discussed.

Writers in K2 have access to these materials throughout the day to help them explore writing for different purposes.

The Storytellers

We have been exploring how we can enjoy, learn and express ourselves through the arts. The K2 storytellers have been working in groups, creating maps and characters to tell their own stories. While creating art, the children made choices to construct meaning about the world around them. We observed this as they used positional language and familiar places in the environment to decide how their characters will travel as they tell the story. Some of the maps included the school, their homes, bridges, and waterways. We noticed that the stories were inspired by their experiences and imagination.

It was time to ‘tell’ the story. Ms. Heidi came in to help the storytellers explore different ways to tell stories. First, they revisited the story ‘Rosie’s Walk’ and watched the video where they retold the story in the Performing Arts room. 

Then, the storytellers showed Ms. Heidi their maps and characters. Ms. Heidi invited the storytellers to explore different ways to tell stories.

The options included using the overhead projector and the white curtain, using the light-box or the class projector and screen.

The storytellers discussed their options, and then went off the practice their storytelling. Ms. Heidi reminded the storytellers that feelings, moods and ideas can be expressed creatively using vocal sounds and dramatic expression.

Through this experience they engaged in a creative process that involves joining in, exploring and taking risks.

In the next few days, the storytellers will practice and refine their stories, and decide who they would like to have as an audience.

Rosie’s Walk

Distance Learning Provocations

Focus: Communication Skills, Literacy and Mathematics

Rosie lives in a farmyard. Each morning, Rosie sets off on a walk across the farm. She is unaware that a sly fox is following her.

You can click the link to listen to the story ‘Rosie’s Walk’ by Pat Hutchins. Notice how the pictures are illustrated. There are lines, patterns and shapes on the different characters and the environment.

 

You might want to act out the story using your own animals or props. You can even use boxes, cushions and blankets and any other suitable props to create a farmyard to go on your own walk. You can go across, around, over, past, through, and under.

Your own story can be in a different place such as a forest, an island or even a city. You might want to act out your story in the park or on the playground!

If you create a story, share it with us!

Storytelling with Paper Crafts

Distance Learning Provocations

Focus: Literacy, Creativity and Communication Skills

Let’s explore how we might tell stories with paper and card. Meet Esther, a wonderful story character created with card. You can learn how to make Esther here:

You can watch the video ‘Esther’s Transformations’ for more ideas here:

Use card or paper to create your own characters.

Find a setting or a place to tell your story. It can be indoors or out in nature!

Share your characters and story with us!

Book Making: Making choices about the paper.

We have been reading many different picture books over the last few weeks. We have begun to notice the different ways authors and illustrators create books.  We read the book ‘Andrew Drew and Drew by author and illustrator BARNEY SALTZBERG.

This is a story about a little boy who has a lead pencil and white paper. Andrew, the character in the story, loves to ‘doodle’ with a standard pencil. Andrew appears on the pages, using his imagination to draw and create on paper. Some pages are the same width as the cover, others narrower or wider, turning over or folding out to change a drawing’s meaning.

His abstract lines become a kite and then a rocket, or steps that turn into a dinosaur!

The students were invited to explore some of the different techniques Barney Saltzberg used to create his book.

  • What ideas could we use from Barney Saltzberg’s book?
  • How might this inspire our own book creations?
  • What imaginative stories could we create?

Writing Workshop

We began Writing Workshop with a story by David Shannon titled ‘NO, David!’.

We paid attention to how the author and illustrator used words and details in his pictures to share many different events. We noted how the story is written across many pages. The children laughed at the illustrations and joined in to read the words.

Next, the children were invited to create their own story. They were given a choice of paper and books.

The children got to work, drawing, colouring and writing to create and share their own stories. As they created their books, they talked to each other about the characters, events and settings. The adults listened and discussed the children’s ideas, and made suggestions about possible ‘next steps’.

Then, the children prepared their Writer’s Workshop Folder. They pasted a ‘RED‘ sticker on one side to save the ‘completed’ pieces of writing, and a ‘GREEN’ sticker to save the ‘work in progress’.

The children will revisit their work to either continue their writing or make new pieces of work.

Thorough ‘Writing Workshop‘, the children:

  • use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, or to tell a story.
  • with guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

Morning Message

The children began to write the morning message. They volunteered to come up and write the letters that spell the words ‘Good Morning’. The children were encouraged to listen to the sounds in words to help with spelling. They will use this strategy as they write for different purposes and situations in K2. During the next few days, we will continue to add to our message.

 

Identity: Family

We continued to talk about and learn more about the people in our community. Following on from our self-portrait projects, we began to explore family.

The children were eager to draw and share information about the members in their family unit. We noticed that the children included themselves, parents, siblings, grandparents and pets in their drawings. They used written symbols, letters and numbers to express their ideas.

“Mummy and Daddy love” explained one child, drawing a heart between the two figures to communicate the concept of ‘love’ and ‘caring’.

“I am so happy because I have mum and dad. Mummy is so happy because she has Daddy and me. Daddy is so happy because he has Mummy and me” explained another child.

The concept of belonging, relationships, play, joy and love were emphasised as the children discussed and shared stories about their families.

 

Communication Skills:

  • Use mark-marking to convey meaning.
  • Express oneself using words and sentences.

Identity and Feelings

During the first weeks of school, we take time to explore our own identities and learn about others in our community. This helps us develop strong, positive and safe spaces for play and learning.

We began to unpack the following:

  • Who we are
  • How we feel
  • What we like and dislike

We read the picture book ‘Lots of Feelings’ by Shelley Rotner, to look at all the different ways we show our feelings and emotions on our face.

Then, the children used black markers on white card to create self-portraits.

The children looked at their reflections in the mirror, making faces and sharing details about themselves as they drew their pictures. They gave each other feedback about their pictures. They laughed, shared stories and their wonderings about their drawings.

“I have many hair on my head because I am not bald. Bald will change into a silly. OK good bye…”

 

Learning Outcomes:

  • I can use drawings to help me express my ideas.
  • I can use spoken language to express myself.

Powerful Messages about Waste

How might we communicate a powerful message?

How might powerful images communicate important information? 

The students were invited to create the own powerful messages. They used their notes from previous research to think about the important information they wanted to share with others. The students were encouraged to reflect on the issue of ‘waste‘, and think about the action they could take as a result of their learning.

The students went through the writing process to create a first draft. Then, they revised and edited their writing in order to publish their final piece of work. Next, a drawing that communicated a powerful message was created. Finally, we used a green screen to produce a video. The students continued to work on speaking confidently, expressing ideas and information in order to inform and engage an audience.

Waste – Data Collection

Where does all the waste go?
The students had differing views on what happens to the waste we produce. We gathered to discuss and document these ideas on chart paper.

The Power of Images

Our inquiry into waste has been thought provoking and engaging. We watched 2 videos to help us tune into the ways we produce waste and the impact it has on the world around us. The first, was a video to mark ‘Earth Day’ and the second, a documentary on the journey of plastic bottles. While watching the video, the students took notes, using pictures, labels, sentences and words, to capture important ideas shared in the video.

Next, an image with icons was shared.

The students were asked to work in teams to guess what messages the icons conveyed. They worked with their partners to decide on the labels they would attach to the images. The students explained their ideas, making connections with what they have seen, think or already know.

The students have been writing questions to help them learn more about waste management. They have been conducting interviews, gathering data and taking notes to capture different perspectives and information shared by the community.

The students will continue to document their learning and present their findings on waste. Focused literacy sessions on word choice and grammar helped the students improve their pieces of writing.

We continue to discuss and explore the impact our actions have on the environment as we consider the action we can take as a result of our learning.

Parts of Speech

We looked at the parts of speech that help us visualise and build complete sentences with lots of information. The students worked together to craft a sentence. Then, they used coloured tiles to represent the different parts of speech. 

Next, the students worked in groups to practice this skill which can be used when they redraft and edit their writing and when they plan for speaking.

What Are Structures?  

We documented our initial ideas about structures

  • Seolah “Like a building. Like a bridge.” 
  • Yuchan “Some building that is manmade.”
  • Hyun Seo “It can be high and low and it is like a building.”    
  • Agata “A structure can be a tower.”  
  • Lawrence “Something that is manmade to help people.”  
  • Ethan “Some structures are hard to break.”  
  • Seungbin: Structure is like a building.
  • Amber: Structures sometimes can be tall. They build it to be tall.
  • Eirinn: Structures can be small or tall.
  • Ella: It’s something that people build to go in or to look at.
  • Fedo: Structures can have different shapes.
  • Yuki: Structure is building.
  • Gihyeon “Something that a car can go on, it can go somewhere like over the river or ocean. We can go to in the elevator and up to the tower.  
  • Hayoon “Can be a tower or a building or a castle and bridges.”  
  • Alejandra “Like a building that people can go in and play or eat. Then you can stay in the same place without leaving the building. You need a ticket to go into Disneyland. That castle is only for looking and playing inside. Kids and adults might want to know what an actual castle looks like in real life so then they want to go in. You can do some activities in there.”  
  • Diego “A place that people need structures because they want to live in there like a hotel. If they go to another county then they can live in a hotel.  
  • Grace “Something hard or something can go inside or something you cannot go inside. Disney castle is a structure you can go into. You can’t go into structures to rest and eat snacks like the Eiffel tower.  

Next, listened to the story ‘Iggy Peck, Architect‘ by Andrea Beaty. 

Then, we continued to add to our ideas.   

  • Seolah “Like a famous building.” 
  • Yuchan “A model of something.  
  • Hyun Seo “Something is manmade and they use materials to make it.”    
  • Agata “A building could be a model. They might be building cities for other people to go into the structures. They can be outside the city. If you are in a city and close to the building you can go there easily but if you need to go into a building you need to travel to a city.”  
  • Lawrence “It can help people to cross the ocean or go to outer space like a rocket. They use metal to make the rocket.”  
  • Ethan “Some structures are like towers and towers might have metal and it is very hard so it is hard to break. They use nails and put the nails in the metal and connect things.”  
  • Seungbin: Structures could use any material like diapers, sticks, or blocks. 
  • Amber: Structure can be made out of anything. Structures can be made of art. You can make a structure with clay, just like art work. 
  • Eirinn: You can make structures out of lego, sticks, and even fruits. Buildings can be old and new. Some buildings are old-style, but they can be newly built. 
  • Ella: Structures can be things that help us go in or keep safe. There are many purposes or reasons for people to build structures. There are many famous structures in the world, such as landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, the Great Sphinx and so on.  
  • Fedo: Structures can be made with different materials like wood, stone, sticks and everything else that they can have. 
  • Yuki: Structures can be made from concrete, just like buildings that people live in Japan. Structures can be hard things. 
  • Hayoon “We can make structures with almost everything!” 
  • Grace “You can use materials around you like tree trunks, sticks or mud.” 
  • Alejandra “You can also use materials like pillows and stuffed animals and glue to build structures. You can use chalk and pencils.” 
  • Gihyeon “We don’t always use glue, we can also use honey to stick things together.”
    Diego “Structures can not just be bridges and buildings.”  

This led to a discussions about structures with the students sharing examples of structures

Then, the students went off to design and create like architects

Structures Around the World

The students have been exploring shapes in structures. We wondered what we already know about these structures. The students worked in groups to share their ideas.

  • What do you already know about these structures?
  • What questions do you have? 

Group A Brainstorm 

What we already know about these structures:

  • These structures are tall.
  • They are all popular structures.
  • These structures are in different countries.
  • Bridges go across the water. They help people go across from one side to the other.
  • The bridges are tall, because if the water comes up then the cars will go under the water, so they need to be tall.
  • They use hard things like metal and brick because they are strong and the people and cars will not drown in the water.
  • The bridge is made out of metal and concrete. Concrete is very hard so the car can go on it.
  • We use iron because it is hard.
  • They might use bricks and metal.
  • Some structures might be made of one material.

Questions we have about these structures:

  • What are these structures (structure 1)?
  • What did they use to make these structures?
  • Where, or what country is the first structure in?
  • How are structures made?
  • What materials were used to make the Eiffel tower?

Group B Brainstorm 

What we already know about these structures:

  • My structure is a bridge. A bridge helps people to cross the river.
  • All these structures are made of different shapes, like sphere, triangle, rectangle, rectangular prism, circle etc.
  • We need to use technology to build these structures. They help our life. We work more easily. A sailboat helps us to go across waters.
  • These structures are located in different places.
  • The spaceship helps us to go to the outer space so we can see things in the outer space.
  • They all look special.
  • They are different in shapes, they are made by different people in different places of the world, and they can look complicated using tricky shapes.
  • Some of them are big and some of them are high.
  • They are all famous, pretty, and unusual structures. People talk to each other about them so more and more people get to know these structures.
  • They have different shapes and different colours to make them more pretty. They do not use too many colours because that would make people dizzy.

Questions we have about these structures:

  • Why do people build these structures?
  • What do people do on the structures?
  • Why are some of the structures big?
  • What do people need structures for?
  • How can the people build a bridge across the river?
  • How do these structures help us?
  • Why do these structures look so difficult? How can they build such difficult structures?

Group C Brainstorm 

What we already know about these structures:

  • Some of the buildings are big and tall.
  • Some of the buildings have spheres.
  • I know they are tall buildings because I saw a tower line the one with the circles (3).
  • These are made out of shapes like cylinders, cones and cubes.
  • I know they are made of different sizes and many people can visit them. I think they are very tall and everyone wants to see it.
  • The building (3) has very funny shapes, this building is in China.
  • All buildings are made out of concrete. Concrete is like cement. Cement is really hard so that the house stands tall. Cement is really heavy.
  • I know it is made out of clay and some are made out of glass because picture 5 is wide white and it looks like it has clay and picture 3m the bottom has 5 cylinders shapes and that is why I think it has a glass.
  • All the different constructions are famous ones from different countries. They are famous because, picture 1 is a landmark from France, picture 2 is from Australia, picture 4 is from the Netherlands.
  • Picture 4, this is used for dumping water. They are used in many countries.
  • Picture 2 is kind of like a house because houses have the roof just like that. And the rest are not houses, they are buildings. The pictures 1,3 and 5 are really tall, but picture 4 is like it has wings on it, it is like a fan that goes round and round.
  • Picture 5 is the Sydney Opera House.

Questions we have about these structures:

  • Why do people make towers?
  • Why are some of these towers tall and some short?
  • Picture 5, how is that tower not falling because it is leaning?
  • Why do they need to be tall? – Why do people like to build tall and big structures?
  • Do people like to build tall towers? – Picture 3, there are little wooden rectangles, have they used glass or is there nothing inside?
  • Who built the towers? Who made the 1st tower?
  • Why are these towers made out of shapes?
  • Do people like towers made out of shapes?
  • How are towers made?
  • Which is the oldest and latest tower?
  • Number 5 is the oldest and number 3 is the latest building.

Next, the students used guiding questions and sentence starters to write about the structures they had chosen to recreate with shapes.  

Form:

Name it! What is your structure? My structure is…

Describe it! It is…

Structure: What materials have been used to create it? Why?

Purpose/Function: What is it used for? How does it work?

Connection: How is it connected to us?

 

How might we use new vocabulary to talk about our own structures? 

The Present

We watched the beautifully animated story ‘Penguin‘ by Polly Dunbar. This is a story about a silent penguin who has a very special way of expressing himself.  

For the story read by the author Polly Dunbar click HERE!

Writing Task:

Imagine that you rip open a present just like Ben does. Which animal would you like to find inside and why? What adventures would you have?

This writing task encouraged students to:

  • write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences
  • develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach
  • use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others

Literature Circle Roles – Passage Picker

We read the story ‘A New Home for Beaverby Henna Goudzand Nahar, illustrated by Jeska Verstegen. This is a wonderful story about 3 friends (Elephant, Pig and Beaver) who learn about the importance of kindness and inclusion. 

After reading the text, the students were invited to pick out their favourite part of the book and explain why they chose it. This could be…

  • an interesting part
  • an exciting part
  • an happy part
  • an sad part
  • an scary part

The Camera

The discussions that followed the thinking routine ‘Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate‘ led to an interest in cameras.

Many of the students said they have cameras at home. They were invited to bring in the cameras (if possible) to discuss the similarities and differences between them. They wrote to the parents to ask for permission.The next day, the students brought their cameras and placed them on the table. “That has our memories.” Said Hyun Seo as she gently displayed her camera.

Next, the students began to organise their collection of words into different categories. They decided to include more words! They listened to each other’s perspectives, justifying why they grouped certain words. We noticed that the students used the words to share their thinking and ideas.

Then, we gathered to talk about the different cameras the students had brought in. How are they the same? How are they different? We noticed that the students used vocabulary from their previous brainstorm to discuss the functions (features) of the cameras.

The students realised that they did not know much about the cameras. They were invited to continue their research into cameras with their family.

What do we want to know about cameras?

– What do we want to know about cameras?
– What is the brand of my camera, when was it made?
– Why do some cameras have a screen?
– Who invented the first camera? When was it invented?
– What did the first camera look like? How did it work?
– Is there a model of the first camera?
– How does the camera work?
– Are there any automatic cameras?
– Why do people take photographs?
– What does the inside of the camera look like?
– How is the camera powered?
– What is the latest camera?
– Why do cameras only have a small hole to look through?
– Where are the photographs saved?
– Why can we not save the photographs on some cameras?
– How do some cameras print out photographs right away?
– What can our camera do?
– How do we transfer photos from the camera to other devices?

Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate

We went back to the objects we used in the activity ‘See, Think, Wonder’. This time we used the concept mapping routine ‘Generate Sort Connect Elaborate’ to do the following:

  • generate ideas about the objects/topic
  • develop a bank of vocabulary that can be used to describe the objects
  • share thinking with others
  • explore connections between and amongst ideas

We chose one picture and brainstormed a list of words to help us share our initial ideas and thoughts. Then, we added another picture to see if we could add to our collection of words and ideas.

The activity helped the students develop a range of vocabulary, which they used to explain their thinking. 

The students explained that some of the objects were connected, and that there were similarities between the objects. We noticed that the discussions explored the concepts; technology, time, purpose, function and cost (value).

Then, the students shared their thinking individually through an activity on the iPad.

Next, we went back to our objects. What do we already know about the objects? How might we learn from each other?The students began brainstorming ideas and their thinking. They tapped into their prior knowledge to make connections. They began to look carefully at the objects.

They noticed little details on the objects that gave them clues about the objects, how they might be used and how they might have changed. We documented these ideas. We chose a few objects and made a plan to find out more.

Informational Reports

Over the last few weeks, the students have been conducting their research and creating models and books to share important messages about nature, and our role in creating environmental balance. They have been using their knowledge of non fiction literature to create informational reports.

 

Informational Report Checklist

 

 

Writers..

  • write informative texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
  • develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
  • use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
  • conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
  • gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources

What could you do to create balance in our environment?

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