December 19th, 2014
What a busy final week of term we have had in Grade 1. The children have been very busy creating lovely Christmas crafts as our unit about Celebrations comes to an end. We also were very lucky to have Kate, Ayman’s mum, come into class and share her family’s traditions of celebrating Christmas. A big thank you to Kate and we hope that in our next unit of inquiry we will have many more mum and dad guest speakers.
A definite highlight of the week and whole year has to be the wonderful Winter show that took place on Wednesday night. We commend the children for the hard work they put in and the way they conducted themselves, not only on stage, but for the entirety of a very long day. I’m sure you would be in agreement that collectively, the Grade 1’s produced a wonderful performance and highlighted many of the PYP attitudes the school strives for - Confidence, Commitment, Co-operation, Enthusiasm, etc. The benefits of a Performing Arts program was evident and be sure to check out Miss Kirsti’s blog through the link on the right hand side of this page.
There were some tired heads and bodies on Thursday at school, and that was just the teachers. As part of celebrating our successes’ we took the children out to the forest behind the school for some outside fun. The children enjoyed playing in the snow and toasting marshmallows on the fire.
December 12th, 2014
This week has seen some changes to the regular Grade 1 timetable, with preparations for the school concert becoming a priority. The children have been practising hard to remember and perform their parts on a daily basis.
The children brought in their Celebration boxes this week and blew us away with the standard of work they produced. The children took great enjoyment sharing their chosen celebration. We had a range of celebrations covered and it was a great learning experience for all.
During Maths this week, the children have been engaged in a variety of activities practising all the skills that we have focused on this term. They have made 2D shape decorations, practised their number facts to 20 using playdough and created repeated patterns with the pegs. We have been so impressed with how well the children have done in their end of term assessment.
The children each created a Snowman Canvas, using paint and their fingers to create the Snowman’s body. They then decorated the bodies and they look fantastic. These will be sold on Wednesday at the conclusion of the school concert for 20 NOK each. All profits will be given to charity, so if you would like to donate more than 20 NOK there is no limit.
Have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you all on Monday for our last week of term!
December 5th, 2014
The Grade 1 children continued their inquiry into new celebrations, with this week’s focus being Eid al Fitr. The discussions that took place in the classroom were fantastic. The children are beginning to compare the celebrations and find their commonalities and differences. The children made their own Henna hand designs and created a Crescent moon and star display for the class using glitter and paint.
In Maths this week, the children begun exploring 3D shapes and their features. A popular rotation was creating different shapes using marshmallows and tooth picks.
In Literacy, the children completed their good copy of their acrostic poems and then assessed their own work using a rubric. The children’s understanding of adjectives continue to strengthen, which was highlighted by their independent work in each literacy rotation.
Next week, the children will need to bring in their Celebration Box to share with their class. We are sure this sets us up for another week filled with great learning experiences.
November 28th, 2014
The Grade 1 children this week have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the cultural event and celebration, Diwali. The children loved making paper lanterns for the 'festival of lights'. We were also very lucky to have Neha Chopra (Mehak's mother) come in and speak to the children about Diwali. We are very thankful to Neha for offering her time and providing the children with an interesting presentation. The learning that took place was obvious.
In maths this week, the children explored the features of 2D shapes and were introduced to relevant vocabulary when naming and describing the properties of the shapes.
The children are continuing to gain a better understanding of adjectives, seen largely in the acrostic poems they created for a chosen celebration. It is also so encouraging to see the excellent progress that the children are making in their reading and application of all the phonics skills being taught.
We hope that the celebration boxes are coming along and we wish you all a wonderful, wintry weekend.
November 20th, 2014
For our unit of inquiry, Celebrations, the children’s learning this week focused around the personal event - birthdays. Earlier in the week, the children were paired up and asked to compare their birthday celebration with a friend using a Venn Diagram. It was great to see the children engage in discussion and learn about each other’s traditions.
In Maths, we continued to work with number bonds, this week focusing on making 20.
In Literacy our focus has been around adjectives and writing acrostic poems. Children have participated in a number of activities to consolidate their understanding of adjectives. The children used adjectives to create acrostic poems for their names, which are now a wonderful display for our classroom’s.
The week ended on a high note finishing with birthday parties for our class mascot’s Max and Rose. In preparation for the celebrations, the children enjoyed making and decorating fairy cakes.
November 14th, 2014
In Grade 1 this week we have begun our new unit of inquiry, Celebrations. To start the inquiry the children brainstormed and wrote down what they think a celebration is.
For Maths, the focus has been on number bonds to 10. The children participated in a variety of activities consolidating their understanding of this concept.
As the phonics is becoming more secure in the children, we have enjoyed an increase in reading in our daily literacy activities. Targeted additional guided reading sessions allowed the children to apply their phonics in a meaningful and rewarding way.
In Art, as fireworks are a symbol for many celebrations around the world, the children created a fireworks display using their hands, paint and glitter. The children were asked to work in teams to create a pattern that was the same as the rest of their team. It was great to see the children display the PYP attitudes co-operation and creativity throughout the learning task.
