Newsletter November 26th - 30th

Hello,
We are only three weeks away from the end of the term. At the same time we did finalize our current unit `Sharing The Planet - Sharing What We Have Improves The Quality Of Life`. Moreover, we had Science Week and the activities were fun and informative.

UoI: Students worked hard to complete their Summative Assessment Forms. During the week I commented on each paper and students improved their works. Due to Science Week Activities, we could not meet with other students. I believe that we will complete the assignment next week.
Next week we will start new theme `How We Organize Ourselves`. The Central idea is `Humans have developed governments to establish order.`

Math: We continued to explore the types of triangles. Students know the following terms

• Equilateral
• Isosceles
• Scalene

and the definitions. 

On Thursday, we had a test. Retest is on Monday. Questions are similar to the previous test`s questions. 

Art: We did prepare for Science Week Experiment presentation. Our visitors were Preschool B class students. We had 4 experiments to be show. Unfortunately, 3 of them did not work during the presentation, despite the fact that they all worked on Monday trial. Well, it did not affect the students and we were happy with the presents from preschoolers. 

Thank you very much!

Newsletter November 19th - 22nd

Dear parents,
Thank you very much for giving a chance to students enjoy 90 minutes at Spocha amusement center. I am sure kids enjoyed playing games, roller skating and ice-cream. We strengthened our class spirit and friendship for sure. I could see all class playing together and having fun.
Here are the activities we had during the week.
UoI:
Our unit is almost over. We are still focusing on the last line of inquiry "Global Imbalances and Opportunities". We watched a video about food waste in America and how it can be solved. It is interesting to read student's responses and comments on this issue. One of the student's comment was to make a box for paper, paper trash and re-usable paper. It was an awesome idea. Now, I am planning to organize this next wee.
Summative assessment documents, rubrics and forms have been already shared with students. I will be checking my inbox all weekend. Due date is Sunday, November 24th, 21:00
Math:
We started a new topic. Triangles and classification according to side length and interior angles. Students measured, cut, glued given triangles and tried to come up with their own classification. Everyone came up with the same groups of triangles. The names reflected how the grouping was accomplished. Next week we will continue to deepen our knowledge about triangles.
Art:
We were focusing on Science week experiments and the students were eager to show what they have done. However, on Monday, food coloring substance was spilled and no one wanted to admit it. Students were given a choice to accept or don't have a chance to work on experiment. After long discussion, all experiments were cancelled. On Thursday, we worked on displays only.

Thank you very much!

Unit of Inquiry - Summative Assessment Details

Dear parents,
Next week is the last week of our 'Sharing The Planet' unit and the final project should be submitted by November 30th.
Here are the details of the final project and the criteria that will be used to assess.

Sharing what we have to improve the Quality of Life.

Student will identify the area he/she is good at and is ready to help others. It is going to be reflected in a form prior to sharing. After the sharing is done, both student and a participant will reflect on the activity.

Form includes

A) Initial Reflection

B) Detailed plan

C) Final Reflection

D) Feedback Survey

Rubrics:

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Newsletter November 12th - 16th

Hello,
One more week is over and we are getting closer to the end of the unit as well as term. Our class activity is on Thursday, November 22nd. We have Science week between November 26th and November 30th.
Here are the activities we had this week.
UoI: We started to focus on our last line of inquiry "Global Opportunities and Imbalances". As a provocation, students went to the GYM and were split into 3 groups according to heights and randomly assigned a place to play. First group had to stay on mats only and was called as "limited". Second group had a little bit more space, but still limited and was called as "partly limited". Third group had the freedom to use the rest of the GYM and had the name "Free".
The idea was to help students feel and see the situation of the countries that have limited resources, knowledge or experience.
Most of the kids complained about being unfair and not being able to play where they want. I believe the goal was reached. After the activity we had a discussion about the imbalances which exist at the moment.
One action that struck me was the fact that one of the students from "Free" group voluntarily helped "limited" group by sharing a ball to play. It was a nice act of being caring and he got rewarded.

Math: We continued to focus on Probability. Students learned the terms like extremely likely, very likely, very unlikely, extremely unlikely and the corresponding probability percentages. Students made their own spinners and dice. Compared the outcomes of theoretical and experimental probabilities.

Art: Students are working on Science week experiment. One of group's experiment was a success and inspired the other groups to work harder.

Reminders.
Our class activity is on Thursday, November 22nd. If you did not sign up for the event, please do so as soon as possible via this link. Students who doesn't have permission will not be able to attend.
Students will have water bottles, but it would be good if they had at most 500 yen with them just in case.

Thanks