September 4th, 2017

Dear Parents,

Over the last week, P2 has done a lot of learning! I am so impressed with how much more the students are discussing class topics, and taking more risks with their learning. Below I would like to explain what our focus was.

Math
Students have been figuring out how to place numbers from smallest to biggest, and biggest to smallest. This may seem like a simple task, but it is actually quite difficult as the numbers get higher. Students focused hard on each place value of the numbers to determine if it was a small or big number. Some students were able to order numbers over 1000, whilst others felt more comfortable with numbers under 1000.

We also looked at standard form, expanding, and written numbers. This again was quite difficult for some students, espeically when expanding (stretching) large numbers. With a lot of practice, I think we all have an understanding of how to stretch numbers.

Literacy
As our stamina improved for most students, we began choosing reading or writing in our own preferred order. Student's are beginning to pick their own good-fit books, which is an important skill for improving reading.

Grammar - we continued with nouns and looked at basic sentences using 'This is as...' and 'These are ...'.

is - relates to one noun that is close to us.
are - relates to more than one noun that is close to us.

Unit
During unit time, we really broke down the definitions behind the concepts we will be studying - function, change, perspective. The students did fantastic in understanding what each concept meant, and it is a definition that we will continually discuss throughout the unit as it connects to our lines of inquiry.

Perspective - people have different views/beliefs/thinking due to certain factors e.g. country, nationality, experience, a teacher, family etc. Certain factors influence why we see signs and symbols a certain way.

Change - there are many ways that the same symbol/sign can be represented e.g. love - hug, red, heart, gift, kindness, kiss etc. They all represent love, but in different ways.

Function - how do signs and symbols convey messages e.g. color, pictures, actions, building, statues. Something makes us think or understand a sign and symbols meaning.

We also did other activities during unit time to broaden our thinking, such as, creating a symbol for the learner profile - risk taker. This unit is a fantastic in the sense that it will make your child think hard and demonstrate their creativity. The symbols the children create must hold meaning in every aspect - color, pictures, shapes, placement etc.