Yr1 Weekly Update – 04/28/17
People’s choices can help or hurt the Earth
Unit of Inquiry
This week we have are inquiring into the 5/6R’s – refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, repair and rot which are a central element of our “Sharing the Planet” inquiry. The children have carried out a variety of inquiries and activities that have helped them to discover what the 5/6R’s are. We will continue to consider which is the best course of action to take – should we refuse or recycle?
We have been investigating how the 5/6R’s are currently used in our school. In 1W the children have decided to take action themselves! On discovering the teachers collected their food scraps to put into the composting bins in the sky garden, the class decided to collect their own fruit and vegetable scraps and have added them.
As part of the inquiry into the 5/6R’s we have been starting to discover the relationship between cause and effect. We have considered how these are related and have looked at what action we can take to allievate these problems.
On Thursday, Plastic Free Seas, (a Hong Kong based charity that raises awareness and takes action to combat the growing problem of plastic in the oceans) came to talk the whole year group. The children were highly engaged. They asked interesting questions and commented on the new information they heard. They were particularly upset by the impact plastic has on wild life in the ocean.
REMINDER: PLASTIC USED CARRIER BAG FOR THURSDAY, 4TH MAY
Please provide your child with a USED plastic carrier bag. They must bring this into school on Monday for an activity that we will be carrying out in class. They will use the bag throughout the inquiry for a variety of different purposes.
Suggested activities: Over the holiday weekend, (especially if you are at the beach) look at how rubbish is disposed of. Look around your neighbourhood – how is waste collected and disposed of there? Have your child help to sort your waste and take to the recycling stations.
Questions: What is waste? Where does waste come from? What do we do with waste? What goes into the rubbish? Why is it rubbish? How is rubbish disposed of? How does waste get into the ocean? What happens when it gets there? How can we stop this? What can we do to help?
Literacy
We continue to explore phonics in class through a variety of games, direct instruction and reading.
The children are reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction books linked to our inquiry. We have been using a wide range of media to explore and see what the 5/6R’s are – video’s, cartoons, posters, books and photographs. We have been using our observational skills to help us understand this different media. We have been using a variety of organisers to show our thinking linked to the inquiry – particularly cause and effect. We have been recording our ideas through both drawings and written form.
Maths
We are continuing to explore measurement. The children are developing their vocabulary and starting to use the correct terminology to explain what they are doing. We are looking at capacity, length and height, mass and time.
We are using non-standard units (cubes, lollypop sticks, our feet) to measure objects. The children have started to realise the problems that can occur when people use different types of units to measure with.
Suggested activities: Encourage your child to describe everyday objects in a measurement form, such as this feels heavy, this is tall, that is long, this can fit so much. Have your child make comparisons of size with a focus on the correct descriptive vocabulary. Longer/shorter, bigger/smaller, heavier/lighter, taller/shorter, more/less.
Questions: Can you describe the height of the chair? Can you describe the weight of the chair? Can you describe the size of the chair? Which is the longest/shortest? Can you compare the lengths?
Year 1 Sale – Friday, 5th May
To raise funds for Plastic Free Seas the children are going to be planting seeds and selling them to friends in the other year 1 classes. We will hold the sale on Friday 5th May. Please can you give your child HKD $10 on this day to buy a plant. The money that we raise will be used to take the children to a beach clean-up which Plastic Free Seas are organising for us.
Reminders
HATS, SUNSCREAN AND BUG SPRAY
It has suddenly gotten a lot hotter in Hong Kong. Can you please ensure that your child brings their hat to school EVERY DAY! It is school policy that students wear a hat at both lunch and playtime. There are many children who are not at present bringing them. Hats can be purchased at the PTA office. Please write your child’s name and class on them (they are frequently lost and will be placed in the lost and found area on the ground floor).
It is also a good idea to put sunscreen and bug spray on your child before they come to school. They are not allowed to apply it themselves and should not bring it to school.
PLASTIC BOTTLES AND POTS
We are asking for any plastic bottles or pots to be sent into school. We will be using them over the next few weeks for the sale and for junk modelling.
