NEWS
Next week promises to be exciting with our Mini Academies and 100th Day of School celebration!
As readers we have been busy reading informational books and learning how to use different text features to locate information. We’ll begin our week reviewing how to unlock new vocabulary by using context clues. In addition, we’ll begin working on how to summarize our reading. We’ll practice identifying the main idea of a chapter. Throughout the week, students will be reading informational books to learn more about the topic they are writing about in their Writer’s Workshop.
As writers we have just finished our first informational books and students are setting goals for their next piece of writing. With the completion of this book, we now turn our focus to our next book. Students have identified a topic of interest and selected some books from our library and from online sources to help them learn more about their topic. We’ll start by reading for information and identifying the important vocabulary words and information from our reading. From there students will begin planning their new book. They’ll start by breaking their topic into subtopics, mapping out what they already know about their topic, and then drafting their book section by section.
As mathematicians we have been working with plane and solid figures this week. We continue practicing how to use attributes to describe plane and solid figures. Last week we introduced the vocabulary words, square corners and parallel lines. These terms are essential in identifying and describing the plane figures we work with in class.
UPCOMING
Our Mini Academies are scheduled for Monday, January 29. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to lead an activity. These are always special events and the children love learning from our very talented parent community.
Our 100th Day of School is Friday, February 2nd. We have some exciting events planned to help us celebrate the day. I’m looking forward to seeing the creative hats that the children make! We’ll have our Hat Parade in the morning before recess. Please remind your child to bring his or her hat to school on Thursday, February 1st. Linked here is the 100th day of school letter.
IMPORTANT
Swimming will start again this Monday, Day 2 during PE.
These are other swim dates in the semester:
Monday, January 29, 2018
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Monday, February 19, 2018
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Friday, March 9, 2018
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Friday, April 20, 2018
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Students will need to bring their swimsuit, towel, and long hair needs to be tied back. Goggles and swim caps are optional. There is no "ISKL school swimsuit". Appropriate swim attire (one piece swim suit or swim bottoms and rash shirt). If students forget their swim gear, they can borrow a swimsuit if available or they can use their PE uniform. If students cannot swim for any reason, a detailed email or note must explain why.
DINNER QUESTIONS
What are some nonfiction topics that interest you? What do you know about them?
What is the topic of the book you’re writing? What text features will you add?
What shapes do you see around our home?
Saturday, 27 January 2018
Saturday, 20 January 2018
The Week of January 22
NEWS
As readers we our continuing our non-fiction work paying attention to all the information available in a non-fiction text (including using text features such as maps, diagrams, labels, etc.) while also tuning-in to what information we might expect to be learning from our non-fiction texts using our reader’s notebooks to document our thinking.
As writers we started working on our first informational pieces, with the aim to teach our reader’s about our chosen topic. We planned our stories using sub-topics that we then used as the basis for our table of contents page. In the coming weeks we will be taking this work further by including the features we are noticing in our non-fiction reading and applying these to our writing.
In science as part of our “Healthy Choices” unit we have started learning about the importance of exercise as part of establishing healthy routines. We took a baseline “fitness” assessment and the students have been tasked with completing various exercises on a daily basis with the ultimate goal of gauging whether at the end of this unit exercise has helped us get healthier and in better shape.
As mathematicians we our continuing our Geometry unit learning about the attributes of 2D shapes (sides, angles), how and why some shapes are polygons and some aren’t, and using this knowledge to create our very own regular and irregular polygons with different attributes.
Mr. Alex will be absent on Thursday (25th) and Friday (26th) of January as he will be attending an ISKL hosted workshop (so the students might see him on campus but not in class).
UPCOMING
January 29th- Mini Academies and start of Semester 2 Aquatics
January 31st- No School
IMPORTANT
- The first aquatics class for the year will take place on Monday, Day 2 January 29th. Students will need to bring a swimsuit, towel, and long hair has to be tied back. Goggles and swim caps are optional. There is no "ISKL school swimsuit". Appropriate swim attire (one piece swim suit or swim bottoms and rash shirt). If students forget their swim gear, they can borrow a swimsuit if available or they can use their PE uniform. If students cannot swim for any reason, a detailed email or note must explain why.
These are the 2AL swimming dates for 2018:
- Monday, January 29, 2018
- Wednesday, February 7, 2018
- Monday, February 19, 2018
- Tuesday, February 27, 2018
- Friday, March 9, 2018
- Tuesday, March 20, 2018
- Wednesday, April 4, 2018
- Thursday, April 12, 2018
- Friday, April 20, 2018
- Thursday, May 3, 2018
DINNER QUESTIONS
1 - What is a polygon and how do you know?
2 - What are some healthy choices that we can make as a family at home this year?
3 - Tell me about the informational book you are writing?
Sunday, 14 January 2018
The Week of January 15th
NEWS
Welcome back everyone! It was such a joy to have our students back and to hear about all of the travels, fun times with family, and special events. We welcomed four new students to grade 2 this week! In our classroom, we welcomed Mingyo who is coming from Korea. This brings our total up to 20 (10 boys and 10 girls). The students have been very welcoming and I know the rest of the ISKL community will help reach out to these new families, organize play dates and make them feel welcome as they settle into their new lives in ISKL and Kuala Lumpur.
In terms of curriculum, we had a busy week launching our new units and doing some community building activities!
As readers we dove into our nonfiction reading and unit this week. We reviewed features of nonfiction texts and discussed how authors use certain features to teach their readers. Students learned how to read diagrams, maps, charts and models by paying close attention to the details of what those features were teaching them.
As writers we started brainstorming ideas for some wonderful nonfiction books. We have started planning out topics, subtopics, creating a table of contents to guide their book, and will be busy in the coming days writing them all out. Next week we will spend a lot of time studying mentor authors and strategies that authors use to teacher their audience all that they can in an engaging way.
In science we have been tuning into our new unit “Healthy Choices” this week and brainstorming what kinds of choices we make everyday that are helpful or harmful to our bodies. Students will learn about the importance of good hygiene, proper sleep, 3 forms of exercise, healthy eating and water consumption and even mental health. This usually has lasting effects throughout the year, so please help include your child in grocery shopping for healthy food, doing fun and active things as a family and help them track their sleeping habits.
As mathematicians we have started our Geometry unit this week and students have reviewed 2D shapes and some attributes. This unit will cover both 2D and 3D shapes and attributes as well as fractions.
UPCOMING
January 15th-ASA registration opens on Powerschool
January 29th- Mini Academies
January 31st- No School
IMPORTANT
Linked here is the home learning menu for January.
DINNER QUESTIONS
1 - What is something new you hope to learn this year?
2 - What are some healthy choices that we can make as a family at home this year?
3 - What are some ways you can show kindness at home and at school this year?
Welcome back everyone! It was such a joy to have our students back and to hear about all of the travels, fun times with family, and special events. We welcomed four new students to grade 2 this week! In our classroom, we welcomed Mingyo who is coming from Korea. This brings our total up to 20 (10 boys and 10 girls). The students have been very welcoming and I know the rest of the ISKL community will help reach out to these new families, organize play dates and make them feel welcome as they settle into their new lives in ISKL and Kuala Lumpur.
In terms of curriculum, we had a busy week launching our new units and doing some community building activities!
As readers we dove into our nonfiction reading and unit this week. We reviewed features of nonfiction texts and discussed how authors use certain features to teach their readers. Students learned how to read diagrams, maps, charts and models by paying close attention to the details of what those features were teaching them.
As writers we started brainstorming ideas for some wonderful nonfiction books. We have started planning out topics, subtopics, creating a table of contents to guide their book, and will be busy in the coming days writing them all out. Next week we will spend a lot of time studying mentor authors and strategies that authors use to teacher their audience all that they can in an engaging way.
In science we have been tuning into our new unit “Healthy Choices” this week and brainstorming what kinds of choices we make everyday that are helpful or harmful to our bodies. Students will learn about the importance of good hygiene, proper sleep, 3 forms of exercise, healthy eating and water consumption and even mental health. This usually has lasting effects throughout the year, so please help include your child in grocery shopping for healthy food, doing fun and active things as a family and help them track their sleeping habits.
As mathematicians we have started our Geometry unit this week and students have reviewed 2D shapes and some attributes. This unit will cover both 2D and 3D shapes and attributes as well as fractions.
UPCOMING
January 15th-ASA registration opens on Powerschool
January 29th- Mini Academies
January 31st- No School
IMPORTANT
Linked here is the home learning menu for January.
DINNER QUESTIONS
1 - What is something new you hope to learn this year?
2 - What are some healthy choices that we can make as a family at home this year?
3 - What are some ways you can show kindness at home and at school this year?
Monday, 11 December 2017
Week of December 4th and Looking Ahead to the end Semester 1
NEWS
We had a busy week! Christmas Around the World was so much fun! It is always a privilege to see how other people celebrate this festive occasion with commonalities and differences. The concert was a roaring success! The math learning celebration was well attended and the swim carnival ended the week on a high note! Thank you to all the parents who came to volunteer, support and cheer on your children during all these special events!
UPCOMING
This week will be a short week with lots of cooperative learning opportunities across classes. We are not digging into any new curriculum but tying up loose ends and having a week full of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) perhaps a little baking, and some winter cleaning to get our library ready for the upcoming Non-Fiction units when we return! There will be lots of reading, writing, science and math weaved in during these times.
IMPORTANT
Monday, 11 December - No school. Sultan of Selangor’s Birthday
Wednesday, 13 December - Field Trip (Royal Selangor Pewter Factory)
Friday, 15 December - Last day of the semester
Monday, 8 January - First day of second semester
DINNER QUESTIONS
* What was the best part of your first semester?
* What did you learn during Christmas Around the World?
* What are you most looking forward to in the second semester?
Have a safe and wonderful Holiday and see you all back in 2018!
We had a busy week! Christmas Around the World was so much fun! It is always a privilege to see how other people celebrate this festive occasion with commonalities and differences. The concert was a roaring success! The math learning celebration was well attended and the swim carnival ended the week on a high note! Thank you to all the parents who came to volunteer, support and cheer on your children during all these special events!
UPCOMING
This week will be a short week with lots of cooperative learning opportunities across classes. We are not digging into any new curriculum but tying up loose ends and having a week full of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) perhaps a little baking, and some winter cleaning to get our library ready for the upcoming Non-Fiction units when we return! There will be lots of reading, writing, science and math weaved in during these times.
IMPORTANT
Monday, 11 December - No school. Sultan of Selangor’s Birthday
Wednesday, 13 December - Field Trip (Royal Selangor Pewter Factory)
Friday, 15 December - Last day of the semester
Monday, 8 January - First day of second semester
DINNER QUESTIONS
* What was the best part of your first semester?
* What did you learn during Christmas Around the World?
* What are you most looking forward to in the second semester?
Have a safe and wonderful Holiday and see you all back in 2018!
Thursday, 30 November 2017
The Week of November 27
NEWS
As readers this week we have focused on the author’s message. Is there a message in the stories we are reading? If so, how do we know, what evidence do we have from the text? This is complex work around reading comprehension, laying the basis for inferring from texts (or understanding what is not explicitly stated in texts) - and it is work that we will be continuing next week as well.
Our science and writing were integrated this week. We planned and prepared for our experiments and then independently wrote up a full lab report. These will be shared with you next week. A time lapse of a portion of our lab for your viewing pleasure is included below:
As mathematicians we continued working on adding and subtracting two 2-digit numbers within 100 using various strategies such as base-ten models, number lines, and various other strategies. This work will also continue into the coming week.
UPCOMING
Christmas Around the World is scheduled for Monday, December 4th.
For those with children performing in our elementary school holiday concert, the performance is next week on Thursday, December 7 at 7:00pm. ISKL will be live streaming this event at this URL: https://livestream.com/iskl
Swim Carnival is scheduled for Friday, December 8. Please follow the links below with details about the event:
Grade 2 Learning Celebration is scheduled for Friday, December 8 from 10:10 – 10:45 (before the Swim Carnival). Students will have the opportunity to share with you some math games, addition and subtraction strategies, and problem solving strategies that they’ve been learning this semester. Please let us know whether you plan to attend by completing this Google invitation form so that we can plan our groups accordingly.
REMINDERS
Our Home Learning is posted on our blog under the "Class Documents" tab. While these activities are optional, students are encouraged to complete one activity of their choice each week.
DINNER QUESTIONS
Tell me about your science experiment? What were your results? Do you have any other questions?
What is your favorite addition and subtraction strategy?
Tell me about a favorite book you read this week?
Sunday, 26 November 2017
Week of November 20th
NEWS
Thank you to the parents who came in this week to help us make Christmas tree ornaments to kick off the holiday season at Melawati. Another big thank you to all the parents who came out to lead a Mini Academy session - I know the students always look forward to them with much excitement.
As readers this week we’ll continue reading and discussing books with partners. In addition to asking questions about the book, students will also begin thinking about the author’s message. They will review comprehension strategies (Making Predictions, Asking Questions, Retelling, Rereading, Visualizing, Making Connections), and will practice finding evidence in the story to support their thinking.
Our science and writing are integrated this week with students preparing and conducting their own science experiments. We will generate a question to investigate and we will then have the opportunity to go through the scientific process as we each conduct our own experiments. The students will form a hypothesis, conduct the experiment, make observations, record the results, and form a conclusion based on the outcome of their experiment. Each step of the process will be written up in their final lab report, which is the assessment for our writing unit. Teachers will be on hand to help students with their experiments, but the writing of the lab reports will be done independently without teacher support. The writing of the lab reports will be done over several days spread throughout the week.
As mathematicians this week our focus is on subtraction two 2-digit numbers within 100 using various strategies such as base-ten models, number lines, and various other strategies. We will not be teaching the standard addition and subtraction algorithms (where you "carry over" the one, etc.)
UPCOMING
No School on Friday, December 1st.
Grade 2 Learning Celebration is scheduled for Friday, December 8 from 10:10 – 10:45. Students will have the opportunity to share with you some math games, addition and subtraction strategies, and problem solving strategies that they’ve been learning this semester. An invitation with an RSVP will be sent closer to the date so we can determine how many parents will attend.
REMINDERS
Our Home Learning is posted on our blog under the "Class Documents" tab. While these activities are optional, students are encouraged to complete one activity of their choice each week.
DINNER QUESTIONS
Tell me about a science experiment you would like to conduct? What do you expect to happen?
What have you learned about writing science lab reports?
Do you prefer writing personal narratives or science lab reports? Why?
Thank you to the parents who came in this week to help us make Christmas tree ornaments to kick off the holiday season at Melawati. Another big thank you to all the parents who came out to lead a Mini Academy session - I know the students always look forward to them with much excitement.
As readers this week we’ll continue reading and discussing books with partners. In addition to asking questions about the book, students will also begin thinking about the author’s message. They will review comprehension strategies (Making Predictions, Asking Questions, Retelling, Rereading, Visualizing, Making Connections), and will practice finding evidence in the story to support their thinking.
Our science and writing are integrated this week with students preparing and conducting their own science experiments. We will generate a question to investigate and we will then have the opportunity to go through the scientific process as we each conduct our own experiments. The students will form a hypothesis, conduct the experiment, make observations, record the results, and form a conclusion based on the outcome of their experiment. Each step of the process will be written up in their final lab report, which is the assessment for our writing unit. Teachers will be on hand to help students with their experiments, but the writing of the lab reports will be done independently without teacher support. The writing of the lab reports will be done over several days spread throughout the week.
As mathematicians this week our focus is on subtraction two 2-digit numbers within 100 using various strategies such as base-ten models, number lines, and various other strategies. We will not be teaching the standard addition and subtraction algorithms (where you "carry over" the one, etc.)
UPCOMING
No School on Friday, December 1st.
Grade 2 Learning Celebration is scheduled for Friday, December 8 from 10:10 – 10:45. Students will have the opportunity to share with you some math games, addition and subtraction strategies, and problem solving strategies that they’ve been learning this semester. An invitation with an RSVP will be sent closer to the date so we can determine how many parents will attend.
REMINDERS
Our Home Learning is posted on our blog under the "Class Documents" tab. While these activities are optional, students are encouraged to complete one activity of their choice each week.
DINNER QUESTIONS
Tell me about a science experiment you would like to conduct? What do you expect to happen?
What have you learned about writing science lab reports?
Do you prefer writing personal narratives or science lab reports? Why?
Sunday, 19 November 2017
Week of November 13th
NEWS
Thank you to the parents who are coming in this week to help students make their Christmas tree ornaments. This is a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season at Melawati.
As readers we have started reading partnerships to grow our comprehension skills by discussing books with partners and using note taking strategies to help us jot down our thinking about books. Students will practice writing their ideas, questions, and thinking on sticky notes throughout the book and at the end of chapters. These notes form the basis of collaborative conversations with their reading partner.
As writers we have continued our work writing like scientists this week by documenting some experiments we have been doing in the lab. Our focus now is on the importance of using exact measurements, science vocabulary and detailed steps as we write our procedures.
As scientists we continue learning about the differences between physical and chemical changes. Through our readings and experiments, we explored how chemical changes are irreversible and create a new substance. During our experiments this week, students will have an opportunity to see matter go through both physical and chemical changes.
As mathematicians we have started to write and solve multi-step story problems with same and mixed operations including multiple addends. During our work on these problems, students have been encourage to be flexible in their thinking in order to combine or take apart numbers to help their accuracy and efficiency. As with all story problems, students are expected to show their thinking with a picture, equation and answer that includes the unit. Our upcoming focus is on double digit addition and subtraction using base-ten models, number lines, and various other strategies. The big idea is to be able to demonstrate understanding of place value on a conceptual level as opposed to merely solving an algorithm. This might look very different from the way many of you know how or have been taught how to solve addition and subtraction equations, thank you for your patience and understanding and we will be happy to explain this all to you during our Math Learning Celebration (read on).
UPCOMING
Swimming during PE is this Thursday, November 23rd.
Mini Academies is scheduled for Thursday, November 23. Thank you to the parents who volunteered to lead an activity. These are always special events and the kids love learning from our very talented parent community.
Grade 2 Learning Celebration is scheduled for Friday, December 8 from 10:10 – 10:45. Students will have the opportunity to share with you some math games, addition and subtraction strategies, and problem solving strategies that they’ve been learning this semester. An invitation with an RSVP will be sent closer to the date so we can determine how many parents will attend.
REMINDERS
Our Home Learning is posted on our blog under the "Class Documents" tab. While these activities are optional, students are encouraged to complete one activity of their choice each week.
DINNER QUESTIONS
What are some chemical changes that you might see at home? How do you know?
Practice a reading partnership with your parents. What are some questions you can ask them about the book you read?
Thank you to the parents who are coming in this week to help students make their Christmas tree ornaments. This is a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season at Melawati.
As readers we have started reading partnerships to grow our comprehension skills by discussing books with partners and using note taking strategies to help us jot down our thinking about books. Students will practice writing their ideas, questions, and thinking on sticky notes throughout the book and at the end of chapters. These notes form the basis of collaborative conversations with their reading partner.
As writers we have continued our work writing like scientists this week by documenting some experiments we have been doing in the lab. Our focus now is on the importance of using exact measurements, science vocabulary and detailed steps as we write our procedures.
As scientists we continue learning about the differences between physical and chemical changes. Through our readings and experiments, we explored how chemical changes are irreversible and create a new substance. During our experiments this week, students will have an opportunity to see matter go through both physical and chemical changes.
As mathematicians we have started to write and solve multi-step story problems with same and mixed operations including multiple addends. During our work on these problems, students have been encourage to be flexible in their thinking in order to combine or take apart numbers to help their accuracy and efficiency. As with all story problems, students are expected to show their thinking with a picture, equation and answer that includes the unit. Our upcoming focus is on double digit addition and subtraction using base-ten models, number lines, and various other strategies. The big idea is to be able to demonstrate understanding of place value on a conceptual level as opposed to merely solving an algorithm. This might look very different from the way many of you know how or have been taught how to solve addition and subtraction equations, thank you for your patience and understanding and we will be happy to explain this all to you during our Math Learning Celebration (read on).
UPCOMING
Swimming during PE is this Thursday, November 23rd.
Mini Academies is scheduled for Thursday, November 23. Thank you to the parents who volunteered to lead an activity. These are always special events and the kids love learning from our very talented parent community.
Grade 2 Learning Celebration is scheduled for Friday, December 8 from 10:10 – 10:45. Students will have the opportunity to share with you some math games, addition and subtraction strategies, and problem solving strategies that they’ve been learning this semester. An invitation with an RSVP will be sent closer to the date so we can determine how many parents will attend.
Our Home Learning is posted on our blog under the "Class Documents" tab. While these activities are optional, students are encouraged to complete one activity of their choice each week.
DINNER QUESTIONS
What are some chemical changes that you might see at home? How do you know?
Practice a reading partnership with your parents. What are some questions you can ask them about the book you read?
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