PYP 2 Newsletter

Weather, Unit 3

Unit of Inquiry- Weather

Central Idea: Weather patterns are diverse, predictable and affect our daily lives. Lines of Inquiry: Weather around the world Measuring weather Crises caused by weather Key Concepts: function, causation Related Concepts: meteorology, probability, patterns, interactions

We look forward to recording data, participating in experiments and learning about the many weather systems and crises caused that affect us on earth.

Celebrating Our Success!

We have just completed our second unit of inquiry The unit proved to be both interesting and challenging to the students. It was challenging for the students to view history from the perspective of evidence leading to conclusions that help us create our historical record instead of seeing history as a complete unchanging record of events. The children are developing increasing knowledge of Google Apps for Education and how it functions. They are now able to create a document similar to a word document and a presentation similar to a powerpoint. They can also insert shapes and pictures from a file and from the internet. Their ability to type more quickly and efficiently is also improving. These are all big steps for PYP 2 students and as a group they are progressing well. Thank you to the parents who joined and supported us on the three outings we went on. We look forward to your continued support and enthusiasm in our next unit.

Excursion Snapshots

English Language
We will continue to work on the genre of report writing during this unit. In the previous unit students made a lot of progress in writing their first reports. One they wrote using the information from their grandparent interview and the other on Saalburg. We will also review the genre of a recount. In this unit, the students will have their first experience in writing the genre of an explanation. They will write an explanatory text about how weather is measured. After Christmas, we will begin the exciting process of learning to write cursively. The children already know how to write using entries and exits. Ask them to show you what they know. This leads easily into joined handwriting. Some additional writing tasks will be provided for over the holidays. During reading we will practice the comprehension skill of visualising. Visualising is when students use their prior knowledge to make a visual image of what is being described in the text. This aids in creating better comprehension.

Maths
Our maths program this unit will be heavily integrated with our Unit of Inquiry. The students will explore many aspects of data handling including recording and organizing data, as well as reading and extrapolating data from graphs related to weather patterns and daily weather. They will also gain experience in drawing and constructing bar graphs.
We will also be exploring aspects of measurement and the standard units used to record measurement for distance, capacity and weight. You might like to look at the weather forecast with your child during the time of the unit to see how the weather is measured and explore the weather in different countries. We will also continue to work on basic number skills and the understanding necessary to establish the recall of number facts and the value of numbers in general.

House Fun

Trips, Guest Speakers and Volunteers

We will be attending two excursions during this unit, one to the outdoor weather park in Offenbach on the 8th of January where we will find out how we measure weather in this area. The other excursion is to EUMETSAT in Darmstadt, on the 15th of January, which is a weather centre where they collect and process data from satellites. We would like one parent volunteer for each excursion. If you are able to volunteer and accompany us on one of these excursions please let us know via email. If you have ever experienced an extreme weather situation we would love it if you would come in to describe your experience. If you have pictures of such an event we would also love to see them. The Red Cross have agreed to visit us and give a talk about how they respond to help people who have suffered extreme weather. Links: Offenbach Weather Centre EUMETSAT in Darmstadt

Physical Education with Mr. Q & Mr. T

During our third unit of inquiry, students will explore the wonderful world of gymnastics through the key concept of Function. There will be a focus on refining our basic gymnastic movements including, rolls, balances, jumps and forms of travel. Students will also investigate the parallel bars and box horse and the role they play in the field of gymnastics. To connect with their classroom unit of inquiry, the sounds of weather the students produce in music class will be used to inspire some of our movement sessions. This unit is sure to warm everyone up, even on the chilliest day.

Speedball Training in Action!!

PE in Action!

Music
The students have been working very hard this year, especially leading up to the Winter Concert. They have learned a very challenging song, Hannukah Oh Hannukah and presented it in assembly, explaining the meaning behind the symbols in the song. They have also begun to figure out how to play some songs they know on instruments. In this new unit, the focus will be on the sounds that instruments make. The students will be working in groups to try and recreate weather sounds on instruments. They will then perform these sounds and the rest of the class will have to try and guess what weather sound they were performing. Ms Greenberg

German as a Foreign Language

Beginner PYP 2 with Julia Giesecke
In this unit of inquiry students will learn about the weather and how it affects people. They will learn plenty of new words related to the topic. We will discuss what the weather is like in different countries, what we should or should not do in certain weather conditions and how we can protect ourselves from extreme weather. At the end of the unit we will record our own weather-show from different parts of the world including the current weather on that part of the globe as well as a forecast (in the future-tense of course:)! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me: j.giesecke@strothoff-international-school.de

German as a Foreign Language

Advanced PYP 2 with Frau Schneider
In this unit of inquiry students will learn more about the seasons, especially about the different types of weather and how this affects us. They will learn a lot of new vocabulary related to the topic. As Christmas is coming soon, we will discuss what the weather at Christmas is like in different countries. Is the weather in your country at Christmas time the same as it is in Germany? A typical German Christmas card will always show a landscape with snow! This will lead us automatically to the different kinds of celebrations and traditions. Students will learn a German Christmas song and do some traditional arts and crafts. In grammar we still focus on the conjugation of the verb and we learn some rules about Akkusativ. Frohe Weihnachten und ein glckliches 2014! Josina Schneider-Broekmans

German Mother Tongue

PYP 2 with Frau Abbasi

In

der dritten Unit setzen wir uns mit der Thematik Jahreszeiten, Feste und Feiern auseinander. Wir werden verschiedene lyrische Textformen kennenlernen und wollen inhaltlich nher auf die jahreszeitlichen Wetterbedingungen eingehen.

Anhand lyrischer Textformen ben wir genaues Lesen und werden Bild- und Textinformationen miteinander vergleichen.

Projektorientiert werden wir einen Klassenkalender basteln, Grukarten gestalten und mit einem Gedankenschwarm Schreibanlsse finden und nutzen.
Frau Abbasi