It is so wonderful to see our caring students taking so much action! We have received a map of our school's neighborhood and some artifacts from the past. Students really enjoyed listening from music from a record player, tape player, and an iPod. They noticed how differently the music sounded, and reflected on the changes that have been made in order for us to enjoy music. We also explored a pocket watch, a phone with a cord, and many family pictures. A student even brought in a book that many of our teachers were taught how to read out of, Dick and Jane. Our Mandarin teachers have supported our Unit of Inquiry by teaching cardinal directions. We used these cardinal directions on our walk around the school neighborhood.
The CIS students and Mandarin teachers held an amazing Spring Festival Concert for all to enjoy. It was hard to believe that our two MCs have only had three years on Mandarin instruction. The CSU Confucius Institute donated $1,000 to assist with our Mandarin education.
Our wonderful Mandarin staff is already jumping into our new Unit of Inquiry, Where We Are In Place and Time, by introducing position words. They even created a fun game using direction words. Once they found their square, they had to act out what the card said. We had laughing loudly, dogs barking, and even crying.
The students did an excellent job recording the last UOI in their lap books. They turned out great! It was amazing how well they were able to relive the planner by reflecting on their lap books. Our provocation for our new UOI caused the students to really wonder. They looked closely and a newspaper from the 1940's. They also saw pictures of maps from Cleveland and Cuyahoga County in the 1900's. Then, the students were asked to write down what they thought Cleveland was like in the early 1900's. One student even mentioned that the only ones in first grade that were alive in the 1900's were the teachers. Another Explorer pointed out that Campus International didn't exist in the early 1900's. Reminder: Please plan on attending the CIS PCO meeting on February 18th. The Polar Vortex may have kept the students home, but upon their return, they were ready to learn. We wrapped up How the World Works this week. The students were clearly engaged in this unit, and were able to connect the Central Idea to the various activities. On Friday, we celebrated Chinese New Year. The students made lanterns during Mandarin class. Li Lao Shi even invited two friends from Beijing to tell our class about how they celebrate the new year. It was amazing to see how many connections they made from The Cleveland Museum of Art to our Mandarin class. The students were able to tell our visitors about what they learned about China from the artwork.
|
AuthorsMrs. Fairman Archives
March 2015
Categories |