Happy Holidays

Happy holidays from Grade 1/2.  

 

Enjoy the well deserved break and see you in the New Year!


Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher

Xiu Xiu

Grade 1/2 is becoming quite the group of multi-linguists!  This week, Mrs. Xu dropped by to teach the class some basic greetings and numbers in the most spoken language around the world - Mandarin.  Mrs. Xu teaches in the MYP and is famous for her kinesthetic language lessons and mere minutes after her arrival she had Grade 1/2 moving their arms in time with the tonal language.  Overall, it was a very enjoyable lesson and hopefully, some of the boys and girls were inspired to study Mandarin as a Language B course when they enter the MYP.

Xiu xiu Mrs. Xu! 

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher

Happy Diwali

This week, Grade 1/2 had the pleasure of yet another guest visit.  Mrs. Damle kindly agreed to come and share about how Diwali is celebrated in India, one of the biggest and most popular holidays for Hindus.  The class learned about the different days of the celebration and their special meaning.  Afterwards, she showed Grade 1/2 how to make patterned paper lanterns to symbolize the lights that are used to scare away spiritual darkness.

Thank you very much Ms. Damle.

 

 

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher



Ciao!

This week, as part of our inquiry into different languages, Grade 1/2 had a very special guest come teach them some basic Italian - Ms. Carta from the MYP/DP.  Ms. Carta is originally from Sardinia, Italy and was a wonderful language teacher.  Grade 1/2 learned how to say hello, goodbye, days of the week, months of the year and how to count to 10 in Italian.  The class was quick to make connections between English and their different mother tongues to Italian. Grazie Ms. Carta!

 

 

 

Semester Artwork to Go Home

The first semester is quickly coming to a close and there is a lot of wonderful artwork to go home. Please have your child bring in a large shopping bag (ex. from Coop, Ikea, etc.) on Tuesday December 10^th 2013.  Together, we will pack everything up so that it can be brought home on the last day of school before the holidays.

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher

Happy Hanukkah

This week, as part of our inquiry into how different members of the class celebrate the holidays, Grade 1/2 had the opportunity to learn about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah from Mrs. Frenkel.  She was kind enough to share a short story in Hebrew and talk about the history and special traditions of Hanukkah.  The class even had the opportunity to play with some dreidels that she had brought all the way from Israel.  Grade 1/2 then took turns lighting the candles on a menorah and made some colorful Hanukkah themed artwork using melted candle wax.

A big “toda” to Mrs. Frenkel for her visit.

 

 

 

 

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher

Roy G. Biv

This week Grade 1/2 turned once again to the outside world for inspiration and learned about the colours of the rainbow. To help remember the colours and their order, the class was introduced to a mysterious man named Roy G. Biv - or an acronym for red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo and violet. Grade 1/2 also learned about the basic Science behind a rainbow and why we only see one when there is rain and sun. The class then made their own rainbows using objects found in the classroom.

If you can remember any of your own acronyms or mnemonic devices to remember the colours of the rainbow, we would love to hear them.

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher

Meet Elmer

This week Grade 1/2 looked at colour and pattern from the perspective of a unique elephant named Elmer. Elmer was different from the other elephants because he was not grey but covered in bright and colourful patterns. The story provided the perfect context for a discussion about how colour can be used to express our individuality. To practice doing just that, each student then designed their own Elmer for display in the classroom to show off their own colours and patterns.  This activity was also extended to an ICT lesson, where Grade 1/2 experimented with Microsoft Paint to produce a digital version of Elmer.

 

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley

Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher

 

 

 

Colour and Seasons

This week Grade 1/2 extended their awareness of the colors around them to the outside world and the four seasons. To do this, the class was presented with a set of photographs and asked to work together to place them into different categories.  After some discussion, the students were able to identify the four seasons and recognize the dominant colors associated with each. Grade 1/2 then made their own lists of seasonal colours and to help with spelling, they each created their own Colour Word Sheet.

 

 

 

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher

A Colour Perspective

To begin our new U.O.I, titled A Colour Perspective, Grade 1 and 2 began by brainstorming the different colours that they know.  The finished list was both extensive and colourful!  Grade 1 and 2 had the unique opportunity to look at their classroom, literally through ‘a colour perspective’ by participating in a colour scavenger hunt.  Each student was asked to search for objects of a specific colour (red, orange, yellow, blue, and green).  We then discussed if the activity changed their view of the classroom and the surprises they saw.

 

 

 

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1 and 2 Classroom Teacher

A Special Guest

This week Grade 1/2 was joined by Mrs. Baumann.  She is a certified Swiss teacher and will spend the next three weeks assisting and teaching various subject lessons.  The goal of her time at ISW is to immerse herself in an English speaking classroom and experience what it’s like to be part of an international school.  We look forward to her time with us.

Please see below for her welcome message.

Good afternoon,
 

I’m Ms. Baumann. I live with my husband, my six children and our two dogs and a cat in Wiesendangen. Normally, I work for two days a week at a primary school in Winterthur-Wülflingen in a 6th grade class. There I also have to teach English and that’s why I am assisting and observing here at ISW. I’ve already spent one week at this school. I’m very pleased to stay with Ms. Aberley and her class because for me it’s like being in a family. They are very nice and I enjoy working the whole day with them. I will spend two more weeks with the class and look forward to what we will do together next, but no matter what, I’m sure there will be good memories.

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1 and 2 Classroom Teacher

 

 

 

Class Friendship Collage

To start the new school year off right, Grade 1/2 will be learning about manners, showing respect, friendship and bullying through a Unit of Inquiry (UOI) titled Working It Out Together.  This week we focused on the importance of friendship and the qualities of a good friend.  To acknowledge that Grade 1/2 is composed of individuals that come together to create a group of friends/peers that learn and play together, the class created a Friendship Collage.  Everyone was given their own piece of paper and asked to create a piece of art that reflected their unique likes and dislikes, color preferences, etc.  Afterwards they decided as a group on how to fit each individual artwork together to create a single cohesive piece of art and the final result was beautiful. This was also a Visual Art focused lesson that allowed Grade1/2 to experiment with various materials, mediums and techniques.  “Splatter” painting was definitely a class favorite.

Please feel free to drop by the Grade 1/2 classroom and view the class Friendship Collage.

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher

Field Trip to Stein am Rhein

On Friday September 13th, Grade 1/2 had the opportunity to venture outside of the classroom and visit Stein am Rhein, a traditional Swiss town.  After talking about the rules in place for a safe train journey, we rode the SBB to Stein am Rhein.  Once there, Grade 1/2 took walked through the town center and it was like walking back in time!  We were even lucky enough to meet some of the local residents - some hungry ducks along the river.  The rest of the day was spent at an adventure park right on the Rhein and good fun was had by all.  

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher

Welcome

Welcome to the Grade 1/2 class blog!  This blog will be used to highlight school work and events on a weekly basis, as well as act as means of communication throughout the year.  Please take a minute or two to read about our class…

 

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley
Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher