Primary eNews – October 9, 2020
Children Made Patterns in Preschool
Children in preschool have been exploring patterns. What is a pattern and what is not a pattern. How can we make patterns? How do we know it’s a pattern?
Children made patterns using natural materials.
Children made patterns using their bodies and actions.
Children made patterns using toys and objects. They could justify why it was or was not a pattern.
Grade 5 Express Themselves
Grade 5 have completed their first unit of inquiry focusing on How We Express Ourselves. Students inquired into how we express ourselves through cultures, ideas, values and beliefs.
Students explored the cultural iceberg, identifying key aspects of surface culture and deep culture.
They shared their own personal connections through celebrations, foods and festivals and learned about their classmates’ experiences.
They explored their own identity through poetry, self portraits and reflection tasks.
To build on the related concept of diversity, students showed an interest in gender roles as we discussed the influence that media sources can have on our own perceptions.
As their knowledge of their own culture grew, students completed a research project about a culture of their choice. Allowing students choice and voice in their learning empowers learners. Students considered a variety of cultures. Identifying the positives and negatives supported students in making careful decisions.
After choosing a culture, students considered what they wanted to learn. They used the key concepts to guide their questioning.
After they gathered research on their key questions, they used a graphic organiser to support their writing process and wrote informational reports with citations.
Finally, it was time to express ourselves! Students created their own videos using flipgrid to share about an aspect of the culture they had learned about.
Counseling
October 10th is World Mental Health Day. According to the World Bank Group, estimates show that at least 10 percent of the world’s population is affected and that 20 percent of children and adolescents suffer from some type of mental disorder (2020).
Let’s make it a BIS goal to encourage seeking mental health support with no stigma attached. The chart created by Believeperform provides excellent tips for parents in supporting children’s mental health..
