History & Geography
This week we had our own Diwali celebration. We made clay pot lanterns and decorated our black top with Rangoon designs using chalk. We also learned about the stories of how Buddha came to be and about King Asoka.
Our objectives
• understand how Prince Siddhartha became Buddha
• identify Buddhism
• listen to Buddhist Jataka Tale and understand it’s lesson
• identify King Asoka
• understand how Asoka spread Buddhism
Science
This week in our science domain Cycles in Nature, we continued to learn about trees. The class examined different kinds of seeds that come from trees and we made a diagram of the life cycle of an apple tree. On Friday we began learning about the life cycle of a chicken. The class had fun learning the song “Which Came First, The Chicken or the Egg?”
Our objectives were to:
• explain that a cycle is a sequence of events that repeats itself again and again
• explain the effects of seasonal changes on plants and animals
• define the term life cycle
• identify the stages of the life cycle of a tree.
•Identify different ways that trees spread their seeds
• explain the difference between deciduous and Evergreen trees.
• identify the stages of the life cycle of a chicken (egg to egg)
English Writing/Spelling
In our journals we used the idiom of the week, “Put your thinking cap on ” and we also wrote about the story of Buddha and the Tree of Life. For spelling we went over our practice test and reviewed the vowel patterns that we need to work on. Students who have a hundred percent on their practice test do not have to take the spelling test on Friday. Our word wall words this week were: because, before, best, beautiful
La lectura
This week we read La hora de cuentos: ¡Con la participación especial de Megan! Our objectives were:
- use the comprehension strategies making connections and making predictions when reading our story the first time
- use the comprehension skill Making Inferences when reading our story the second time
- learn and practice using possessive pronouns
- practice that gi and ge make the /h/ sound with our high-frequency words
Las matemáticas
- add up to three-digit numbers with regrouping in the tens
- add up to three-digit numbers with regrouping in the ones and tens
- demonstrate our understanding of three digit addition on the chapter test
Specialists:
The students finished their beautiful Fall Landscape and Tree pictures, which had vivid colors and shapes similar to a stained glass window.
To go along with their study of India, the 1st and 2nd graders have been learning about Alpana artwork that is used in India during celebrations such as Diwali (Festival of Lights). The students learned how to fold paper to create guidelines on which to draw a symmetrical design. They are using neon oil pastels and watercolor to make some beautiful designs! (To be finished next week)
This month we’ll work on a Chinese Dragon picture. Other projects for October include drawing a painting a Pumpkin Still Life, and creating texture with Leaf Rubbings.