The week behind us offered plenty of sunlight and opportunities to play in and explore nature for the Elementary class students.
They have started their journey into the new school year and what better way to do it then through a transdisciplinary theme that deals with them discovering themselves and the world around them.
The central idea for this unit is “Nations of the world share a common desire to make the planet Earth a better place” and the students have started learning and inquiring about their planet and its uniqueness right away. They viewed websites, books and videos that show just how amazing and extraordinary planet Earth is. Students also enjoyed discovering about other bodies surrounding the Earth, such as the moon and the Sun.
After looking at videos of men walking on the moon and coming back to Earth in 1969 and discovering more about the crew of Apollo 11, the students tried to compare the environment on the moon to that of the Earth.
The students are also constantly thinking about making their classroom a better place. They were faced with a riddle: “What is something you can’t see that we need in our classroom?”
They also started cleaning the classroom themselves on a daily basis. This is part of their new class timetable, which will continue until the Summer. The students will bring the timetable home to discuss with their parents and display in their homes. They will also need to bring a change of clothes and a little towel to keep in the classroom.
Hopefully the next week will be as sunny and interesting for the students as well!
わくわくの新学期が始まりました！ 今週は、お天気に恵まれ、小学部の児童たちは自然を探索して遊びました。これから、自分自身や周囲の世界を理解する教科の枠を超えた学習テーマを通して、より充実した新学年を送っていきます。
最初のユニットのセントラルアイデアは、“Nations of the world share a common desire to make the planet Earth a better place（世界の国々は、地球をより良い星にしたいという共通の願いを持つ）”です。生徒たちは、早速、地球やその独自性について学んだり質問しあったりしました。そして、地球がどれほど素晴らしい惑星かを現すウェブサイト、本やビデオを見ました。月や太陽など地球を取り囲むそのほかの惑星についても楽しんで学んでいました！1969年に人間が月を歩き地球に戻ってきたビデオを見てから、アポロ11号の搭乗員についてより理解を深めた後、地球と月の環境を比べてみました。
また、子供たちは、いつも教室をより良い場所にしようと考えてくれています。そして、教室に何が必要かということに気がつき、毎日、自分たちで教室を掃除し始めました。夏まで、日課として掃除を行います。
時間割を家に持ち帰ります。お父さんやお母さんと時間割について話しをして、お家に貼ってください。また、教室に置いておく着替えとタオルを持ってきてくださいね。
来週も良い天気でみんなで楽しく過ごせると良いですね！
