Junior kindy |Monthly highlights| March

Aiwin International School Junior kindy Class Highlights February 2024 Upcoming Events Doll festival - March 1st Field trip- March 5th PTC - March 9th Spring school- March 25-27th Main Concepts: Causes and effects of human migration Human civilizations across time Discovery of a new world Key Questions: What is migration? Why do humans migrate? What is a civilization? How are we similar or different? How can we explore the world? How are we connected nowadays? This month we learned about… Unit of inquiry We have started a new topic this month. Students will learn a bit more about the history of human migration, its cause and effects, human civilizations and global connectedness. We began by looking at some photos of ancient human history and wondering how life was and how humans could survive. Then, we discussed the reasons for migration, such as extreme weather conditions or safety. Students made a drawing and chose one word to represent their thoughts and wonders about the topic. Furthermore, while looking at pictures about ancient civilizations, like the Romans and the Egyptians, students completed a chart about what they can see, think and wonder about. They had a lot of questions, especially regarding different clothes and buildings. The last topic of this unit of inquiry is how humans explored the world, so we looked at pictures of several means of transportation and wrote as many words as we could think of. Students were able to write up to 40 words! Continuing with the topic of migration, we watched a video about where the human species originated in and what are the reasons to migrate. Then, we completed a journal with the most important information that we learnt. JK students became investigators too. They were divided into 3 teams and each team asked a teacher several questions about an ancient civilization. We have been studying more about the Romans, the Egyptians and the Native Americans. They gathered more information about each culture, along with some explanatory pictures, and they presented those new facts to their classmates. It was an activity that allowed them to be independent and look for information in a different way. They also read a text written by the teacher to prompt them to ask themselves how humans can discover more things about our planet and the universe. They wanted to know more about things like black holes, dinosaurs, countries… Phonological Awareness In phonics class, students have been working with long vowel sounds. We have worked with vowels A,E and I. Moreover, we practiced initial and final consonant blends. Also we are practicing CVC words and tracing common sentences so students will get used to their spelling. Art and Crafts This month we have done many crafts. We started with a windmill craft. Students folded the origami paper into four squares and then cut following the lines. Later we joined the four ends with stickers and attached a straw to it. For Valentine’s Day, we made two crafts. Students cut red and pink construction paper and origami in small pieces and then glued them on a paper with the shape of a heart. They wrote a nice message for their loved ones. Moreover, they made a heart doll, attaching folded pieces of paper as arms and legs to a heart. As they were interested in knowing more about Ancient Egypt, we colored a Pharaoh mask, using coloring pencils and glittery paper. Cooking This month in cooking class we worked with apples. We studied them and talked about its different parts and how they taste, smell or feel. Then, we prepared an apple pie with apples, apple crust, sugar and cinnamon. We baked them and made a drawing of an apple and wrote some adjectives about them. Science In science class, JK students learnt about how we can build structures to hold heavy weights. We saw pictures of ancient roman temples, the topic we are studying this month, and discussed how they used columns to support heavy roofs. Then, we used some materials we had in class, like paper cups and cardboard. We placed the cups to be able to stand on the cardboard. Students took turns to stand on it and realized it was strong enough to support them and we decided to add a second floor. They really enjoyed the activity and learnt at the same time. Numeracy In Numeracy class, we have been working with sequencing activities. Students had to match together some pieces of a puzzle and put them in the correct order. These types of activities help them to concentrate and use their imagination. We have also started to learn bigger numbers, like hundreds or thousands. We reviewed addition and subtraction using different worksheets. We also played a game so students could practice the ordinal numbers. They had to jump and say the correspondent number, so it was an educational and fun activity! Writing journal In writing class, students are working with opinion activities. They have to choose which of two options they prefer and say why. They wrote down their reasons with clear handwriting and correct punctuation. Special events Open Day During Open Day, JK students did circle time at the beginning and then phonics learning stations. We had four different stations, consisting of rhyming words, CVC words, matching upper and lower case letters and worksheets about long vowel sound or consonant blends. All of them did their best and got excellent results. After that, we talked about apples, their parts and we completed a worksheet writing them. They are able to write them easily and with good handwriting. We then went to the kitchen to eat some apples, talking about its smell, texture and taste. They enjoyed it a lot and were very happy to share that experience with their parents. Songs we sang: Hello Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVlcKp3bWH8 Phonics song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tlydXoNC2Q Days of the Week - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKqAblcwFOA Clean up song- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFE0mMWbA-Y