NOVEMBER 19 2010 W E E K L Y U P D A T E

Dear Parents,

This week we finished off our exploration of problem solving and the various strategies we can use to understand and solve them effectively. We ended this investigation with a webquest in which students were required to investigate a problem and solve it accordingly.

We continued looking at DeBono’s Thinking Hats, which is a strategy we can use to organize our thinking and to categorize our research in our new unit. The students have been very receptive to this strategy and I encourage you to discuss it with them.

The overview for our new unit is found below, as well as in the appropriate location on the class blog. In addition, one of two summative assessments have been posted under the tab, How we Organize Ourselves. Related to this, I have been updating the Literacy section of the blog, where you can find resources on the new text type in which we are inquiring into: Writing to Persuade. Watch out, I suspect your children will start to become more argumentative at home as learn to become more convincing!

This week, author Sherryl Clark visited us from Melbourne (you can read her blog here). She held two workshops for our students, one, for a selected few, on writing poetry, and they other, for all our Grade 5s, on the elements of narrative storytelling. She shared with us great ideas to begin, construct and end interesting and engaging stories. This will be most useful in one of our upcoming unit, Where We Are in Place and Time, in which students will be engaged in narrative writing.

So far, so very good with regard to the 3-Way Learning Reviews. I attended my own two children’s reviews yesterday, and, as a parent, I could see very clearly their active involvement in their own learning and the enthusiasm that results from this. They were particularly keen as we all set their goals together. It was a rewarding experience for me, as I do very much hope it has been (or will be)for you.

If you have not done so recently, I strongly recommend you visit your child’s blog. They will be able to tell you their Awesome number, and you can find it on the home page of this class blog. Students have been very active recently. Please take the time to read and perhaps even make a constructive comment. It’s great for the children to see they have an audience for their writing outside of the classroom/school environment.

Reminder - Please refer to the Mathematics, Programme Overview and Literacy tabs on our class blog for excellent resources that can assist your child in engaging with the Grade 5 curriculum.

Kind Regards,DJ MacPherson

donaldmacpherson@cdnis.edu.hk & http://sites.cdnis.edu.hk/teachers/donaldmacpherson//

Author Visit, Waste Management Experts and 3-Way Learning Reviews

GRADE 5A @ CDNIS

HOW WE ORGANIZE OURSELVES

CENTRAL IDEADECISIONS MADE ABOUT SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

AFFECT SOCIETIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

AN INQUIRY INTO:Different systems of waste management and their advantages and disadvantages

The different perspectives about solid waste management

How waste management practices of our community affect the environment

TEACHER QUESTIONS-Where is away when we throw something away?-What is your trash attitude?-What is Hong Kong’s trash attitude?

SKILLSCommunicationspeaking, presenting, writing

Research planning, collecting & recording data

Thinking dialectical thought, comprehension, application

KNOWLEDGEThe different systems of waste management, their advantages and disadvantages and how they affect the environment.

CONCEPTS

Perspective: Understanding the different decisions people within our society make regarding solid waste management

Connection: Making a connection between themselves and the consequences of the decisions made about solid waste management

Related Concepts: Opinion & Consequences

An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure

and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.

GRADE 5U N I T O F I N Q U I R Y

U P D A T E

WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME WITH YOUR CHILD

GREAT WEBSITES TO EXPLORE TOGETHERhttp://outdoorclassroom.org/http://www.thewildclassroom.com/http://www.epa.gov/kids/*Check out your class blog for more resources!

INQUIREWhere does our solid waste go when it leaves the house?

What decisions can we make as a family to manage solid waste?

VOCABULARYlandfill

compostrecyclereducereuse

dumpingwaste

managementhazardous

biodegradablephotodegradable

conservecontaminationenvironmentincinerator

disposalsustainability

decompositionover-packaging

reductionseparation

toxin

1. Standing in the Spotlight (PERSPECTIVE)

Students will be assigned the role of a particular member or group of society (i.e. business leader, farmer, politician, environmentalist, etc.). They will prepare and present a 2-3 minute persuasive speech to the class on their views and opinions about solid waste and how it is managed. Students will need to defend their position by creating drafts of persuasive writing and in the deliverance of their speech.

2. “Track the Trash” (CONNECTION)Choose two items that we use here at school and explain how they can be most effectively managed once they become waste. Justification must clearly demonstrate the students’ understanding of waste management, taking into account our local society and the environment. How do they know what the best solid waste management technique is for this material?

TALK ABOUT ATTRIBUTESLearner profile attributes that

will be promoted throughlearning engagements:

Open-MindedCommunicator

Risk-Taker

TALK ABOUT ATTITUDESIn this unit of inquiry students will be encouraged to be:AppreciativeAppreciating the wonder and beauty of the world and its people.CommittedBeing committed to their own learning, persevering and showing self-discipline and responsibility.IndependentThinking and acting independently, making their own judgements based on reasoned argument, and being about to defend their judgments.