UDIS Year 5/6

As we come to the end of this unit of inquiry on migration we are looking back at all that we have learned. At the start of the unit each of us had to explain what we knew about migration. The explanations were very short. At that time we knew very little. There really wasn't much to say. However, this week we wonder how we can begin to share all that we have learned! This is our task now, to explain to the teacher what we understand about migration. We have to discuss: the reasons why people migrate an example of mass migration happening right now an historical example of migration As well as the explicit teaching and learning during this unit, several other things have been covered too: how to write a blog,  how to comment on another's blog, how to give polite advice about improving one's work, the location of asian countries on the world map and we've been asked to make an effort to watch some new programmes with adults and ask questions about wh...

This week we have started to read more news articles. Usually these are difficult for young students, but we are using articles set at just the right level for us. We've read about several situations relating to migration. It was particularly interesting to have access to world news in easy English. Alongside this reading, we have been thinking about how best we can learn and remember new words. There are several ways to do and it involves so much more than just using Google Translate. Please ask your child to show you how they do this. In order to develop our thinking skills we have been watching news clips without the volume on. In this way we focus carefully and discuss what we see. We watched a news report about the difficult situation for migrants arriving at border crossing into the United States. There were so  many questions that arose and our understanding of migration was really enhanced. The BBC website for building speed in typing is rea...

We are learning to blog!  This weekly text we send to you is called a blog. It's purpose is to keep you informed about what is happening in the classroom. We would be very happy to have replies written in the comment box below. Blogging is a good way to share information and to have comments shared among a group. In Y6 the students have been learning how to write a blog too. There is a lot of good learning going on. Firstly, it requires some reading because the students need to have something to blog about. In this case they are reading about the risks and challenges that people face as they migrate. The whole topic of migration has engaged the students this week. They've looked closely at the reasons why people migrate from Somalia, Myanmar, Yemen, Guatemala and Colombia.  On Thursday the class presented their learning to the other classes of the primary school. We demonstrated how we have been using Google Earth and learning about location of various nations....

This week we have been continuing on with our unit on migration. In order to do this properly we need to know the world map well. We have given a fair amount of time to learning the names of the oceans and continents. The most enjoyable activity was using Google earth to find the places we are learning about.  We even used 'Google Glasses' to watch 3D clips of far off places too. In our English lessons we have been reading about the migration experiences of young people. Our purpose was to do 'active reading'. This means that we have to think, take notes and talk to someone was we read. In this way, we understand the text more deeply. On Wednesday Our P.E teacher came to share his migration experience with us. He is Brazilian and taught us some basic facts about his country. It developed into a whole geography lesson about Brazil. We learned about how big Brazil is! Mr. Xavi told us about the Amazon jungle. we had so many questions to ask him. ...

Today it was great to see the parents in the classroom. Thank you to everyone who attended. It was especially good to see you all participate so wholeheartedly. It was good to have discussions during the break. I hope that I answered your questions well enough. If there are any further questions, please contact me because I would like to develop open relationships with you all. This week we continued with the inquiry into migration. There was a link with science as we began to see that weather conditions can be a reason why people have to leave their homes.  At this point we have confirmed our present understanding by sharing what we already know. This led to us discussing the movement of the earth around the sun.  We decided that the best way for this to happen was for us to get up and use out bodies to show the spin and rotation. In this way a few misunderstanding came to light, and so we were able to talk and clarify the facts. The unit of in...