Dear KG1 Parents, The students in KG1 will be beginning a new unit in Term 2.

Below are the details of our Unit of Inquiry:

Central Idea: We can reuse materials to make useful things. Transdisciplinary Theme How the World Works Through continual involvement of the students in this unit, they will learn about the following Concepts: Form- we want the students to understand that humans create waste in the world. Change- we want the student to understand that our decisions and waste affect the natural world Reflection- we want the students to understand that we can create new items with reusable and recyclable materials. We will guide the inquiry and ensure the students grasp the enduring understanding of the following lines of inquiry: The understanding of waste (linked to the concept of Form) The effect of waste on the natural world (linked to the concept of Change) Transforming materials (linked to the concept of Reflection)

Transdisciplinary Skills Focus- Thinking Skills, Communication Skills: The unit will help enhance the students abilities with regards to acquisition of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, dialectical though and metacognition. The unit will also help the students develop their listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, presenting and non-verbal communication skills. Learner Profile Focus- Reflective, Thinkers: Through various activities planned for the unit on reusing materials the students will develop the profiles of being Reflective, where they give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. We will also encourage them to be Thinkers wherein we want the students to understand the importance of thinking critically and creatively when making decisions. Attitudes Focus- Creative, Enthusiastic, Appreciative: The students will work towards developing the attitudes of being Creative and imaginative in their thinking and in their approach to problems and dilemmas. They will also be encouraged to be Enthusiastic learners who enjoy learning and willingly put the effort into the process. Throughout the unit we will encourage children to show Appreciation for both the natural world and their creations, appreciating the wonder and beauty of the world and its people. Summative Assessment: For the summative assessment the children will create something that is helpful to the
environment with reusable and recyclable materials. Children will explain how they reused or recycled materials, why this is important and the purpose of their item.

In addition to our Unit of Inquiry we also focus on content standards in Language and Math. We have listed them on the next page, both so you can stay informed and to enable you to encourage learning at home.

Language Reading With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or information in a text. With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts). Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters. Recognize and name upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet presented in class Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words. Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words. Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most frequent sound for each consonant. Writing Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as needed to provide additional detail. Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). Print many upper- and lowercase letters. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. Speaking and Listening Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges. Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities. Sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts. Describe familiar people, places, things and events and with prompting and support provide additional detail. Math Count to 20 by ones Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects). When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object. Count to answer how many? questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 120, count out that many objects.

 Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has more of/less of the attribute, and describe the difference Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count. Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to. Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size. Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, flat) or three-dimensional (solid). Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices/corners) and other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length).

Science

Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. Understanding that: Recycling helps to save our natural resources. Recycling recovers used materials. Many materials can be recycled and used again, sometimes in different forms. Reusing materials means using them more than once. Recycling, reusing, and conserving helps preserve resources for future use. Recycle, reusing, and reducing consumption helps the environment

During this unit we will be using many different recyclable and reusable items . Please begin collecting recyclable materials that we can use in the classroom, such as bottles, bottle caps, toilet paper rolls, boxes etc. Please ensure all items sent are cleaned before sending them to class. These items can be sent in beginning January 7th. Thank you for your help.

We look forward to your co-operation and support for your child through this unit. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding this unit. Thanking you, The KG1 Team