Welcome to IST’s Grade 2 Information Site

Karibu! and welcome to the International School of Tanganyika’s Grade 2 Information Portal. Here you will find ongoing information about what is happening in Grade 2 classrooms, links to IST events, curriculum, student work and much much more. Please check back often and feel free to leave us a message with your ideas, links and good thoughts. Asante!

Happy Lunar New Year!

新年快乐

Xin Nian Kuai Le

This means “Happy New Year” in Chinese Mandarin, one of the main languages spoken in the People’s Republic of China.

Chinese New Year will begin on 14 February 2010 which marks the start of the Year of the Tiger. The year will be 4708 on the Chinese Calendar. Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival.

As the Chinese use the Lunar calendar for their festivals the date of Chinese New Year changes from year to year. The date corresponds to the new moon (black moon) in either late January or February. Traditionally celebrations last for fifteen days, ending on the date of the full moon. In China the public holiday lasts for three days and this is the biggest celebration of the year.” from topmark.uk

The Dragon Dance 舞龙 wǔ lóng is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. In the dance, a team of people carry the dragon on poles. A dragon can be composed of up to 50 people. The dragon dance is a highlight of Chinese New Year celebrations held worldwide in Chinatowns around the world. from Wikipedia.com

Here is a Dragon Dance performance Mr. McKillip recorded while living in Shanghai, China.

The boy and girl Chinese New Year posters at the top (and many other CNY teaching resources) can be downloaded from Activity Village onliine.

Learning About Grammar – CONJUNCTIONS!

Grade 2 students love using conjunctions in order to get their point across. As a matter of fact, grade 2 students love conjunctions so much that they keep their sentences going on, and on, and on, and on…

We are focusing on how to use conjunctions (or joining words) the right way – to connect words, phrases and clauses ( and not to make run-on sentences).

To introduce conjunctions we watched Conjunction Junction – from School House Rock:

Learn More About Conjunctions!
Try playing the BBC Bitesize Ballon Joining Word Game to practice using and learning more about conjunctions.

Simple Machines – The Screw!

Grade 2 students continue to investigate different types of simple machines. So far we have experimented with wedges, inclined planes, and levers. Today students focused their attention on the screw. Students watched the following short Eureka! video to introduce the idea that the screw (and wheel) are simple machines.

Students learned that there are only two basic simple machines: the inclined plane and the lever. All simple machines are a variation of these two simple machines. Students discovered that a screw is really just a twisted inclined plane.

After watching the video and discussing the ideas presented, students experimented with different items that use a screw type mechanism to accomplish a task. We discovered that screws are everywhere (even in our classroom).

Screws are used to hold things together. We discovered that screws are in our tables, chairs, doors, walls and well everywhere! We also discovered that screws are important simple machines used to keep containers closed. Screws are even found in our glue sticks to make the glue stay at the top of the stick.

Screws are important simple machines!

Current Events

Find out what Current Events are happening this week from IST Grade 2…

What is a Current Event? A Current Event is something that is happening somewhere in the world NOW! Current Events are news stories that include a title, author, and date of publication. Grade 2 students are doing more than just looking up information, they are asking, “What is happening in our world TODAY?”

Each week two students choose an article to present from newspapers, magazines and Internet sites. Students read the article and then use our Current Events Note Taking Form to answer questions like Who, What, When, Where and Why. Students include their opinion about the article and then present their information to the rest of the class.

Today Jodie shared with us an article titled Endangered Animals Get A New Lease On Life from the Yahoo News online.

Jodie explained that zoo keepers in Singapore are breeding endangered animals. They successfully hatched a Komodo Dragon in captivity. Jodie also shared her opinion with us stating, “This article is important because people need to make sure that endangered animals don’t die out. I like this article because people are helping animals from extinction. It is important that everyone can be able to see these animals in the future.”

Jodie created a poster to help deliver information from her article to the class. She also created an informational poster to help us learn more about the Komodo Dragon. She finished her presentation with handing out a quiz she created, assigning this Friday as the due date.

On Friday, Jodie handed back quizzes that students had completed. She marked scores, gave each student an encouraging comment and a sticker for their effort. When asked what it’s like to be a teacher, she stated, “It’s a lot of work!”

Bertha also shared with us another article reminding us about the devastation that took place in Haiti recently. Her article was titled Survivor Pulled From Haiti Rubble from CBBC Newsround.

Bertha shared with the class, “A man has been pulled alive from the rubble in Port-au-Prince two weeks after the earthquake destroyed the city. This article is important because Haiti needs help and everyone needs to care about Haiti!”

Both Jodie and Bertha shared additional pictures from their articles and answered questions from the rest of the class.

Reader’s Chair

Each Wednesday one student has the opportunity to share a book of his/her choice with the class. This week, Aliyah had the opportunity to share one of her favorite books.

Students are given one week to choose a “just right book” to share. Students are expected to practice reading their book aloud to family and friends at home. Students present the book to their class, reading the book aloud, engaging the audience by making eye contact, showing illustrations and asking questions to check for their understanding.

This week Aliyah took some extra steps in order to be prepared for her reading. She used sticky notes throughout her book to remind her when to stop and engage her audience. She wrote down comprehension questions for her audience on stickies to check for understanding.

This Week’s IST Grade 2 Reading Recommendation:

Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear: Mother Bear’s Picnic
Written by Else Holmelund Minarik
Illustrated by Teri Lee

“It’s Mother’s Day and Little Bear wants to give Mother Bear the best picnic ever. He and Father Bear get to work, but will they be able to surprise Mother Bear?” from Amazon.com

How Is A Wedge Used?

Grade 2 is learning about Simple Machines. This week we looked at the wedge. We did an experiment where the students learnt that a wedge can be used to split things. When asked, “What does a wedge do?” they would all answer that it’s to split things. They could also identify an ax, scissors, a knife and a sword as examples of a wedge. We also pondered, “Can a wedge have another function?“

To answer the question “How is a wedge used?” we did a second experiment. This time the students were given a block of wood and a wooden wedge. First the block was placed against an open door. Then they closed the door. Next the wedge was placed under the open door. This time when they tried to close the door, they were unsuccessful.

Before beginning the experiment, Malise predicted, “I think a wedge is used for splitting things.” Upon completing the experiement, she looked back at what she thought and noted what she learnt. “I learnt that the wedge stops things from moving as well as splitting things.”

Nik also predicted “A wedge is used to cut things.” When reflecting back on what he thought and what he discovered Nik learnt that “A wedge can be used for more than cutting.“

Family Picnic Day

IST Family Picnic Day on Saturday, Feb. 6 from 4-7 p.m.

All are welcome! Bring a picnic, a blanket and don’t forget your swimming costume!

sponsored by
IST Elementary School Parent Group

Pajama Day! – Wednesday, February 3rd

IST Elementary Campus Student Council is sponsoring another Spirit Day – Wednesday, December 3rd is Pajama Day!

What is Pajama Day?

Well, don’t bother putting on your school uniform – just roll out of bed and come to school! Please make sure that your pajamas are OK for wearing at school.

Ooops! One more thing – if you have PE – don’t forget to bring your PE kit!

We are looking forward to a fun and comfortable Spirit Day.

Thank you Student Council!

Ms. Caryn,
Student Council Advisor

G2 Raz-Kids Reading STARS!

What? You say you’re bored and need something fun to do – well then READ!

That’s right, you can always practice reading no matter where you are – at home, at school or somewhere out in the world.

What? You don’t have a book? Not a problem as long as you have Internet! Mr. McKillip’s class can log into Raz-Kids read books and earn more stars.

Congratulations to students earning over 1000 Raz-Kids Stars!

Krisztian is a star reader earning more than 3000 Raz-Kids Stars! Krisztian has been using Raz-Kids both at school and at home. He is quickly becoming a better reader using Raz-Kids because he likes reading on the computer. Keep reading Krisz!

Danni is a another star as she has earned almost 2000 Raz-Kids Stars! Danni loves to read. She reads whenever and wherever she can! She often encourages others to read. Great job reading Danni!

And last but not least, Lenno has also earned more than 1000 Raz-Kids Stars! Lenno likes books that challenge him. He enjoys non-fiction books and other genre of books too. Way to go Lenno – Keep reading!

You too can earn more stars and become a STAR reader on Raz-Kids. NOW students can board the Raz Rocket and blast off to a distant planet for an out-of-this-world experience!

Star System
Students earn stars for every book read and listened to, and quizzes and assignments successfully completed. Students use earned stars to buy items from the Raz-Rocket Catalog to personalize their rocket.

Rocket Ranking System
As students earn stars, they move up in rank. Ranks are displayed on each student’s individual assignment page.

Have fun reading and remember, the more you read, the better you read so READ READ READ!

Introducing Alexander Dimitris Nikitas

Class 2N is thrilled with the news that Ms Lara had her baby this week. Alexander Dimitris Nikitas was born on Monday 25th January, 2010 at 8:44am, weighing 6.15lbs and 51cm. Both mom and baby are doing well.

From all of us at IST,
Congratulations Ms Lara!