Satellites

28/05/2008 (Wednesday)

a) Individual Assessment
After outdoor playing, the kids quickly got up into their classroom. They hid everywhere in the class while awaiting for me. This time, they pretended to be stars and planets rather than animals….ha ha ha!
The kids chose either to do colouring or to play with toys. ZY, JN, LX and YP preferred colouring. JW, WY, ZYg, JS, M, JH and ZYg preferred playing with blocks and toys. Meanwhile, I called the kids individually for assessment. Today, the involved kids were WY, JW, YW, YZ and ZY.

b) Cameron Highlands and Revision
Then, we gathered for circle time. JN, YP, JW, J and LX asked, “Where did you go?” I told them that my family and I went for a holiday at Cameron Highlands. They were thrilled to see the winding road that I drew on the whiteboard. Some of them went there before and talked about their favourite strawberries. I shared with them about the cold weather and cooling fog. There I met a friend called M. Smart who brought me around Cameron. Then, I wrote some words on the board as a revision for their assessments. They included, “men, hen, pen, ten, octopus, dragon, door, duck, orange and dinosaur”. The kids laughed at the fact that Mr. Smart is actually a strawberry. Then, we had tea break and I gave each of them strawberries. Everyone loved them except YZ and WY.

c) What is a satellite?
Next, we recapped on The Solar System; which included the names of the planets accordingly. Then, I asked the kids what a satellite is. They were quiet.
There are actually hundreds of satellites in the space. I showed them a book on rocket. It was a rocket. The rocket would lift off into the space with full force against the gravity. ZY said, “That is why the fire is powerful...to fight agisnt the gravity.” They were amazed to see that the as the rocket flew higher, its bottom part started felling. The reason is that it will be lighter to fly. After another distance, another part would be discharged. Finally, left a part alone which is called the satellite. We did some role-plays to get the kids understand the satellite's concept better.
A satellite has a many functions. Among few are as follows: i) It enables telephone communication across the world, ii) It enables TV stations or publishing companies to get the latest news. Example: the recent China Earthquake. Iii) It enblaes recording of pictures or sounds from the space. Until today, the astronomers confirmed that they are no livings in Mars.

d) Craft: The Solar System
Next, we continued with our Solar System Handcraft. They continued colouring the planets and then cut them independently. They placed them in a plastic bag so that the pieces are well-kept. The activity will be continued tomorrow.