Tuesday (29/06/2010)
a) The Rainbow Song
· To reinforce colours that we have been learning. The kids were able to recall the rainbow colours. “Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet”. Some experts said violet is pink, others said its pink but it’s a combination of both.
· Then, we read the lyrics and sang the song together.
Teacher: Why is there a rainbow?
Yun Xin: Water and sunlight produces a rainbow. Sometimes, there will be 2 rainbows.
Qian Joe: Just like how the CD made the rainbow when we have tea break in the morning.
Chun Kit: Why is it that we can’t see light clearly in the day time?
Shi Jie: Because, it is already bright in the day time. However, in the dark night, we can see the lamp clearly.
b) Individual Board Game
· First, we recapped on the numbers 1 until 50. After seeing the pattern, the kids started writing the numbers themselves. Most kids were independent except Devin, Wei Jeen and Wee Hong. The others just made minor mistakes like writing mirror-imaged or skipping the numbers.
· Then, they started drawing the animal pictures and also the “factor” pictures that contribute to Endangered animals. They kind of enjoy it as they can decide whet5her the play go down to “1” or go up to “48” and etc.
· We shall continue making the counters tomorrow.
Our Pomegranate friends！
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Play Time!
Monday (28/06/2010)
a) Play Time!
* All the kids were excited to play with their own hand-made Board Game. Before starting, I requested Foo Soon's help by playing with me as an example. After 5 minutes, when the kids understood the rules; they started playing. We used our rabbit or snail craft as the counters. I gave everyone some blue tag so that their counters could stick easily on the plastic Board Game.
* Initially, they were sitting while playing but as the game continues, they got excited and stood up. They had to move their own counters so as to learn addition. They also had to learn identifying the numbers. It's a great challenge for the younger ones and so they needed more guidance.
* They requested that they can make for themselves; individually. Yes, but it has to be of A4 size. They agreed! :)
b) Recap: Flash Cards
* We recapped the words included bats, wings, echolocation, fruit, blood, Earth, mountain, tree, animal, rabbit and etc.
c) Storybook: HUG
* Such a simple book yet so meaningful. The kids laughed out loudly!!
* It has manny animal pictures with each baby hugging its mother except baby monkey! Mother elephant offered to help monkey to hunt for its mother. Along the journey, it kept calling for its mother. All it could see were iguanas, snakes, lions, hippopotamuses, birds, etc. Suddenly, it felt so sad that it cried out loudly. Mother monkey heard the cry and immediately screamed for "Bobo"; the baby monkey's name. Bobo ran quickly towards its mother and likewise. The other animals cheered loudly. They felt so touched that they also hugged thir babies and mothers again. :)
a) Play Time!
* All the kids were excited to play with their own hand-made Board Game. Before starting, I requested Foo Soon's help by playing with me as an example. After 5 minutes, when the kids understood the rules; they started playing. We used our rabbit or snail craft as the counters. I gave everyone some blue tag so that their counters could stick easily on the plastic Board Game.
* Initially, they were sitting while playing but as the game continues, they got excited and stood up. They had to move their own counters so as to learn addition. They also had to learn identifying the numbers. It's a great challenge for the younger ones and so they needed more guidance.
* They requested that they can make for themselves; individually. Yes, but it has to be of A4 size. They agreed! :)
b) Recap: Flash Cards
* We recapped the words included bats, wings, echolocation, fruit, blood, Earth, mountain, tree, animal, rabbit and etc.
c) Storybook: HUG
* Such a simple book yet so meaningful. The kids laughed out loudly!!
* It has manny animal pictures with each baby hugging its mother except baby monkey! Mother elephant offered to help monkey to hunt for its mother. Along the journey, it kept calling for its mother. All it could see were iguanas, snakes, lions, hippopotamuses, birds, etc. Suddenly, it felt so sad that it cried out loudly. Mother monkey heard the cry and immediately screamed for "Bobo"; the baby monkey's name. Bobo ran quickly towards its mother and likewise. The other animals cheered loudly. They felt so touched that they also hugged thir babies and mothers again. :)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Board Game: Positive and Negative Factors.
Friday (25/06/2010)
a) A glance
• We took a look at our Board Game and reviewed it. Only a group pasted the numbers correctly with 1 to 5 (from left to right), 6-10 (from right to left) and so on. The kids giggled and decided to change later.
Yun Wen: All the animal pictures would help the players to step forward. What will make them go down?
• Good question. The answer is anything that channels to “endangered animals”.
b) Factors
• What are the factors that channel to “Endangered Animals”? Or even factors that are causing danger to the other animals including our pets.
• We had a discussion and tried recalling what we had been learning for the past 1 week or so. These points would cause the players to step down. They included:
- Open burning……as 2 days ago by some irresponsible residents.
- Hunters – who hunt down animals for fur, horns, claws and also selling their meat illegally.
- Chopping trees – animals are losing their homes.
- Factories – are causing more CO2 to be released. That contributes to Global Warming. Arctic and Antarctica Animals are especially affected.
- Rubbish – including plastic bags are causing animals to suffocate and die.
- Smoking – as the kids say…….true……it releases CO2 and contributes to Global Warming.
• However, there are also some points which could help the players to step forward. As such:
- Recycle – the kids may draw the Recycle symbol or the 3 Recycling Bins
- Planting more trees.
- Eat more vegetables.
- Share with friends about Endangered Animals such as Posters.
• Then, each kid was given a yellow sticker to draw their pictures. Then, they pasted onto their table-sized Board Game. I guided them with the phrase “Go Up to…..” and “Go down to…..” The 6-year-old kids were really helpful at guiding their team members. Most kids could write independently, only a small handful needed my help.
c) Hand-made dice.
• We continued with making our dices. I gave each kid a number of stickers and the colours were based on their group colour. There were green, yellow, orange and pink. Example: First kid pasted a sticker as “number 1”, second kid pasted 2 stickers as “number 2” and etc. They were very serious at it and did them independently while patiently waiting for their turns. We shall play the game next week.
a) A glance
• We took a look at our Board Game and reviewed it. Only a group pasted the numbers correctly with 1 to 5 (from left to right), 6-10 (from right to left) and so on. The kids giggled and decided to change later.
Yun Wen: All the animal pictures would help the players to step forward. What will make them go down?
• Good question. The answer is anything that channels to “endangered animals”.
b) Factors
• What are the factors that channel to “Endangered Animals”? Or even factors that are causing danger to the other animals including our pets.
• We had a discussion and tried recalling what we had been learning for the past 1 week or so. These points would cause the players to step down. They included:
- Open burning……as 2 days ago by some irresponsible residents.
- Hunters – who hunt down animals for fur, horns, claws and also selling their meat illegally.
- Chopping trees – animals are losing their homes.
- Factories – are causing more CO2 to be released. That contributes to Global Warming. Arctic and Antarctica Animals are especially affected.
- Rubbish – including plastic bags are causing animals to suffocate and die.
- Smoking – as the kids say…….true……it releases CO2 and contributes to Global Warming.
• However, there are also some points which could help the players to step forward. As such:
- Recycle – the kids may draw the Recycle symbol or the 3 Recycling Bins
- Planting more trees.
- Eat more vegetables.
- Share with friends about Endangered Animals such as Posters.
• Then, each kid was given a yellow sticker to draw their pictures. Then, they pasted onto their table-sized Board Game. I guided them with the phrase “Go Up to…..” and “Go down to…..” The 6-year-old kids were really helpful at guiding their team members. Most kids could write independently, only a small handful needed my help.
c) Hand-made dice.
• We continued with making our dices. I gave each kid a number of stickers and the colours were based on their group colour. There were green, yellow, orange and pink. Example: First kid pasted a sticker as “number 1”, second kid pasted 2 stickers as “number 2” and etc. They were very serious at it and did them independently while patiently waiting for their turns. We shall play the game next week.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Making our Board Game
Wednesday (23/06/2010)
a) More about Endangered Animals.
* First, we reinforced our vocabulary with flash cards. Then, we continued with yesterday’s session.
* 3 kids picked the pictures randomly. They were the orang-utan, peacock and turtle. Orang-utan is endangered because of hunters and also deforestation for development purpose. Peacocks are currently not endangered but will they in the future? Some people catch them for their colourful quills and eat them. Turtles are protected species because people catch them to sell their meat as food. They also steal their eggs. How could there be new generations when there are less eggs? Furthermore, the polluted water and the current oil leakage or spillage is worsening the ocean. Birds and fish will also be affected! People throwing plastic bags sometimes are suffocating the turtles to death. The same goes with other smaller sea animals.
b) Board game.
* The kids went into their group. Then, they chose the pictures they wanted to draw. I allow them to draw any animals. If they want, they can draw what they have learnt about namely snails, rabbits, bats, Polar Beras, Brown Bears. Kids being kids, they are just too curious. They just love drawing other animals such as turtles, dinosaurs and also peacocks. Those who neede guidance, I sketched a few pictures on the board for them. The animals are the positive signs that will help the players to step further and win.
* Tomorrow, we will be doing the negative ones such as hunters and pollutions.
a) More about Endangered Animals.
* First, we reinforced our vocabulary with flash cards. Then, we continued with yesterday’s session.
* 3 kids picked the pictures randomly. They were the orang-utan, peacock and turtle. Orang-utan is endangered because of hunters and also deforestation for development purpose. Peacocks are currently not endangered but will they in the future? Some people catch them for their colourful quills and eat them. Turtles are protected species because people catch them to sell their meat as food. They also steal their eggs. How could there be new generations when there are less eggs? Furthermore, the polluted water and the current oil leakage or spillage is worsening the ocean. Birds and fish will also be affected! People throwing plastic bags sometimes are suffocating the turtles to death. The same goes with other smaller sea animals.
b) Board game.
* The kids went into their group. Then, they chose the pictures they wanted to draw. I allow them to draw any animals. If they want, they can draw what they have learnt about namely snails, rabbits, bats, Polar Beras, Brown Bears. Kids being kids, they are just too curious. They just love drawing other animals such as turtles, dinosaurs and also peacocks. Those who neede guidance, I sketched a few pictures on the board for them. The animals are the positive signs that will help the players to step further and win.
* Tomorrow, we will be doing the negative ones such as hunters and pollutions.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Endangered Animals.
Tuesday (22/06/2010)
a) Endangered animals
l Before starting, we recapped on some flash card words that learnt earlier. After that I introduced the word, “Endangered Animals”. Initially, they were confused with the “danger” word. As for dinosaurs, they had “extinct”.
l The kids came out individually to take a picture randomly from a basket with eyes closed. These were a few pictures we managed to learn about.
- Sailfish or swordfish – They live in the ocean. With so much rubbish in the water, this is threatening them. Furthermore, humans catch them for their long sword-mouth.
- Hornbill – This is the Mascot of Sabah and and is its endangered because they are losing their homes due to development. They are also hungry as they can’t find enough bugs which also live in the forest.
- Bear – As we have learnt earlier; development has destroyed their homes and food. They either migrate to a new home or Brown Bears actually migrate to the Arctic. However, Global Warming is threatening the Polar Bears there. Qian Joe reminded us that hunters hunt them for their fur.
- Lobster – They are all confused between lobsters and scorpions. They live in the ocean and with the water pollution such as oil spillage, isn’t this threatening them too?
- Seahorse – Kids were very happy about it because the father has a pouch to carry the egg and give birth to it. Yan Shan requested to watch a video clip about it. I will search and share with them.
- Rhinoceros Beetle – Again, the destroyed plants and forest has take away their homes and preys. How can they survive?
- Elephants – The kids immediately responded by saying, “Hunters are causing them to endager!” True enough! However its is also because of developmenst. It’s not surprising to see elephants running into a town back in Sabah and Sarawak.
Let’s think: How would you feel? Imagine you were an animal such as elephant. You just lost your forest home, your family members. You were captured. Your tusks were cut off. Some of your friends being killed to get their skin. How would you feel? The kids felt sad and thought that we must save the animals!
b) Board game: Save the animals.
l Foo Soon brought his board game of Snake and ladder. Some kids already know how to play. The ladder enables them to climb. The snakes’ tails will make them fall. Another board game is mine. It has no ladders but pictures to provide information. Example: a picture of loving animals says “you can move higher to 28”. Another picture of hitting the animal says “please go down to 1”.
l The kids preferred the second type. I chose a 6-year old to represent each group. The other kids chose their desired group. Altogether there are 4 groups with 5 kids in it.
a) Endangered animals
l Before starting, we recapped on some flash card words that learnt earlier. After that I introduced the word, “Endangered Animals”. Initially, they were confused with the “danger” word. As for dinosaurs, they had “extinct”.
l The kids came out individually to take a picture randomly from a basket with eyes closed. These were a few pictures we managed to learn about.
- Sailfish or swordfish – They live in the ocean. With so much rubbish in the water, this is threatening them. Furthermore, humans catch them for their long sword-mouth.
- Hornbill – This is the Mascot of Sabah and and is its endangered because they are losing their homes due to development. They are also hungry as they can’t find enough bugs which also live in the forest.
- Bear – As we have learnt earlier; development has destroyed their homes and food. They either migrate to a new home or Brown Bears actually migrate to the Arctic. However, Global Warming is threatening the Polar Bears there. Qian Joe reminded us that hunters hunt them for their fur.
- Lobster – They are all confused between lobsters and scorpions. They live in the ocean and with the water pollution such as oil spillage, isn’t this threatening them too?
- Seahorse – Kids were very happy about it because the father has a pouch to carry the egg and give birth to it. Yan Shan requested to watch a video clip about it. I will search and share with them.
- Rhinoceros Beetle – Again, the destroyed plants and forest has take away their homes and preys. How can they survive?
- Elephants – The kids immediately responded by saying, “Hunters are causing them to endager!” True enough! However its is also because of developmenst. It’s not surprising to see elephants running into a town back in Sabah and Sarawak.
Let’s think: How would you feel? Imagine you were an animal such as elephant. You just lost your forest home, your family members. You were captured. Your tusks were cut off. Some of your friends being killed to get their skin. How would you feel? The kids felt sad and thought that we must save the animals!
b) Board game: Save the animals.
l Foo Soon brought his board game of Snake and ladder. Some kids already know how to play. The ladder enables them to climb. The snakes’ tails will make them fall. Another board game is mine. It has no ladders but pictures to provide information. Example: a picture of loving animals says “you can move higher to 28”. Another picture of hitting the animal says “please go down to 1”.
l The kids preferred the second type. I chose a 6-year old to represent each group. The other kids chose their desired group. Altogether there are 4 groups with 5 kids in it.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Ice Floe Experiment.
Monday (21/06/2010)
a) Experiment
• 2 trays were prepared. 6 kids filled in water into bowls for each tray. Thus, altogether each tray consists of 6 bowls of water.
• Then, 4 other kids put in ice cubes into each tray. Observation: Ice cube melted slowly. We touched the water. It got cooler. I poured some warm water into a bowl. I then added into Tray B. Observation: The ice cube became smaller in a faster speed. Eventually, it disappeared. However, Tray B’s ice cubes are still available.
b) Global Warming.
• Looking at some pictures in an encyclopedia, we saw how some Polar Bears struggle through the ocean, looking for ice floes to float on or to rest upon. It is sad to see how the big pieces of ice floes have melted into smaller pieces which can’t even carry the weight of a Polar Bear. Although Polar Bears are good swimmers but they would eventually be tired and these ice floes are important places for them to climb upon and rest or eat their preys.
• Some preferred to hunt the humans’ garbage living in Antarctica. Thus, their white fur has become grayish and blackish. What a pity!
Teacher: So, what is Global Warming?
Kids: The Earth is sick. People throw rubbish everywhere! We must recycle! There are not enough trees. Is that the reason why you turn off the electrical items always, teacher?
• Why is the Earth getting hotter compared to the Dinosaur age? Mostly because of the emission of gas such as CO2.
• We did a simple Role Play: I was the Earth screaming and feeling very hot!
Foo Soon was the factory producing all the consumer products. He then produces CO2. Luckily, trees (Qian Joe) are able to absorb this poisonous gas. Some choppers chopped the trees. The Earth got hotter again. A kind man (Chun Kit) planted many trees. All the kids stood up to act as trees. The Erath is happy again and the Polar Bears will be safer.
c) Video Clips: Polar Bears and Global Warming.
• We saw how they swam through the warmer ocean, how they became tired and thinner.
• We also saw how other animals are affected namely: penguins and harp seals.
• Besides that, we watched another video clip from National Geographic about Polar Bears habit. The kids linked what they have learnt earlier to this clip. They just loved it. This video clip is also to assist some students to learn briefly what they have missed during their absence for School Holidays. This will give them a better idea.
d) What’s next?
• We recapped again on our first day Brainstorming lesson on Animal Kingdom. We are going to end the theme with a project. We can’t learn about other animals but we are going to do our Board game activity similar to Snake and ladder. The kids said after that, we can create our own story for a mini Role-Play. So, more things to learn!
a) Experiment
• 2 trays were prepared. 6 kids filled in water into bowls for each tray. Thus, altogether each tray consists of 6 bowls of water.
• Then, 4 other kids put in ice cubes into each tray. Observation: Ice cube melted slowly. We touched the water. It got cooler. I poured some warm water into a bowl. I then added into Tray B. Observation: The ice cube became smaller in a faster speed. Eventually, it disappeared. However, Tray B’s ice cubes are still available.
b) Global Warming.
• Looking at some pictures in an encyclopedia, we saw how some Polar Bears struggle through the ocean, looking for ice floes to float on or to rest upon. It is sad to see how the big pieces of ice floes have melted into smaller pieces which can’t even carry the weight of a Polar Bear. Although Polar Bears are good swimmers but they would eventually be tired and these ice floes are important places for them to climb upon and rest or eat their preys.
• Some preferred to hunt the humans’ garbage living in Antarctica. Thus, their white fur has become grayish and blackish. What a pity!
Teacher: So, what is Global Warming?
Kids: The Earth is sick. People throw rubbish everywhere! We must recycle! There are not enough trees. Is that the reason why you turn off the electrical items always, teacher?
• Why is the Earth getting hotter compared to the Dinosaur age? Mostly because of the emission of gas such as CO2.
• We did a simple Role Play: I was the Earth screaming and feeling very hot!
Foo Soon was the factory producing all the consumer products. He then produces CO2. Luckily, trees (Qian Joe) are able to absorb this poisonous gas. Some choppers chopped the trees. The Earth got hotter again. A kind man (Chun Kit) planted many trees. All the kids stood up to act as trees. The Erath is happy again and the Polar Bears will be safer.
c) Video Clips: Polar Bears and Global Warming.
• We saw how they swam through the warmer ocean, how they became tired and thinner.
• We also saw how other animals are affected namely: penguins and harp seals.
• Besides that, we watched another video clip from National Geographic about Polar Bears habit. The kids linked what they have learnt earlier to this clip. They just loved it. This video clip is also to assist some students to learn briefly what they have missed during their absence for School Holidays. This will give them a better idea.
d) What’s next?
• We recapped again on our first day Brainstorming lesson on Animal Kingdom. We are going to end the theme with a project. We can’t learn about other animals but we are going to do our Board game activity similar to Snake and ladder. The kids said after that, we can create our own story for a mini Role-Play. So, more things to learn!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Our Chinese Culture
Wednesday (16/06/2010)
a) Morning activity
In conjunction with Duan Wu Jie, all the classes combined together to do this activity. All wrote the Chinese character “Wang” on their forehead. Then, each took a stem of leaf and sprinkled some water around. It is believed that this is to chase away the poisonous bugs, snakes, centipedes and also scorpions. It also will bring good luck and long blessing health to the families.
b) Balancing the egg
At 12o’clock noon, we tried balancing the egg on the floor. To our surprise, most kids could do it including myself. It’s amazing. Later in the evening, I tried again, the chances is lower and it seems to loose its weight.
c) Gravity
In the afternoon, I discussed with the kids about the amazing egg. They tried guessing. I threw a pen into the air and they observed that it fell down. I asked why? Foo Soon: “It is heavy”. Devin: “It is magic”.
I explained that it is the gravity. On Duan Wu Jie, the Sun is believed to be the nearest to the Earth. Thus, it is supposed to be the hottest day of the year. At the same time, the gravity is the strongest at 12 o’clock. That explains why suddenly, the egg can easily stand and balance. It’s the strong gravity!
d) Dragon boat template.
· There are a few sizes of Dragon Boat. The average consists of 40 rowers and 2 leaders. 1 is in front while another is playing the drum. The rowers will listen to the beat of the drum for the momentum. Thus, if a rower doesn’t look at the sea or his front view, he can just focus at his strength to row
· Each kid took a template. Then, they started colouring the boat beautifully. After that, they cut and fold along the lines. They label their names and the titles. Finally, they pasted with glue onto the paper boat which they folded yesterday.
Rice Dumpling Festival
Tuesday (15/06/2010)
a) Wrapping Rice Dumpling
· Huang Lao Shi introduced briefly about Rice Dumpling. Then she showed them the materials needed for this activity.
· The kids must use their 2 hands to fold the bamboo leaf into half. Then, add some glutinous rice. Next, add a cocout candy and scoop a liitle more frice to cover it. Then, the kids had to wrap the dumpling tightly. Finally, they queued in a line to tie the pyramid-shaped rice with a string made from banana stem.Most kids needed guidance as their hands are quite small for the wrapping. Each kid made 2 dumplings.
b) The Legend.
· Some people also call this the Dragon Boat Festival instead of Rice Dumpling Festival (Duan Wu Jie).
· The kids recapped what they learnt from the morning Chinese session. Now, using English; I retold the story.
· Once upon a time, there lived a wise politician called Qu Yuan. The King and the citizens loved him. However, enemies disliked him and at many times gtrapped him. The king stopped believing him. Then, the enemies defeated the King and conquered the Kingdom. Qu Yuan felt so disappointed that he tied a rock to his leg and jumped from a cliff into a river. The villagers quickly searched for him but failed. Some decided to throw rice to avoid the fish eating his body. Later, the Chinese wrapped the rice into dumpling. Whe the villagers and fishermen rowed their boats, they also scared away the hungry fishes. That was why, it is also called the Dragon Boat Festival. However, people will row their Dragon Boats for competition.
c) Boat Folding.
· Devin said he knew how to fold a boat but his steps were a little more difficultn I taught them an easier way. They listened first and then upon my second demonstration, we did together. Fold the rectangle paper into half and another half. Then fold the angles to the innerside just like folding an aeroplane. Repeat again. Then fold the middle part to the centre edge. Open up the boat inside out to get a boat.
a) Wrapping Rice Dumpling
· Huang Lao Shi introduced briefly about Rice Dumpling. Then she showed them the materials needed for this activity.
· The kids must use their 2 hands to fold the bamboo leaf into half. Then, add some glutinous rice. Next, add a cocout candy and scoop a liitle more frice to cover it. Then, the kids had to wrap the dumpling tightly. Finally, they queued in a line to tie the pyramid-shaped rice with a string made from banana stem.Most kids needed guidance as their hands are quite small for the wrapping. Each kid made 2 dumplings.
b) The Legend.
· Some people also call this the Dragon Boat Festival instead of Rice Dumpling Festival (Duan Wu Jie).
· The kids recapped what they learnt from the morning Chinese session. Now, using English; I retold the story.
· Once upon a time, there lived a wise politician called Qu Yuan. The King and the citizens loved him. However, enemies disliked him and at many times gtrapped him. The king stopped believing him. Then, the enemies defeated the King and conquered the Kingdom. Qu Yuan felt so disappointed that he tied a rock to his leg and jumped from a cliff into a river. The villagers quickly searched for him but failed. Some decided to throw rice to avoid the fish eating his body. Later, the Chinese wrapped the rice into dumpling. Whe the villagers and fishermen rowed their boats, they also scared away the hungry fishes. That was why, it is also called the Dragon Boat Festival. However, people will row their Dragon Boats for competition.
c) Boat Folding.
· Devin said he knew how to fold a boat but his steps were a little more difficultn I taught them an easier way. They listened first and then upon my second demonstration, we did together. Fold the rectangle paper into half and another half. Then fold the angles to the innerside just like folding an aeroplane. Repeat again. Then fold the middle part to the centre edge. Open up the boat inside out to get a boat.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Polar Bears eat whales?
Monday (14/06/2010)
a) Kids yoga.
• As a warm up and to welcome some kids back from their holiday. We did “mountain” pose which was standing up straight and focusing. Then, we did palm tree post. They stretched their hands upwards and bend their body to the left and to the right and repeatedly. We imagined strong wind blowing trees in the forest. Then, we did tree pose whereby standing on one leg and both arms stretched upwards. I tried disturbing them but half of the kids were quite focused!
• Then, we lion pose whereby we sat like Japanese as Yun Xin mentioned. We slid both hands in between the legs and expressed ourselves lion lions roaring. Of course, they were good. Then, we did bear pose. They lied on their back, raised their both legs. They held to their feet using their palms, strongly and rolled left to right. Next, we did cobra pose. Not many could do this but Yun Wen and Rui Hen suggested ways to improvise the pose. Well done! Lie down with stomach on the floor. Lift our shouilders and chest up. The 2 arms behind the head just like a cobra…….sssssss!
b) Poem: Polar Bear, Polar Bear; Turn Around.
• We watched the flash clips from computer last Friday. Today, we revised the poem by reading the poster. Then, we read for the third time with actions.
“Polar bear, polar bear; turn around,
Polar Bear, polar bear; make no sound,
Polar bear, polar bear; reach up high,
Polar bear, polar bear; dance on your toes,
Polar bear, polar bear; show us your palms,
Polar bear, polar bear; hide your claws,
Polar Bear, polar bear; go to sleep,
Polar bear, polar bear; shut your eyes tightly,
Polar bear, polar bear; wake up,
Polar bear, polar bear; take a bow.”
c) More about Polar Bears.
• We recapped the first few pages as to guide those who were absent from school last week. The kids helped me with the explanation. The new information:
- Mother Polar Bears would stand up to see the distance between themselves and the ocean. They are now more than 3m tall. Sometimes, they would eat plants and fruits when they can’t find meat. Sick polar bears will also graze on herbal plants as medicine.
- Their cubs also stay with them for second winter. However, they would depart with their mother at 3 years old as they are now adults.
- Different Polar families respect one another. They would rub their cheeks or noses as we shake our hands to say “Hello”. They don’t fight. However, male Polar Bears do attack cubs and eat them when they get hungry and couldn’t find any food. Mother bears hibernate but male bears are active all year round.
- The cubs like wrestling as playing but they don’t harm each other. Their sense of smell is 7 times better than a dog’s.
- Other food include: seals, ribbon seals, dolphins that got trapped, the carcass of whales.
- After eating, their fur would be red with blood. They don’t bathe but they roll themselves on the snow so that they look white again. Shi Jie said this would protect themselves.
- Polar bears are actually not white but their hair which is colourless reflect the sunlight. Thus, Polar Bears looked white.
- Global warming is a critical issue. Polar Bears started hunting for humans’ garbage but they don’t attack humans unless we scared them first. Some Polars are seen swimming in the huge ocean with no ice poles to stop for a rest. They got so tired that they die.
a) Kids yoga.
• As a warm up and to welcome some kids back from their holiday. We did “mountain” pose which was standing up straight and focusing. Then, we did palm tree post. They stretched their hands upwards and bend their body to the left and to the right and repeatedly. We imagined strong wind blowing trees in the forest. Then, we did tree pose whereby standing on one leg and both arms stretched upwards. I tried disturbing them but half of the kids were quite focused!
• Then, we lion pose whereby we sat like Japanese as Yun Xin mentioned. We slid both hands in between the legs and expressed ourselves lion lions roaring. Of course, they were good. Then, we did bear pose. They lied on their back, raised their both legs. They held to their feet using their palms, strongly and rolled left to right. Next, we did cobra pose. Not many could do this but Yun Wen and Rui Hen suggested ways to improvise the pose. Well done! Lie down with stomach on the floor. Lift our shouilders and chest up. The 2 arms behind the head just like a cobra…….sssssss!
b) Poem: Polar Bear, Polar Bear; Turn Around.
• We watched the flash clips from computer last Friday. Today, we revised the poem by reading the poster. Then, we read for the third time with actions.
“Polar bear, polar bear; turn around,
Polar Bear, polar bear; make no sound,
Polar bear, polar bear; reach up high,
Polar bear, polar bear; dance on your toes,
Polar bear, polar bear; show us your palms,
Polar bear, polar bear; hide your claws,
Polar Bear, polar bear; go to sleep,
Polar bear, polar bear; shut your eyes tightly,
Polar bear, polar bear; wake up,
Polar bear, polar bear; take a bow.”
c) More about Polar Bears.
• We recapped the first few pages as to guide those who were absent from school last week. The kids helped me with the explanation. The new information:
- Mother Polar Bears would stand up to see the distance between themselves and the ocean. They are now more than 3m tall. Sometimes, they would eat plants and fruits when they can’t find meat. Sick polar bears will also graze on herbal plants as medicine.
- Their cubs also stay with them for second winter. However, they would depart with their mother at 3 years old as they are now adults.
- Different Polar families respect one another. They would rub their cheeks or noses as we shake our hands to say “Hello”. They don’t fight. However, male Polar Bears do attack cubs and eat them when they get hungry and couldn’t find any food. Mother bears hibernate but male bears are active all year round.
- The cubs like wrestling as playing but they don’t harm each other. Their sense of smell is 7 times better than a dog’s.
- Other food include: seals, ribbon seals, dolphins that got trapped, the carcass of whales.
- After eating, their fur would be red with blood. They don’t bathe but they roll themselves on the snow so that they look white again. Shi Jie said this would protect themselves.
- Polar bears are actually not white but their hair which is colourless reflect the sunlight. Thus, Polar Bears looked white.
- Global warming is a critical issue. Polar Bears started hunting for humans’ garbage but they don’t attack humans unless we scared them first. Some Polars are seen swimming in the huge ocean with no ice poles to stop for a rest. They got so tired that they die.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Height and weight.
Friday (11/06/2010)
a) Storybook: Brown bear, brown bear; what do you see?
• I recapped this book so that the kids could understand the colours better. In fact, they could now repeat the sentences without looking at the storybook.
b) Game: Thundersnow, what will you blow?
• With guidance, the kids started the game feeling awkwardly because of the English vocabulary. However, I guided each forfeited kid (the standing one among the other sitting kids); with simple English instructions. Example: Blow children that wear blue clothes. Blow children that have 2 legs. Blow children that have hair. Blow children that have are sitting on the yellow chairs and etc. After 10 minutes, they started thinking on their own. In fact, Yun Xin and Chun Kit volunteered to guide. I allowed. It was really fun!
c) My height and weight.
• We recapped on the height and weight of Brown and Polar Bear. Then, each kid was given a worksheet. Meanwhile, we learnt to read the poster record of each kid’s height and weight measured a few days ago. Then, they learnt to write onto the worksheet. Finally, they have to draw themselves creatively. Example:
I am Xing Tong. I am 102cm tall. I weigh 16kg.
d) Worksheet: Numbers.
• As we learnt height and weight, we see a lot of figures. Thus, I wrote down 1 until 30 for the kids. We read together and counted together. Then, they had to link the dotted numbers so as to get a “bat” picture. Then, they coloured it.
e) Encyclopedia: Polar Bear
• I translated this Chinese version into English as it really has good and beautiful pictures. We learnt:
- Polar Bears usually have 2 cubs and they are born during their mother’s hibernation in a solid den. They feed on her milk. Mother bear will sometimes lick them and cuddle them as they have very thin fur. In Spring, they climb to the snow surface for the first time and mother bear really protects them well. Mother bear has good smelling sense. When she smells any baby seals under the frozen ice surface, she uses her powerful paws to break the ice and kill the baby seals. She then feeds her cubs. Sometimes, she will look for breathing holes at the ice surface. Adult seals swim here to get the Oxygen. However, mother bear will kill them for food. A Polar Bear can feed 70kg of food in her stomach. They don’t drink water. Sometimes, they eat plants and also fruits if they can’t find food. They have to stay strong in this cold Arctic. The mother will take care of the cubs for 2 years. Thus, they would hibernate together in a den for the second time. When they see other family Polar Bear, they would rub their noses as respects. They don’t harm one another just like humans!
a) Storybook: Brown bear, brown bear; what do you see?
• I recapped this book so that the kids could understand the colours better. In fact, they could now repeat the sentences without looking at the storybook.
b) Game: Thundersnow, what will you blow?
• With guidance, the kids started the game feeling awkwardly because of the English vocabulary. However, I guided each forfeited kid (the standing one among the other sitting kids); with simple English instructions. Example: Blow children that wear blue clothes. Blow children that have 2 legs. Blow children that have hair. Blow children that have are sitting on the yellow chairs and etc. After 10 minutes, they started thinking on their own. In fact, Yun Xin and Chun Kit volunteered to guide. I allowed. It was really fun!
c) My height and weight.
• We recapped on the height and weight of Brown and Polar Bear. Then, each kid was given a worksheet. Meanwhile, we learnt to read the poster record of each kid’s height and weight measured a few days ago. Then, they learnt to write onto the worksheet. Finally, they have to draw themselves creatively. Example:
I am Xing Tong. I am 102cm tall. I weigh 16kg.
d) Worksheet: Numbers.
• As we learnt height and weight, we see a lot of figures. Thus, I wrote down 1 until 30 for the kids. We read together and counted together. Then, they had to link the dotted numbers so as to get a “bat” picture. Then, they coloured it.
e) Encyclopedia: Polar Bear
• I translated this Chinese version into English as it really has good and beautiful pictures. We learnt:
- Polar Bears usually have 2 cubs and they are born during their mother’s hibernation in a solid den. They feed on her milk. Mother bear will sometimes lick them and cuddle them as they have very thin fur. In Spring, they climb to the snow surface for the first time and mother bear really protects them well. Mother bear has good smelling sense. When she smells any baby seals under the frozen ice surface, she uses her powerful paws to break the ice and kill the baby seals. She then feeds her cubs. Sometimes, she will look for breathing holes at the ice surface. Adult seals swim here to get the Oxygen. However, mother bear will kill them for food. A Polar Bear can feed 70kg of food in her stomach. They don’t drink water. Sometimes, they eat plants and also fruits if they can’t find food. They have to stay strong in this cold Arctic. The mother will take care of the cubs for 2 years. Thus, they would hibernate together in a den for the second time. When they see other family Polar Bear, they would rub their noses as respects. They don’t harm one another just like humans!
The “Temperature” Experiment
Thursday (10/06/2010)
a) The thermometer.
We used a thermometer to measure thermometer. As mammals, we have 3 important facts: give birth, feed them with milk and warm-blooded. A human’s normal temperature is 37 degree Celsius. If above, we are having fever and must seek medical help.
Jun Hong: Malaysia’s temperature is 30 degree Celsius.
• 2 kids were picked to measure their temperature. They were Devin and Chia Yen. They squeezed the thermometer using their armpit. Its normal about 37 to 37.5 degree C. Then, they rub their palms very hard and they got warm. We measured again and this time, the temperature rose fast and was higher about 38.
• Ice freeze at 0 degree C. Arctic and Antarctica are even much colder between -20 to the coldest -48 degree C. However, Antarctica is the coldest place in the world.
• During hibernation, many mammals sleep throughout the winter months without eating, passing motion or urinate.
• However, bears are not true hibernators as they sometimes wake up for a while especially because they give birth during winter season. Meanwhile, male bears stay active the whole year round!
b) Ice experiment.
• Yesterday, we froze the water and today we got ice. Now, it looked like a layer of frozen ice just like a skating platform or the one in Arctic and Antarctica. Everyone touched….and “wow…it’s cold!”
• Then, I broke the ice into pieces and I used a small hammer to break the ices. The kids took turn to break it. Of course, it was fun! Then, I placed them into a pot. I prepared 2 plastic bags. They represent the animals’ skin. Plastic “A” has nothing and the kids took turn putting in their hands into it and soaked in the pot of ice. It was COLD!
• Plastic B contained 2 layers of plastic bag with cooking oil in between. I got Qian Joe to assist me. Each kid tested the pot of ice again and “Hey….it’s not cold!”
• WHY? – the oil is the fat as under our skin. Some kids looked at their stomach and tried pinching if they have lots of fat. Hmmm…….nop; so they won’t survive if they go to Arctic or Antarctica unless they wear lots of thick jackets.
c) The melting ice.
• Each grabbed a piece of ice piece at the garden and it melted quite fast under the hot sun. We related it to “Global Warming” and the Arctic animals.
c) Discussion.
• The pole animals need to have thick layer of fat under their skin or they must have thick fur and hair to survive the weather there. Example: the seal, walrus, Polar Bear, wolves and also penguins.
a) The thermometer.
We used a thermometer to measure thermometer. As mammals, we have 3 important facts: give birth, feed them with milk and warm-blooded. A human’s normal temperature is 37 degree Celsius. If above, we are having fever and must seek medical help.
Jun Hong: Malaysia’s temperature is 30 degree Celsius.
• 2 kids were picked to measure their temperature. They were Devin and Chia Yen. They squeezed the thermometer using their armpit. Its normal about 37 to 37.5 degree C. Then, they rub their palms very hard and they got warm. We measured again and this time, the temperature rose fast and was higher about 38.
• Ice freeze at 0 degree C. Arctic and Antarctica are even much colder between -20 to the coldest -48 degree C. However, Antarctica is the coldest place in the world.
• During hibernation, many mammals sleep throughout the winter months without eating, passing motion or urinate.
• However, bears are not true hibernators as they sometimes wake up for a while especially because they give birth during winter season. Meanwhile, male bears stay active the whole year round!
b) Ice experiment.
• Yesterday, we froze the water and today we got ice. Now, it looked like a layer of frozen ice just like a skating platform or the one in Arctic and Antarctica. Everyone touched….and “wow…it’s cold!”
• Then, I broke the ice into pieces and I used a small hammer to break the ices. The kids took turn to break it. Of course, it was fun! Then, I placed them into a pot. I prepared 2 plastic bags. They represent the animals’ skin. Plastic “A” has nothing and the kids took turn putting in their hands into it and soaked in the pot of ice. It was COLD!
• Plastic B contained 2 layers of plastic bag with cooking oil in between. I got Qian Joe to assist me. Each kid tested the pot of ice again and “Hey….it’s not cold!”
• WHY? – the oil is the fat as under our skin. Some kids looked at their stomach and tried pinching if they have lots of fat. Hmmm…….nop; so they won’t survive if they go to Arctic or Antarctica unless they wear lots of thick jackets.
c) The melting ice.
• Each grabbed a piece of ice piece at the garden and it melted quite fast under the hot sun. We related it to “Global Warming” and the Arctic animals.
c) Discussion.
• The pole animals need to have thick layer of fat under their skin or they must have thick fur and hair to survive the weather there. Example: the seal, walrus, Polar Bear, wolves and also penguins.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Our Polar Cub!
Wednesday (09/06/2010)
a) Vocab Revision
· We revised using flashcards.
b) Arctic Animals.
· Which is the biggest bear type out of the 8 species? Polar Bear with Brown Bear being the second. Sun Bear being the smallest. Brown Bear is 210cm and weigh 680kg while Polar Bear is 300cm weighing about 770kg.
· They lived in Arctic but not in Antarctica. We recapped the names. Other animals that lived in Arctic are as follows: white owl, musk ox, weasel, moose, reindeer, wolverine, White Tern, seal, walrus, Arctic hare, whale, orca killer and shark.
c) Diagnosing our Polar Bear craft.
· We giggled at our current gigantic craft bear. “It’s very fat!” exclaimed Wee Hong. Of course, we stuffed so much crumpled newspaper in it. However, to make it stand, we took the “Sports triangle stand” to form its 2 legs. Now, it could stand. However, we couldn’t see the shape of its abdomen just like bear pictures. Thus, I took a few safety pins to pin the bottom of bed sheet and yes…….there’s a shape now. “haaaaa!” Then, we used rubber bands to tie its body to strengthen it from falling down or being out of shape. We stuffed more newspaper on the top part and there we have the head!
· We discussed what is still missing from the big bear. They said eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tail and hands as well as claws.
· Thus: we segregated the tasks and asked them how to make those parts. Among theirs responses were:
- Recycled tape rings for eyes, bottle for hands, straws for claws, cardboard for nose and mouth and Jun Yu said cotton for its tail.
- Chun Kit, Wei Jeen and Devin had to work together to make a hat for the Polar Bear as they had arguments earlier. Here, they learnt to work together and they actually produce quite a cute hat! J
· Many people giggled at our bear as they would look at least 2 times to guess what it is! Yun Xin said, we should paint it white. Currently, it is made of colourful cartoon bed sheet. Wee Hong said it is a Cartoon Bear. However, our actual size bear didn’t turn up to be as planned. Instead, it shrunk to 1.2m because of the newspaper stuff we put in its body. So the class said, it’s a Polar cub. We would decide whether to paint or not when everyone presents after the school holidays.
a) Vocab Revision
· We revised using flashcards.
b) Arctic Animals.
· Which is the biggest bear type out of the 8 species? Polar Bear with Brown Bear being the second. Sun Bear being the smallest. Brown Bear is 210cm and weigh 680kg while Polar Bear is 300cm weighing about 770kg.
· They lived in Arctic but not in Antarctica. We recapped the names. Other animals that lived in Arctic are as follows: white owl, musk ox, weasel, moose, reindeer, wolverine, White Tern, seal, walrus, Arctic hare, whale, orca killer and shark.
c) Diagnosing our Polar Bear craft.
· We giggled at our current gigantic craft bear. “It’s very fat!” exclaimed Wee Hong. Of course, we stuffed so much crumpled newspaper in it. However, to make it stand, we took the “Sports triangle stand” to form its 2 legs. Now, it could stand. However, we couldn’t see the shape of its abdomen just like bear pictures. Thus, I took a few safety pins to pin the bottom of bed sheet and yes…….there’s a shape now. “haaaaa!” Then, we used rubber bands to tie its body to strengthen it from falling down or being out of shape. We stuffed more newspaper on the top part and there we have the head!
· We discussed what is still missing from the big bear. They said eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tail and hands as well as claws.
· Thus: we segregated the tasks and asked them how to make those parts. Among theirs responses were:
- Recycled tape rings for eyes, bottle for hands, straws for claws, cardboard for nose and mouth and Jun Yu said cotton for its tail.
- Chun Kit, Wei Jeen and Devin had to work together to make a hat for the Polar Bear as they had arguments earlier. Here, they learnt to work together and they actually produce quite a cute hat! J
· Many people giggled at our bear as they would look at least 2 times to guess what it is! Yun Xin said, we should paint it white. Currently, it is made of colourful cartoon bed sheet. Wee Hong said it is a Cartoon Bear. However, our actual size bear didn’t turn up to be as planned. Instead, it shrunk to 1.2m because of the newspaper stuff we put in its body. So the class said, it’s a Polar cub. We would decide whether to paint or not when everyone presents after the school holidays.
Arctic vs. Antarctica
Tuesday (08/06/2010)
a) The endangered bears.
* Many animals are listed as endangered due to many reasons.
* Brown bears too. Reasons: development that chopped off trees. Bears live on mountain forest and in river valleys. The reforestation has caused deaths of other hunger preys. Bears can't eat enough fruits nor honey. Thus, some moved towards the forest centre while others migrated to the North ie Arctic area.
* Those who stayed, sometimes hunt for garbage food in humans' residence. Who is to blame? poeple or bear? However; humans' used guns to protect themselves. Bears thought that they were in danger; thus; it'snot a surprise for bears to attack those people.
* Brown Bears can now survive in North Pole because "global warming" has caused North Pole to be warmer. In fact, some Brown Bears and Polar Bears mated to produce "Polar Brown Bear".
b) The Earth and its Poles.
* We went downstairs to take a look at the big map.
* North Pole is Arctic which means "bears" while South pole is Antarctica which means "no bears".
Teacher: Imagine we are sailing through the different oceans from "Malaysia" to Arctic.
Where is colder? Are there people living there? Which animals live in there?
Kids: Arctic is colder. Polar Bears live in Arctic. Penguins live in Antarctica.
* That was a good guess! However, Antartctica is the coldest and driest place on Earth and it comprises of huge frozen land that only certain plants can grow. The coldest had been -49 degree C. Thus, no people live there. However, there are many types of different animals that are suitable living there.
* Arctic is also cold and it has much less land that is also frozen. It is called "tundra". Here, there are natives called the Eskimos. Tundra can support some plants. There are also a number of animals. Some animals only migrate there in the summer. While others, live there for long term. Sunlight can't be seen often although in Summer, it is brighter. Compared to Antarctica, sometimes, the whole day is totally dark as it is farther away from the Sun.
c) Video Clips:
* We watched video clips of the animals living there and people residing there. The animals were all beautiful white for protection except some such as seals, walrus, Emperor Penguins and etc. Even the owl is white.:)
a) The endangered bears.
* Many animals are listed as endangered due to many reasons.
* Brown bears too. Reasons: development that chopped off trees. Bears live on mountain forest and in river valleys. The reforestation has caused deaths of other hunger preys. Bears can't eat enough fruits nor honey. Thus, some moved towards the forest centre while others migrated to the North ie Arctic area.
* Those who stayed, sometimes hunt for garbage food in humans' residence. Who is to blame? poeple or bear? However; humans' used guns to protect themselves. Bears thought that they were in danger; thus; it'snot a surprise for bears to attack those people.
* Brown Bears can now survive in North Pole because "global warming" has caused North Pole to be warmer. In fact, some Brown Bears and Polar Bears mated to produce "Polar Brown Bear".
b) The Earth and its Poles.
* We went downstairs to take a look at the big map.
* North Pole is Arctic which means "bears" while South pole is Antarctica which means "no bears".
Teacher: Imagine we are sailing through the different oceans from "Malaysia" to Arctic.
Where is colder? Are there people living there? Which animals live in there?
Kids: Arctic is colder. Polar Bears live in Arctic. Penguins live in Antarctica.
* That was a good guess! However, Antartctica is the coldest and driest place on Earth and it comprises of huge frozen land that only certain plants can grow. The coldest had been -49 degree C. Thus, no people live there. However, there are many types of different animals that are suitable living there.
* Arctic is also cold and it has much less land that is also frozen. It is called "tundra". Here, there are natives called the Eskimos. Tundra can support some plants. There are also a number of animals. Some animals only migrate there in the summer. While others, live there for long term. Sunlight can't be seen often although in Summer, it is brighter. Compared to Antarctica, sometimes, the whole day is totally dark as it is farther away from the Sun.
c) Video Clips:
* We watched video clips of the animals living there and people residing there. The animals were all beautiful white for protection except some such as seals, walrus, Emperor Penguins and etc. Even the owl is white.:)
Monday, June 7, 2010
A Polar Bear Model
Monday (07/06/2010)
a) Flashcards vocabulary
· We revised the words learnt: bear, eyes, ears, claws, legs, hair, tail, hibernate, prey, predator etc.
· Then, we sang the song of “The Bear Went Over The Mountain”. We added new lyrics such as “He saw lots of children and ate all of them”. “He saw Teacher Jenny and ate her up”.
b) Storybook: Brown Bear, brown Bear, What do you see?
· It was by Eric Carle but since the school doesn’t have this book, I typed the sentences while the kids coloured the pictures. The kids loved it so much because it’s repetitive and catchy! Example:
- Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
“I see a red bird looking at me”.
- Red bird, red bird, what do you see?
“I see a yellow duck looking at me”.
- Yellow duck, yellow duck, what do you see?“I see a blue horse looking at me”.
· The kids laughed and Jing Kai kept arguing about a blue horse and a purple cat……..haaaa! They were learning about animals and colours. J
c) Height and weight
· We recalled the height and weight of an adult brown bear. About 210cm and 680kg.
· We read the weight of each friend recorded last week. We added altogether and the total was about 361kg. Thus, we summarized that if 20 kids=361kg; then it takes almost 40 kids= an adult brown bear. However, at this point; another bear is bigger than brown bear. “Polar Bear” is the world’s largest largest land predator measuring up to 3m long and weigh about 770kg. I highlighted that “long” is not the same as “tall” but because bears could stand with their hind legs like humans, a polar bear would be longer than 3m.
d) A Polar Bear model.
· I used a measuring tape with the help of Chia Yen and found out that 2.1m is as high as the class door.
· Let’s make a “real” bear model. We already decorated the class with snails, rabbits, bats, brown bear pictures plus their dinosaurs done in the morning thematic. How else can we decorate? The kids like the idea and gave suggestions of making the Big Bear.
Qian Joe: Use kids. Jun Hong: Use chairs. Yun Wen: Use bedsheets.
*We agreed using bedsheets. I brought in a few. We categorized them. Some were longer while some shorter. The kids wanted to make a Polar Bear instead of Brown Bear.
Teacher: How can we construct it?
Shi Jie: Use sponge. Chun Kit: Use plastic. Yun Wen: Use paper.
Qian Joe: glass? Jun Hong: people?
· Haaa…..we tried stuffing 3 kids in the long bedsheet and zipped them. They said they disliked it because it’s hot and can’t breathe easily.
Shi Jie: People will die if zipped in the bedsheet.
· Good point! Safety first! Finally, we thought of newspaper because it’s easier to get. The kids crumpled and crumpled into balls and threw them into the bedshhet as if playing basketball. They were so fast and good that we finished aquarter of the space by the end of the lesson. ……to be continued.
a) Flashcards vocabulary
· We revised the words learnt: bear, eyes, ears, claws, legs, hair, tail, hibernate, prey, predator etc.
· Then, we sang the song of “The Bear Went Over The Mountain”. We added new lyrics such as “He saw lots of children and ate all of them”. “He saw Teacher Jenny and ate her up”.
b) Storybook: Brown Bear, brown Bear, What do you see?
· It was by Eric Carle but since the school doesn’t have this book, I typed the sentences while the kids coloured the pictures. The kids loved it so much because it’s repetitive and catchy! Example:
- Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
“I see a red bird looking at me”.
- Red bird, red bird, what do you see?
“I see a yellow duck looking at me”.
- Yellow duck, yellow duck, what do you see?“I see a blue horse looking at me”.
· The kids laughed and Jing Kai kept arguing about a blue horse and a purple cat……..haaaa! They were learning about animals and colours. J
c) Height and weight
· We recalled the height and weight of an adult brown bear. About 210cm and 680kg.
· We read the weight of each friend recorded last week. We added altogether and the total was about 361kg. Thus, we summarized that if 20 kids=361kg; then it takes almost 40 kids= an adult brown bear. However, at this point; another bear is bigger than brown bear. “Polar Bear” is the world’s largest largest land predator measuring up to 3m long and weigh about 770kg. I highlighted that “long” is not the same as “tall” but because bears could stand with their hind legs like humans, a polar bear would be longer than 3m.
d) A Polar Bear model.
· I used a measuring tape with the help of Chia Yen and found out that 2.1m is as high as the class door.
· Let’s make a “real” bear model. We already decorated the class with snails, rabbits, bats, brown bear pictures plus their dinosaurs done in the morning thematic. How else can we decorate? The kids like the idea and gave suggestions of making the Big Bear.
Qian Joe: Use kids. Jun Hong: Use chairs. Yun Wen: Use bedsheets.
*We agreed using bedsheets. I brought in a few. We categorized them. Some were longer while some shorter. The kids wanted to make a Polar Bear instead of Brown Bear.
Teacher: How can we construct it?
Shi Jie: Use sponge. Chun Kit: Use plastic. Yun Wen: Use paper.
Qian Joe: glass? Jun Hong: people?
· Haaa…..we tried stuffing 3 kids in the long bedsheet and zipped them. They said they disliked it because it’s hot and can’t breathe easily.
Shi Jie: People will die if zipped in the bedsheet.
· Good point! Safety first! Finally, we thought of newspaper because it’s easier to get. The kids crumpled and crumpled into balls and threw them into the bedshhet as if playing basketball. They were so fast and good that we finished aquarter of the space by the end of the lesson. ……to be continued.
Our Mini Cinema
Tuesday (01/06/2010)
a) Movie Review
l We thanked God that it was not a rainy day and we could use the PC to watch “Brother Bear”.
l It was a cartoon film at a mountain forest in a Red Indian Community Village. They believed that every actions that we performed upon the universe would give back either good effects or negative consequences. This is very true evn in the modern world. Every person was given a brooch of animal shape when they grow up in their community. The story told how 3 sibling brothers’ adventure. The youngest careless have caused the death of the eldest brother; killed by a Brown Bear.
b) Questions.
l To ensure the kids paid attention and understood the lesson, I gave them 4 questions which they had to seek for when watching the cartoon later.
- What animals are there? Do they live together or solitary? Do they like friends? Where are they going?
c) The Mini Cinema
l We pretended being in Jaya Jusco cinema. No hand phones; thus, no noise and arguing too! The story continues…..
l Kenai, the youngest brother asked his second brother, Kai to hunt the Brown Bear that killed their brother, Sika. Kai rejected as they shouldn’t kill the nature. Kenai left the community angrily and hunted the bear all by himself. Kai who loved his brother (although they quarreled frequently) quickly cahsed Kenai. However, Kenai found the bear and killed him with his spear. It was too late for Kai to stop Kenai. At this point, something magical happened. The spirits of light appeared and Sika (in the form of eagle) wanted to teach his brother a lesson. So, he changed Kenai into a Brown Bear. Thus, he is now living in a bear’s body and looking through the animals’ eyes. Meanwhile, Kai reached there and din’t see the transformation. He only saw Kenai’s boots and brooch. He thought th ebrown bear killed his little brother. He changed from being timid to fearless as to kill the bear. He was actually hunting down the bear which was his youngest brother. At this point, Kenai was shocked and only he realized how much his brother loved him! The hunts continued. Kenai met a little cub; Koda who was separated from its mother. Koda said he knew the road to the spirits of lights at the mountain peak. Kenai had to reach the peak to change back to human form. At first, he disliked all animals. But through many challenges, he learned to love them. He was now looking at the animals world through their eyes! ......... to be continued.
d) Class discussion.
Teacher: What would happen if you were transformed into a bear?
Class: We don’t know! We don’t dare to think about it!
l They said they were surprised because the quarrelsome brothers actually loved each other. Love is great eventhough siblings and parents quarrel.
Qian Joe: Sometimes my mother scold me because she loves me. She wants me to be
better.
a) Movie Review
l We thanked God that it was not a rainy day and we could use the PC to watch “Brother Bear”.
l It was a cartoon film at a mountain forest in a Red Indian Community Village. They believed that every actions that we performed upon the universe would give back either good effects or negative consequences. This is very true evn in the modern world. Every person was given a brooch of animal shape when they grow up in their community. The story told how 3 sibling brothers’ adventure. The youngest careless have caused the death of the eldest brother; killed by a Brown Bear.
b) Questions.
l To ensure the kids paid attention and understood the lesson, I gave them 4 questions which they had to seek for when watching the cartoon later.
- What animals are there? Do they live together or solitary? Do they like friends? Where are they going?
c) The Mini Cinema
l We pretended being in Jaya Jusco cinema. No hand phones; thus, no noise and arguing too! The story continues…..
l Kenai, the youngest brother asked his second brother, Kai to hunt the Brown Bear that killed their brother, Sika. Kai rejected as they shouldn’t kill the nature. Kenai left the community angrily and hunted the bear all by himself. Kai who loved his brother (although they quarreled frequently) quickly cahsed Kenai. However, Kenai found the bear and killed him with his spear. It was too late for Kai to stop Kenai. At this point, something magical happened. The spirits of light appeared and Sika (in the form of eagle) wanted to teach his brother a lesson. So, he changed Kenai into a Brown Bear. Thus, he is now living in a bear’s body and looking through the animals’ eyes. Meanwhile, Kai reached there and din’t see the transformation. He only saw Kenai’s boots and brooch. He thought th ebrown bear killed his little brother. He changed from being timid to fearless as to kill the bear. He was actually hunting down the bear which was his youngest brother. At this point, Kenai was shocked and only he realized how much his brother loved him! The hunts continued. Kenai met a little cub; Koda who was separated from its mother. Koda said he knew the road to the spirits of lights at the mountain peak. Kenai had to reach the peak to change back to human form. At first, he disliked all animals. But through many challenges, he learned to love them. He was now looking at the animals world through their eyes! ......... to be continued.
d) Class discussion.
Teacher: What would happen if you were transformed into a bear?
Class: We don’t know! We don’t dare to think about it!
l They said they were surprised because the quarrelsome brothers actually loved each other. Love is great eventhough siblings and parents quarrel.
Qian Joe: Sometimes my mother scold me because she loves me. She wants me to be
better.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
We love "Brother Bear"
Thursday (03/06/2010)
a) Video clip
Yun Xin: How does a bear urinate?
Yan Shan: Do bears actually pass motion.
* At this point, the kids were thinking of their questions.
Shi Jie: Of course living things pass motion.
Jun Hong: They eat and the waste has to be discharged.
* Urine and our motion or dung is actually harmful to our bodies. If not discharged, it would be poisonous to us.
Yun Wen: Will we die?
Teacher: Yes, we will. Thus, all animals have to pass urine and motion except during hibernation.
b) Continuation: Brother Bear
* We watched how Kenai, the human bear and Koda; the cub journey to the magical light at peak mountain. Just below the mountain, there was a big lake with waterfall where all bears gather to catch fish, have fun and playing with one another; just like a party.
* Then, each bear shared their stories of where they went in summer. Just then, Koda shared the story of how his mother was attacked by a hunter. Suddenly, Kenai the bear recalled his scary experience of how he killed the big bear before being transformed into a bear. So....it was Koda's mother whom Kenai killed! Feeling bad, Kenai told the ruth to Koda. Koda couldn't believe that he was actually a human. Koda left Kenai feeling very disappointed.
* Meanwhile, Kenai saw his brother, Kai who has successfully traced him! They fought each other! Luckily, Sika, the eagle spirit appeared and transformed Kenai into human again. Then, Kai was shocked and he understood the whole story. However, feeling sad for Koda, Kenai decided to be a bear rather than a human. So, Koda and him are really good brother bears. The Red Indian community now knows the story and they accepted Kenai.
c) Discussion
* We saw how the Moose change their fur colour during different seasons.
* We saw how siblings quarrel but then get together again. Yun Xin reminded the class that sometimes, scolding means "love".
* We saw how people should learn to love and take responsibility.
* We saw that love can change a lot of things. We must first learn to forgive.
d) Colouring
* We continued drawing and colouring our Bear Puzzle. Some have fisnished, some took longer time but all of them put great effort at doing this puzzle. The most improved was Yan Shan.
a) Video clip
Yun Xin: How does a bear urinate?
Yan Shan: Do bears actually pass motion.
* At this point, the kids were thinking of their questions.
Shi Jie: Of course living things pass motion.
Jun Hong: They eat and the waste has to be discharged.
* Urine and our motion or dung is actually harmful to our bodies. If not discharged, it would be poisonous to us.
Yun Wen: Will we die?
Teacher: Yes, we will. Thus, all animals have to pass urine and motion except during hibernation.
b) Continuation: Brother Bear
* We watched how Kenai, the human bear and Koda; the cub journey to the magical light at peak mountain. Just below the mountain, there was a big lake with waterfall where all bears gather to catch fish, have fun and playing with one another; just like a party.
* Then, each bear shared their stories of where they went in summer. Just then, Koda shared the story of how his mother was attacked by a hunter. Suddenly, Kenai the bear recalled his scary experience of how he killed the big bear before being transformed into a bear. So....it was Koda's mother whom Kenai killed! Feeling bad, Kenai told the ruth to Koda. Koda couldn't believe that he was actually a human. Koda left Kenai feeling very disappointed.
* Meanwhile, Kenai saw his brother, Kai who has successfully traced him! They fought each other! Luckily, Sika, the eagle spirit appeared and transformed Kenai into human again. Then, Kai was shocked and he understood the whole story. However, feeling sad for Koda, Kenai decided to be a bear rather than a human. So, Koda and him are really good brother bears. The Red Indian community now knows the story and they accepted Kenai.
c) Discussion
* We saw how the Moose change their fur colour during different seasons.
* We saw how siblings quarrel but then get together again. Yun Xin reminded the class that sometimes, scolding means "love".
* We saw how people should learn to love and take responsibility.
* We saw that love can change a lot of things. We must first learn to forgive.
d) Colouring
* We continued drawing and colouring our Bear Puzzle. Some have fisnished, some took longer time but all of them put great effort at doing this puzzle. The most improved was Yan Shan.
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