How the World Works

Dear KG2 Parents,

This term, we will inquire into, and learn about materials and states of matter in the context of our third
Unit of Inquiry.
Transdisciplinary Theme How the World Works
Central Idea: Materials behave and change in many ways.

Vocabulary list:

Through continual involvement of the students in this unit, they will

learn about the following Concepts:

Solid

Freezing

Form - What is it like?

Liquid

Change - How does it change?

Melting

Gases

Space

Matter

Question

Properties

Observation

Materials

Research

Connection - How is it connected to other things?

Related concepts:
Matter

Properties

Evaporation
We will guide the inquiry and ensure the students grasp the concept
of the following lines of inquiry:

Condensation

Properties and behavior of basic materials

Changing properties of materials
Manipulation, uses and application of materials to new purposes
Teacher questions:

What are materials?

What properties tell us if an object is solid, liquid or gas?

How can we change a material into something new?

Transdisciplinary Skills Focus:

Social Skills:
Respecting others - Listening sensitively to others; making decisions based on fairness and equality; recognizing that others beliefs, viewpoints, religions and ideas may differ from ones own; stating ones opinion without hurting others.
Thinking skills:
Analysis - Taking knowledge or ideas apart; separating into component parts; seeing relationships; finding
unique characteristics.
Communications skills:
Reading - Reading a variety of sources for information and pleasure; comprehending what has been read;
making inferences and drawing conclusions.
Presenting - Constructing visuals and multimedia for a range of purposes and audiences; communicating information and ideas through a variety of visual media; using appropriate technology for effective presentation and representation.

 Self-management:
Organisation - Planning and carrying out activities effectively.
Time-management - Using time effectively and appropriately.
Research skills:
Observing - Using all the senses to notice relevant details.
Planning - Developing a course of action; writing an outline; devising ways of finding relevant information. Presenting research findings - Effectively communicating what has been learned; choosing appropriate media.
Learner Profile Focus:
Reflective: They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to
assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
Inquirer: They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and
research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
Attitudes Focus: The students will work towards developing the attitudes of commitment, confidence and
independence.
Integrity: Being honest and demonstrating a considered sense of fairness.
Curiosity: Being curious about the nature of learning, about the world, its people and cultures.
Cooperation: Cooperating, collaborating, and leading or following as the situation demands.
Summative assessment:
For our summative assessment, we will be asking the children to create a new product. They will be expected to
show evidence that they have manipulated and changed a material to a new purpose. Their creation should show
at least one change of state. The children will have to use their developing organizational and time-management
skills to plan their creation and put this into action.
In addition to our Unit of Inquiry we also have content standards in language and math which we will be focusing
on. We have listed them below, both so you can stay informed and to enable you to encourage learning at home.
Language

Reading
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
Describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a
story an illustration depicts).
Retell familiar stories, including key details.
Actively engage in group reading activities.
Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme words.
Writing
Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).
Understand and use question words (interrogatives (e.g., who, what, when, where, why, how).
Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.
Recognize and name end punctuation.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten
reading and content.
Identify real-life connections between words and their use.

Speaking and Listening

Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

Math
Count to 100 by ones and by tens
Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1)
Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. The number of objects is
the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted.
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 1 to 20, count out that many
objects.
Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking
from.
Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, eg using objects or drawings, and
record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (eg. 5 = 2 + 3).
Fluently add and subtract within 5.
Compose and decompose numbers from 11-19 into ten ones and some further ones, eg. By using objects or
drawings, and record each composition or decomposition by drawing or equation, such as 18 = 10 + 8.
Identify and describe 2d and 3d shapes, and distinguish between the two.
Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components, for example sticks and clay balls, and drawing
shapes.
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Attend to precision.
Science
Materials and matter: The study of the properties, behaviours and uses of materials, both natural and humanmade; the origins of human-made materials and how they are manipulated to suit a purpose.

Observe carefully in order to gather data.

Make and test predictions.

How you can help your child at home:

Talk to your child about the form of gases, liquids and solids and point these out in the natural environment.
Encourage discussion about how we know something is a solid, liquid or a gas. How does it move? What does it
feel like? What does it look like?
Encourage your child to help with preparing food and meals at home. This is a great way to see changes of
state. You could also use boiling kettles and ice as a discussion point about changing states.
Use this opportunity to create art projects at home. Making playdough, modeling with paper mache, and making gloop from cornflour and water.
We will be looking at how we manipulate materials to create new things. Use lego and building blocks at home
to create models and sculptures.
Find opportunities to go outside and explore the effects of wind and air on the environment. Pinwheels and
kites are a fun way to show this.

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.
Thank you,
The KG2 Team

GIS Specialist Newsletter

Unit 2 KG2
Art
Learning Objectives: In Unit 3- The students will be able to:

Develop an understanding that the choice of different tools and materials results in different outcomes.

Participate in individual and collaborative creative experiences.

Select, research and develop an idea or theme for an artwork.

Activities/Projects/Connections:

Three dimensional sculpture making

Connection to How the World Works UOI: Form- Properties and behavior of basic materials.

Music
Learning Objectives: In Unit 3- The students will be able to:

Play rhythmic ostinato

Follow musical directions with body movements and instruments

Respond to music through creative movement

Identify vocal and instrumental music

Activities/Projects/Connections:

Peter and the Wolf- story and music study

Playing cooperative music games focusing on musical response

Connection to How the World Works UOI: Change Changes in musical instruments and elements

Learning multicultural songs and games

P.E.
Learning Objectives: In Unit 3- The students will be able to:

To be introduced to new games and athletic activities such as relay races, hurdles, sprinting and
football

To continue to learn the concept of cooperative play and teamwork

To understand further how to express themselves through Movement and Music

To continue to understand safe practice

Activities/Projects/Connections:

Partner activities to further develop skills such as throwing, catching and striking

Team games such as scavenger races, cooperative tag, teambuilding activities

Self and peer assessment to evaluate performance and effort in PE

Expressing themselves through movement and dance