8/7/2019 How We Organize Ourselves Parent Letter 2011

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Year 2 Newsletter 11

thMarch, 2011

How We Organize Ourselves

Dear Parents,

We are now starting our fifth unit of inquiry, which will focus on the ways that productsare moved from their primary source to our homes. There will be two field trips duringthis unit. Students will have an opportunity to look closely at production, processing,transport and the various individuals who work within a community system. Unit of Inquiry The organizing theme of our unit of inquiry is ³How We Organize Ourselves´. TheCentral Idea is: People work to produce, process and transport the goods we use. 

Teachers will be encouraging students to consider:

y How people produce and process products

y Systems used to distribute productsy Individual roles and collective responsibilities within the system

F ield Trips

y Our first field trip will be to UFM Baking and Cooking School where students willsee and appreciate the people and processes involved in producing bakedgoods. We may also get to taste a few samples!

y Our second field trip will be to Talaad Thai Market to see one of the largestwholesale fresh fruit, vegetable and fish markets in Bangkok.

Details on field trips will be posted on the Y2 Blogs as we finalize the plans, so be sureto check regularly for additional information.

H ow Can You H elp at H ome? The two main concepts driving our inquiry are:

y  Function, which focuses on production, transportation, distribution andconsumer demand.

y  Connection, which includes cooperation, collective responsibility, commitment.

You can help strengthen these concepts at home by having conversations at the dinner table. ³What¶s for Dinner?´ can be much more than a simple question during this unit.

Having a chat about what is actually on the plate and how it got there may make for some very interesting dinner discussions!

When shopping in the supermarket with your child, discuss the different products youbuy, how separate departments in the store sell different kinds of products and thevarious jobs of people working in the supermarket. Some products such as produce andfresh meats may be in their original form, whereas breads and pasta are quite differentfrom what they started as!

8/7/2019 How We Organize Ourselves Parent Letter 2011

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/how-we-organize-ourselves-parent-letter-2011 2/2

Year 2 Newsletter 11

thMarch, 2011

There are some great websites about the processing of products that you can enjoy withyour child. Please check the Year 2 Blogs ³Online Activities´ for recommended websites.Feel free to pass any good links back to us as well if you should find some in your ventures.

These are the key vocabulary words that will be presented in this unit:

communities systemstransport / transportation consumer product / goods farmer distribute /distribution retailer primary sources factoryprocess responsibilitypackaging collective /jointstorage roles/ jobsraw materials worker 

Links with the Unit of Inquiry The text type focus for this term is procedural writing. This unit of inquiry lends itself toreading, writing and carrying out tasks in a specific order, or procedure. You can help athome by encouraging your child to join you in the kitchen to follow a recipe, or perhapstry to assemble a construction using a list of instructions.

In Mathematics, the unit of inquiry will link with our study of Fractions and Shape andSpace. Students will explore how we use fractions to represent whole-part relationships.We will focus on halves and quarters of numbers and objects (for example ½ of 8 = 4).

In Shape and Space, students will use correct mathematical vocabulary to describe 2D

and 3D shapes and show how they are connected. We will also consider which 3Dshapes are appropriate for the packaging of goods. 

Khun Warunee, our Thai studies teacher, will be joining us during this unit. With her guidance the Year 2 students will learn more about common Thai products and thesystems used to produce, process and distribute them.

Support from home plays an important part in each Y2 student¶s success. We would liketo thank you again for your continuing support! 

The Year 2 Team