Storytelling through Kamishibai

Kuniaki Sakai, Niigata teacher, shared his original kamishibai story called "Max and Space" with Grades Two and Three on Friday, January 15th.   Linking with their units of inquiry on How We Express Ourselves, students got a first-hand look at how they can use Japanese storytelling for their written stories or performances.  Sakai's kamishibai stories are written and illustrated by him.  All of his stories revolve around the mischievous character Max The Cat.  The students were fully engaged in his presentations.  We hope that he can come again in the future.

                                                                                               -- Ms. Kampa

Kuniaki Sakai with his book "Max and Space" 

Grade 2 poses with Mr. Sakai.

Students giving imaginative suggestions for what the picture resembles.

Interactive Storytelling with Mr. Lewis

Can only the author of a book decide a character's fate?

Grade Two visited Mr. Lewis' classroom and experienced how stories can be told through technology. They explored two "Create Your Own Adventure" (CYOA) series on Youtube and learned about the different ways stories can develop. At the end of each interactive video, the audience (Grade Two students) could choose the fate of character. Depending on which path was chosen, the characters encountered entirely different story endings. The girls noticed that not all stories had a happy ending!

Thank you, Mr. Lewis, for teaching us a fun activity!

Try it at Home!

Do you remember all the story endings? 

Click on the links below to see if you were able to catch all the endings.

Ninja Boy and the Haunted House

Berry Adventure

                     

Kicking off 2016 with Reading Buddies from 5A

Last Wednesday, January 13, 2B jumped into the new year with a reading buddy program. The girls had a wonderful opportunity to develop their social and communication skills by pairing up with a partner from 5A. They each took turns listening and reading to each other. They hope to continue meeting each other throughout the rest of the school year.

       

 

SASA girls dance to the Nutcracker!

On December 11th, Grade 2 SASA girls collaborated with several 3rd Graders and performed the Christmas classic "Trepak" from the Nutcracker Ballet. This was one of the many wonderful performances at the ES Carol Night which celebrated peace and unity at Seisen.

１２月１４日（月曜日）
日本語クラスに「おはなし会」のみなさんがいらっしゃいました。
６つのおはなしをしてくださいました。

Japanese class hosted "Ohanashi-Kai", a story telling group.
Their story telling skills were amazing! 

Grade 2 Mathematics

Peak Into Grade 2 Mathematics

Last week, Mr. Hughes and Ms. Sandra visited us in 2A and 2B and taught some fun addition activities for learning addition number bonds.
2A learned how to play an interactive iPad game called "Hit the Button," while 2B learned how to play a game called "Make 20." 

In "Hit the Button," 2A raced against the clock to find the matching number bond to 10, 20 and 100.

"Make 20" was a dueling game in which two players turned around and quickly circled the matching pair.

Many of girls had so much fun in either activity that they continued playing even after the lessons were over!

Join in on the learning!

Try asking your daughter about one of these games and practice number bonds together at home!

Also, feel free to check out the link below for a "behind-the-scenes" of how a lesson like these are planned. At Seisen we follow a Primary Years Programme  guided through a Solo Taxonomy framework.

HTB/ Make 20 Lesson Plan  

So what's next in Grade 2 mathematics?
We will be learning how to...

• Develop strategies for memorizing addition numbers facts
• Estimate sums and differences
• Add numbers with up to three digits, using formal written methods of columnar addition and subtraction
• Use manipulatives, drawings, tools and notations to show strategies and solutions

Storytelling Time in the Media Centre

Ms Ingrid and Ms Lea told stories today to begin the new UOI How we Express Ourselves. Then the girls retold them to their partners demonstrating how stories communicate meaning. 

Perhaps the girls can remember one of the stories well enough to retell it at home with just some picture clues: