Category Archives: International Education

Global Citizenship, International Education, Literacy, P1, Social Studies

P1a China topic activities – 28th February

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This term as well as learning about Scotland we have been learning about China too and as you will know this was the theme for our fantastic assembly.

We have  watched a video about primary schools in China and we saw that the children painted their numbers and this was something that we wanted to try.  However it wasn’t quite as easy as it looked on the video!

We also made a Chinese shape puzzle called a tangram.  It is made of 7 pieces that fit together but can also be used to make lots of other shapes and silhouettes but they must not overlap. Even though we cut up our own puzzles – only 2 of us could put them back together again! We did all persevere though and didn’t give up  or complain when we found it hard.  We have been talking a lot about growth mindset and this task was a good example of having to keep trying different ways and think positively.

Below is a link to an online tangram puzzle that you can try.

http://www.abcya.com/tangrams.htm

                

This week our story writing also had a Chinese theme.  We have noticed that lots of the stories we have been reading include dragons so decided to write our own dragon stories.  At the start of our writing lessons we always share our ideas with our elbow partners for 5 minutes.  We  have a special cat timer to let us know when the 5 minutes is up and we then share our ideas with the rest of the class before we draw our pictures and write our stories.

You will be able to read more of our stories in our jotters at the Parents’ meetings in March.

Art, Classes, Creativity, Digital Technology, International Education, Literacy, P5, Social Studies

Sombrero Week in P5A, by Grace and Halle

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On Monday, P5A opened a box, which contained a small Mexican hat called a Sombrero.

This week, we have been doing various tasks, including research, project work and activities on where we think it has come from and who sent it.

On Tuesday, some pupils from P5A were researching various aspects of Mexico, such as the Aztecs, Mexican clothing, Mexican food and lots of other things. Using this research they created a class book.

On Wednesday, P5A designed some sombreros of our own. There were many different designs ranging from sunshine yellow ones to ocean blue ones.

On Thursday, P5A brought their fantastic designs to life by using many different and unusual resources such as pipe cleaners, buttons, the lot! Some of us could not stick to our designs, due to the intricate detail and lack of time.

So, as you can see, we had an amazing time investigating this mysterious hat!

Grace and Halle, P5A

Art, Classes, Creativity, Digital Technology, International Education, Library, Literacy, P5, Pupil Leadership, Social Studies, Thinking Skills, Uncategorized

Brown paper packages tied up with string…

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On Friday morning, P5A received an intriguing package, wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string.

We spent some time handling our mystery parcel and discussing it. We wondered where it had come from, why it had been sent to us and, most importantly, what might be inside.

After waiting and wondering for three long days, we finally opened our parcel this afternoon. There was great excitement, lots of speculation, and some worry (from Mrs Paton) that Robert might cut his fingers on the scissors!

At last, the box was open. Buried inside layers of tissue, we pulled out…a tiny felt hat, covered in sequins and embriodery.

Most excited of all was our Circle Time pet, Happy Lion. He was delighted to find that the hat was a perfect fit!

We quickly set about writing down all of our big questions about this unusual hat. Where did it come from? Who sent it to us? What sort of hat was it? Which culture did it belong to? What could we learn from it?

We visited the school library and consulted Dr Google. Our suspicions were confirmed. We had received a tiny sombrero all the way from Mexico. We discovered that the name ‘sombrero’ comes from the Spanish word for shade. This wide brimmed hat was originally designed to offer protection from the sun.

Next, we discussed where we could take our learning from here. Would we design and make our own hats? Would we find out more about the traditions, customs and traditional dress of Mexico? Would we explore politics, religion or culture? Could we write our own music, or find out about traditional Mexican musical instruments? Could we explore different types of hats? Perhaps we could write our own poetry, adventure stories or factual reports about hats. We even discussed the possibility of learning a new language or writing to new pen pals.

So, where to begin? P5A, it’s over to you!

JP