Yokoso Japan

Our Next Unit of Inquiry... 

Transdisciplinary Theme -- Where We Are in Place and Time

Central Idea: People's lives are influenced by the time and place in which they live.

Lines of Inquiry:
1. Physical and human features of the places we live
2. Lifestyles in different places (homes, schooling, entertainment, food, sport)
3. Ways in which our host country has changed over time

2A students at music class a long, long time ago

Hello Grade Two Parents! 
Are you interested in sharing your passions, interests, knowledge, or childhood stories with us? We are learning all about our host country, Japan, but we would like to learn about life in other countries as well.

Please let us know if you are interested.
宜しくお願いいたします。
Thank you!

And thank you very much to those of you who were able to attend our learning celebration last week! Also, thank you to the families that supported our class Easter parties. (-:

Inquiring into Oceans, Seas, and Rivers

Students in 2A have been learning how to use dichotomous and branching keys to identify marine animals. Using a dichotomous key as a tool and making their own, the students are developing the necessary skills for organizing data.

Success Criteria for Dichotomous Keys:

I can...

• Use a branching key to identify objects.
• Sort objects into two groups (this, not that).
• Create a branching chart that is neat and organized so that others can use it.
• Write directions how to use your branching chart.

First, the girls were introduced to the concept with "Monster Classification" with a dichotomous key.

"Some friendly monsters from a nearby planet have recently been discovered. A team of scientists were assigned the task of classifying and identifying them."

credit: www.scienceteachingjunkie.com

Following this activity, the students were introduced to a second kind of dichotomous keys called branching keys. Provided with pictures of warm-blooded and cold-blooded vertebrates, the students looked carefully at the animals' physical features to classify them according the to branching key.

source: www.tes.com

Next was the fun part. Students were able to practice using dichotomous keys to classify and identify Jelly Belly jellybeans. Here is the dichotomous key we used.

source: www.nsta.org

After practice using dichotomous and branching keys, student made their own keys to help others identify marine animals. First the students cut out these fish and other marine animals and sorted them into two categories.

All these marine animals are served at sushi restaurants in Japan? At home, your daughter can use a key to identify them.