IPC Unit on Bears

IPC Unit On Bears 

The Glitter Class 

Upper Pre-Primary

Dear Family and Friends

We have had a bear-tastic time over the past 5 weeks.  Learning all about bears has been immensely engaging for our Upper Pre-Primary cohort.  Animals are always fabulous to connect with, but, actually the students just couldn’t stop thinking and learning about bears!   It has been a beary interesting journey. 

Here are some highlights:-  

• Entry point - a teddy bears’ picnic at school.  First hunting for the hidden bears before enjoying some warm chocolate milk and an independently made sandwich.  
• Interacting with many different books about bears, fiction and non-fiction and continuing to work on our concepts of print skills. 
• Discovering where bears live, what they do, what they eat and much more. 
• Connecting with our Reading Buddies through bear books, a wonderful bear hunt game using positional language and bear crafts.  Thank you Reading Buddies for joining us on our learning discovery all about bears.
• Playing ‘Goldilocks’, students got to enjoy role-playing this traditional tale whilst also working on language skills.  We have some excellent actors in The Glitter Class. At one point even our teachers role-played the story which was so much fun. 
• Making porridge together, very yummy!
• Painting, drawing and writing about bears. 
• Selecting Polar Bears and Panda Bears to learn specifically about.
• Experimenting with fat to see how come a Polar Bear doesn't feel the cold? 
• Creating our own version of ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt’ and actually swimming with turtles, walking through a jurassic park for example with the clever use of our green screen.  The ideas from the students were absolutely awesome.
• Counting bears, making number lines and moving forward and backwards using simple sums. Working on more than and less than.  Finding patterns.  Grouping and sorting bears.  
• Ms. Luna joined us and planned a tea party with the teddies.  This included writing an invitation and decorating it, brainstorming ideas for the party and then having a wonderful goodbye tea party with Ms. Luna and some very special treats.
• Students also had fun in our bear small world and went on many adventures with their bear friends. 
• Having fun playing ‘Where’s The Bear’ and also the ‘Honey Bear Game’.  These listening games are supporting students and their connections to sounds whilst also building on play skills such as turn-taking and being able to following rules.
• Continuing to share thinking and learning during our group discussions and being respectful of all ideas, even if they are different from our own.  
• At ISG this month our personal value is thinker and the Glitter Class have definitely been demonstrating this during our bear inquiry. 
• Plunging our hands into icy water to find out if the size of the ice is relative to how many bears can float on it.  It was.  Students read about climate change and how our warming planet could create problems for Polar Bears.  
• Learning two new songs all about bears, ‘Grizzly Bear’ and ‘When Goldilocks Went To The House of the Bears’. 
• Making binoculars to take on our ‘Bear Hunt’ - super fun!
• Taking part in one PE lesson that was based on the bear hunt - in which students had to swim, jump and travel in so many ways to find the bear in the cave. 
• Our exit point was a wonderful trip to Citadel Park.  Taking the bus, then joining in a bear hunt obstacle course with Mr Francis before following the bear paw prints into a cave and finding a BEAR, yes a BEAR, but no ordinary bear a Luna Bear.  Yes, Ms. Luna had joined us for our exit point.  Thank you Ms. Luna. 
• ‘Mystery Reader’ appreciating all the family and friends that come into school and connect with us through ‘Mystery Reader’.  Guessing the clues and finding out who it might be is still the most fun!  Thank you to all of our ‘Mystery Readers’ from within the school and our families and Grandparents too.  You are all amazing!

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Wishing you all a wonderful break and safe travels.

Please enjoy a selection of photographs connected to our learning. 

With kindest regards.

Ms. Marianne and Ms. Laura