SHARING THE PLANET

Dear KG2 Parents,

This term, we will inquire into, and learn about Plants in the context of our sixth Unit of Inquiry.

Transdisciplinary Theme

Sharing the Planet

Central Idea: Plants sustain life on earth and play a role in our
lives .

Through continual involvement of the students in this unit, they will

learn about the following Concepts:

You will be able to support your

child at home with the following
key unit vocabulary.
Consider using your Mother
Tongue as a means of developing
understanding.
Plant

Sunlight

Function - How does it work?

Flower

Prediction

Connection - How is it connected to other things?

Tree

Observation

Stem

Conclusion

Roots

Function

Leaves

Connection

Pollen

Responsibility

ResponsibilityWhat is our responsibility?

Related concepts:
Biodiversity
Conservation
Eco-systems
We will guide the inquiry and ensure the students grasp the concept
of the following lines of inquiry:

Petals
Bio-diversity
Conservation

Plant care

How plants contribute to life

Teacher questions:

Eco-system
Earth
Life
Seed

How do we care for plants?

What is our responsibility towards plants in our environment?

How do plants help the earth?

Growth
Water

Transdisciplinary Skills Focus:

Social Skills:

Thinking skills:

Communications skills:

Resolving conflicts - Listening carefully to others; compromising; reacting reasonably to the

situation; accepting responsibility appropriately; being fair.
Group decision-making - Listening to others; discussing ideas; asking questions; working to
wards and obtaining consensus.
Comprehension - Grasping meaning from material learned; communicating and interpreting
learning.
Evaluation - Making judgments or decisions based on chosen criteria; standards and
conditions.
Reading - Reading a variety of sources for information and pleasure; comprehending what has

been

read; making inferences and drawing conclusions.

Writing - Recording information and observations; taking notes and paraphrasing; writing summari
es; writing reports; keeping a journal or record.

Self-management skills:

Research skills:

Informed Choices - Selecting an appropriate course of action or behavior based on fact or opinion.
Organisation - Planning and carrying out activities effectively.
Recording data - Describing and recording observations by drawing, note taking, making charts,
tallying, writing statements.
Interpreting data - Drawing conclusions from relationships and patterns that emerge from orga
nized data.

Learner Profile Focus:

Inquirer: They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and
research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be
sustained throughout their lives.
Knowledgeable: They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so
doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of
disciplines.

Attitudes Focus:

Curiosity: Being curious about the nature of learning, about the world, its people and cultures.
Appreciation: Appreciating the wonder and beauty of the world and its people.

Summative assessment:
The children will create posters that demonstrate the impact of plants on their lives and the earth. The poster
must show a global and personal connection. The children will work collaboratively in groups of 4 to create this
poster.
In addition to our Unit of Inquiry we also have content standards in language and math which we will be focusing
on. We have listed them below, both so you can stay informed and to enable you to encourage learning at home.
Language

Reading
Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
Describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place,
thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).
Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations,
descriptions, or procedures).
Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do,does).
Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.

Writing
Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they
name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.
Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events,
tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.
Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and
express opinions about them).
Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
Recognize and name end punctuation.
Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I
Speaking and Listening
Recognize and produce rhyming words.
Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
Demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their
opposites (antonyms).
Math
Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a
circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many
objects.
For any number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number, e.g., by using
objects or drawings, and record the answer with a drawing or equation.
Fluently add and subtract within 5.
Compose and decompose numbers from 11 to 19 into ten ones and some further ones, e.g., by using objects or
drawings, and record each composition or decomposition by a drawing or equation (such as 18 = 10 + 8);
understand that these numbers are composed of ten ones and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or
nine ones.
Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes
of a single object.
Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these
objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.
Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal
language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices/"corners") and
other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length).
Science
Assess ways in which plants are important to humans and other living things.
Describe the basic needs of plants, including air, water, light, warmth and space.
Describe ways in which humans use plants for food, shelter, medicine and clothing.
Identify the major parts of plants, including root, stem, flower, leaf and seed and describe how each
contributes to the plants survival within the plants environment.
How you can help your child at home:
Families are encouraged to observe and find out more about the plants in the environment, and we would be
pleased to see families growing and observing plants at home. Please talk to your child about how we use plants for
food, shelter, medicine and clothing. Please visit parks and natural areas to see the interdependence of plants and
animals. Dubais Miracle Garden is a fantastic place to see some beautiful plants and flowers, but this attraction
closes for the summer on June 1st, so get there fast!
We look forward to your co-operation and support for your child through this unit. Please let us know if you have
any questions regarding this unit.
Thank you,
The KG2 Team