Year 2 Newsletter

11th March, 2011

How We Organize Ourselves

Dear Parents,

We are now starting our fifth unit of inquiry, which will focus on the ways that products
are moved from their primary source to our homes. There will be two field trips during
this unit. Students will have an opportunity to look closely at production, processing,
transport and the various individuals who work within a community system.

Unit of Inquiry
The organizing theme of our unit of inquiry is “How We Organize Ourselves”. The
Central Idea is: People work to produce, process and transport the goods we use.

Teachers will be encouraging students to consider:

 How people produce and process products
 Systems used to distribute products
 Individual roles and collective responsibilities within the system

Field Trips
 Our first field trip will be to UFM Baking and Cooking School where students will
see and appreciate the people and processes involved in producing baked
goods. We may also get to taste a few samples!

 Our second field trip will be to Talaad Thai Market to see one of the largest
wholesale fresh fruit, vegetable and fish markets in Bangkok.

Details on field trips will be posted on the Y2 Blogs as we finalize the plans, so be sure
to check regularly for additional information.

How Can You Help at Home?

The two main concepts driving our inquiry are:
 Function, which focuses on production, transportation, distribution and
consumer demand.
 Connection, which includes cooperation, collective responsibility, commitment.

You can help strengthen these concepts at home by having conversations at the dinner
table. “What’s for Dinner?” can be much more than a simple question during this unit.
Having a chat about what is actually on the plate and how it got there may make for
some very interesting dinner discussions!

When shopping in the supermarket with your child, discuss the different products you
buy, how separate departments in the store sell different kinds of products and the
various jobs of people working in the supermarket. Some products such as produce and
fresh meats may be in their original form, whereas breads and pasta are quite different
from what they started as!
Year 2 Newsletter
11th March, 2011

There are some great websites about the processing of products that you can enjoy with
your child. Please check the Year 2 Blogs “Online Activities” for recommended websites.
Feel free to pass any good links back to us as well if you should find some in your
ventures.

These are the key vocabulary words that will be presented in this unit:

communities systems
transport / transportation consumer
product / goods farmer
distribute /distribution retailer
primary sources factory
process responsibility
packaging collective /joint
storage roles/ jobs
raw materials worker

Links with the Unit of Inquiry

The text type focus for this term is procedural writing. This unit of inquiry lends itself to
reading, writing and carrying out tasks in a specific order, or procedure. You can help at
home by encouraging your child to join you in the kitchen to follow a recipe, or perhaps
try to assemble a construction using a list of instructions.

In Mathematics, the unit of inquiry will link with our study of Fractions and Shape and
Space. Students will explore how we use fractions to represent whole-part relationships.
We will focus on halves and quarters of numbers and objects (for example ½ of 8 = 4).

In Shape and Space, students will use correct mathematical vocabulary to describe 2D
and 3D shapes and show how they are connected. We will also consider which 3D
shapes are appropriate for the packaging of goods.

Khun Warunee, our Thai studies teacher, will be joining us during this unit. With her
guidance the Year 2 students will learn more about common Thai products and the
systems used to produce, process and distribute them.
 
Support from home plays an important part in each Y2 student’s success. We would like
to thank you again for your continuing support!

The Year 2 Team