August, 2011

Dear Parents,

Ourfirst Primary Years Programme Unit of Inquiry is calledCulture in Artand involves inquiring into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values through art. Families can review the details of the unit below so that connections can be made between home and our learning at school.

Central Idea:
Art is an expression of culture
An Inquiry Into:
  • the relationship between artand culture
  • the exploration of personal culture
Teacher Questions:
  1. What are the elements of culture?
  2. What is the link between culture and art?
  3. How can we express our personal culture through art?
/

In order to make this a truly rich unit, we encourage all parents to make connections related to the unit outside of school.Some things to try:

  • Collect magazines that have pictures of our cultures. For our summative assessment of this unit we create collages and scrap books that represent our cultures. Students will need magazines for their projects.
  • Discuss what culture means and discuss the cultures represented in your family.
  • Reflect on celebrations you have taken part in or witnessed that are different from the way your family would celebrate. Compare which aspects are similar as well.
  • Study the works of art you have at your house. How do they represent culture?
  • If you know of anyone connected to the art community here in Singapore or who feels passionate about art as a representation of culture and is willing to visit our class, please contact us as soon as possible!
  • Plan a family trip to a local museum. As a grade we will be visiting the Peranakan Museum.

Vocabulary List – Grade 3

ART IS AN EXPRESSION OF CULTURE

This is a list of some of the vocabulary that will be used in class during this unit. You might want to review this list in your child’s mother tongue. Even if your child is fluent in English, understanding the vocabulary in more than one language furthers his/her learning and encourages him/her to make broader connections.

culture
art
music
dance
belief
value
ritual
religion
people
society
festival / holiday
ceremony
celebration
manners
polite
behaviour
dress
costume
language
greeting
system /

/ Throughout this unit, encourage your child to discuss what
we have seen on class trips or during lesson activities. Also,
if you discover some exciting things whether it be a story book,
poster or news article, please send them along to school as
the children love sharing what they have learned with the rest
of the class.

If you have any questions about this unit or anything we are working on in class, please contact your classroom teacher.

From,

The Grade 3Teachers

Mrs.Perkowsky, Mr. Landrum, Mr. Turner