Unit of Inquiry Language Letter

Dear KG Families,  

Our students have begun their first Unit of Inquiry in kindergarten, which is all about the five senses.  Our central idea for this unit is "Our senses help us explore the world." From a language perspective it is important to build understanding in a student’s first language, as well as in English.  Please have a look at some of the words your child might see and hear in this Unit:

senses	feel	sound	sweet
see	eyes	noise	salty
sight	ears	quiet	bitter
hear	nose	loud	hard
listen	hands	hot	soft
smell	fingers	cold	smooth
taste	mouth	spicy	bumpy
touch	tongue	sour	rough

This list does not suggest all of the words you might talk about with your child, so feel free to discuss other words that may apply. 

We encourage you to discuss a few of these words each night with your child in your family’s strongest language (Bangla, Korean, Swedish, etc.), especially in contexts like cooking and having dinner. Your child will not be tested on these terms, so please talk about them naturally in a non-stressful way. Even if your child is a native English speaker, it is important to discuss these terms as we study them throughout the unit. Your child’s first language development is very important because it helps increase  conceptual understanding and build English language skills.

We hope you enjoy this Unit of Inquiry: Who We Are, The Five Senses.  Please encourage your child to share thoughts, ideas and questions with you at home to enhance and expand learning, and to further explore the amazing world we live in.

Sincerely,

The Kindergarten Team