Where We Are in Place and Time? This is the third interdisciplinary theme explored by the students of the ASJ PYP project this semester. This is a theme of exploring the time and space of humanity.
We explore our position in time and space; Personal history; Family and travel; Various human discoveries, explorations, and migrations; Examining the intricate connections between individuals and civilizations from both local and global perspectives.
Recently, G1-G5 students warmly invited parents to enter the campus and held a wonderful closing exhibition.
Central Idea: People around the world use their natural environment to design and build different homes.
Under the sixth transdisciplinary theme of this school year, "where we are in place and time", we ushered in the last inquiry unit "Houses".
The central idea of inquiry in this unit is "People around the world use their natural environment to design and build different houses". After a preliminary understanding of the topic and central idea of the inquiry, we gradually launched the inquiry learning process of the sixth unit around the three lines of inquiry. Starting from the first line of inquiry "different dwellings around the world", our first grade children learned about the seven continents of the world, and learned about different types of dwellings around the world, such as igloos, yurts, "houses with long feet", etc. wait. Then we started the second line of inquiry "various climates and available resources in the world". with different climates.
Due to the difference in geographical location of life, the resources available to people are also different. For example, people near the arctic will use ice and snow to build igloos, while people near the equator will use bamboo and wood that can be seen everywhere to build houses. During the reflective stage, the children began to think about how the natural environment affects various built homes and how to reduce their damage.
In our exhibition, the students showed everyone the different house models they built from all over the world, and presented the song "We're the World" they practiced day after day. Let's enjoy it together !
Central Idea: Travel inspires change and can lead to new opportunities.
Travels is the third topic that our G2 students explored this semester. Around the theme of inquiry "Travel", with "sociology" as the core subject, students explored from three aspects: types of travel; people make choices and decisions when they are travelling; people experience changes when they are travelling.
This unit focuses on the integration of sociology and linguistics. Students learned all kinds of knowledge about travels by connecting with their personal travel experiences. In deepening on the central idea "travel triggers changes and can bring new opportunities." At the same time, broaden students' international vision and minds, improve students' social skills and communication skills.
In this exhibition, the children became little "guides" in different countries or regions, inviting parents as "tourists" to travel around the world with passports and maps to enjoy the landmarks and food of different countries or regions. Every little tour guide" was very enthusiastic and serious to introduce to the "tourists". Every "tourist" was also full of harvest. That was awesome!
Central Idea：Various features formed the differences of hometowns.
The most beautiful place is hometown. After six weeks of exploring our hometown culture, the G3 children had their final exhibition of the semester. At the exhibition, the children led their parents into our inquiry journey by explaining the inquiry process, displaying their inquiry process works, and singing Cantonese songs.
In the summative assessment activity "I and my hometown", children played the role of hometown spokesperson and introduced their hometown's traditional customs, special food and geographical attractions to parents through hometown posters. The children also brought their hometown's food for everyone to taste.
The children used their own actions to promote their hometown culture and received applause and praise from many parents and teachers. This inquiry activity not only stimulated the children's love for their hometown and enhanced their sense of identity, but also led them to become a good thinker and inquirer, and further exercised their research skills and communication skills. The hometown is unforgettable! We hope we can all contribute to the construction of our hometown.
Central Idea: Migration is driven by challenges, risks, and opportunities.
The theme of our fourth-grade exploration unit is "Human Migration." The central idea of this unit is that "human migration is a response to different challenges, risks, and opportunities."
Based on the three lines of inquiry related to migration: the reasons for human migration, the impact of human migration on society, culture, and individuals, and the pros and cons of migration, the students conducted research using various resources such as iPads and books. They collected information and recorded and organized it in their preferred ways.
They studied significant migration events in human history, such as the westward expansion in China, the California Gold Rush, and the migration of people to Southeast Asia. During the inquiry process, the students also interviewed family and friends who have experienced migration or immigration, filmed videos, and documented the interviews.
During the culminating exhibition, the students were divided into four groups to present their findings: the journey of Princess Wencheng to Tibet, the California Gold Rush, the Syrian refugees' clandestine journey, and the Chinese Spring Festival travel rush. At the exhibition, the students shared exquisite and rich posters, books, maps, models, and costumes, showcasing their knowledge and learning in various forms. Their fluent explanations, confident analyses, and bold sharing impressed everyone. They shared specific processes of human migration, the crises, challenges, and opportunities people face during migration, and the impact of human migration on both the departure and destination areas. Each well-supported viewpoint left a deep and pleasantly surprising impression.
Throughout this inquiry, the students courageously faced difficulties and embraced various unknown challenges. The exploration fully ignited their intrinsic motivation and transformed them into masters of learning, continuously progressing on the path to becoming lifelong learners. Now, let us enjoy the wonderful performance of our fourth-grade students!
Central idea: Ancient civilizations connect past and present societies.
In the exhibition of the topic of "Ancient Civilization", the fifth grade students showed different ancient civilizations, including the Four Great Ancient Civilizations (Babylon, Ancient Egypt, India and China), ancient Rome, ancient Greece, Maya civilization, etc.
The content prepared by the students is rich and colorful, including making exquisite posters, various manual physical displays, Lego models of the Egyptian pyramids and Sadouf for agricultural irrigation, the composition of Maya numerals and the five Mayan prophecies, great buildings such as the Colosseum, and the composition of Roman numerals. In addition, students also displayed specific cultural characteristics in their clothing, including ancient Chinese Hanfu, ancient Roman helmets, and ancient Babylonian drapery.
In this exhibition, students' abilities were fully exercised. In the process of introducing posters, students not only consolidated their knowledge points, but also exercised their expression skills.
In the preparation process for the physical display, students not only deepen their understanding of the explored content, but also improve their hands-on abilities. Next, let's enjoy the wonderful moments of the students together!
Inquiry is the learning style of students in the ASJ PYP project. Full of curiosity about the world, full of exploration spirit towards the unknown, brave in facing difficulties and challenges, and using the knowledge and skills learned by oneself to solve endless problems in learning and life. Good at thinking, full of innovative spirit, observing the world with one's own eyes, creating the world with one's own hands, and measuring the world with one's own feet. It is our ASJPYP project students' inexhaustible learning enthusiasm and motivation. May we always use our dreams as horses and not disappoint our youth. Make the world more exciting because of our existence!
