Our first Unit of Inquiry explores how ‘The relationships we have with others can shape our journey’ and it has been an excellent way to get to know each other. During this settling in period, the children are becoming more familiar with their peers and teachers and have loved sharing stories, playing circle time games and sharing snippets of information about themselves and their families. We had a rather exciting introduction to our inquiry when we discovered a large box with a mirror concealed inside. The children were fascinated to see their reflection when they peered inside! We had an interesting discussion about ‘who we are’ and our class community. It was lovely to see connections being made, this is something we will continue to explore.

In Kindergarten we have been tuning into our first Unit of Inquiry, Who We Are, through the central idea, ‘People use their senses to learn about themselves and the environment.’ As we settle into the new learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, we have been thinking more about different senses that help us to navigate our day. How does our sense of sound help us to know when it is time to move to a different area, or how do we keep ourselves safe from the bikes that whiz around the playground? Developing a strong sense of self and understanding the world in which we live, is part of becoming an independent learner. We are both impressed and surprised daily as we see action, interaction, engagement and understanding from our keen Kindergarten inquirers. Which one of your senses do you use the most in a normal day?

In Year 1 our first Unit of Inquiry is a wonderful exploration into 'Who We Are' through the Central Idea “Choices influence our wellbeing.” We started developing our inquiry skills with a “See, Think, Wonder” thinking routine about provocation baskets that gave clues to the unit. This led to some deep thinking and the learners made terrific connections, coming up with great wonderings of their own for us to explore further. We read the story ‘The Colour Monster’ by Anna Lenas, which led to thoughtful discussions of feelings and emotions. The learners enjoyed creating their own colour monster and discussing different scenarios associated with each emotion. This week we started to inquire into how to take care of our minds through a range of calming techniques/strategies such as flower breathing and cloud watching. We are so proud of how reflective our learners have been so far.

The Unit of Inquiry for the start of the term has the learners exploring ‘Family histories and cultural influences shape personal journeys’. We have started thinking about the words families, traditions and journeys. To help the learners grasp the concept of traditions, we read the story “Throw your tooth on the roof” by Selby Beeler and shared our own tooth traditions. We have discussed family histories by understanding what a family is and that history is from the past; also looking into family trees and family names. Looking at personal journeys we discussed key events in their lives, being born - birthdays, when they may have moved to a specific country or when something of great significance happened such as losing a tooth, breaking a bone or starting a new school. The transdisciplinary nature of our units gives great examples for the learners to link their mathematical learning, exploring data handling. Classes have the opportunity to create graphs, tallies and collect data in relation to similar traditions, and analyse their data by asking questions relating to the amount of people who may share their traditions. In the next few weeks the learners will continue to inquire into the big idea that ‘Family histories and cultural influences shape personal journeys’ sharing their knowledge and understandings of the unit.

Year 3’s first Unit of Inquiry is under the theme ‘Who We Are’ and we have been exploring how ‘People’s Actions can Affect Others’. To tune into this inquiry, learners made ripples…literally! We dropped pebbles and balls into water to notice how one action can have many effects – by noticing all the waves it made. Learners also made connections to dominos falling and the ‘Kindness Boomerang’. This is when one act of kindness leads to more kindness. After reflecting on the actions we take in the classroom, learners were introduced to the story ‘The Sandwich Swap’. Learners were able to identify the actions, which were hurtful, and notice how they led to unfortunate ‘waves’ around the school. We then focused on how to be a good friend, where learners made booklets with their strategies. Next week, learners will be inquiring into different conflicts they experience at school and how one action could have dramatically different results or ripples around us. It’s a very exciting and thought provoking U.O.I for our little ones. It’s definitely a great inquiry to start the year in order to help create a kind and inclusive community in Year 3!

Year 4 have started the year with our 'Who We Are' Unit of Inquiry and we are are exploring the central idea, 'Informed choices support wellbeing'. Learners have reviewed the ways physical, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing is supported. Questions such as, 'How much sleep should an eight year how have each night?' 'Exactly what is a balanced diet?' and 'What can I do if I feel angry?' have been raised and discussed. Learners have also considered some aspects of digital citizenship, such as keeping passwords and personal information private, signing out of websites and how to take care of devices. In this very important aspect of our curriculum which will be revisited throughout the year. This unit has also been a great opportunity for learners establish essential agreements of working habits and playground behaviour agreements to set the year off to a great start.

In Year 5 we have begun our Unit of Inquiry learning with a focus on Sharing the Planet. Our central ideas is Peace and Conflict exist within and between communities. Tuning into this theme, included learners viewing images of different communities that were experiencing peace or conflict. From this point we collaboratively created definitions that supported a deeper understanding.

We have also revisited the PYP concepts that our lines of inquiry are connected to. We have focused on causation, responsibility, connection and perspective. Activities provided learners with the opportunity to define these concepts and use them to write their own questions which will guide our inquiries.

Some of these include:

Causation: Why do people choose to protest? Why do people start wars? Why is Singapore peaceful?

Responsibility: What can I do to help? How can we change a conflict into peace? Who is going to stop a disagreement?

Connection: Why do friends have conflicts, when they are friends? How can I have less fights with my brother?

Perspective: How can we use peoples perspectives to help solve a disagreement? Why do countries have dictators?

We look forward to exploring contexts connected to our learners questions and sharing these with you all.

Our 'Where We Are in Place and Time' unit has finally started! On Monday we experienced a 'Gallery Walk' where were took time to Slow Look at a variety of artifacts (Photos) which were designed to promote thinking and raise questions. This was followed on Tuesday by another provocation where we asked groups to work together to decide who would be needed to start a new civilisation. The conversations relating to what is needed and the skillsets individuals might bring to a community promoted a deeper understanding of the complexities of how humans work together to build a society. We are now focusing on specific times and events to develop our research and critical thinking skills, which will support us throughout Year 6 and beyond.

Please take the time to read the pamphlet in our homeroom SeeSaw post relating to our UOI on how you can further support your child's understanding at home. It is sure to be an exciting number of weeks as we develop our ability to inquire independently. LINK HERE