Transdisciplinary unit: TALES OF EXPRESSION

Highlights from Music, STEAM & Library

'Tales of Expression' is a transdisciplinary unit our 3rd grade students worked on across all specials classes. In this project, students had the opportunity to dive into the world of fairy tales, exploring how they connect across different subjects. But how exactly does a transdisciplinary unit like this work? Well, it’s when students connect concepts and ideas from different subjects to create a deeper understanding of a central theme. In our case, that theme was fairy tales.

Throughout this unit, 3rd grade students worked with teachers in PE, art, music, Spanish, STEAM and library, bringing together everything they've learned to create something truly special.

Since we're highlighting STEAM, Music, and Library this month, below are examples of students' work from this transdisciplinary unit.

STEAM with Mr. Omar

The IB Transdisciplinary Unit for STEAM is Tales of Expression, with a focus on popular fairy tales. Third-grade students planned and designed innovative projects that represented specific fairy tales.

The design challenges were:

Build a Beanstalk To Support the Giant’s Castle,
Engineer Houses For The Three Little Pigs,
Build a Carriage to Help Cinderella Get to the Ball, Create a Device to Help Rapunzel Escape From Her Tower, and
Build a Bridge For The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Music with Ms. Michalcik

Tales of Expression: Exploring Sound and Storytelling

This month, our 3rd graders dove into a fascinating unit called "Tales of Expression." Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to:

Anansi tale - 3rd grade.mp4

Why Does Anansi Have Eight Long Legs

Students used various percussion instruments to accompany traditional African story.

🎵 Sound and Stories

Our young storytellers discovered how sound can breathe life into a narrative and transform its mood. They experimented with various audio elements to enhance their tales, learning that a well-placed sound effect can make all the difference!

🎺 Musical Instrument Exploration

We investigated different types of musical instruments and the unique sounds they produce. Students had the opportunity to match instruments with specific parts of their stories, creating a rich auditory experience.

📚 Cross-Cultural Connections

In collaboration with our Spanish class, students explored stories from different cultures. This interdisciplinary approach allowed them to draw connections between various storytelling traditions and broaden their cultural understanding.

Tales of Expression - Music.mp4

Story written by Ariana

✍️ Creative Writing Project

As a culminating activity, each student wrote their own story in Spanish class. This project showcased their creativity and newly acquired skills in both storytelling and language.

Library with Mrs. Sharkey

3rd Grade worked on their Transdisciplinary Unit :

"Tales Of Expression," which culminated with students writing their own 5-sentence fairy tales or a Fairy Tale Brochure.

Illustrating Monsters Feelings

Students were able to discuss the characters in the stories and also retell what happened in the story.

Students in Kindergarten and First grades listened to the stories "Love Monster" and "Freckleface Strawberry." They then discussed how the character changed during the story and what made them change.

How did the character feel at the beginning and end of the story?

What did the character do in the story to get rid of her freckles?

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