Our new unit of inquiry 'HWEO: Communication' through a transdisciplinary approach

Our new unit of inquiry 'HWEO: Communication' through a transdisciplinary approach
  • Grade 1
  • Specialists
Serrin Smyth

How The World Works: Light & Sound

As a culminating learning experience for our How The World Works (Light & Sound) unit of inquiry, students in Grade 1 designed and made musical instruments in Visual Arts lessons with Ms Speirs, and then had the opportunity to play them together in Music lessons with Ms Ofstedal. They considered and planned for the materials they would use, how their instrument might make a sound (strike, shake, pluck, strum and scrape) and to which family of instruments it might belong (woods, metals, drums, shakers and scrapers). The instruments ranged from maracas to guitars and from harps to tambourines - another great example of our students making connections across the PYP! 

Launching the new unit of inquiry: How We Express Ourselves - Communication

As we move into our new unit of inquiry, students in Grade 1 have been exploring the central idea: 'People express ideas, feelings and emotions in many different ways'. They will be inquiring into:

  • Ways people communicate

  • Communicating creatively and effectively

  • The role & responsibility of the receiver (the audience, the viewer, the listener)

A transdisciplinary unit of inquiry!  

What does this unit of inquiry look like in the different subject areas? 

Homerooms:

Students have been creating their very own Ted Talk! They have been inquiring into the different techniques used for communication. (e.g. different gestures and their inferred meaning, body language, facial expression, words, actions, sign language, texts, images, colour, shape, size.) Students are planning to teach, through a speech, a topic they are an expert in, therefore exploring how they can turn information text into speeches with visual text to support their ideas. Topics students are currently planning to speak on include; camping, violins, art, plants, coronavirus and hamsters. Watch this space, as these inspiring Ted Talks will be shared with our wider community soon!

Art (Ms Speirs)

Students will read “The Feelings Book”, by Todd Parr and discuss examples of when they have experienced these emotions. They will explore some pieces of artwork which clearly show emotions and identify which emotions they think the artist was trying to express. They will experiment with colours, patterns, textures, lines and different shapes which can be used to express different emotions. Finally, students will choose an emotion and create an appropriate colour/pattern/texture/lines/shapes for the background, draw a portrait by giving the appropriate facial expressions and create a class book with their final pieces. 

PE: Gymnastics (Ms Grantham)

Students will engage in a provocation regarding how we can communicate without using words or speech. They will be introduced to a series of gymnastics fundamental directional travelling movements such as skipping, hopping, sliding, rolling, running, walking, walking backwards, crawling and spinning using signs and symbols. Students are introduced to the seven gymnastics shapes using signs and symbols (Star, Straight, Pike, Pike Straddle, Arch, Dish, Tuck). Students will create their own travelling movement/shape signs and symbols to use in a gymnastic sequence with and without equipment and reflect on their process and final piece. 

Music (Ms Ofstedal) 

In Music, students will explore the types of feelings that music can express and how the elements of music support evoking these emotions. Students will plan and prepare a performance to be shared with the community which will place a large focus on student agency throughout the process. What emotions do we want our audience to feel and how might we evoke these emotions through a melodic piece or a soundscape?

PSPE (Ms Veronica)

Students will review what communication is and how we communicate effectively with our friends and peers. They will be introduced to the word 'conversation' and discuss the requirements of a conversation; such as listening, using body language to show how one listens - nodding your head, use of facial expressions, eye contact, no interrupting. Students will practice conversation using a ‘talking stick’ in order to communicate their feelings caused by the action of a peer which upset them and also to connect and get to know a peer better.  Finally they will explore how different experiences can result in different emotions.

Library:  (Ms Lea)

  • Students will show appreciation of illustrations in picture books by selecting and rereading familiar books, focusing on favourite pages ad exploring the questions and topics of: 

    • How do stories/books make us feel?

    • Recalling feelings listeners have

    • Recognize that we react to books in different ways (e.g. laugh, cry, be scared)

    • Recognize that we might not feel the same way about books as others

Religion (Ms Suzanne & Ms Sandra) 

  • Retell Bible Stories (such as the  Lost Sheep, Good Samaritan, Prodigal Son) as examples of God’s love and care

  • Identify how we show our love for Jesus and others by following him through our words and actions

  • State that God gave us the ability to choose freely to do what is good and avoid what is wrong.

  • Show understanding that the Church has many holy people some of who are called saints.

How will agency be supported throughout this process?

Choice: Students are challenged with changing their ways of communication to make better relationships with others. Voice: Students will share their own experience with miscommunication with someone and hurting that person. The class will give recommendations on better ways to communicate.

How might you connect at home?

SOLO Taxonomy & Word Vocabulary List

This parent version of the SOLO taxonomy may support you to have discussions with your child by asking some of the guiding questions. The questions develop across the SOLO from a shallow understanding where factual knowledge is developed to a more deeper understanding where conceptual understandings are formulate. The Vocabulary Lists are a guide for the possible vocabulary that may be explored throughout the unit of inquiry. It is encouraged that you explain and explore the words within this list with your child in their mother tongue. Perhaps you may talk about the concept of some of the words in English and also in your home language in order to deepen their understanding of them.

ACTION:

Additionally, if you see your child taking action as a result of their learning at school, we would LOVE to hear about it! As action is often taken outside of the learning environment, we often don't know about these opportunities that you as parents are witness to, even a short email telling us about something your child did or said at home as a result of their learning helps us know how the PYP is supporting the development of life long learners that take action!

Please contact our PYP Coordinator (ssmyth@seisen.com) or your daughter's homeroom teacher.

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