Grade 3 How We Organise Ourselves: Systems

As students in Grade 3 concluded their unit of inquiry focusing on "Inventions have influenced the way we live today and have implications for the future", they were encouraged to take their learning further in Art classes by suggesting a new invention to suit a particular function. 

As reflective thinkers, students applied thinking skills by considering how they might solve problems in creative ways. 

Guiding questions included:

What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

What are the issues surrounding the SDGs?

How can we create an invention to address one of the SDGs?

How can I present my ideas clearly?

What is a blueprint?

What information might be included?

What materials would be best for my invention and why?

What impact might my invention have on helping to meet the SDGs?

The Learning Experiences in Visual Art included:

Here are some of the creative and inspiring designs of the future the students came up with: 

 

 

 

 

LAUNCHING: How We Organise Ourselves: Systems

As we move into our new unit of inquiry, students in Grade 3 have been exploring the central idea: 'Human made systems are created to support the needs of communities'.

They will be inquiring into:

• Reasons people construct organisations and systems

• How systems promote progress

• Systems we use and how they work 

Students have been inquiring into the human made system that was developed at Seisen in order for all students and teachers to return safely on campus. They have been identify the different aspects of this system, including the people involved, the resources and the processes that take place (things they can see and also the hidden elements of the system that we may not necessarily see). They have been investigating through observations around the school and also interviewing different people involved in the safety protocols. 

Students documented their observations through Seesaw:

Connecting Locally

As a way of connecting their ideas and taking their learning further by comparing aspects of systems and recognizing that systems contain subsystems, and can be part of larger systems, students have been in contact with Grade 3 students at St Mary's. 

Our ICT Integrationist, Mr G, started the process by co-constructing an essential agreement with the students for email use. Students will explore how Gmail is part of a digital system and how this system functions. 

Image: How the students ideas and Mr G's ideas were included to develop an essential agreement. 

Seisen students began by introducing themselves and explaining the purpose of their intended communication. Next they will develop and ask specific questions about the systems in place at St Mary's in relation to the Covid protocols at the school. 

Email from a Seisen student 

 Response from a St Mary's student. 

This has also provided an authentic opportunity for explicitly teaching email and letter writing skills. How do you write an effective email? What might an effective structure of an email be? What is the subject box and how do we write a subject? 

What can you do at home to connect with learning about systems? 

SOLO Taxonomy and 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.

IDEA: You might explore the question: What systems do you have at home that support you to function effectively?

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.