Early Years – UOI | How We Organize Ourselves

How we apply IB PYP into our Early Years curriculum? Let’s take a review on the unit of inquiry that our EY3a students are learning recently.

 

UOI-How we organize ourselves

ATL approaches to learning

• Self-management skills

• Thinking skills

• Communication skills

• Research skills

• Social skills

IB Learning is not only about acquiring specific knowledge, but we focus on how to use these skills to explore and solve problems with the children. The five skills are a child’s tools to learn. We do exploration based on real-world problems and the children’s own problems, forming a learning method of their own. This way, we  generate new ideas and perspectives.

Station 1: Know the map

In EY3A’s inquiry of “How We Organize Ourselves”, our Mandarin class explored the campus. We started from the maps of zoos and shopping malls that are common in life. In the process of exploration, children explored the structure of the map through observation, comparison, thinking, and discussion. And then we learned how to use the map.

Zikang was the first one to discover: I know that the blue line is the river and the gray line is the road.

Felix: This P is the parking lot. I have seen it.

Then we introduced the school map. The children cheered as soon as they saw it: This is our school!

Ken pointed to the elementary school building and said: This is the elementary school, my brother’s place.

Yoyi: This is where the teachers have lunch, and the gym is also here (indoor gym).

Station 2: Visit the campus

We chose the buildings we would like to explore and then took a picture of each buildingand them separately.

Let’s go!

Jay: This is the clock tower. It tells the time. This clock has a sound: Ding Dong Ding Dong. There is a bell tube (pointer) inside the clock, which is used to adjust the time.

Alex: This is the library. There are books, chairs, sofas, and carpets. We must sit and read books in it. You cannot talk, you should be quiet.

Cynthia: This is the place where older friends sleep. There are pillows for sleeping and books for reading. They have homework. And there are desks and pens for homework. There are also sinks.

Station 3: Brainstorm

Then we started to observe different kinds of peculiar houses around the world. We encouraged children to think positively, and started our discussion based on the architectural features and design concepts. We learned that a building was not a square, it could be presented in various forms. It could be in the shape of a teapot, it could be under the roof, it could look like a copper plate…It can also be made of different things. It could be built with bricks, branches, ice cubes, cloth and so on. The place where we build could also be different. In addition to being built on the ground, it could also be built on trees, in the sea, and in outer space.

Through observation and discussion, the children connected the shape and purpose of each building. Then they started to guess what the school buildings can be designed for.

Felix: The library can be made into a book.

Riddick: You can also put a logo in front of it.

Owen: You can add a book logo.

Alex: Okay, it looks like a book. Then we use glass, so it will be bright. Then you can read the books clearly in the library.

Cynthia: A golden bed can be placed on the building where the senior students sleep, so that you can know this is the place for rest. It can be on the tree.

Andy: The little bird sleeps on the tree, I have seen it.

Zikang: Then there can be a plate on top of this restaurant with fruit and vegetables, as well as a fork and a spoon.

Owen: The indoor stadium is built on top of the restaurant and is being used for playing basketball. It’s very large.

Riddick: It can be like a ball.

Alex: It can be a basketball.

Jay: My clock tower is here. I want to make it by wood. The clock is very big.

Station 4: My Building

Through the understanding of the different buildings in the school, we started to design and construct our own buildings with different resources and materials.

We used branches and plasticine to make Felix’s trees for the parking lot.

We used balloons and cotton thread to make Owen’s basketball stadium. Unfortunately, it didn’t work and so we made it into a lantern instead.

Alex created the library from waste books.

We used the pipe cleaner to make the slide that Logan wants…

The final product display↓

Station 5: Map game

Playing is especially important in IB pre-school education. Scientific research shows that the knowledge absorbed by children (3-5 years old) in games is the most effective.

In the process of playing, children can observe peers or adults, simulate, learn, reflect and act accordingly. This can form the inner motivation of the child to learn and improve the student’s learning autonomy.

We introduce the concept of rules from the most popular flying chess game.

Then we encouraged the children to make the school map designed by themselves into their own map game. During the game, the children not only understood the importance of following the rules, but also exercised self-management skills and enhanced communication and thinking skills. We also incorporated mathematics and counting skills, maximizing the realization of play in learning.