A walk through our Upper Primary Building, home to fourth- and fifth-grade students reveals the vibrancy of the Primary Years Programme (PYP). Students gather, sleeves proverbially rolled up, deeply engaged in hands-on, project-based learning. Student work lines the walls, transforming hallways into living, breathing museums.

If you were to walk the Upper Primary hallways today, you would see the product of the most recent unit of inquiry displayed, Who We Are.

The fourth grade honed in on "Balanced Minds and Balanced Bodies" as part of the unit. Fourth-grade teacher, Irene Garcia, shared a little about the unit with me:

This unit was designed to inspire students to think critically about how the choices they make affect their well-being, both physically and emotionally.  We created a framework for our instruction that focused on the concepts of wellness, responsibility, and causation. Target Languages concentrated on body systems while English explored health and nutrition.

In Spanish class, we researched about the function of the organs of our different body systems and then designed a model of this system. We used recyclable materials while thinking how this material would make sense for each organ.

We ended with a celebration of learning that included students generating questions from the unit to ask in a whole-grade Kahoot party!

I'd love to show you PYP in action! Join me for a campus tour.