Spicewood Students Create Word Cloud for Shared Unit of Inquiry

This year Spicewood will undertake a shard unit under the transdisciplinary theme Where we are in Time and Place about shelters. To kick off this shared PYP Unit each student was asked to submit a word they think of when they think about shelters. This was both a provocation to generate interest, and a preassessment to establish what students already know on the subject.
Tagexedo was used to generate the following word cloud:

We look forward to further exploration and inquiry of our shared unit.

The PYP Unit of Inquiry

In the next few weeks Spicewood will  be hosting a parent workshop titled Unlocking the PYP Unit of Inquiry. This workshop is designed to outline the six transdisciplinary themes that every grade level investigates, as well as the process of planning a unit under those themes.


Teachers use a planning document to guide this process and record the process. Each unit begins with the theme, then teachers write the central idiea that will guide the learning, then the unit summative assessment. The rest of the planners outlines the skills, attributes and attitudes and other assessments that will be explored through learning experiences, provocations and lines of inquiry.


In the meantime, check out what a blank planner looks like!

A Special Pledge for Spicewood

A member of our Spicewood community was inspired to write this pledge after spending time on our wonderful campus. One of the most valued aspects of the PYP is the Learner Profile. The Learner Profile outlines the kind of student we aim to create, one that would demonstrate these attributes: inquirer, thinker, communicator, risk-taker, principled, caring, open-minded, balanced and reflective.

Here is the pledge inspired by Spicewood:

i pledge my allegiance to truth

under whatever flag it flies

for i know no one holds all truth

and i pledge my allegiance to kindness

wherever it see it

and to understanding.

whenever it comes

I pledge my allegiance to sharing

and hopefulness.

and to speaking softly

and to love

when it feel it

and to hope

when i don't.

I pledge my allegiance to the children of the world

boys and girls like me

who are in this classroom,

and who are far from here.

who are rich,

and who are poor.

and to all the schools here and not here

and to the knowledge of the school libraries

and i pledge to follow the path of knowledge

to the best of by abilities

because with knowledge comes wisdom

and with wisdom comes grace

I also pledge my allegiance to laughter

because laughing makes people feel better

and it is contagious.

and finally i pledge my indivisible allegiance to recess

i pledge to play with a joyful and kind heart

and i pledge to use my voice and not to hit

because i know how i play

is how i will live my life

and i want to follow the path of peace and understanding

and live softly on this good earth

-Stuart McLean

Welcome to PYP at Spicewood Elementary

The PYP, or Primary Years Program, is the elementary version of the International Baccalaureate. The IB is an organization that is motivated by a mission to create a better world through education.
The IB promotes intercultural understanding and respect, not as an alternative to a sense of cultural and national identity, but as an essential part of life in the 21st century.



All of this is captured in their mission statement:


The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.



This blog will be a window into Spicewood's PYP program, a place to learn more about how and what we teach and learn here at Spicewood!

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