How We Organize Ourselves

At the heart of PYP's philosophy is a commitment to structured, purposeful inquiry as a vehicle for learning. This exploration and study is done through the transdisciplinary themes.

One of the Themes each grade level explore is: How We Organize Ourselves. This unit delves into systems, cycles, decision-making, the function of organizations and communities, and economic activity.

Here are the central ideas to some of these units:

• There are systems in place help that help us meet our needs and wants-Kindergarten
• People work to  meet personal, financial and societal needs-2nd grade
• The development of human-made systems impacts our communities-4th Grade
• Systems of government organize societies-5th Grade

Above is a picture of 2nd grade students participating in Market Days at the end of their unit on the economy. Students studied consumerism, marketing, production, and taxes before creating a  product to advertise and sell. This is one example of how the transdisciplinary themes support hands-on inquiry of big ideas!