Spicewood Prepares to Host the Central Texas PYP Roundtable

Next Saturday, November 3rd, Spicewood will host PYP teachers from all over the state of Texas for a roundtable discussion and workshop on the PYP transdisiplinary skills. Spicewood partnered with Round Rock elementary schools Anderson Mill, Caldwell Heights and Chandler Oaks, as well as with LISD elementaries CC Mason and Grandview Hills, to apply for a grant through Texas IB Schools (TIBS).
We chose to explore the transdisciplinary skills because we believe that the construction of meaning is complimented by the development of skills in authentic learning situations.  Within their learning in the Primary Years Program, students acquire and learn to apply transdisciplinary skills.  These skills are applicable not only within the classroom, but in their lives outside of the school setting.  These skills are not relevant to just one content area, but rather transcend all of them to fully support the our development as a lifelong learner.

The development and application of these skills is relevant and applicable to all areas of curriculum because of their broad and diverse nature. They often act as a link across subject areas and are used as a guide for behavior and communication at Spicewood. The upcoming roundtable will give us the opportunity to explore more deeply how and when we explicitly teach these skills, and where we provide students the opportunities to practice and apply this knowledge.

You can find information regarding the transdisciplinary skills and other PYP components on our website!

5th Grade Examines the Relationship Between Government and Citizens

Central idea: Systems of government organize societies.

Under the transdisciplinary theme How We Organize Ourselves, students explore the roles and responsibilities within different government systems, how citizens impact government and the way in which government impacts society.

During this unit students engage in elections in their classrooms and as a grade level. They create a student led government that then involves students from other grade levels. As school leaders students set agendas, attend meetings, and carry out action in response to feedback from the students they represent.

They undergo a media literacy study that assists them in analyzing and comparing citizen's roles in governments around the world. 

Through this unit students use the thinking skill of application to establish government structures in their classroom and write a personal bill of rights. They also apply the social skills of group decision making and resolving conflict when they campaign, come to consensus and create classroom laws.

While exploring the concepts of responsibility, function, and perspective, students work to synthesize all the learning from previous units, and exemplify this knowledge. Throughout the unit sudents will enagage in language, math, social studies, media literacy and other subject areas to uncover this single big idea related to the relationship between society and government.
In this type of transdisciplinary approach  curriculum and instruction are moved beyond single content-area focuses towards cross-curricular connections.  This approach involves the organization of curriculum and instruction around authentic student questions where concepts and skills are developed through real-world contexts.  Inquiry is at the heart of the transdisciplinary approach as students seek answers to the questions raised by the curriculum and themselves.
This is a powerful unit that has our 5th graders examining the way societies are organized and what that means for them and the world around them! Come check out our student elections on Friday, November 2nd!