10th Annual PYP Exhibition is a Success!

This year our 5th grade students explored the transdisicplinary theme How We Express Ourselves. The central idea is: creative expression can inspire people to take action.

All Spicewood students participate in and attend the Exhibition.

Students began this process by examining an event from history, then through research and the exploration of the PYP key concepts they found an issue, or theme, they believed to be at the heart of the event. Using this issue or theme, they created a unique creative expression in order to inspire people to take action.

This process began in February and involved visits with mentor teachers, as well as their own classroom teacher, specials teachers, the librarian and the instructional technology specialists. It was a collaborative event that asked students to explore the values and beliefs related to many historical events and then look at how that issue is relevant and prevalent today. The Exhibition asks students to take action on an issue with current significance. By exploring events and not just isolated issues students were able to make connections between events and really begin to identify what we as individuals could do to prevent these things.

A 5th grade student shares his thoughts and ideas relating to his event and issue.

Dr. Flores asks a student about her art project.

Dr. Flores speaks with a student about her project.

Dr. Flores views a presentation on integrity.

They also explored art, music, literature, movies, TED talks and other mediums to see how people are motivated and inspired to take action. They then used this information to create their own inspirational piece with the goal to inspire others to take action.

During this process they met with other Spicewood teachers who acted as mentors guiding them through a reflection of their journey through the PYP. They examined the themes while looking through their portfolios, reflected on the Learner Profile attributes and discussed perspective and the key concepts in relation to their chosen event.

The result was an amazing display of their collective understanding of what it means to be a PYP learner. They used all their transdisciplinary skills to present their products and truly inspired every visitor we had. We are so proud of our 5th grade students and all the teachers along their journey!