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!

5th Grade Begins Work on Their PYP Exhibition

At the end of the Primary Years Program, 5th grade students work in groups on a project that outlines all they have learned on their journey through the PYP. This project, called The Exhibition, acts as an evaluation for both Spicewood, and our 5th grade students. We use it as a tool to reflect on how we, as a campus, are doing at implementing the PYP, and as a way to gauge how individuals have grown over time.
Working with a Spiceood faculty mentor students must write a central idea, inquiries into and questions that will outline what they hope to learn.
This is a powerful process for students as they have to use all the essential elements of the PYP: concepts, attitudes, knowledge, transdisciplinary skills and action.
Some of this year's topics include world hunger, poaching, immigration, the national debt and addiction.
Join us on May 2nd as our students share their work with the community!

Perspective is a Powerful Tool in Learning about the World Around Us

Throughout the exploration of our units of inquiry, we ask students to consider what they are learning from multiple perspectives. This is a powerful tool for learning about other people and cultures.  Our 5th grade is currently working on their Exhibition, which is the culmination of their PYP experience. They are exploring issues such as obesity, child abuse, pollution, immigration, world hunger and the national debt. Throughout the study of these intense topics students encounter passionate opinions and deep feelings. An important and valuable part of this culminating project is to explore all sides of these issues, and make a plan to take action for what they believe.

This something that we must do as teachers as well, constantly reflect and expand our own understandings. This is a video that explores the limitations of a single perspective.
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or  we risk a critical misunderstanding.

Community Members Enhance our Understanding of the World

Today our 1st grade was fortunate to have a guest speaker from our community, Ellen Tuthill, speak to them about a unit of inquiry they are exploring under Sharing the Planet. The central idea is: water is a limited and essential resource shared among all living things.
In this unit 1st grade investigates why water is essential before discussing access to fresh water, and who owns water. This is a powerful unit for students who believe that water flows from the tap everywhere in the world. They begin to comprehend the differences between fresh and salt water and how limited sources of fresh water are.
In her presentation today, Mrs. Tuthill shares photos and video clips from her trip to Jido, Ethiopia. Jiddo is a community that suffers from lack of water, as well as lack of potable water. Although the town has a well, it is contaminated with unhealthy levels of flouride. The next closest source of water is 16 KM away. Mrs. Tuthill shared the difficulties that families deal with while trying to obtain water to drink, feed their animals, water their crops...even wash their hands to ward off disease.

Throughout the Program of Inquiry here at Spicewood we incorporate many perspectives on the topics and issues we explore. Seeing the photos of kids from Jido, and hearing Mrs. Tuthill's first hand experiences broadens the world for our students.

Earlier in the year 1st grade students explored how nonprofit organizations help meets the needs of others. This built off that knowledge as students saw how organizations are working to bring fresh, clean water to the people of Jido.

Exploring Current Events Through Units of Inquiry

One of the benefits of teaching and learning in the PYP is how it strives to provide students with a way to connect to their learning. It does this by making that learning relevant. One way we do this is to bring in the world around us and support students as they make connections. This is a powerful way for students to process current and historical events in context.
Right now at Spicewood 2nd grade is exploring the causes and affects of natural disasters. They bring in local events such as the recent central Texas Fires and the ongoing drought; as well as global events such as the flooding in Thailand. This provides students with theopportunity to expand their awareness of the world around them and investigate the social and scientific factors involved. This unit also provides students with the background knowledge, or schema, they will need when as 3rd graders they look at how economic factors are affected by interruptions to the supply and demand chain. One of the disruptions being a natural disaster, or weather event.
Other current events and topics being explored at Spicewood right now are: alternative energy sources in 5th grade and conflict resolution in 4th grade. In the 4th grade unit the conflicts being examined are those related to economic, social, cultural, political and religious differences.
Stop in any Spicewood classroom to see students acquiring the skills and knowledge that will help them create a better and more peaceful world!

Reflecting and Looking Ahead

Reflection is an integral part of the Primary Years Program for teachers and students. It is an attribute of the Learner Profile outlining the need for learners to give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience as well as encouraging assessing and understanding our strengths and limitation to support and develop goals for growth.
Reflection is also one of the key concepts that drives our units of inquiry. When we explore a topic, or a big idea, reflection encourages us to look at our conclulsions and understandings, questions our evidence and consider our methods of reasoning. The idea is to find out for yourself, while considering how we know what we know.
The PYP rationale for its inclusion of reflection as a key concept is as follows: it challenges students to examine their evidence, methods and evidence. In doing so , it extends their thinking into higher order of metacognition, begins to acquaint them with what it means to know in different disciplines, and encourages them to be rigorous in examing evidence for potential bias or other inaccuracies.
The idea of extending our thinking is a powerful one. When we reflect on what me know and how-we must make the leap to analyzing our knowledge and evaluating its origins and accuracy. This is powerful and in a world full of ever-changing data and information, encourages learners to seek out more than just unrelated facts.
We learn by asking questions, applying knowledge and seeking out more knowledge and information. This is the inquiry cycle and reflection drives it!

Teaching What is Worth Knowing

“For any subject taught in primary school we must ask (is it) worth adults knowing, and whether having known it as a child makes a person a better adult” Jerome Bruner

The Primary Years Program believes that teaching and learning should be significant, relevant, engaging and challenging for all students. Learning that is relevant and significant is connected to the real world, and is worth knowing and exploring. Significant ideas and concepts are global and have many perspectives to explore. Each grade level learns through six units of inquiry for between 4-6 weeks. These units allow students to explore outlined ideas and concepts in depth, and in ways that are personal to each learner.

Engaging students within the PYP is about helping students see how things are related to them, and then exploring these connections in ways that work for the individual. Students learn through inquiry, manipulating scenarios, asking questions and collaborating to further their understanding.

We try to make all learning challenging by providing opportunities to extend student learning, ask questions and pursue self-directed inquiries.

Here are some of our guiding questions when planning for learning:Does this knowledge/concept have enduring value beyond the classroom?
Does it allow students to explore issues of local, national and global significance?The Primary Years Program aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural respect and understanding. Here at Spicewood we support this goal through relevant, engaging, challenging and significant teaching and learning!