From Faking It to Making It : PYP Reflections
Published in The International Educator (Apr...
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Big Green World
This is our final post for the year! Thank you to all our parents, friends and teachers who have followed us from around the world. It has been a wonderful year in Grade 4 and we are very proud of our learning. To finish the year, we’d like to share our very own music video, “Big Green World”. (Read more about our environmental project in this previous post) While preparing this environmental message, we learned a lot about persuasive language, filming techniques and digital editing. We were inspired by Joni Mitchell’s original classic “Big Yellow Taxi”. We hope you are inspired to save the trees! ...
Read MoreGrade 4 Goes Green!
We have discovered a big problem! We are using resources faster than we can replace them! To understand the issue better, we watched videos about fossil fuels, energy consumption, pollution and greener solutions. Then we began to collect our own data. We audited energy use in our homes and at BISS, and oh dear, what a shock! We are wasting resources every day! We found lights on in unoccupied classrooms, air-conditioners set below 18 degrees, electrical devices drawing power when not in use and even leaky taps. But the thing that upset us most was that many classrooms in our school didn’t have paper recycling systems. So we are going to change that! We made new recycling bins, then taught a lesson to each class about how to separate their trash and why recycling is important. It was tricky to talk to the youngest students in Pre-K, but now they are our best recyclers! Each day, we are collecting the recyclable paper & card from the classrooms and storing it. We are noticing less waste and better sorting in the younger classes. In a few weeks, we will take all the materials to a recycling plant. This will save trees, electricity, water, chemicals and a lot of pollution. Why is it important to save trees? Why is recycling a helpful solution? How can people reduce paper use?...
Read MoreFavorite Field Trips of 2013-2014
What a busy year it has been in Grade 4! Did you know that some of our best learning experiences didn’t even happen in the classroom? Beijing is a wonderful city for museums, parks and experts. If you have been following our blog, you have seen some of these photos and comments before. As we reach the final month of Grade 4, here’s a quick recap of some of our happiest learning moments! What was your favorite field trip? Why? How do field experiences help you...
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