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WISS G2 Revel in Mini Expo
By WISS Admin | January 20, 2009
From Class Act, Shanghai Daily, Tuesday January 20, 2009.
With the 2010 World Expo still over 400 days away, WISS 2nd graders celebrated their own Mini Expo on December 17, 2008, joined by their parents, students and teachers in other grades.
The Mini Expo was a culmination of students’ self directed inquiry. Students transformed their tables and chairs to create ‘Ambassador Stalls’ for their chosen country of interest. Adorned with visual displays, traditional music, architectural models, local food, authentic fabric and artifacts the classroom space was changed into a melting pot of cultural knowledge. The 2nd graders took on the role as cultural ambassadors through detailed presentation and active interaction with appreciative and supportive visitors who asked questions and shared their own experiences related to the specific country.
Prior to the “Mini World Expo,” students were involved in a range of discoveries and explorations inviting them to focus on the central idea of their learning; “Humans have discovered unique features of various places and have adapted and altered these in different ways.”
As an International Baccalaureate school, the Grade 2 teaching team worked collaboratively to engage students. “A key component of the Primary Years Program at WISS is to develop Inquiry through the use of questions.” commented Mrs. Renée Peitsch, grade 2 teacher “By giving students the opportunity to ask their own questions and direct their own inquiry, each individual is able to extend on the global knowledge they, in an international community bring to the classroom.”
The Grade 2 cohort began this learning journey with a field trip to TV Pearl Tower where the students had a chance to overlook the main features of their host city, followed by a visit to
The parents also gave high marks to this Expo.” It was a great project to develop my daughter’s research and presentation skills. Some of the research related to mathematics, such as populations, distance, measurement of a building, temperature, time zone and so on, so it also enriched their understanding in this area. She was very proud of her work and had shown much enthusiasm.” Rita Kung, G2 parent noted with satisfaction, “As the whole family were involved in this process, we all gained some knowledge out of it.”
As the students sail through their learning journey ahead, it is unquestionable that the skills and hands-on experience gained will stand them in good stead as lifelong learners.
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