An inquiry into challenges and opportunities faced by children.

 Hey all,

I am back. Just thought of sharing a snapshots of a unit  we did in our class. I just love the way students inquire and build on inquiry.

Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the planet

Central Idea: Children worldwide encounter a range of opportunities and challenges.

                                                                                                      

Lines of inquiry: 

- Access to equal opportunities

- Children’s response to challenges and opportunities faced

-     - Promotion of equal opportunities among children

Here are a few learning engagements done by the students to build on their understanding about the central idea.

Prior knowledge assessment: 

Gratitude wall - Students built a gratitude wall by mentioning about the things they are thankful for followed by a discussion to be grateful, through which students were able to identify challenges,  and opportunities in their life.
1.      Think pair share - Students unfolded  the meaning of – ‘opportunities’ by discussing with the peers and had a discussion in class. They created a list of opportunities they have in their life sharing multiple perspectives.
2.      Golden hour – Students were provided different opportunities in groups like – opportunities to search anything on internet, use as much stationary as they want to etc. use of any special area. They entered the class using an entry slip where they reflected on their experiences.
3.      Around the world- students researched on different opportunities that children in different countries  get and compared their findings with each other’s using a Venn diagram.
4.      Three – two – one -  students were provoked by displaying pictures of children being mis-handled and they pointed out what’s wrong in it by writing three facts, two questions and one opinion sharing multiple perspectives. Then they were shown a slide show of rights of children to develop deeper understanding of opportunities in order to understand human commonality.

5.      Students completed a table – challenges, risks, causes - who, where, what.
6.      Matinee show - Students watched a movie Pahuna and identified the challenges and risks that children face in the movie. The reflection helped building an understanding of human diversity and how they cope up with the challenges.
7.      Exploring the world – students researched on various challenges and risks faced by the children around the world like child labor, child abuse, diseases, road safety rules, first aid, vaccination etc. and presented their learning in the form of PowerPoint Presentation/Y chart/research paper giving multiple perspectives about human commonalities from local to global level.
8.      Art integration – In groups, students illustrated and added words/phrases/ the ways in which they can overcome all the major risks that they had researched upon under the guidance of Art teacher.
9.      Newspaper exhibition - Students collected newspaper articles and situations where children’s basic needs are denied and created a collage in groups and presented it in the class. They understood human commonality and diversity.

10. The summative task took place in the form of a street play after a number of formative assessments, making sure that each student was walking towards the right path it the learning and teaching process. 

courtesy: my beautiful school - Akal Academy Baru Sahib http://akalacademybarusahib.com/