ECE AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - International School in Genoaisgenoa.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IPC.pdf · CURRICULUM | INTERNATIONAL PRIMARY CURRICULUM (IPC) ISG ECE AND ELEMENTARY

2016-2017

CURRICULUM | INTERNATIONAL PRIMARY CURRICULUM (IPC)

ISG ECE AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The International Primary Curriculum

The International Primary Curriculum is a comprehensive, thematic, creative curriculum with a clear process of learning and with specific learning goals for every subject, for international mindedness and for personal learning.

The IPC has been designed to ensure rigorous learning but also to help teachers make all learning exciting, active and meaningful for children. Learning with the IPC takes a global approach; helping children to connect their learning to where they are living now as well as looking at the learning from the perspective of other people in other countries. The IPC is used in schools all over the world. Currently this includes nearly 1,800 national and international schools in over 90 countries.

The aim of the IPC is to help every child enjoy the learning of a wide range of subjects and to develop an inquiring mind, the personal attributes that will help throughout teenage and adult years, and to develop a sense of his or her own nationality and culture, at the same time developing a profound respect for the nationalities and cultures of others. Through the IPC approach to learning children develop the knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to confidently face the world of tomorrow.

At the International School in Genoa, we have been learning through IPC since 2009. Science, ICT, History, Geography and Society are taught through a variety of IPC units. Art, music, Italian, and Physical education are taught as separate subjects, but still integrated into IPC. A complete list of IPC topics can be found on the ISG website.

Science and ICT

Students investigate scientific and technological concepts using a variety of equipment, materials, and strategies, and both manual and technological tools and skills. These concrete learning tools invite students to explore and investigate abstract scientific and technological ideas in rich, varied, concrete, and hands-on ways. Moreover, using a variety of equipment, tools, and materials helps deepen and extend students’ understanding of scientific and technological concepts and further extends the development of scientific inquiry and technological problem-solving skills.

Science and ICT are taught through a variety of IPC units, such as:

• Live and Let Live (Kindergarten) • Freeze It (Grade 1) • It’s Shocking (Grade 2) • Shake It (Grade 3) • Bright Sparks (Grade 4) • Fit for Life (Grade 5)

Through theses IPC students will:

• Be able to pose simple scientific questions • Be able to identify ways of finding out about scientific issues • Be able to conduct simple investigations • Be able to gather information from simple texts • Be able to use ICT to present information • Be able to enter, save, retrieve and revise information • Be able to work with text, tables, images and sound

History, Geography and Society

In History, children learn about the past in relation to the present. They investigate the ways in which we find out about the past and ways in which the past has been recorded and interpreted. They learn how to draw conclusions about the past, and about the cultural, political, social economic and personal aspects of past societies. They discover how their own lives are affected by historical influences, compare similarities differences between the past and present.

In Geography, children learn about places and environments in the world around them. They explore environmental issues, interpret geographical information and learn how natural processes and human activities affect places and environments. Studies include how their own lives and those of other people are affected by geographical and environmental factors, cause and effect, and the use of maps, atlases, and globes.

As they study Society, children learn about living as members of groups, and they develop an understanding of ways that people, groups, and societies interact and how their values shape their social systems.

History, Geography and Society are taught through a variety of IPC units, such as:

• The Stories People Tell (Kindergarten) • A day in the life (Grade 1) • Our World (Grade 2) • They made a difference (Grade 3) • Explorers and Adventurers (Grade 4) • What a Wonderful World (Grade 5)

Through these units students will:

• Be able to use key words and phrases relating to the passing of time • Be able to order events and objects into a sequence • Be able to identify differences between their own lives and those of people who have lived in the

past • Be able to find out about aspects of the past from a range of sources of information • Be able to use geographical terms • Be able to describe the geographical features of familiar places • Be able to make maps and plans of real and imaginary places, using pictures and symbols • Be able to use maps at a variety of scales to locate the position and simple geographical features

of the host country and their home country • Be able to use secondary sources to obtain simple geographical information

Units for 2016-2107

Milepost 1 Descriptions

A DAY IN THE LIFE

The big idea

(5 weeks)

It can be fun to imagine what we want to do when we grow up. The world is full of lots of different and exciting jobs. But we should remember to celebrate the things we can do now – the hobbies and interests that we enjoy, and the learning we do at school to help us achieve our goals.

In Society, we’ll be finding out: • About the jobs people do in our school • About the jobs that our parents and family do • About the people who help us • How a service works and the jobs that it creates • How to create an imaginary family for our soap opera / show

In Art, we’ll be finding out:

• How to create a portrait of ourselves to show the things that we do • How to create a style sheet for one of our characters, exploring their clothes, hobbies and interests

In Geography, we’ll be finding out:

• About the services and buildings in the local area • How to create our own street map

In History, we’ll be finding out:

• About the jobs people used to do in the past • What our local area might have looked like 100 years ago

In Music, we’ll be finding out:

• How to create theme music for one of our characters • How to sing and perform the main theme music for our soap opera / show

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:

• How to make vehicles for our street map • How to make a uniform for one of our characters

In International, we’ll be finding out:

• How to provide a welcome party for a family from another country


BRAINWAVE

The big idea

(2-3 weeks)

Our brain is special because it does lots of amazing things. Once we understand how our brain works and what we can do to make it work even better then we can improve the way that we learn.

In this unit, we’ll be finding out: • How the brain works • About the personal goals that help us to become better learners • How to find out facts to prepare for a special challenge • How to learn and practise skills for a special challenge • How to record how well we are learning • How to use what we have learned to create our own special challenge • How to wake up our brain • How to look after our brain • How to design a classroom for learning

When they learn children will be:

• Exploring • Thinking • Explaining • Presenting • Reflecting • Practising • Assessing


FLOWERS AND INSECTS

The big idea

(7 weeks)

Have you seen any flowers today? Where did you see them? Have you seen any insects? Where did you see them? Flowers and insects need each other. Without insects there would be no flowers. And without flowers insects would go hungry.

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • Where flowers and insects prefer to live and grow • How and where seeds grow • How to set up tests to discover how plants use water • How to grow lots of different things • How beans grow • About the life cycles of insects • About ants and bees


• About honey and silk production • About the migration of the Monarch butterfly


• About paintings of flowers and insects • How to make paintings and models of flowers and insects • How to use symmetry to make paintings of insects • How to create a garden in the classroom


• About the music of the famous composer, Rimsky-Korsakov

In Society, we’ll be finding out: • About keeping stick insects as pets • About people who help us


• About flowers and insects from the host and home countries • About how climate and weather patterns affect life around the world • About flowers as emblems for different countries


FROM A TO B

The big idea

(8-9 weeks)

Every day people all over the world make different types of journeys – on land, on sea and in the air. To make these journeys we have invented lots of different ways of getting from A to B.

In Geography, we’ll be finding out: • How we travel to school • How to make maps to record our journey to school • How to create our own train journey around the host country • How we can travel to different countries • How to create our own activity holiday


• About transport in the past • How to make a timeline to show when different types of transport were invented • About exploring different types of transport from myths and legends


• How to create our own futurist painting to capture the speed and movement of transport • How to create a boat collage in the style of Turner and Monet

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

• How to make our own sail boats and aeroplanes

In Technology, we’ll be finding out: • How to make a ‘vehicle’ to transport a small toy from one place to another • How to make plans for vehicles • How to test our vehicles to see how well they work


• About the sounds different types of transport make • How to create our own ‘sound journey’

In Society, we’ll be finding out:

• How to cross roads safely • About bicycle and road safety • About people with restricted mobility

In ICT, we’ll be finding out:

• How to create a simple algorithm • How to program Bee-bots to follow precise instructions • About multi-player online gaming and how to stay safe online


• How children around the world travel to school


HOORAY...LET’S GO ON HOLIDAY! (8 weeks)

The big idea Holidays are special days when we take a rest from school and work. Our holidays in the past were very different from holidays today. Now that we can travel to all parts of the world and even space, who knows where we will go for our holidays in the future?

In Geography, we’ll be finding out: • About the places people go to on holiday • How they get to their holiday destination • Some of the things people do on holiday • What people wear on holiday • How tourism can spoil holiday places


• About the holidays that we have had in our own past • About the holidays that our families and other people had in the past • What is the same and what is different between holidays in the past and today • About some of the wonders of the world


• How to create a sand art sculpture • About some of the pictures that are used to record holidays • How we can record our holidays • About the designs of some holiday souvenirs


• How to use mapping software

In Society, we’ll be finding out: • How to stay safe on holiday • What a pilgrimage is


• What is the same and what is different between the lives and home countries of the different children in our class

• How to greet people in different languages • About future holidays in space


LET’S CELEBRATE

The big idea

(6-7 weeks)

Celebrations are an important part of human life. They are one of the things that make us uniquely human. All peoples and cultures, from every part of the world, take part in and hold celebrations to mark special events and special times in someone’s life.

In History, we’ll be finding out: • How people in our families celebrated in the recent past • How particular past events are still celebrated


• How to plan for a celebration • How to design and make a product for a celebration


• How decoration is used in celebrations • How the work of artists is used in celebrations • How to make artefacts and images that could be used in celebrations


• How songs and music are used in celebrations in our own and other countries • How to compose our own music for a celebration

In Physical Education, we’ll be finding out:

• How to create a celebration dance • How to improve the performance of our dance


• How different groups of people celebrate different events • How different groups of people have different rules


• What is the same and what is different between the celebrations in the home countries of the different children in our class

• How to work and celebrate with each other


MEDIA MAGIC

The big idea

(8-9 weeks)

We now have more ways of communicating with each other than ever before. From being able to text or phone, send emails, create our own films, share photographs, opportunities to communicate in different ways are growing at an incredible rate. This unit looks at how we can become really good communicators.

In Music, we’ll be finding out: • How to tell a story using music • How to represent a character using music • How to create sound effects for a film • How musicians communicate using music


• How a costume can tell us about a character • How painters and sculptors communicate a mood, feeling or idea


• How to create special effects by giving directions to a robot

In Geography, we’ll be finding out: • How to create a realistic-looking road scene for a film • How to create a sound map of our school • How to present a news story about a world event


• How sound travels • How we can use light to send Morse code messages


• About inventors who have made famous communication inventions • How communication has changed through the ages


• About the importance of clear instructions • How communication technology has changed • How to program a robot and give it directions


• About sounds that help us or keep us safe • How to use sign language to communicate • About the services we can contact in an emergency • How we show that we are a member of a group

Milepost 1Descriptions

In International, we'll be finding out: How we canbecome better communicators

• About other languages that we can learnto speak • About how people greet each other in different countries around the world


OUR WORLD

The big idea

(7-8 weeks)

Our world is where we live – our home, our family, our school. It is the places that we go, the people that we meet, the things that we can see, smell, hear, taste and touch. Our world is important, because we share it with lots of other living things. We need to treat our world with respect – to ensure that it is well looked after – so that every person, animal and plant can live healthily and enjoy it.

In Art, we’ll be finding out: • How to create artwork using natural materials • How to make a tree collage • How to make a silhouette of our local skyline • How to design and create our own sensory garden


• About the animals, plants and birds in our local environment • About the best soil conditions to grow seeds • How we can recycle and reuse materials to help our environment • How we can set up our own composting club


• About different wildlife habitats in our local environment • About the animals and insects that share our local environment • How our local environment compares with other locations around the world


• How to make model gardens • How to design and make our own bird feeders


• How to create our own sound journey around our school • About music and songs, written about the weather


• How to make a fact file about our home country to share with others


SCIENCE – FREEZE IT!

The big idea

(3 weeks)

We are going to investigate the science of freezing to make our own ice lollies and ice desserts. By doing this, we will learn all about solids and liquids and how a liquid can be cooled to make a solid and how a solid can be heated to make a liquid!

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • All about ice and water • At what temperature water freezes • How long ice takes to melt • What happens when we freeze other liquids • How we can turn ice into a healthy food • Which materials will keep ice cool


• How to design and make an ice-cooler

In International, we’ll be finding out: • About the differences between hot and cold countries


SCIENCE – LOOK AND LISTEN!

The big idea

(3 weeks)

Have you ever wondered how you can hear and how you can see? You can hear a dog barking and you can see it wag its tail. You can hear me talking and you can see me smiling at you. What makes hearing and seeing possible? Let’s find out!

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • Where sound and light come from • How we can make sounds with our body • What sounds we can make with objects • What happens when sounds enter our ears • How animals use their sense of sight and sound • How we can change sounds


• How to design and make a drum

In Music, we’ll be finding out: • How to play a drum rhythm


• How languages are made up of different sounds


SCIENCE - IT’S SHOCKING!

The big idea

(2-3 weeks)

Electricity is an energy that makes things work. It flows along wires inside our house and classroom. Our lights, TVs, computers, mobile phones, cars, and many other things use electricity. Did you know that thunder and lightning is a type of electricity? Did you know your hair can have electricity too? There are lots of other exciting facts about electricity that we are going to discover together over the next few weeks.

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • About static electricity • How we can use static electricity • What battery-operated toys can do • How to make our own electrical circuit • Electricity at home and in the classroom • About the dangers of electricity


• How to design and make a torch

In History, we’ll be finding out: • What we did before electricity


• How people in different countries use electricity


SCIENCE – LIVE AND LET LIVE

The big idea

(2-3 weeks)

What do living things such as animals and plants need in order to survive and grow? Do humans have the same needs? What is the difference between a living thing and something that has never been alive? We are going to find the answers to these key questions in this unit.

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • What animals and humans need to survive and grow • How living and non-living things are different • How humans and animals grow and change • How to carry out a survey of living things • How to attract wildlife to our environment • How to sort living things into groups


• How to make and design a bird feeder

In International, we’ll be finding out: • About animals and plants from different countries


SCIENCE – WATER WORLD

The big idea

(2 to 3 weeks)

Water is important to all living livings – without water there would be no life on Earth. We use water every day. We depend on water to stay clean and healthy, just like the many plants and animals we share our world with. Not everyone in the world has clean, fresh water – but we can help to change that, because water is for everyone.

In Geography, we’ll be finding out: • How much of our planet is water and how much is land • How water can provide a habitat for different living things • What it might be like to live somewhere where there is not much water


• How water helps plants to grow • How water can change, from a solid to a liquid to a gas • How much water we need to drink to stay fit and healthy • Why it is important to wash our hands to keep them clean


• How some people around the world do not have access to clean water • How we can help to improve the lives of people in poorer countries


THE STORIES PEOPLE TELL

The big idea

(5-6 weeks)

Many of the stories that we enjoy today are influenced by the stories that have been passed down through the ages. By studying older stories, such as myths and legends, we can become storytellers too, writing and performing our own stories to entertain people today.

In History, we’ll be finding out: • About myths and legends from different times in the past • How to create our own legend about someone we know • About the gods that people used to worship in the past


• How people in the past have represented stories and characters • How we can use art to tell a creation story • How to create our own Greek masks • How to design and make our own dream catcher


• About fables and the lessons that they teach us • How we can use dance and movement to tell a story


• About songs and music that tell a story • How we can make our own music to tell a story


• About stories from different countries and cultures • How we can remember an important journey • How we can make a map of our own imaginary land


• About fairytales and the lessons that they teach us • How we can make a modern version of a fairytale • About who we think of as ‘heroes’ today


• About legendary and mythological characters from our different home countries • How we can make a costume to represent a character from a story


SEEING THE LIGHT

The big idea

(7 weeks)

If there was no light, there would be no life on our planet. Light helps plants to grow, it warms the planet, and it allows us to see all the wonders around us.

In Art, we’ll be finding out: • How to show light and dark in our drawings and paintings • How artists have shown light and dark in their own paintings


• About what causes day and night • About countries that have very long summer days and very long winter nights • About different sources of light in our school and local area


• About songs and music that have light and dark as their theme • How to make our own songs and music with light and dark as a theme


• What seeds and plants need to grow • About different light sources • How some materials can reflect light • How shadows are made


• How light is important in many festivals and celebrations


WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

The big idea

(7 weeks)

Food plays a vital role in history and culture throughout the world because food is essential to life. By learning about the different types and amounts of food our bodies need, we can plan healthier diets and enjoy longer lives.

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • Why we need to eat food and what the best foods are • How some of our food grows • How to carry out science investigations • About our sense of taste


• Where our food comes from • What food is eaten in our home and host country • Why different foods grow and are eaten in different countries


• About the food that our parents and grandparents ate when they were young • How and why the choice of food in our shops has changed • What our ancient ancestors ate


• About artists that use food for their ideas • How to draw and paint fruit and vegetables • How artists are involved in things we see around us, including advertising


• How to plan, make and evaluate a healthy pizza • How to make a box for a pizza


• How food plays a role in celebrations and festivals • About our favourite family recipes


• About famine and drought around the world • Where drinking water comes from


ACTIVE PLANET

The big Idea

(11 weeks)

The tectonic plates that form the Earth’s crust are always moving. Even the smallest movement can cause huge earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis that devastate communities across wide areas. If we can understand what is happening underground we can learn to predict and protect ourselves in the future.

In Geography, we’ll be finding out: • About how the Earth is formed • What a volcano island is and where they are in the world • What causes an earthquake • How earthquakes can be measured


• What makes buildings strong • About protective clothing and equipment • About how to put together a survival kit


• What happens when a volcano erupts • What happens when rock melts • How volcanoes can give off poisonous gas


• How to use instruments to make sound pictures • How to compose our own piece of music


• About the devastation of Pompeii

In Art, we’ll be finding out: • About hot and cold colours • About using different materials and techniques to represent a volcano


• How to use lots of different sequences of movement to show the story of volcanoes

In Society, we’ll be finding out: • About legends associated with volcanoes • Why people continue to live in volcanic areas despite the dangers


• About international organisations that work after natural disasters • About the knock‐on effects of earthquakes and volcanic activity


BRAINWAVE

The big idea

(3 weeks)

Every day we are learning lots of new and different things – gaining the knowledge, skills and understanding that we will need to become successful adults. By finding out more about how we learn, and how we can improve our learning, we will be better equipped for meeting the many challenges ahead of us.

In this unit, we’ll be finding out: • How different people learn • About the importance of practice when learning a skill • How the brain works • How to make connections between our learning • How we can share our learning with others • Why it is important to learn from other children and cultures around the world • How positive thinking can help us to succeed • How to look after our brain • How to design a school for learning

When they learn children will be: • Investigating • Thinking • Reflecting • Researching • Teaching • Observing • Assessing • Presenting


CHOCOLATE

The big idea

(8‐9 weeks)

Wouldn’t it be amazing if chocolate grew on trees? Well, it does! Wouldn’t it be amazing if I said we were going to make some chocolate? Well, we are! And we’re going to discover even more amazing things about chocolate…

In Geography, we’ll be finding out: • Where cacao trees are found • About the factors affecting the growth of cacao trees • About other cash crops


• Who first discovered chocolate • Who took the first chocolate to Europe • About the importance of cocoa beans for trade


• About the ingredients in chocolate • If chocolate causes tooth decay • Why chocolate wrappers are made from special materials • What the melting point of chocolate is


• How to make our own chocolate • What we can add to chocolate


• How to design a wrapper for our chocolate bar

In International, we’ll be finding out: • What fair trade chocolate is • What other fair trade products there are • How important chocolate is


EXPLORERS AND ADVENTURERS

The big idea

(9 weeks)

Do you love discovering new places? Yes? Well you might just be an explorer. Explorers are people who travel to new places in the world and discover new things that they didn’t know existed. So much of what we know today about our world is because we have been explorers in the past. Being an explorer is exciting but scary at the same time. Could you be an explorer? Let’s find out.

In Geography we’ll be finding out: • How to use geographical terms • How to use different types of world maps • How to look for geographical information • About places we have explored on holiday


• About explorers and adventurers in the past • How to gather information from maps, pictures and books • How to answer simple questions about exploration • How explorers told the time and navigated at sea


• About the artwork of explorer artists • How to draw plants and animals with accuracy • How to draw an imaginary plant or animal


• If we think exploration is a good thing • About conflict and exploration in the past • About female explorers in the past and today


• About shadows and the sun • About magnetism and which metals are magnetic • How to make a compass • About using sound and echoes


• How exploration has changed the world • Who owns the Moon and planets in space


INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

The big idea (7‐8 weeks)

Tell the children that you are going to find out about some of the important inventions and machines that have changed the world we live in.

In History, we’ll be finding out: • About significant inventions of the last 100 years • About inventions in the way we communicate • About the Islamic ‘Golden Age of Invention’ • About the history of flight and associated inventions


• How to make a pinhole camera • How levers, gears and cams work • How to make a moving toy • How to invent and build something to solve a problem


• About the air around us and the science of flight • How to make a paper glider • About man‐made materials and their properties • How to carry out a scientific test


• How technology has been depicted in art • About techniques in traditional and modern art • How to create digital art • How to make a print


• How technology and inventions affect people’s lives • How inventions have made life easier or harder • About inventions in the home and host countries • Why some countries have fewer or more technologies than others


• How the invention of the internet has changed the way we communicate • How the world’s scientists are sharing knowledge about inventions and the latest technology


SCIENCE ‐ BRIGHT SPARKS!

The big idea

(2‐3 weeks)

Electricity is a type of energy. We use electricity in our lighting and heating, TVs and computers, cars and trains, toys and games – even clocks and watches use electricity. In today’s world, most people use electricity every single day. We would find it difficult to live without electricity. But how does electricity really work?

In In Science, we’ll be finding out: • How to make an electrical circuit • Which materials allow electricity to pass through them • What happens when we change a circuit • How to build bigger circuits • About magnetism and electricity • About using electricity as heat • How to keep safe around electricity


• How to make a house with lighting and a door buzzer

In History, we’ll be finding out: • About the history of the electric light bulb


• How we produce electricity in our country


SCIENCE – SHAKE IT!

The big idea

(3 weeks)

How do you turn a liquid such as milk into a solid? With magic? No – with science! Can we get the liquid back once it has been changed? Is this a reversible or irreversible change? We are going to find out by turning a liquid into a solid to make butter and cheese, and then combining solids, liquids and gases to make milkshakes.

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • About solids, liquids and gases • How we can change milk into a solid • What happens when butter is heated • About the behaviour of gases in liquids • Which solids will dissolve in a liquid • About the science of making milkshakes


• How to design and make a hand whisk

In International, we’ll be finding out: • Why milk is scarce in some countries


SCIENCE – THE NATURE OF LIFE

The big idea

(2‐3 weeks)

From frogspawn to frogs, from caterpillars to butterflies and from seeds to plants, all living things grow and change, they feed and reproduce until eventually they die so that the cycle of life can continue for a new generation. But how does life begin for living things and what affect does the environment have?

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • About animal, plant and human life cycles • About local food chains and webs • How living things grow and change • How living things are grouped • About animal and plant adaptations • About the differences between living and non‐living things


• How to make a bird nesting box

In International, we’ll be finding out: • Which animals and plants deserve protection


THEY MADE A DIFFERENCE

The big idea

(6 weeks)

Some people have made such a big difference in the world that their influence on our lives can still be felt today. From scientists to sports people, from politicians to musicians, from all backgrounds, countries, races and religions there are people whose ideas or achievements have singled them out from others. Explain to the children that, together, you are going to learn about significant people who have touched our lives in some way.

In Society, we’ll be finding out: • About people who fought for the rights of others


• About world leaders from the past • How to make a timeline • How leaders in the past compare to leaders today • About significant scientists from the past • About primary and secondary sources of information


• How artists can influence the way we look at the world • About the work of an important sculptor • How to paint a portrait of someone significant to us


• About well‐known musicians from the host and home countries • How we can compose our own music in a similar style • Why some music/musicians are significant


• How the World Wide Web has connected countries • About people who are significant on a global level


TREASURE

The big idea

(7 weeks)

History is like a jigsaw. The treasures that archaeologists find provide us with some very important pieces that help us to build up a picture of what people and places were like in the past.

In History, we’ll be finding out: • How artefacts can help us find out about the past • How we can use fact and opinion to create a profile about a historical person • About different historical sources • About famous archaeologists


• How we can learn about the past from the buildings and people in our local area • About local archaeologists and the work they do to uncover the past • About how we can discover buried artefacts and treasures hidden in our school grounds


• What makes a piece of art a ‘treasure’ • How we can use guesswork to make models of different treasures


• How to plan and make our own historical artefacts

In International, we’ll be finding out: • About how different cultures preserve and treasure different things • About the work of archaeologists around the world

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BRAINWAVE

The big idea

(3 weeks)

Every day we are learning lots of new and different things – gaining the knowledge, skills and understanding that we will need to become successful adults. By finding out more about how we learn, and how we can improve our learning, we will be better equipped for meeting the many challenges ahead of us.

We’ll be finding out: • About different methods of teaching and how we like to learn • About some of the different areas of the brain • How information gets into the brain • How relaxation can help prepare us for learning • How we can improve our memory • How positive thinking can help us to succeed • How we can support each other to achieve our goals • How we can become more active global citizens

When they learn, children will be:

• Investigating • Thinking • Mapping • Reflecting • Researching • Presenting • Creating • Campaigning

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FIT FOR LIFE

The big idea

(5‐6 weeks)

Your body is the most valuable thing you will ever own. It’s your job to keep your body fit and healthy because it has to last you a lifetime! We are going to find out how best you can do that.

In Physical Education, we’ll be: • Exploring the range of ways in which we can improve our physical fitness • Practising enjoyable activities that help us to become fitter • Taking regular exercise to see whether it makes a measurable difference to our fitness

In Art, we’ll be:

• Looking at the ways artists have represented people and their activities • Recording ourselves and our activities

In Science, we’ll be:

• Investigating measures of our fitness • Enquiring into diet and health • Critically examining the evidence we collect • Learning more about changes to our bodies that take place as we grow • Learning more about our bodies and how we can keep them in good condition


• Finding out how people around the world keep fit and healthy


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MOVING PEOPLE

The big idea

(6‐7 weeks)

Sometimes people choose to move, sometimes this movement is forced upon them. Both can have an impact on the societies and places that they leave behind, and those that they join at their journey’s end.

In Geography, we’ll be finding out: • About the similarities and differences between places we know • How and why our families have moved around the world • How different places are linked • How and why people move and goods are transported around the world • About environmental disasters which influence human migration • About disaster relief organisations


• About the migrations of people in pre‐historical times • About the spread of ideas, technology, language, food, goods and culture through migration • About the historical importance of past civilisations on present day societies • About the effects of migration on countries around the world • About enforced movements of people and why these occurred • About influences of past movements of people on our present day societies


• About refugees — who they are, what their rights are and our responsibilities with regards to this • About the role of organisations who support refugees and migrants


• About reasons for economic migration, its effects and the laws that control it • How different groups of migrants and refugees are treated in the host country


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MYTHS AND LEGENDS

The big idea

(8‐9 weeks)

In this unit the children are going to learn about myths and legends from around the world. They will look at myths from the host and home countries and think about why people used such stories to reflect on life at the time.

In History, we’ll be: • Researching societies that are well‐known for their myths and legends • Comparing the host country to other societies • Finding out about major events in the past

In Music, we’ll be:

• Finding out about music that has been inspired by myths and legends • Making judgements about pieces of music • Composing a piece of m usic to accompany a myth or legend

In Art, we’ll be:

• Finding out how artists use paintings and other methods to show myths and legends • Looking closer at the art of Ancient Egypt • Turning characters from myths and legends into comic book superheroes • Producing our own piece of art to represent a story we have written

In Society, we’ll be:

• Finding out about traditions, celebrations and religious festivals which have been influenced by myths and legends from the past

• Considering how the behaviour of individuals and groups can be influenced by the moral messages of myths, legends and other stories

• Looking at how global brands use myths and legends to persuade people to buy their products

In International, we’ll be: • Finding out how stories around the world are both the same and different • Finding out how myths and legends have affected large areas of the world • Researching stories from all the home countries of children in the class

SCIENCE – INVESTIGATORS (2‐3 weeks)

The big idea These days we have lots of science knowledge at our fingertips; it can be found quickly and easily on the Internet. The science knowledge in books and websites is what other scientists have discovered in the past. To discover new things ourselves we need to be able to be able to ‘do’ science not just ‘know’ about it. During this unit we will learn how to ‘do’ science. We will learn several, important, scientific skills. These skills can be used in a whole range of scientific situations. However we will use these skills to investigate one branch of science: materials and their properties. We will also see how these skills can be applied to one real world context – the exciting world of forensic science!

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • About several ways to investigate in science • How to make sure our investigations are well designed and reliable • Ways to: collect, record, interpret and present our findings • About several materials and their properties


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WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

The big idea

(8‐9 weeks)

Natural forces have been shaping our planet for many billions of years and these dramatic changes are still going on, right now, all around us. Throughout this unit we will be learning more about the physical processes that shape our planet – and the vital role that we play in safeguarding our planet and its resources for future generations.

In Geography, we’ll be finding o ut: • About different regions and environments around the world • How to use different types of map to find out information • About the forces and processes that shape our planet • About extreme weather events and how they affect people and localities • About the possible causes of climate change and its effects on our planet • How man‐made changes can alter/change our local environment • How we can set up a weather station and collect data about our local weather


• How to program an online quiz to test our knowledge of biomes

In Science, we’ll be finding out: • How to classify different types of rock and soil • About the effects of weathering on different types of rock • About the movements of the Earth, Sun and Moon and how they affect us • About different types of cloud and how they are formed • How we can set up a weather station and record data


• About local and global environmental issues • How different international aid groups and charities are helping those affected by environmental issues

Documents

ECE AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - International School in Genoaisgenoa.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IPC.pdf · CURRICULUM | INTERNATIONAL PRIMARY CURRICULUM (IPC) ISG ECE AND ELEMENTARY