C2 EDUCATIONWednesday 11 April 2007 Shanghai Daily

Life in Shanghai contest

Name: Pranav SriramAge: SevenNationality: IndianSchool: ShanghaiCommunity InternationalSchool

My name is Pranav. I am anIndian born in New Delhi.When I was three, my familymoved to Vietnam where westayed for one year. Then mydad had to move toSingapore where we spentabout two-and-half years. Imoved to Shanghai last Mayand I have had no difficultyadjusting to my new country.

Prior to moving toShanghai I was anxious andvery sad as I was leaving myfriends behind in Singapore.How different it was. Theweather was different, as wasthe food, the people and thelanguage among many otherthings.

I go to an internationalschool where there arepeople from nearly all partsof the world. I like my school

very much and I get to learnmany things. I learn Manda-rin and I keep practicing itwith my ayi at home.

I also like to play soccer atschool, in addition todrawing, painting and craftwork. I am also learningIndian music.

Shanghai has four seasonsand I like spring best here asI can go out in the eveningand play with my friends. Inmy hometown, the summersare hotter than Shanghaiwhile the winters are not socold as they are here.

The roads here are quitebig and have a lot of traffic.

There are also many tallbuildings in Shanghai and Ihave visited the OrientalPearl TV Tower, JinmaoTower, as well as theShanghai Science andTechnology Museum and theaquarium. The Science andTechnology Museum was thebest. I also visited the UrbanPlanning Museum where Isaw the model for howShanghai will look in 2010.It was very beautiful.

As my family is vegetarianwe find it very difficult toeat outside our home.Although Indians andChinese are all rice eaters,Chinese rice is lot differentfrom the Indian variety.Chinese rice is lot moresticky. The best Chinese fooddish I like here is vegetablechao mian.

Shanghai is like a smallworld where all kinds ofpeople and food can be seen.I like being part of it and amvery happy to stay here.

How has moving toShanghai changed

your life? Different food,new music — if you’re aninternational schoolstudent, tell us about yourexperiences in youradopted home, fromschool days to meetingnew friends.

Shanghai Daily will pub-lish your articles each

Wednesday through theend of the school year. Allentries must be 400-500words and include a photoof yourself with personaldetails such as name, age,nationality and school.We’re offering cool prizesfor the best articles. Sendy o u r s t o r i e s a n dphotos to shanghailife@shanghaidaily.com.

As part of their IBPrimary Years ProgramUnits of Inquiry on“Growing Things” and

“Habitats,” students at WesternInternational School of Shanghai,took a literal “field” trip steppingright outside into a field next totheir new campus and talking witha farming expert.

Li Xiaohong has been farmingfor 50 years in one of the manyremaining green spaces in QingpuDistrict.

The Shanghai farmer explainedto the students who composedquestions in advance and askedthem in Chinese. On her plot ofland Li grows cotton, sigua (towelgourd), nangua (pumpkin),donggua (winter melon) andkugua (bitter gourd).

The PYP Program of Inquiry isbased on the principle that studentslearn best when they begin bybrainstorming for their naturalquestions and then seek answers tothem. They learn authentically, sounits focused on science are always

WISS IB studentslearn about the land

hands on and experimental andoften take them out into the field, aswell as bringing parts of the fieldinto the classroom.

Kindergarten students asked Liabout what she grew, how she grewit, when she planted, and so on. Lipointed out that she gets most ofher seeds from plants rather than bypurchasing them.

Students are currently engaged ingrowing their own plants underexperimental conditions to studythe effects of various factors on thegrowth rate.

Next month as part of their“Earth Day” celebrations, theschool will inaugurate its ownorganic gardens that sits rightbehind the school’s own smallbamboo forest.

The WISS second graders havebeen doing a comparative study ofhabitats, including those around theschool, and they have been goinginto the field frequently. They askedLi about what kinds of species sheobserves in the field during herdaily work; most interesting to the

students was the presence ofsnakes.

The students have created a smallversion of the wetland habitat intheir classroom.

Most of the students, even theyounger ones, were able tocommunicate with Li, to herdelight, because they hone theirChinese skills in daily classes andhave two teachers in every class,one native English speaking andone native Chinese speaking.

Additionally, students areexposed to more Chinese languagepractice in their daily specialistclasses (art, music, physicaleducation) where teachers commu-nicate predominantly in Chinese.

Chinese teacher Rene Rencommented: “We take frequentexcursions such as this because reallife experiences, requiring us to uselanguage, are the best way tolearn.”

This model of learning Chineseis being widely implementedthroughout the school.

The PYP IB program is fast

becoming the preferred curriculumof choice for highly-mobilefamilies. WISS will be opening itsMiddle School IB Program inSeptember this year.

For information please call 6976-6388, or visit www.wiss.cn.

Inquiry program promotes hands-on learning

Farmer Li Xiaohong answersquestions from WISS

students during a field trip aspart of their IB Primary Years

Program on “Growingthings” and “Habitat.”