Jill Lawson	Lara Nikitas	Ellen Claessens

Grade One

In Grade One we have an exciting program which includes six stimulating units of inquiry to inspire our kids!

Our year kicks off with an engaging inquiry entitled “My Five Senses.” The unit lets us see how we make ‘sense’ of the world around us by using our senses. The inquiry is brought to life with many fun experiments, some of them including a blind walk and a taste session at the teachers’ canteen!

We continue on with an inquiry that looks at our bodies, what they do and how we can keep them healthy, in the unit “My Body.”

Throughout the year we also take a look at our personal histories. For the unit “My Personal History” we create a power point presentation in the ITC lab of our baby photos. It’s fun to see how our friends looked when they were little!

We then move onto looking at various shelters around the world, for both people and animals in “Ducking for Cover.” During this unit, our classes visit the Village Museum in Dar es Salaam, where we see and learn about the different types of houses found throughout Tanzania.

From learning about materials used in constructing shelters we proceed into how various materials can be reduced, reused and recycled for the unit “What’s in the Bin.” To raise awareness of just how much garbage everyone produces, the children observe and record waste found in their bins. They bring in any items which can be reused, and they weigh, record, sort and graph them.

Finally, we conclude our year with the unit “A City at Work,” which focuses on how we organize ourselves. Besides having several volunteers come into school and talk with the students about their jobs, we also take a city tour of Dar es Salaam. We see several sights of the city such as a boat yard, Hindu temple, Catholic Church, Buddhist temple, hotel and park.

It is a whirlwind of activity here in the first grade. The children leave us with a new-found sense of independence, and they are better equipped to communicate and reflect upon their learning.