This unit goes under the PYP theme “How We Express Ourselves”.  This PYP theme is an inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic. The PYP defines the theme to be worked upon but the school and teachers choose how this theme is going to be conveyed to the children. In K2 we will explore this theme using works of art, more specifically paintings. We will be inspired by painters and we will become artists ourselves, diving into the world of creation. This creation of our own art work will be a natural progression of art appreciation and being inspired by different artists. The central idea of the unit is that “artists and their artwork can inspire children’s creativity.

We will be doing inquiry into: art appreciation; creativity; how artists and paintings can inspire us; creating our own artwork; different painting techniques; how paintings convey emotions and how paintings can tell stories.

To promote inquiry I will have on our unit of inquiry table the following materials: painting equipment, lots of pictures of paintings, books from the classroom and books from the library, a couple of puzzles and the video “Linea in Monet’s Garden”. I will be asking the students questions, and they will come up with their own questions. I have also planned different kinds of activities and they will be introduced not only to promote inquiry and investigation but also according to the children’s interest.

The following concepts are going to be investigated in K2 during the duration of the unit “Works of Art”.

The children might do hands on activities using concrete materials, oral and writing activities, or worksheets. Children with higher skills will receive more challenging work and others might need reinforcement. Some of the Language and Math activities are directly related to the unit of inquiry and others are stand alone. I might use more or less activities according to the ongoing assessment that I apply to check the students’ abilities.

Describe a painting

Look at a painting and tell a story

Make inferences about pictures including paintings

Suggest alternative titles for a story read aloud

Journal writing about various themes

Shared writing (students suggest things to write and help the teacher spell the words – teacher writes it on the board)

Write about a favorite painting

Writing dictated words – simple CVC words (CVC = consonant vowel consonant)

Practice using capital letters at the beginning of sentences

Writing a simple story with beginning middle and end

Individual reading – children will read books with unseen text (they have never seen or heard it beforehand) and books that were previously read to them

Shared reading – teacher and students read the same text together

Reading and writing sight words

Reading and writing word families (words with the same ending like dot, hot, cot)

Differentiating between fiction and non-fiction

Explain purpose of text

Listening for information (specially when teacher reads books about the unit of inquiry)

Compare stories

Read and write words with short and long vowels

Punctuation marks: full stop, question mark and exclamation mark

Fraction – whole, half, quarter

Symmetry – create symmetric designs (probably butterflies)

Venn Diagrams

Addition and Subtraction within 10 using vertical and horizontal forms

Addition and Subtraction – word problems

Addition and Subtraction using number line

Odds and Even numbers up to 20

Measuring using non-standard units of measurement (for example measuring using cubes)

Measuring using standard units of measurement (centimeters and meters – feet and inches)

Seasons