by the Junior Kindergarten Team, TK campus -

Junior Kindergarten’s second unit of inquiry this year fell under the transdisciplinary theme, ‘How the World Works’. This unit supports many engaging learning experiences that respond to the central idea ‘behind every movement, there is a force’. In this unit, we investigated the different objects that move on land, sea and in the air, how they move and why they move.

To start the ball rolling, we began our inquiry by sharing our holiday stories with each other on where we travelled to and how we arrived there. Next, Mr. Cooperman, our STEAM specialist, brought lots of exciting objects into our classrooms, such as small cars, ramps and tracks for the children to experiment with. He also invited us to his makerspace to explore different construction tools and equipment. We experimented and explored forces with a marble run, had tricycle and wheelbarrow races, flew parachutes and airplanes and discovered how varying forces influence distance and speed.

The children revisited their prior knowledge to make observations and predictions about how and why objects move, using new thinking routines called 'Chalk Talk’ ‘Think Pair Share’ and ‘See, Think, Wonder’.

Learning about Forces Extended Beyond the Classroom

One of the highlights of this unit was a hands-on inquiry based trip to East Coast Park and Changi Airport. This trip was not just a lot of fun, it allowed us to make some great discoveries, while also creating many new and happy memories.

To extend our learning in this unit, we had the pleasure of hosting guest speakers such as pilots, air hostesses and submarine experts who came in and shared their knowledge and experiences – a wonderful example of community based learning!

The final stage of the inquiry process in this unit saw the children making individual models that demonstrated movement, using recycled materials. This involved a detailed process from brainstorming what to make, to designing, building, decorating, reflecting and finally sharing the models with families and friends during our UOI (Unit of Inquiry) celebrations. In addition, each class made a collaborative transport model with Mr. Cooperman as a part of their summative assessment.

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After weeks of hard work, exploration and inspiring inquiry, students are now enjoying a well deserved break.