On Tuesday 29 October, middle school students had their second Entry Point of the year. The purpose of the Entry Point is to introduce a new IMYC unit of learning in a fun, hands-on and exciting way, as well as to invite students to begin thinking about the BIG IDEA for their next unit. Read on to hear more about our Entry Points!
Unit: Consequences
Big Idea: Very few actions are neutral. Most actions create impact or change that then have to be dealt with.
Entry Point: Grade 6 was put to the task of uncovering the mystery of the disappearance and death of the Baroness of Westerly Manor! Grade 6 took on the challenge of the Murder Mystery and spent the morning gathering clues, interviewing each other and uncovering the secrets of the Baroness’s Manor! It was up to the Investigators, Ms Erasmus and Ms Danielle, to guide students to the final clues. Our Murder Mystery really highlighted our Big Idea: “Very few actions are neutral. Most actions create impact or change that then have to be dealt with.”
Student Highlights:
Zuzanna: “It was fun because we all got a little speech to go with our character.”
Esme: “I really liked that we all worked as a group and got to make our own creations”
Dongjin: “It was fun because we were searching for people to ask questions and getting our own roles to solve the mystery.”
Unit: Communication
Big Idea: When information is shared accurately and clearly, the end result is more effective.
Entry Point : Grade 7 worked in teams to complete a trail in our new STEAM facility. One team member was blindfolded while the other team members communicated the steps they needed to make inorder to get through the trail, without stepping off. It was important that the students communicated the information clearly and accurately in order to help their team to be the fastest, which was the aim of the activity.
Student Highlights:
Lucas: “It was fun and challenging.”
Johanna: “It was really good for us to communicate with our classmates, because we don’t get to do that for some other activities or outside of school.”
Issy: “It was really hard, but it helped us with cooperation and communication. If we didn’t have people telling us where to go, we wouldn’t be able to walk the line by ourselves.”
Unit: Identity
Big Idea: Our sense of self, and that of others, is continually developing through our different interactions and impacts how we exist in the world.
On Tuesday, October 29, the 8th graders gathered for the entry point for their current IMYC Identity unit. The purpose of the entry point was to break apart the meaning of the big idea: ‘Our sense of self, and that of others, is continually developing through our different interactions and impacts how we exist in the world.’
First, the discussion asked the students to construct a common human identity. Next, the conversation shifted to the students considering how an individual’s identity is established, as well as how one’s sense of their identity changes over time. The conclusion to the entry point was a viewing of the case-study documentary ‘7-Up,’ which follows the lives of several South Africans at the age intervals of 7, 14, and 21, beginning in 1992 as Apartheid began to unwravel. As is their custom, the 8th graders handled the discussion and film with high levels of thought and perspective. Moreover, the students enjoyed the awareness that many of the points they raised in discussion were evident in the film.
Student Highlights:
In response to the entry point activity, Mattia Worster reflected, “people value their different identities instead of our common identities because most people in the world value their uniqueness. Also, thorugh a film we watched on the end of apartheid, we discovered that while people are young, they often repeat their parents’ ideas, but as they get older, they start to change their ideas and forge their own identity.”
