Elementary Corner
A
s a newly authorized IB PYP school, Day-
star was excited and proud to undertake
its first ever PYP Exhibition! This year,
Daystar’s Grade 5 students explored areas of
interest that connected to the class Central
Idea “A variety of factors influence personal
well-being.”
To kick off their journey, students interviewed
a healthcare expert, Ms. Roohi Hamlani from
Beijing United Family Hospital, to understand
what it means to be healthy. From the inter-
view students learned that well-being encom-
passes much more than only physical health,
which launched their inquiry into the 4 interre-
lated aspects of well-being: emotional, social,
mental, and physical health.
Over the following weeks, students engaged
in a series of collaborative and independent
learning experiences. They documented each
step of their inquiry in their Student Process
Journals, which provided space for them to re-
cord and reflect on their learning as well as on
their development of transdisciplinary skills.
Throughout the 2-month exhibition process,
students strengthened their research and
thinking skills by:
Carrying out preliminary research to build
their knowledge of issues related to well-being
Defining their personal topics for investigation
Formulating concept-based questions to
guide their research
Utilizing primary and secondary sources to
gather information
Collecting and analyzing data from surveys
Considering multiple perspectives about how
to promote and maintain well-being
Reflecting on their progress and identifying
next steps
Developing effective oral presentation skills
to share their learning with a variety of audi-
ences
Students were challenged to impr