Taking Action in First Grade

At the ASA we strive to provide students with opportunities to choose, to act, to

decide and to reflect on actions in order to make a difference all of which are
integral parts of the PYP
Taking action is an important conclusion to the learning the learning that
incorporates students making connections to what they have learned, applying a
variety of real life skills, demonstrating an enduring understanding through
concepts and reflecting on the attributes of the learner profile and attitudes.
Action is best grounded in the students own concrete experiences and it can be a
small thing that arises from a genuine concern and commitment.
This board shows some of the actions that we chose to do this year.
Getting Along
For this unit of inquiry, the first grade students took the advocacy
form of action.
After spending five weeks learning about diversity and reading the
book Whoever You Are by Mem Fox, the first graders decided to
present a short play to their third grade peers and parents. Their
presentation outlined how even though people are different in many
ways, on the inside, we are all the same.
Life Cycles
After learning about the life cycles of many plants, students took
a direct action by planting a garden.
They decided to plant their garden for two reasons. One reason
was to create cleaner air for the people of Antananarivo. Their
other reason was to try and provide vegetables for the guards of
our school community.

Communities
Our actions for the communities unit focused on our
school community. We completed three direct actions
for this unit of inquiry.
First, we did a school wide clean up. It is important to
keep our community safe and clean. Next, we were
paired with a helper to assist them in doing their job.
Finally, we showed thanks to our helpers by making
them cards and hot chocolate.