YEAR 5
NEWSLETTER
New International
School of
Thailand
Newsletter 2
“What
makes me Unit of Inquiry - Who we are
Dear Parents,
unique?”
Year 5 students are beginning their
first unit of inquiry, which is Who
We Are. The central idea for this
“What do unit is:
I believe?” “Appreciating what people
value can enable us to be-
come global citizens.”
What do I The focus of the unit is individual val-
ues and beliefs, and will encourage
value?” the students to understand others’
perspectives and ideas. Teachers will
be asking students to discuss their
own values and beliefs at home with
their families, as well as at school
“What with their peers. A large component
of the unit is an inquiry into global
makes me citizenship, and how it can be defined
in relation to the central idea.
me?”
The key concepts for this unit of in-
quiry are connection, perspective and
responsibility.
Connection
How is it connected to other things?
Perspective
What are the points of view?
Responsibility
What is our responsibility?
Newsletter Date: 16 August 2010
The Year 5 teachers would like to
invite parents to share their cul-
tures, values and beliefs with the
children. This may be in the form of
a presentation for the year level or
individual classes, or working with
small groups of students. Possible
topics might include religion, con-
nections with others through shared
values, experiences with racism or
prejudice, etc. The knowledge may
come from your occupation, first
hand experience or personal inter-
est. If you would like to volunteer
your expertise with the Year 5 stu-
dents, please contact your class-
room teacher.
We hope this unit will allow the
Year 5 students to gain a deeper
understanding of their personal val-
ues, how they were acquired, and
how they may influence their per-
spective or behaviour. We look
forward to interesting discussions
and thinking that promote a better
understanding of who we are, as a
way of getting to know ourselves
and each other on a deeper
level. Our aim is for the students to
appreciate the similarities and differ-
ences they have with one another in
order to encourage global citizen-
ship.
Year 5 Team