Questioning the World in the Elementary School

Questions are a window into our world. If the role of school is to help prepare our children to understand, shape and grow the world of tomorrow, then questions are the only way to do this. For, it is only when young minds start to puzzle, wonder, imagine and explore that children can begin to identify with the world around them and come to see themselves as an agent for change in that world. Explore with us some of the questions our NIS learners are wondering about, right now…..

Grade four students raising hands toward a teacher standing at the podium in a class about democracy

Q: Which has more power? The people or the government?

Democracy, what is it? What is it in the context of the wider world, in our individual countries, and even in our classrooms?...

Q: How can we engage audiences and convey feelings through storytelling?

Gr. 1 students wondered about storytelling....and as they inquired, and after welcoming many storytellers into their classroom, they discovered many various ...

Q: How do our lives connect to historical events?

In their UOI “Events and Experiences Shape Our Personal History”, the Gr. 2 students have been looking at what has shaped their personal histories. Then they started to look further afield: "What is history?" "How have world events made our lives possible?” "How do our lives connect to a bigger historical narrative?"

Q: How can we reduce the amount of trash and recycle more?

For their unit on Sharing the Planet which focused on human actions that impact the environment, the grade 2 students conducted a trash audit. The students discovered that most of the trash was actually recyclable.They wondered - what will happen to all these recyclable materials when they are taken away in the yellow trash bags that the school uses? Could we find a better way to do this?

Q: What human right is the most important to you?

The 3rd graders began looking at our rights as students and the responsibilities that come with these rights. If we have the right to not be bullied, then don't we also have the responsibility to stand up to bullies, to not bully others and to ensure that others are not bullied?