Examining Conflict a PYP Perspective

Theme: How We Express Ourselves.
Central Idea: People use various forms of expression in times of conflict.
An inquiry into the ways in which we  discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, believes and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

     So how do you teach conflict and expression to children? How do you make it global and yet make it relevant to them so they can take action?  Well this year we approached it a little different than last. For the week prior I had images on my door of various conflicts, Civil Rights Movement, Holocaust, and Japanese interment camps, throughout the week students posted questions about the images- they were very curious to say the least.  We then moved into our provocation to create a conflict within our room.  We selected a few students who were to be our "privileged" ones throughout the day. Boy, were the other students upset.  The chosen ones got candy, computer time, extra lunch time.  There was definitely conflict and the rest could not understand what they did to get so much special treatment!

    Next we had the kids look at how our the idea of conflict was related to the key concepts of Change, Causation, and Perspective. The kids worked in groups to find the relation between the key concepts and related concept of conflict. For example:
               Perspective - What the are the points of view?
               Change- How is it changing?
               Causation- Why is it like this?

    This provocation and concept study led us right into our study of the Civil Rights Movement. The kids looked at expression as a means to create change.  They watched Martin Luther King Jr give his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, they studied how the children expressed their desire for change with the Children's March.  We also looked at the other side- how those that were opposed to integration expressed themselves, violently or with politics.  It was very powerful for the students to see just how our country has changed in the past 50 years.  They began to understand that expression is not just art, or song- but also protest, and action.
    We have continued our study by next looking at the Holocaust.  Believe me teaching this topic is very difficult- but I feel that it is important that children understand all aspects of our history, even those parts that are most difficult to understand.  Now, that being said, I did have to tread lightly on the topic they are only 10 after all! But, in the end they have developed a true understanding of this injustice and have really thought about our role in preventing such atrocities again.  The students each researched and wrote about a different aspect of the Holocaust from the Ghettos to the Death Marches. We looked at the amazing poetry and artwork of the time- including propoganda.

     Our study is coming to a close so it's time to bring it back to them.  Our school recently adopted the Olweus anti-bullying program.  So we are going to look at how we express ourselves within our conflicts here at school and at home.  They are going to use what they learned about propoganda to create some posters (for the poster contest) to put up at our school.  As part of their summative assessment they will look at images, art, or writing from different conflicts and reflect & respond to how they see the use of expression.