Tag: listening skills

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Inquiry Into Learner Profiles: Communicator

This is part of a series of inquiry-based provocations for essential elements of the PYP and the Learner Profile. For more, click here.

It’s funny, really, how we sometimes altogether remove our own voice from our communication. We water it down in the attempt to look like everyone else. We apologize needlessly. We shy away from owning our strengths and what makes us unique. So if you use this provocation into what it means to be a communicator, I challenge you to bring voice front and center into the conversation with your students!

Resource #1: Obvious to you. Amazing to others. by Derek Sivers

Resource #2: Ballet Rotoscope

Resource #3: Citius, Altius, Fortius by Felix Deimann (similar to above, but equally thought-provoking!)

Resource #4: Barcode Band by W88N

Resource #5: The Big Bed by Bunmi Laditan (lots of fun, but pay attention to the way this savvy girl makes her case)

Provocation Questions:

  • What is the role of voice in being a communicator? Why is your unique voice important as you communicate?
  • What does it mean to be a communicator? What are the different ways in which we communicate?
  • What is the role of communication in our society? How does it impact your family? Community? World?
  • What is our responsibility to be communicators? What is our responsibility to own our voices as communicators?
  • What is difficult about being a communicator? How do we overcome?
  • How is perspective important as we communicate? What is the role of listening?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Inquiry Into Learner Profile: Open-Minded

This is part of a series of inquiry-based provocations for essential elements of the PYP and the Learner Profile. For more, click here.

We often associate open-mindedness as being important among places of great diversity. It may be even more important in more heterogeneous locations. Rather than assuming our kids have the general idea of its meaning and importance, it should be an ongoing conversation in which kids can make connections and come to conclusions for themselves. Which, of course, is the very purpose of this week’s provocation!

Resource #1: Often Do You Challenge Your Biases? by Soul Pancake: Great way to get kids thinking about biases. Could be interesting to conduct a similar experiment via a Mystery Skype-type approach with children from other classrooms?

Resource #2: The Things Kids Carried photo essay by Isabel Fattal: I wonder what would happen if we asked kids to draw what they think backpacks in different countries look like before showing them the photo essay?

via The Atlantic

Resource #3: Perspective by Lauren Pedrosa: Great conversation starter about what the word, perspective, means, and how it impacts our thinking.

Resource #4: This Is How We Do It by Matt LaMothe: What I especially loved about this book was the emphasis that no one family can be representative of an entire country–I remember being very confused by a DK version of this book when I was young. This is a wonderful tool to help us better understand how children around the world are alike and different). 

Resource #5: Harold & the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson


Resource #6: Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd & Abigail Halpin

Provocation Questions:

  • What does an open-minded mindset look like?
  • How can a person’s open-mindedness change over time?
  • What is our responsibility to be open-minded when we are surrounded by people who seem different? Who seem alike?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto