IB UOI and Japanese Class "Sharing the Planet" for Elementary Students at CGK International School

The Elementary Division of CGK International School is developing a unique learning approach that incorporates the philosophy of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program while exploring the concept of equal opportunity.

In this article, we would like to introduce the Unit of Inquiry on "Differences in Opportunities Between Countries and Their Impact on Society" undertaken by our second-grade students.

Learning Development

(1)Expanding Learning Through Fiction and Biographies

During the first step in their inquiry, students began by studying "Suho's White Horse." Through deep reading of the story, the following activities were developed:

Character Analysis and Value Exploration

Students proceeded with careful analysis while focusing on the details of "Suho's White Horse." They closely followed each action of the characters and its consequences, exploring the meaning in the story's development. It was particularly impressive how students paused to deeply reflect at pivotal turning points in the story, such as scenes where Suho cherishes the white horse or where the lord takes the horse away.

Students identified important narrative passages and examined character portrayals from multiple angles. For example, the description "The lord wanted the white horse desperately" sparked lively discussions about the motives behind powerful figures' actions.

It was especially interesting how students spontaneously connected their analysis of characters with the IB learner profile. They considered the actions of Suho and the lord in relation to characteristics of being "caring." Through such analysis, keywords like "inequality," "equality," and "honesty" naturally emerged from the students during discussions, deepening their understanding of the concepts we emphasize in our UOI.

Through the story, students were able to understand these abstract concepts within a concrete context and express them in their own words.

Literary Comparative Analysis Project: Understanding "Opportunity" Through Story Comparison

Subsequently, students proceeded with analyzing various stories from Japan and around the world. Using "Suho's White Horse" as a starting point, they undertook the task of interpreting self-selected literature through conceptual lenses such as "inequality," "power," and "peace." For example, they explored how similar themes are depicted in Japanese folktales and biographies like "The Poor Elephant" and "Fukuzawa Yukichi," as well as world folktales such as "111 Trees" and "The Little Match Girl."

Students used Venn diagrams to visually organize the similarities and differences between these stories. In the central overlapping section, they placed common elements such as "protagonists in weak positions," "presence of trials," and "social disparities," while arranging features unique to each story in the outer regions. Through this exercise, they realized that despite differences on the surface, universal themes flow through the foundation of these stories. They also paid attention to detailed expressions, which provided an opportunity to strengthen their reading comprehension skills.

Through comparative analysis, students also had the opportunity to understand that literary works are not merely entertainment but cultural products that reflect society's values and awareness of issues.

Creative Problem-Solving Project: Reimagining Stories!

As the culmination of their literature-based inquiry, students tackled a creative problem-solving project. They decided to devise their own solutions to the "inequality" problems depicted in their chosen non-fiction, fiction, biographies, or the original "Suho's White Horse," creating new endings or storylines.

This project demonstrated a comprehensive approach that merged creative thinking with Japanese language learning elements. Students paid careful attention to story structure, consciously incorporating the traditional narrative flow (introduction, development, turn, conclusion) while crafting engaging developments for readers.

In terms of expression techniques, students actively utilized vocabulary and expressions they had previously learned. They employed metaphors and onomatopoeia effectively to enrich scene descriptions and more deeply express characters' emotions. They also accurately used quotation marks for dialogue and appropriate line breaks, striving for legible handwriting.

Students earnestly worked to devise solutions that wouldn't create new problems related to "inequality" or "power." Rather than simple resolutions like "defeating the powerful," they sought more realistic and constructive approaches that considered overall social balance and promoted mutual understanding through dialogue. For example, a student who chose "Everyone's Kindness" changed the story so that "instead of being bullied, a poor new student is kindly accepted by everyone from the first day, and when the child is absent due to a cold, classmates write letters to make it easier for them to return to school." Another student who chose Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl" created a story with proper narrative structure suggesting that "she could do dance shows as a way to live without financial troubles." The completed works showed rich imagination along with keen insight into social issues.

(2)Project to Explore Global Opportunity Gaps: Learning Global Issues Through SDGs

Finally, students engaged in inquiry activities connecting what they learned from stories to real-world society. Through reading books about SDGs, they developed interest in various global challenges and deepened their understanding by interpreting data:

When numerical data was difficult to grasp, students interpreted graphs by considering proportions within their class. Despite difficult terminology, students deepened their learning by discussing each concept and connecting it with existing knowledge. Some students noticed connections between different topics while listening to their friends' presentations.

The students' learning included:

Based on the information collected, they also created a "World Opportunity Map." This map visualized elements such as education, healthcare, and economic opportunities by country. This made it clearer to see that "Madagascar has various overlapping problems such as the impact of global warming, water issues, and poverty."

Simultaneously, students considered "what they could do" by referring to various SDGs-related books, exploring specific solutions that could begin with small actions in daily life. Students expressed opinions such as:

This self-connection developed learning from mere knowledge acquisition to a deeper understanding related to one's own values and actions. In fact, some students immediately put their UOI learning into practice, saying, "Yesterday, I bought something with a fair trademark!"

Students' Growth: Formation of IB Learner Profiles

Throughout this UOI, students brilliantly embodied various aspects of the IB learner profile. Their attitude as "Inquirers" was prominently displayed as they carefully interpreted expressions of inequality, equality, peace, and power relationships depicted in stories from various countries, and as they read books to learn about contemporary global inequality issues. Students were not only enjoying stories but also enthusiastically working to explore the social structures and values behind them. Furthermore, they extended their inquiry to contemporary society, investigating differences in educational opportunities and medical access between countries, and continuously questioning how these inequalities arise.

Their growth as "Caring" individuals was nurtured through empathetic understanding of others' situations. Particularly during the creation of the "World Opportunity Map," they showed genuine concern for the daily lives of people living in environments different from their own and for global problems. This activity simultaneously developed their capacity as "Thinkers," fostering the ability to critically consider complex social problems caused by inequality of opportunity.

Growth as "Reflective" individuals was most evident in activities where they devised solutions to change the endings or storylines of various fiction and biographies. Students analyzed unequal situations within stories and reconstructed them toward more equitable conclusions. Through this reading and writing process, they deepened their understanding of concepts such as power imbalance and inequality in resource access. Additionally, when focusing on actual problems occurring worldwide, considering their own thoughts and experiences about these problems, and thinking about what they could do to improve the lives of other people and the world around us, they greatly embodied this aspect.

Reflection

A major feature of this UOI was how it began with literary analysis, developed into an analysis of contemporary social issues, and ultimately led to the formulation of concrete action plans. Using "Suho's White Horse" as an entry point, students confronted the universal challenge of equal opportunity and explored its essence from an international perspective.

They realized that events in stories are not mere fiction but mirrors reflecting real society. The issues of inequality and power depicted in the stories exist in the real world in different forms. Being able to shape their understanding of these global challenges and proposals for solutions from their own perspective was a significant step in learning. Through this staged deepening of learning, this UOI enabled students to enhance their understanding of social issues and cultivate a proactive attitude toward solving them. We are confident this has become a valuable experience leading to their future growth as global citizens.

At the same time, using various materials and data through reading activities allowed students to comprehensively improve language skills such as reading comprehension, writing, and expressiveness. Moving forward, we aim to create lessons that ensure the acquisition of knowledge and skills* that should be cultivated at each grade level, without being bound by textbook unit learning.

*Japanese language classes at CGK are based on the Ministry of Education's elementary school curriculum guidelines and follow a curriculum aimed at achieving the goals for each grade level.

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