VIS PYP Exhibition Overview

The structure in place to ensure coordination of the exhibition:

Field trips to organizations that may be important for students units of

inquiry (used for tuning in as well as a potential primary source)
Students grouped based on common interests, providing them the
opportunity for both individual and group responsibilities
A student handbook that includes graphic organizers for:
o suggested timeline for the entire inquiry cycle
o defining the groups central idea
o steps for formulating guiding questions, lines of inquiry, and key
concepts
o calendars for planning/organizing research and data collection,
timeline for action, and completion of presentation for Exhibition
o bibliography
o mentor meeting notes
Mentors assigned to support each group in the following ways:
o acting as a sounding board for students ideas
o assisting in organizing field trips
o making suggestions of how to gather information from primary
as well as secondary sources
o helping students to stick to deadlines
Bulletin Board where students/mentors can note a students
demonstration of the Learner Profile Traits, Attitudes, and
Transdisciplinary Skills
Exhibition Blog where each group of students and their mentors can
post: notes from mentor meetings, ideas and comments about what
they are learning/discovering/questioning/organizing, and reflections
about the entire process

A description of how students and mentors are briefed:

Students are introduced to exhibition at the beginning of the year, and they are
asked to tune in to issues in the community throughout the school year. Then, as
we actually begin exhibition, they are given a formal presentation about the cycle of
inquiry, expectations, and the timeline. Students are also given the handbook
which contains the timeline as well as support documents/graphic organizers that
they use throughout exhibition. Lessons on specific skills or procedures, for
example about how to put together bibliographies, are given as the need arises.
Mentors, as well as the grade 5 teacher, are available to support students in any
way they need including posting on the students blog page.
Parents are briefed with a PowerPoint at the beginning of the unit as well. Parents
are then updated every other week or so via email. They are encouraged to keep
up with exhibition via the students blog. Parents are given ideas of how to

encourage and support their child, as well as given a heads up about the stress
children will be experiencing as they work through the process, and ideas of how to
help them deal with those feelings.
Mentors are selected from those teachers who volunteer, and they are placed - as
much as possible- based on their personal interests and how they connect to the
areas of interest chosen by students. Mentors are then initially briefed with a
PowerPoint, and given examples of how to support students during mentor
meetings. Mentors are supported by the grade 5 teacher as needed, both with inperson meetings and email updates.
The process for assessment:
The assessment for PYP Exhibition is intended to be to on-going so that students
can modify and adjust according to the feedback they receive or note themselves.
While the primary assessment is based on the 5 elements of the PYP, students also
expressed a desire to assess various parts of the exhibition process and the
products.

On-going, informal assessments by mentors and grade 5 teacher

through discussions, mentor meetings
Exhibition Blog in which each group posted minutes from meetings,
comments or ideas to be shared, and personal reflections about the
process
Bulletin board where students, mentors, and grade 5 teacher made
notes about how students were demonstrating the Learner Profile
Traits, the Attitudes, and the Transdisciplinary Skills
On-going, formal, written assessment (by mentors and grade 5
teacher, as well as by students) for: knowledge, key concepts,
attitudes, transdisciplinary skills, and action
Student reflections written once halfway through the unit of inquiry,
and then again at the very end
Mentor reflections written halfway through the unit of inquiry, and
again at the very end
Group presentations that celebrate:
o what students learned from their research (using both primary
and secondary sources)
o their connection with the community (homeless shelters,
retirement homes, orphanages, schools for the hearing
impaired, organizations that provide support to certain
populations.)
o what they learned from their actions (including such things such
as raising money and making purchases for an organization,
taking donations for an organization, volunteering to work soup
kitchens, run recreation activities for the elderly, teach dance to

children with hearing impairment, informing other about

stereotypes, putting on puppet shows to demonstrate the effects
of bullying. )
o the impact their action had on them, shared through their
reflections
Student created rubric for organization, research, team work,
independent work, action, and reflection
Parent reflections

A description of the previous years exhibition, indicating the type of

projects involved:
The central idea for exhibition was: Accessibility to opportunities affects equality.
We have five teams of students looking at how various groups of people access
opportunities, and how that access affects their equality. The five groups looked at
issues facing:

the homeless in Vilnius

children with hearing impairment
men and women regarding the gender gap
the elderly living both in and out of a retirement home
children living in orphanages (and as a result of their research, also
bullying)

In order to celebrate what they learned and accomplished through their research
and action, students were asked to share their experiences in a variety of ways
including these elements:

a group technical element (a movie, a slideshow, a presentation, a

model, an experiment.)
a group artistic element (sculpture, painting, song, dance.)
a group math element (graphs, charts, measurements, timelines.)
individual written elements (diary, poetry, report, storybook,
biography, personal narrative.)
individual speaking time, divided equitably among members and
including both a more formal presentation and taking part in a more
informal question & answer session with observers

Each group presented for approximately 25 minutes. First they gave a more
rehearsed presentation in which they shared 1) what they learned, 2) what they
did, and 3) how they felt about it, using the elements listed above to make their
journey clear. They then entertained questions from the audience.

__

Katherine Lum
Grade 5 Teacher