Inquiry (Unit 2: Personal growth and changes)

This week in our Personal Growth and Changes unit, we explored how humans grow and change over time—physically, emotionally, and mentally. The focus was on understanding the stages of human development, and our students actively engaged in meaningful, fun, and reflective activities.

We started by diving into the four key life stages: baby, child, teenager, and adult. Students became “experts” by working in teams to study one life stage in detail. They created posters highlighting behaviors, abilities, and growth for their assigned stage. Once their research was complete, we did an expert group share: each team sent one representative to a new group. In these mixed groups, each student took on a role—explainer, paraphraser, question-asker, and positive feedback giver—to share and discuss their knowledge. This encouraged teamwork, deep listening, and speaking skills.

Later in the week, we learned about physical growth. Instead of measuring ourselves, we used data cards and visual graphs to explore how humans grow taller and stronger across life stages. We also played a hilarious and educational game of Charades, where students picked a life stage and an action (like “baby crawling” or “teen brushing teeth”) and acted it out while their classmates guessed. The laughter and learning were nonstop!

We also wrapped up our “My Growth Story” homework project, where each student brought in photos or items representing different stages of their life. They wrote short reflections and gave thoughtful presentations, sharing how they have grown over time. It was a wonderful opportunity for self-reflection and pride in their personal journeys.

This week was all about celebrating how we change, grow, and learn at every stage of life. We’re excited to continue this journey next week as we look into emotional growth and how our feelings and thoughts shape the choices we make.

Art class

This week, Grade 4 students began a watercolor portrait project connected to our unit on Personal Growth and Changes. Working in pairs, they will learn to observe facial features and expressions while exploring their own creativity.

The project encourages students to develop empathy and self-expression as they reflect on what makes each person unique—an artistic way to deepen their understanding of personal and emotional growth.

In our first lesson, students learned how water changes the strength and transparency of color. Using only the three primary colors—red, blue, and yellow—they explored how different combinations and amounts of water create new shades and tones. This hands-on experience helped them understand the idea that just like colors, people grow and change in many different ways.

Special visit from Laioh

We also had a special visit from Laioh, the friendly lion mascot from AC Nagano Parceiro! Laioh represents the local J3 League soccer team, bringing excitement and school spirit to our visit
The students were thrilled to meet him, cheering and posing for photos as Laioh greeted everyone with big lion hugs.