Learning came to life through collaboration and community on May 5 as Middle Years students partnered with Grade 2 students for a meaningful cross-grade activity centered around biographies and role models.
As part of an English Language Acquisition unit exploring life stories, Middle Years students created engaging book trailers to recommend picture books about influential individuals from around the world. Their selections highlighted inspiring figures from a variety of fields, including athletes Pelé and Jackie Robinson, leaders and advocates Nelson Mandela, Michelle Obama, and Malala Yousafzai, mathematician Paul Erdős, and physicist Wu Chien-Shiung.
During the session, Middle Years students shared their videos and facilitated five-minute discussion stations with the younger learners. Grade 2 students had the opportunity to ask questions, explore new books, and discover inspiring stories connected to their own unit on biographies.
The activity reflected the IB values of community, communication, and service through learning. While the younger students gained reading inspiration and developed curiosity about influential people, the older students strengthened their presentation, communication, and leadership skills by guiding discussions and responding thoughtfully to questions.
Experiences like these help build meaningful connections across grade levels while encouraging students to see themselves as both learners and mentors within the school community.
Here are book trailers created by Happy (Grade 8) and Noa (Grade 6) to give you a glimpse into this engaging learning experience!