Grade One Develops Awareness of their own Balanced Habits
Grade one from the Primary Years Programme study the importance of washing your hands thoroughly and the effects of
sugar on your teeth in the unit “Healthy Balanced Lifestyle,” following the inquiry cycle – tuning in, finding out, sorting
out, going further, drawing conclusions and taking action.
The homeroom teacher Mirna Juniarsiah introduces the unit with an experiment where students touch two separate
pieces of bread, one with dirty hands and one with clean hands. Over time the students observe the effects of the dirty
hands by the way mold cultures on the porous surface of the bread.
Another aspect of the unit explores the influence of sugar on people’s teeth by comparing cola, milk and water,
and their effects on an egg shell. Students discover that cola erodes the egg shell and transforms the remains
black; the milk maintains the shell’s white color and strengthens its integrity; while the mineral water has minor
effects. The students realize the impact of sugar on their teeth after they analyze a two-week experiment applying
a scientific method.
“That’s why the inquiry cycle is so important,” says Juniarsiah. “The students learn to take agency over their own
education.”
Juniarsiah currently teaches first grade in the Primary Year Programme. She has been teaching the IB curriculum
for 15 years in Indonesia and Malaysia with licenses in both PYP and MYP. She joined OIS 2021.
Head of English Department – John Tang
