English Teacher Wendy Yen & Kassie Shi
KCFS class is a cross-curricular course which helps our young learners develop a variety of life skill sets and enhance their nonfiction knowledge, including different subjects, such as science, technology, engineering, art and math. The primary objective of KCFS class is to engage the students to explore the world around them. We as the teachers also guide them to make real-world connections via STEAM Challenges.
When young learners start to understand the world around them, there’s no better way to start from themselves. In this academic year, our grade one students learned about basic parts of our bodies, such as eyes, hands, legs and many more. Through knowing different body parts, we’ve also taught students the five senses associated with those body parts, such as sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch.
For our grade two students, we focused on learning what’s inside the bodies and the interesting facts about these important organs. We also encouraged the students to anticipate any problems or difficulties humans may encounter if they were born without bones or their organs are not functioning properly. Then, we emphasized that all the organs, bones, and muscles work together like a team, and without their work we would not be able to grow!
To further increase the depth of knowledge and engage the practical actions, we implemented the STEAM challenges- Robotic Hand and Muscle Machine. Throughout these two activities, the students visualized exactly how their hands and arms functioned with their bones, joints and muscles.
In the Robotic hand activity, students started to outline their hands on papers, and used the strings as muscles to connect all the joints of a hand. On the other hand, in the Muscle Machine activity, the students gained knowledge of different types of bones and muscles. We also learned that muscles can move our bodies like strings. The biceps pull our arm up, and the triceps pull our arm down! When the muscles tighten, the tendons pull the bones and cause the joints to move.
Why are our hands and arms so important to us? Piaget’s theory suggests that children in the concrete operational stage from 7 to 11 begin to think logically and understand concrete concepts. Through the use of their hands, children can explore objects and solve problems.
Therefore, learning the importance of hands and arms is crucial for the first and the second graders. The students learn that the joints, tendons, muscles and bones in our hands and arms allow us to perform precise movements, such as writing, drawing, or even playing an instrument. These body parts not only empower us to develop fine motor skills, but enhance the understanding of the world!