The Beauty of Taiwan

Theme: Where we are in place and time

Central Idea: Exploring our place in the world helps us understand the beauty around us.

In this unit, Grade 1 students began to learn how to appreciate the place where we live – Taiwan! As a part of understanding our central idea, we took a look at what we think is “beautiful.” We made a mind map of the things we think of when we hear the word “beauty.” Students came up with all kinds of wonderful ideas – buildings, flowers, people, animals, nature, even food! It was quite interesting to see students' different perspectives on what they consider as beautiful.

For a social studies perspective, we held an inquiry on the geography of Taiwan. We brainstormed the places that we have been to or heard of in Taiwan and found them on a map. Then, we made maps of our own, labeling key cities that we would do further research on later for our summative assessment - a travel brochure - learning to explore and appreciate the beauty of Taiwan.