0061. SBS School. Fun with Science

Questa settimana le nostre insegnanti madrelingua delle sezioni dei Blu e dei Rossi ci raccontano di una novità introdotta da quest’anno nella programmazione del corso SbS alla Scuola dell’Infanzia e che coinvolge i nostri Little Bears e Little Tigers. Si tratta di un laboratorio scientifico con proposte e attività a misura di bambino, il tutto interamente in lingua inglese, un appuntamento settimanale che i nostri bambini adorano e vivono con impegno ed entusiasmo.

Children are naturally curious creatures and what better way to take advantage of this than having them explore the world around them. In February, the SBS preschool classes year 4 and year 5 (Red and Blue) started a new project called Science Lab.

On a weekly basis, the teachers present a topic with the help of a special science box. Inside this box they find their Science lab cards which they must wear in order to turn into little scientists, they also find hints and pictures that indicate what they’ll be exploring on that day. Before embarking on our very first topic about “Animals” the children had a chance to look into some of the roles scientists have and found that there are many different types of scientists. This led us to the role of a zoologist, who studies all aspects of animals from tiny insects to large mammals. Some of the subtopics we have seen so far are Animals and their offspring, where they live and how they move. Keeping in mind our young learner’s needs, we involve them physically in a series of commands and actions like “slither, swim,run, walk or crawl like the different animals we learn about. The children practice classification skills when discussing animals that live on land, water or fly in the air/sky. They’re also improving their observational skills and concentration when categorizing animals according to their number of legs/paws for example. The children develop creative arts skills when learning the difference between stripes and spots and which animals have them. Through engaging stories, pictures, games and songs the children learn new vocabulary, formation of simple sentences as well as differentiating cultural aspects between Italian and English. A good example of this is the difference between the sounds animals make in each language, while in Italian the frog says “crac”; in English it is “ribbit”. These interpretations reflect the uniqueness of each language and most importantly the children learn to appreciate and respect living things.

The importance of the Science Lab not only lies in the introduction of new lexis and phrases but also in the actual experiences the children absorb through these activities, encouraging them to discover new things and enriching their curiosity. Moreover, they are preparing themselves indirectly for the science classes they will receive in the Primary years. We decided to introduce this project in our bilingual curriculum at preschool to help children receive different kinds of stimulus both sensory, cognitive and linguistic all at the same time.