IB PYP Education
CIS UOI | Inquiry in Grades 1–3: Building Confident and Independent Learners
Caeyu International School of Foshan (CIS Foshan) is an IB PYP Candidate School. In the PYP framework, the Unit of Inquiry (UOI) is a key part of Elementary learning.
Today, we step into UOI classrooms of CIS Foshan Elementary G1–G3 to see how young learners explore, communicate, and grow in a fully English-speaking environment.
Watch the video to experience our real classrooms.
Learning About Forces and
Motion Through Hands-on Activities
In a recent UOI, Grade 1 students explored the idea of forces and motion. Their homeroom teacher, Ms. Jaqueline, guided them through activities with toy cars, ramps, and balloon-powered cars to discover concepts like pushing, pulling, movement, and friction.
Students discovered that smoother ramps help cars travel farther. They tested different designs for their balloon cars, and they not only learned science concepts but also how forces affect the way things move through real experiences.
Understanding Life Cycles
Through Observation
The latest UOI for Grade 2 focused on life cycles. Guided by their homeroom teacher, Ms. Aliya, students read books, carried out their own research, and kept journals while observing mealworms growing from larvae into pupae and then into beetles.
This was more than a simple nature activity. It was an ongoing inquiry that happened right in the classroom. By observing, recording, and caring for the mealworms, students learned how living things grow and change while developing responsibility, patience, and curiosity.
Exploring Friction Through Experiments
In Grade 3, students took their inquiry a step further by exploring friction.
Together with their homeroom teacher, Ms. Marli, they tested different materials and surfaces to find out what helps objects move faster and what slows them down.
In these lessons, students do more than follow experiment steps. They learn how to ask questions, make observations, compare results, and explain their discoveries in their own words.
When students say, "Some surfaces are smooth, while others make things harder to move," we see them building both scientific understanding and confidence in expressing their own ideas.
At CIS Foshan, UOI lessons are led by international homeroom teachers. English is not only a subject to learn but also a natural tool for asking questions, making observations, sharing ideas, and communicating in the classroom.
Students use English to describe what they discover and share their thinking.
Language learning and inquiry comes together naturally, helping children build confidence through real communication.
As CIS Foshan IB PYP Coordinator Ms. Michelle shares, inquiry learning helps students in Grades 1–3 explore, ask questions, make connections, and gradually build confidence as young learners.
At this stage, children learn through hands-on experiences, observations, discussions, and reflections. They are encouraged to stay curious, connect classroom learning with the real world, and develop their own ideas through communication.
Join CIS Foshan and let your child discover the world through inquiry while growing with confidence in an international learning environment.
We warmly welcome you to visit our campus and experience how the IB PYP comes to life in our Elementary classrooms.
Related Links：Event Highlights | CIS UOI 学习成果汇演，从探究到行动的成长