Susanne Fischer 

This theme encourages inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.

How We Organise Ourselves

How to Make a Better World \nis a beautiful book that inspires students to participate in activities to support communities and the environment, as well as to develop habits that have a positive impact on the world. As such, it fits perfectly with the Learner Profile attributes of being principled and caring.  This title would be a great resource to support students inquiring into organisations that work towards sustainability within communities. Why not create a class ‘wish tree’ where each student contributes their wish for a better world? It would be a great starter activity for discussion and display, encouraging learners to think about how they can use their agency for good.\n\nHow to Make a Better World\n is a beautiful guide that explains different aspects of taking action on a personal, local and global scale. The structure and illustrations throughout the book are engaging, plus it includes easy-to-understand concepts that students may come across when researching and exploring societal decision-making and other areas of \nHow we organise ourselves\n.

Those classes that are exploring transportation of the past and the present will find the title \nAround The World in 80 Ways \nuseful and interesting. The beautifully illustrated book shows ways in which people have travelled in the past and how distances can be covered now.  The book could be a great starting point for an investigation into how to cover distances most quickly, not to mention in the most eco-friendly and fun ways possible! \n\n

Twenty step-by-step eco-projects for budding preschool ecologists! Calling all mini eco-warriors and their parents! This fun and exciting book is filled with nature-themed eco-projects for kids. It's a gentle introduction to topical issues in the world today, like climate change, conservation and recycling - ideal for curious kids who want to make a difference. Look, I'm an Ecologist allows young readers to do what they do best: imagine, create, learn, problem-solve, and play their way to a greener planet. Inside you'll find: - A wide range of activities with an environmental focus is supported by simple information, so young readers understand the issues faced by our planet in a play-based, hands-on and child-friendly context. - Easy-to-find and internationally available materials and resources. - Projects designed to be shared and enjoyed by children and parents or carers. - Visual step-by-step instructions allow young children to access every part of the activity - from set-up to sensory exploration and conclusion, making them actively responsible for their learning. - An expertly written book by environmentalist and zoo learning manager Cathriona Hickey, who has vast experience in communicating science and ecology topics to young children. This charming arts and crafts book for kids will help them discover that they already have what they need to become an ecologist: a curious mind, unlimited imagination and super senses! Little ones can explore a wide range of projects, including building a bird feeder, making compost, painting pebbles, weaving a spider's web, growing plants and even building a model of a rockpool! The practical activities support preschool and kindergarten curriculums with clear pictures and easy-to-follow instructions. This nature book for kids will show them how fun it is to be green and use their senses to explore the natural world! DK's Look! I'm Learning series of exciting and educational STEM books, focusing on the sensory experience of practical learning and play and finding science in everyday activities. Hands-on learning experiences tap straight into kids' insatiable curiosity and sense of wonder. Try the other titles in the series next, including Look I'm A Cook, Look I'm A Maths Wizard, and Look I'm An Engineer.

Look I'm An Ecologist

Look I’m an Ecologist \nis a fun little book packed with hands-on projects and activity ideas. This title would fit perfectly into a unit which explores taking action and organising activities linked to environmental topics and sustainability, in line with the learner profile attribute of being principled. One idea would be to start a school-wide initiative that incorporates some of the craft tasks that are explained inside. This would be beneficial for those classes looking to improve the environmental awareness of their school community through hands-on projects.\n\n

This theme encourages inquiry into rights and responsibilities, sharing resources with other people and other living things; communities and the relationship within and between them; access to equal opportunities, as well as peace and conflict resolution.

Sharing the Planet

 What A Waste\n offers students a great insight into the world of reuse, reduce, recycle. The well-illustrated pages take readers through a range of topics that educate about pollution, recycling and renewable energies. This is another title that will inspire students to present their research in an original way, demonstrating their understanding of ATL skills such as self-management and communication. How about asking your class to make posters based on what they have read to help encourage everyone in your school to reduce waste, from minimising garbage to saving water?\n\n

Find out how to live more sustainably, manage waste in a better way, and create an eco-home! Rubbish tells us a lot about how humans have lived in the past, how we're living now, and the impact our waste disposal has on the environment. To create a more sustainable future, it's important that little eco-warriors know about the different types of waste and how to create less rubbish! DKfindout! Rubbish is a fun, trivia and activity-filled book that teaches young children between 5 and 9 years old about the problems the planet is experiencing with waste. An engaging read that will give young activists the ideas to start making a difference: - Covers topics such as "Electronic waste", "Food we waste the most", "Recycling ideas for kids" with a clear visual approach - Includes a glossary to help explain new or tricky terms - Contains flaps at the beginning and end that provide extra core references and a quiz to draw children into the content of the book - Features dynamic, highly visual presented topics including a spread about art made from rubbish - Checked by specialist consultants and an educational expert to make sure the information is trustworthy and age-appropriate Thought-provoking and timely, DKfindout! Rubbish educates and challenges young readers to ask questions about how rubbish is created, disposed of, the biggest contributors to excess waste such as fast fashion, plastic, and electronics - and how they can counter the effects of these culprits. An important yet colourful sustainability book for kids, this title teaches children how to produce less waste and how to manage waste better! They'll learn about recycling, up-cycling (even creating art from rubbish!), how to stop wasting food, and why plastic is a problem. The DKfindout! series introduces children to a range of exciting topics in a fun, engaging way. Checked by specialist consultants and an educational expert, this is not only a source of information you can trust but one that is age-appropriate and supports your child's schoolwork. Other titles include DKfindout! Science, DKfindout Animals, and DKfindout! Forest. The DKfindout! series won Silver in the MadeForMums Awards 2017.

DKfindout! Rubbish

Rubbish \nis another brilliant title from DK’s Findout! Series which students can use as a reference book while exploring the details and difficulties of waste management. The book covers the stages of various types of waste and illustrates the importance of properly discarding of a range of materials and items, such as electronic items. Information is well-modelled and student-friendly, providing lots of examples and inspiration for students.  One idea would be to ask your learners work together on an art display using safe materials that might otherwise go to waste to help learn about repurposing and reusing.\n\n

This timely entry into the award-winning DKfindout! series, explores the past, present, and future of our climate. In 2019 kids around the world went on strike for the future of our planet, and for their own futures. This amazing book on climate change for kids covers what we can do every day as potential activists to help prevent further damaging changes to the climate. The subject matter of this book has become a very hot topic! Find out why climate change is such a big deal. It contains a wealth of facts about the world, figures, predictions and graphical data to help you understand exactly what it all means. It is a great addition to any bookshelf, and a valuable and contemporary resource for all ages. Climate change is now one of the biggest issues we face as a society, and the British and Irish governments have become the first in the world to declare a climate emergency. This book lays out the science behind this natural process that has been exponentially sped up by humans. It explains the different ways in which we have caused the Earth to heat up, from traffic pollution to animal farming, and the vast, widespread effects we are causing. It covers key developments such as the Industrial Revolution, the advent of air travel, and climate activism, such as the People's Climate March to Greta Thunberg and the Extinction Rebellion. Come to understand the facts about climate change in these pages and discover what we can do to improve the human impact on our environment. Find Out How To Save The World! A small book filled with fun facts and big ideas! Over 64 pages are packed with information covering all the aspects of climate change including a timeline dating from the 1760s all the way through to 2050, to living with climate change and what we can do about it. DKfindout! Climate Change encourages children to think more about the world around them and is a great aid for any school project on climate change. Inside you will: -Learn about deforestation, the greenhouse effect and transport -Discover the polar crisis, changing sea levels and sinking islands -Explore activism, collective change, and small ways to make a difference DKfindout! Climate Change is one title in the Dkfindout! series of educational books for kids, and the Silver award winner in the MadeForMums Awards 2017 children's books series category. Kids around the world are obsessed with this gorgeous collection, so much so that a range of massive DKfindout! posters for bedroom walls are sold separately. Add to your collection and nurture your little one's interest in the world. Other titles include DKfindout! Solar System, Birds, Castles, Science, Pirates, Coding, Ancient Egypt, Engineering, Reptiles and a whole lot more!

DKfindout! Climate Change

 \nDK’s \nFindout! Climate Change\n is a great research title for students exploring different aspects of climate change within their \nSharing the planet \nunit. The book covers topics such as habitat loss, ocean currents, the impact of carbon dioxide, as well as environmental activism. Classes could plant their own tomato plants in pots outside or in the classroom to learn about the benefits of growing their own food and perhaps come up with a menu for a fictional café based on food that they could source or grow locally. \n\nThis is another DK book which will easily cover areas of other transdisciplinary themes and would be suitable for a range of year groups and reading abilities. 

Read more about incorporating DK books into the IB themes \n‘How we express ourselves and How the world works’\n and \n ‘Who we are and Where we are in place and time’ \n or head back to \nthe introductory article \nfor an overview of this series. \n

Interested in Learning More? 

\n\nSusanne Fischer is an experienced and passionate PYP Coordinator and PYP Educator. She has worked at IB schools in the UK, Germany, Norway and Barbados and is a Global Schools Advocate on behalf of the Global Schools Program, an initiative of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). She regularly gets involved in curriculum development projects and has been a presenter at conferences and international curriculum summits. 

About Susanne

This article looks at six DK titles that will be perfect for your \nHow we organise ourselves\n and \nSharing the Planet\n units. As outlined in my other articles, it’s well worth browsing \nthe DK site\n to see the fantastic selection of books they offer and continue to publish. Schools looking to offer their classes collections of titles to suit different transdisciplinary themes will have no difficulty in finding titles for all units and age groups, plus there are free guides for further suggestions on how to use these titles in your PYP class. You can explore the \nDK IB Collection of books for the PYP here.\n

Using DK resources in the IB PYP: How We Organise Ourselves and Sharing the Planet 

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