Our last unit of inquiry for the year has been an inquiry into the theme Sharing the Planet and the Central Idea that finding peaceful alternatives to conflict can lead to harmonious relationships and new opportunities.

This unit has seen our boys asking meaningful questions related to a variety of conflict situations and resolutions, sparked by the question ‘is conflict good?’

Further student generated questions have included:

Why do terrorists do what they do?

How is conflict good or bad?

How do we make more environmentally friendly technology?

What is conflict resolution?

Are there side effects to a harmonious world?

What would happen if there was no conflict?

What part of the brain reacts to conflict?

Why don’t we let more refugees into our country?

Throughout the unit the boys were heavily engaged in our social skills program, Second Step, as they explored conflict resolution strategies and considered the many wide ranging examples of conflict that exist in our world. They also had a visit from our school cleaner to talk about his situation and reasons for coming to Australia from Nepal. In addition to this our School Chaplain, Mr Peter Morphew, led a lesson with the boys on conflict and harmony that exists in the bible.

The boys engaged with images (these can be seen here) depicting a variety of conflict situations, explored statistics and graphing related to migration, watched many examples of conflict and considered the situation of asylum seekers in Australia before undertaking their own independent inquiries.

As a culminating activity the boys worked collaboratively across the year level to write and rehearse a dramatic script that depicted a conflict situation, the way that it was resolved and the opportunities that arose. Over a couple of weeks the boys learnt about a variety of drama techniques and worked to refine their scripts and drama pieces before performing them in front of a green screen and adding relevant backgrounds. These performances can be seen here.

The boys have demonstrated the skills of collaboration and communication throughout this unit of inquiry as they have increased their knowledge and understanding of conflict and how it can be best resolved.

Pascal Czerwenka – Year 5 Teacher/Deputy Head of Lindfield Campus