Single Subjects
Elementary Single Subjects
The Arts
Arts Philosophy at Tashkent International School
Elementary Arts at TIS include Drama, Music and Visual Art. These PYP courses offer students opportunities and experiences through which they are encouraged to develop a sense of self and an understanding of the world around them. The key skills of creative thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication, reflection, appreciation and feedback are explicit elements of an Arts curriculum. These skills also reach beyond the Arts classroom to all areas of a child’s learning and into the future as lifelong skills.
The Arts co-curricular program is designed to facilitate opportunities for all students to participate in public events, and places the greatest emphasis on the creative process and the experience of being part of an event. The co-curricular program will build on the skills, knowledge and attitudes from the curricular program and provide opportunities for the extension of a student’s artistic skills.
In the curricular and co-curricular Arts, learning through doing, taking risks and experimenting means that students learn in a real and authentic context and that Arts teaching embodies a student-centered approach. Students face what is uncertain, make connections, tap into their imaginations, learn how to express themselves and develop respectful and supportive ways of interacting. The Arts teaches ‘people,’ not just ‘skills,’ and as such is vital to the development of the whole person.
Physical Education
The main objectives of the physical education program are:
• to establish positive attitudes towards a healthy and active lifestyle;
• encourage personal and social development by interacting with others; and
• promote the benefits of physical activity.
Even though competition is a natural part of sports, the focus as this age is participation in a pleasant, safe and non-threatening environment. Participation by all students is encouraged within our regular physical education lessons and extra curricular sport activities. The focus of enjoyment and team cooperation in play is stress rather than winning.
Elementary have a physical education lesson on average every other day with a PE specialist. Students have access to the indoor gym and outdoor facilities (soccer pitch, basketball courts and track).
Technology
Tashkent International School emphasizes the role of technology in the classroom and beyond. The technology coach and classroom teachers work together to integrate technology skills into learning outcomes and subject curriculum requirements.
Russian Language
Competency in a foreign language is a valuable life skill and a powerful tool both in societal communication and as a means of personal reflection. Learning a foreign language and literature is a creative process that encourages the development of imagination and creativity through self-expression. Students benefit from having access to different cultures, literature and languages.
Classes are divided into three proficiency levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced.
The teaching methodologies, classroom activities and technology used by the Russian department feature a communicative competence approach to language learning. The main aim of the Russian program is communicative, however grammar and vocabulary are dealt with in detail.
Students need to be empowered to comprehend language through listening and reading, and to express themselves with increasing confidence through speaking and writing. In Russian class they will become acquainted with Russian culture, customs and people through poems, songs, proverbs, fairy tales and cartoons. Cultural context is an integral part of the language teaching.
Students are encouraged to communicate in Russian whenever possible outside of school (while shopping, on the metro, watching television, etc.). Most importantly, we want the language learning experience to be enjoyable and to encourage students to continue to learn languages in the future.
Textbooks and supplemental materials are available for students in different grades and language levels. The Russian department also has a Russian library with a collection of books for reading and audio-visual materials.
English Language Learners
Philosophy
As an international school that values diversity, our ELL students are an integral part of our educational community. English is taught within a safe, nurturing environment. ELL students are full participants in the classroom with the appropriate level of support available to ensure a successful experience.
Objectives of the ELL Program:
• to facilitate the transition from the previous school into an English-speaking program;
• to provide encouragement and foster self-esteem in order to maximize learning;
• to monitor the progress of students and assess their readiness to move through the stages of the ELL program;
• to increase a student’s level of English language proficiency and to prepare them for full participation in mainstream classes; and
• to develop the skills required by the subjects in the curriculum and/or the Units of Inquiry.
Elementary ELL
The beginners ELL program focuses on developing listening, conversational and social/cultural skills. Students learn basic vocabulary and sentence structures in order to function and feel comfortable with the routines of the school.
Following a period of initial instruction, the focus of the ELL program is for students to learn and use the language in the subject areas. The program helps students develop reading and writing skills within the context of the classroom Units of Inquiry.
Library Media Center
The elementary school library is a dynamic, exciting component in the educational process for all children at all stages of their schooling at Tashkent International School. It is a place where children learn to use the library properly and come to respect the knowledge the library holds.
The elementary library at TIS works to create an educational and cultural environment where individuals are exposed to ideas through the use of a variety of resources in a variety of media formats. The library is equipped to provide teachers with instructional materials and professional resources.
The library is an integral part of the total school program, serving both the recreational needs and curricular needs of the students and faculty. The library program caters to teaching literary appreciation and information literacy skills, including more technical skills.
Host Country Culture Studies
Uzbek Cultural Studies is integrated into the Units of Inquiry and subject studies in the elementary school. The students are exposed to the rich and unique culture of Uzbekistan and Central Asia through the arts, history, geography and traditions of the Uzbek people and neighboring nations. The programme provides students with a cross-cultural focus to develop an appreciation and understanding of the culture and uniqueness of the host country.
Lessons are built to foster students’ abilities to understand the diversity and appreciation of all cultures as they make connections to their own and other cultures around the world.
Along with in-class learning, Uzbek Cultural Studies in a PYP classroom extends beyond the classroom and school walls – there are many off-campus field trips at all grade levels designed to deepen the students’ understanding of concepts they are developing within the classroom during culture study integration. The field trips are varied and carefully designed to support the age of the students and include local walks around the “mahallas” (local neighborhood), visits to art galleries, workshops and museums.
We often invite local guest speakers to share their expertise with students. Our students are given rich opportunities from preschool onwards to learn about global issues in a local context.
Studying the products, practices and perspectives of a particular culture brings the student closer to understanding how the people of that culture think and to develop an appreciation of other people’s motives. Students develop their understanding of the people and culture in the host country, Uzbekistan, by studying its history, geography, language, traditions, arts, literature and daily life. They also learn culture through sharing experiences with each other.
Through units of inquiry students engage in research and discussion to share their learning. Units of inquiry try to instill a value of traditions, mythology and the Arts which play a role in developing internationally minded students who know Uzbekistan’s past, present and culture.