WEST COVINA, CA – More than 80 Orangewood Elementary fifth-graders presented capstone projects on May 28 that delved into such topics as the addictive nature of video games, how YouTube targets audiences and barriers to women playing football during their International Baccalaureate (IB) culminating exhibition.

The students, working in 17 groups, created multimedia presentations for audiences of parents, teachers and peers on their projects, which represent months of work as they conclude their IB Primary Years Programme (PYP).

The Primary Years Programme is the first in three-stage IB continuum offered by West Covina Unified through its International World Schools of West Covina. The program emphasizes student-directed learning, critical thinking, a global perspective and collaboration. The exhibition was themed “Sharing the Planet: Passion Inspires Action.”

“The best part about the PYP is that it turns teachers from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side,” PYP coordinator Jeanne Berrong said. “PYP is the hallmark of inquiry for these students; they are given some direction but these students find their own central ideas and lines of inquiry and dive in.”

A typical presentation featured a slideshow with a three-to-five-minute video created and edited by the students. Student presenters encouraged guests to fill out online surveys via laptops placed at each seat and incorporated the results into their presentations.

Isaac Sevilla’s team discussed the dangers and realities of gaming addiction.,

“Children, and even adults, today can get addicted to video games, and I don’t think games are really the problem, but moderation in all things in life is important,” Sevilla said.

In the YouTube Influencers presentation, students argued that YouTube should focus on popularizing more educational content.

In the Sports and Gender Inequality presentation, students shared how sports like football discourage women from participating, limiting players who could excel at the sport.

Students prepared for the inquiry-driven project exhibit since the start of fourth grade. First, students were presented with an idea, such as “Sharing the Planet.” Next, they were asked to relate the theme to something important in their lives, document that process, create or research data via survey or academic sources, and produce a presentation on what they learned.

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WCUSD_PYP_PROJECTS: Orangewood School students Isaac Sevilla, Nicholas Fuentes, Joshua Salgado, Andrew Navidad and Nicolas Cortes moments before presenting their PYP project regarding the topic of gaming addiction on May 28.