PYP Exhibition

Mentor Handbook
Branksome Hall Asia
2015
Sharing the Planet
An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the
struggle to share finite resources with other
people and with other living things;
communities and the relationships within and
between them; access to equal opportunities;
peace and conflict resolution.

The Purpose of the Exhibition

For students to engage in in-depth, collaborative

inquiry.
To provide students an opportunity to demonstrate
independence and responsibility for their own
learning.
To provide students with an opportunity to explore
multiple perspectives.
For students to synthesize and apply learning of
previous years and to reflect upon their journey
through the PYP.
To provide an authentic process for assessing
student understanding.
To demonstrate how students can take action as a
result of their learning.
To unite students, teachers, parents and other
members of the school community in a collaborative
experience that incorporates the essential elements
of the PYP.
To celebrate the transition of learners from the
primary to middle/secondary education.

Things
to Keep in Mind as
a Mentor
The role of a mentor is chiefly to advise and keep
students focused on their inquiry.
Personal connections between the area of inquiry
and the student, school and home communities
are valuable.
Motivation is key in genuine inquiry.
Group work and communication are essential for
success in the Exhibition.
Students using the internet as a main source of
information often struggle. They need help
accessing other resources.
Time Management is key and a challenge.
Students are responsible for attending mentor
meetings on time and meeting goals. If they are
not adhering to this, please let them know
directly how this affects you as a mentor and the
time you have set aside to guide them.
If groups attend meetings unprepared, mentors
can send them back as to not waste valuable
time.
Keep in close communication with your Teacher
Leader and let them know if students are moving
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in a different direction and let them know if you

need more direction or redirection
Let your Lead Teacher know if you have
frustrations of certain actions or inactions of your
group

Grade 6 Exhibition Timetable

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Entry 8:10 am

1) 8:20 9:00

2) 9:00 9:40

Exhibitio Exhibitio Exhibitio Exhibitio Exhibitio

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3) 9:40 10:20

Exhibitio Exhibitio Exhibitio Exhibitio Exhibitio

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10:20 10:45

Recess Break

Exhibition
4) 10:45 11:25

5) 11:25 12:05

12:05 1:00

Lunch / Lunch Recess

Exhibition
Meetings can take place during any of the times below, including morning recess,
lunch recess. Please let your teacher leader know when you will be meeting. As
exhibition approaches more meeting times will become available.
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Grade 5 Exhibition Timetable

Meetings can take place during any of the times below, including morning recess,
lunch recess. Please let your teacher leader know when you will be meeting. As
exhibition approaches more meeting times will become available.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Entry 8:10 am

1) 8:20 9:00

2) 9:00 9:40

3) 9:40 10:20

Exhibitio Exhibitio Exhibitio Exhibitio Exhibitio

n
n
n
n
n
10:20 10:45

Recess Break

Exhibition
4) 10:45 11:25

5) 11:25 12:05

12:05 1:00

Lunch / Lunch Recess

Exhibition
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Communication
Each time you meet with your group they will fill out 'Mentor
and Group Meeting Notes' (pp76-83 of student booklet).
Students Will
Keep record of tasks discussed, meeting notes, to-do lists
and mentors feedback and comments.
Turn this into their exhibition teacher leader.
Mentor Will
Contact their Teacher Leader only when there are issues
that the teacher needs to know.
Come to Mentor coffee and tea meeting during Mondays
morning recess in Mr Scarrotts classroom IF DESIRED.
Use Managebac to document progress (during meetings
with group).
Teacher Leader Will
Be supervising the group during the rest of the exhibition
times that the mentor cannot be there.
Be the main communication point for the mentor and
available to meet or email with you.

Logistical Organization and Storage

Students will keep a record of their process in four ways.
Blogging: Students document their progress from prethinking activities to final project. They will be reflecting
on the Transdisciplinary Skills here as well. They will
update this weekly. You do not need to monitor this, but
may want to refer to this to see the work that has been
going on since your last meeting.

Meeting Record: Will be filled out in the student exhibition

booklet (pp.75-83 of student booklet).
Shared Google Docs: Groups will be using a collaborative
Google Docs to collect group work.
Easybib: citing all reference materials used throughout the
finding out stage.

Your First Meeting

They will have their three main research questions written. Ask
them why they are interested in these questions to attempt to
personally connect them to their area of interest. Help them
see what they need to know in order to keep moving forward
with their inquiry (concepts can help a lot with this). Help them
to start to think of an action plan as a group.

What kind of questions should I ask?

During Finding Out/Sorting Out/Going Further
(March)
In this stage we encourage you to NOT focus on the sharing
element of the Exhibition to keep them focused on the inquiry
itself

Why did you choose this topic?

Why is this important to you?
What connections have you made with the central idea?
How are you doing with locating resources? What
resources have you located so far? Can I see some of the
resources you have located?
Are you having trouble making sense of any of the
resources? (make sure students can understand what they
have found) How are you doing synthesizing your research?
How is your note-taking going? Can I see some of your
notes?
How are you organizing the information you have found?
Are you documenting your resources in Easybib in your
Google Docs?
Have you thought about action? Have you considered.?
Can I help you think of more questions?
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During the Preparing to Share (April)

Encourage students find ways to share their work that are
creative and self-expressive. They can share in any way they
like. We would like to try to break away from Power Points and
posters and a fair type of atmosphere

How would you like to share your learning? (remember we

are not sharing information, but sharing learning, the
experience and the journey)
Who is your audience going to be? How will you engage
your audience?
What would make this more effective?
Have you completed a plan for your product? If yes, may I
see it? If no, can I help you make one? How is your action
project coming along? What resources will you need to
complete the task? What is your plan for acquiring those
resources?

Guidelines for Sharing April 9-10

Space:
The library is where the 2015 Exhibition will take place. Details
on specific areas will come soon. Groups will have their own
exhibition space to show their learning.

Language:
Presenting will be BOTH in English and their mother tongue.
Please contact your Teacher Leader if you need Korean/Chinese
language support.

Action:
Students, who have taken action, should incorporate this in
their sharing. All students are strongly encouraged to have an
element of action within the exhibition which should be
incorporated in their sharing.

Documentation:
Students will need to cite all sources, including photos (using
Creative Common guidelines). They will be using Easybib
through their Google Drive to document sources.
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Frequently Asked Questions:

How much of a time commitment is this? Please meet with
your groups twice per week or as needed. Your mentor sessions
should last 20-30 minutes. Sessions will go from March 2 nd to
April 8th, 2015.
What do I do?
Check out our Grade 6 BHA Exhibition website at
http://pypx2015g6.weebly.com/

Check out our Grade 6 BHA Exhibition website at

http://g5bhaexhibition2015.weebly.com/

This will be our main method to communicate with you. When

needed the teacher leaders will keep you informed about where
we are in the process and general ideas about what what your
group should be doing. Students will have a mentor book that
they will bring with them each week, outlining their goals and
their duties on a weekly basis. You can review it with them, ask
questions to help them deepen their understanding, and help
them organize their ideas and duties for the week until your
next meeting.
Who will I work with? You will receive an email to inform you
which group you will be mentoring throughout this Exhibition.

How do I work with the homeroom teacher? Every

Monday during morning recess, we will have an optional coffee
break in Mr Scarrotts room for any mentors who need to touch
base or have concerns about their group. You can put notes on
Managebac. You can also send emails or chat us up anytime.

What if my group is dysfunctional? Each group will have

a Lead Teacher for you to liaise with. We, the grade 6 team, will
do our best to straighten out any problems and we'll be working
with these groups regularly throughout the week. Ultimately,
this is the childrens inquiry. Together, we will help guide them
and support them, but this will not be your burden!

Is it hard? Nope. You dont need experience. The grade 6

team will support you and do everything we can to make it a
positive experience.

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