Primary school students have a lot to learn they must master arithmetic, Chinese characters, and English vocabulary but is this the limit of their abilities. Parents may even suggest that their students struggle with even this. However, at YWIES we believe they can do so much more.

So what topics have our children recently been researching at YWIES? Our students in G4 give their answer:

"We are interested in the changes in matter and environmental studies. In our research, we noticed that our school used a lot of plastic bags, so we became curious about how plastic bags are made and how much we use. We delved into this topic and found a lot of information! ”

Yes, they have begun to be interested in the phenomena around them. They study the reason behind this phenomenon, and even did their own research. This is because we fully believe in the potential of children. And committed to unlock the potential of children. Now let's take a look at this children's research from shallow to deep. I’m sure you will be amazed by them.

The problem: Plastic all around us

We found out that our school uses 1,000 single-use plastic bags per month, which is a surprising finding for us! We have to find solutions to reduce the use of plastic bags.

Research: Which plastic is the best?

We researched different materials that replace plastic bags, such as thermoplastics and bioplastics. We even tried to use these materials to make our own bags in scientific experiments. We learned that thermoplastic bags are made by turning solid matter into a liquid and then back into a solid.

Production: Let's make "good" plastic!

We tried bioplastic bags made from plants. We turned the liquid into a solid by using heat and added wildflower seeds. We found making these bags is way more complex, but they produced a much more user-friendly plastic that could easily be molded into shapes that we could use.

We also faced the challenges when working with these two types of plastics. Some students can't resist playing while the plastic is drying, which caused the plastic to become messy and full of holes. This made us realize that although bioplastics are the best choice in plastics, there may be other alternatives.

Outcome: 1/3 plastic bags are reduced

Eventually, G4 students came up with a solution to reduce the use of plastic bags. We recommend using reusable woven cotton bags or canvas bags to replace plastic bags. We can reduce the use of plastic bags by nearly 1/3 and save 300 bags per month from being thrown away! It's a small step, but it can have an important impact on protecting our environment.

Understanding the plastic products around us, what are the plastics we always use;

Understand the process of making plastics;

Learn about making "good" plastic bags;

Replace the plastic bags we use every day with the plastic we make.

Mr. Joey, the Theme teacher, added, our G4 students not only learned about substances and materials through this theme class, but also made them by themselves. There is understanding, application, problem solving, and even spontaneous proposals. They appear to have the ability to research and explore problems on their own. During the learning process, the teacher guides them to ask questions, assists them in solving problems, and gives them new possibilities. Teachers and students worked together and cooperated. They took another big step forward!