Yousif Al Mufta has no qualms about asking people to buy the coffee and pastries he is selling together with his classmates at the ‘1D Coffee Shop’. The makeshift café is conveniently located by their classroom entrance and Yousif sometimes does double duty as a tour guide of sorts when asked about the first graders’ activity.
“This is our workplace community. We have a hospital, fire station, airport and a bank where you can withdraw money from to buy coffee from us,” the student cheerfully shares.
Apart from giving them the opportunity to do some of their dream jobs for a day, the activity puts into action their current lesson under the school’s Primary Years Programme.
According to Grade 1 Academic Coordinator Neil Charles, “Setting up the community links to our Unit of Inquiry of How the World Works. The students have been looking at how workplaces function, what the common purpose of a workplace is and the responsibilities those who work in these places have”.
The students dress up for their designated role and report for duty at their workplace, ready to do their job for the day.
Charles and the rest of the first grade teachers expressed admiration for the students’ dedication. “They have researched and visited workplaces to get an idea of how they function. They then came up with workplaces in a community to make themselves,” he said.The Peninsula
