Planning the inquiry
1. What is our purpose?
To inquire into the following:
•
transdisciplinary theme
Sharing the planet
An inquiry into rights and responsibilities and the struggle to share finite resources
with other people and living things
•
central idea
Water is shared by all living things
Class/grade: EY2
Age group: 4-5
School: KIS International School
School code:
Title: Water
PYP planner
Teacher(s): Ms. Kate & Ms. Shelby with Mr. max, Mr. David,
Ms. Por and Ms. Bim
Date: 29th October
Proposed duration: number of hours
50
over number of weeks 10
Summative assessment task(s):
2. What do we want to learn?
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central
idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for?
What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection,
perspective, responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry?
Summative assessment:
These are the indicators for understanding of the key concepts: Responsibility &
Causation
I can make choices about my own water usage
I understand that my choice has a consequence
I can independently demonstrate practices that show my understanding that water is
shared by all living things
Possible action which could show this understanding (summative assessment)
- Watering plants
- Conserving water (taps/drinking water etc)
- Caring for classroom pets
- Reusing water
- Making signs for information
- Change of canteen behaviours – not wasting water/food
- Action at home
- Set up an ‘action at home’ board for parents to share action (near the end of the
unit to allow spontaneous action to happen first)
- Recording their responses to provocations and learning experiences
throughout the unit (learning stories, observations, photographs and
videos)
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Responsibility
Causation
We want the children to
understand that water is important
for all living things and needs to
be used responsibly
We want the children to understand
that the choices people make with
regards to water have an impact on
living things
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?
•
•
•
The use of water
That living things need water
The importance of clean water
What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
What do we use water for?
How do living things use water?
How can we use water responsibly?
Planning the inquiry
3. How might we know what we have learned?
4. How best might we learn?
This column should be used in conjunction with “How best might we learn?”
What are the learning experiences suggested by the teacher and/or students to
encourage the students to engage with the inquiries and address the driving
questions?
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior knowledge and skills?
What evidence will we look for?
In the weeks prior to the start of this unit we have set up different water play
activities plus encourage the students to water the plants etc. We have also
brought in class pet terrapins and tadpoles so that the students can see how
animals use water.
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the
lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look for?
Throughout the unit student initiated actions will be identified and made explicit
These will be displayed on an action board on rain drops.
Later in the unit this will extend to action at home which will allow families to
become involved with the summative assessment process
See section 9.
What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the
development of the attributes of the learner profile?
Observable Skills to focus Learning stories from the UOI
Social skills: Accepting responsibilities
•
Understands that own actions affect other people and living things
•
Offers to take on small classroom responsibilities
•
Reflects on the impact their behaviour has on others, sometimes with adult support
Self management skills: Informed choices
•
Make some decisions based on their own personal understandings and own past
experiences
Research/thinking skills
•
Finding new ways to solve problems
•
Finding new ways to do things
•
Making links and noticing patterns in their experiences
•
Developing ideas of cause and effect
•
Planning, making decisions about how to approach a task, solve a problem and reach a
goal
•
Reviewing how well the approach worked
5. What resources need to be gathered?
What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
Pipes, buckets and tubes for extended water play, fish/other animals that use water to observe and draw
Prepare videos for provocations
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?
Class excursion to Siam ocean world
Ms. Angelique plus DP students to make water purifiers with the children
Field trip to the canteen (water for cooking)
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Michel/DP students – water in different communities. build a school project
Reflecting on the inquiry
6. To what extent did we achieve our purpose?
7. To what extent did we include the elements of the PYP?
Assess the outcome of the inquiry by providing evidence of students’
understanding of the central idea. The reflections of all teachers involved in the
planning and teaching of the inquiry should be included.
What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:
How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have a more
accurate picture of each student’s understanding of the central idea.
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and
the transdisciplinary theme?
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
•
develop an understanding of the concepts identified in “What do we want to
learn?”
•
demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?
•
develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?
In each case, explain your selection.
Reflecting on the inquiry
8. What student-initiated inquiries arose from the learning?
9. Teacher notes
Record a range of student-initiated inquiries and student questions and highlight
any that were incorporated into the teaching and learning.
Provocations and experiences throughout the unit
What do you know about water? – set up a board with the same question asked at
different points in the unit (use EAL support in small groups with teacher plus TA)
Uses of water:
Initial provocation: Did anyone use water in your play/during lunch/ at home?
Chart this
Water for cooking – field trip to the canteen
Save our ‘wasted water’ after snack time and talk about how we can reuse it
Chart all the water we use as a class in a day - do this over a period of time to see if
they are becoming more aware of the different ways we use water.. add a sticker to
the chart for each way they have used water that day
Have a set of buckets available for collecting rain water when it is needed – discuss
more permanent ways this could be done (rain water collection unit) guest speaker
(Sugate) where is the best place to do this?
Living things need water:
Initial provocation: Siam Ocean world excursion
Initial provocation: Set up some small world water habitats for children to add
animals to. Can they recognise which animals use different types of water? i.e.
snakes in swamps, fish in ponds etc
Use living things that we have access to (hamsters, fish, turtles) and pose the
questions.. how do I use water? Include themselves as a living thing
Mobile of living things that need water.
Needs for clean water:
Set up a ‘washing area’ with different materials: baby dolls, cutlery, dishes,
clothes, washing line etc. for 2 days – record observations and responses
Set up the same centre but add dirty water – record children’s responses
At snack time ‘offer’ which water would you like to drink? Clean drinking water and
‘dirty water’ (pond weed, soil etc) and see if they can make the choice and give
reasons why they don’t drink dirty water
Look at a short film about how some communities need water from wells top have
clean drinking water - Michel or DP students to show a film of different ways water
is carried and collected in different communities, including our own
At this point teachers should go back to box 2 “What do we want to learn?” and
highlight the teacher questions/provocations that were most effective in driving
the inquiries.
What student-initiated actions arose from the learning?
Record student-initiated actions taken by individuals or groups showing their
ability to reflect, to choose and to act.
Provide an interactive table with sand and water (dirty water) for the children
to ‘filter’ using funnels (some stuffed with cotton wool). DP Science students
to come and make water filters with the children
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Unit Title:
Transdisciplinary Theme:
Date: From
Water
Sharing the planet
W/B:
Central idea:
29Th
October
To
January
5th November
Water is shared by all living things.
Teachers collaborating on and contributing to the planning process:
Kate, Shelby, David, Por & Bim
Key Concepts:
Focus Learner Profile:
Focus attitudes:
Responsibility, Causation
Balanced, thinkers
Appreciation, Integrity, Commitment
Conceptual Understandings
Focus Activities
Enhancements to Learning Centres
UOI
Listening: People listen and speak to share thoughts and feelings.
People listen and speak to share thoughts and feelings
Speaking: Spoken words connect us with others
People listen and speak to share thoughts and feelings
Reading: Print coveys meaning
People read for pleasure
Writing: Writing conveys meaning
Visual Communication: We can enjoy and learn from visual imagery
Pictures, images and symbols in our environment have meaning
We can enjoy and learn from visual imagery
Visual language is all around us
Measurement: Measurement involves comparing
objects and events; Objects have attributes that can be measured using
non-standard units; Events can be ordered and sequenced
Shape and Space: Shapes can be described and organized according to
their properties; Objects in our immediate environment have a position in
space that can be described according to a point of reference
Number Numbers are a naming system.
Numbers can be used in many ways for different purposes in the real
world.
Numbers are connected to each other through a variety of relationships.
Making connections between our experiences with number can help us to
develop number sense
Science: We can observe and investigate the world around us.
Carpet time: At different times chart the water that has
been used by the children – for example after a play
session, after lunch or snack, after swimming etc
Art: use water to create powder paint representations of
the colour block painting by Malevich
UOI corner: Display objects that children bring in from
home that are related to water. Post their comments
Sensory table: swamp creatures/add leaves and dirt etc
Art area: Explore water colours – can we use them without
Phonics: Phase 1 activities (oral blending and segmenting) water? Why do we need water? How does it change the
paints?
Guiding Questions /Key Concepts:
Responsibility: Why is water important for living things?
Promoting personal inquiries through following
children's interests
Causation: What choices can we make in order to use
water responsibly?
Leaf rubbings Encourage children to use crayons to make
rubbings of the different leaves they find outside.
Light Box: Provide markers, plastic sheets and light box
for children to explore independent mark making on
Oragami art: Set out simple shapes that the children can
fold into various shapes