Planning the inquiry
How the World Works
Planner 5
1. What is our purpose?
To inquire into the following:
•
Transdisciplinary theme
How the World Works
An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world
(physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of
scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the
environment.
An inquiry into: 1) The natural world and its laws; 2) The interaction between the natural
world (physical and biological) and human societies
Project: Life Cycles
Central Idea: Exploring the world
Summative assessment task(s):
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central idea? What
evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for?
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Early Childhood Rubric (1,2,3)
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Observations
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Explorations
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Work Products
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Journals
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Verbal communications through discussion
Date: March-April
Class/grade:
Kinder
School: Rodriguez E.S.
Title: Lifecycles
Teacher(s):
Date: March-April
Proposed duration: 6 weeks
Age group: 5-6
School code:
PYP planner
2. What do we want to learn?
What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective, and
responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry?
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Function
•
Connection
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Perspective
Key Concepts: Function, Connection, Change
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea? Lines of
Inquiry
Human Needs
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How patterns are observed in nature
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How living organisms have habitats that provide their basic needs
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How technology plays a role in human development
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How life cycles are modeled through fine art
Lines of Inquiry:
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Patterns can be observed
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Organisms have needs
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Use of technology plays a role in human evolution
What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
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What are the similarities and differences in lifecycles?
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How can we observe and describe changes in patterns in our natural world?
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Why is it important to know and understand lifecycles?
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Why is it important to explore the world around us?
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Planning the inquiry
3. How might we know what we have learned?
This column should be used in conjunction with “How best might we learn?”
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior knowledge and skills? What evidence
will we look for?
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Small and whole group discussions
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Discussions about what they have observed in the world around them.
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Describe past events in their lives
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Discuss and describe community helpers they have seen in the world around them.
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines of inquiry?
What evidence will we look for?
•
Students will be expected to participate in lab activities and discussions
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Active play will be observed in the workstations. Evidence will be recorded by the
students in their science journals
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Students will be asked to create a project of different lifecycles
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
4. 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?
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Lab investigation
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Science workstations
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Foss kits
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Outdoor explorations
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Technology
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Science literature
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DSM
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PASS
What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the development of
the attributes of the learner profile?
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Inquirers: Students use their five senses to explore changes in living organisms;
Students will describe patterns and changes in the world around them
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Reflective: Students will identify similarities and differences among different lifecycle
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Risk takers: Students will use simple tools for investigation
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Communicators: What are the characteristics of a living organism and a nonliving
object?
Reflecting on the inquiry
5. What resources need to be gathered?
What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will
be available?
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Science safety equipment such as goggles and gloves
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Arts and craft materials
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Drawing and writing materials
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Technology such as united streaming
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Delta science models-how do we learn? Activities
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PASS unique properties-matter
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DSM-properties activities 1-5
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PASS comparing measurement
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Family pictures and objects
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate
the inquiry?
Places inside and outside the school will be utilized such as the classroom (small group, whole group,
workstations), Science Lab, playground and school grounds.
6. To what extent did we achieve our purpose?
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.
Students had the opportunity to observe the butterfly lifecycle and other insects and
their behaviors. They were able to observe the plant cycles.
Made a class terrarium (plans, insects, food)
Butterfly habitat
Science workstation- drew and label butterfly and plant life cycle
Radish garden (needs)
Compare and contrasting chart of needs of living things
Habitats, insects (walking sticks, crickets, earthworms, mealworms, pill bugs, sow
bugs, American Chameleon (Anole) )
Water and Plant Cycle
2016-17 we added other living organism life cycles such as, ducks, chickens,
frogs, ladybugs, turtles and bees. This helped the students to expand their
knowledge of patterns and that living organisms have needs.
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.
Use a different variety of animals and/ or insects and explore their lifecycles
Have an aquarium with fish showing their lifecycles and needs
Observe the lifecycle of chicken egg (in incubator in science lab) and have
students make connections with what they saw in the science lab
Formative Writings – Students reflection on their background knowledge and later
understanding of what they learned about Life Cycles and Needs of Living
Organism
How technology helps to obtain our basic needs. Watched the The Crood’s
Movie; students reflected, analyzed, compare/contrasted, and made connections
with the movie.
Students can use problem/solution strategies for stories read aloud in all subject
areas
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and the
transdisciplinary theme?
The students were able to make connections with themselves and animals to help see the
similarities. They were able to see how living things change or transform. The students had
the opportunity to have discussions and conversations with the teacher about the impact of
their actions on the environment. The students researched animal life cycles and were able
to present their findings to an audience.
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Reflecting on the inquiry
7. To what extent did we include the elements of the PYP?
What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:
• 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.
-function: discuss how living things work and their purpose is within the environment.
- connections: compare and contrast lifecycles of different living things.
- change: discuss how the living things undergo complete and incomplete metamorphosis.
Students had to demonstrate cooperation because they were working together to complete
their end of unit projects. They used the profile of a thinker and inquirers, as they were
researching about their living organism.
8. What student-initiated inquiries arose from the learning?
Record a range of student-initiated inquiries and student questions and highlight any that
were incorporated into the teaching and learning.
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Why are the butterflies bleeding?
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What happens if a living organism cycle is broken?
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Why is my seed not growing?
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I want to know how a seed grows from a flower.
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How do flowers grow without planting them?
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Do Madagascar Roaches bite? Why don’t they have wings like the ones we have?
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Did the walking stick really come from a tree?
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Why are the butterfly dying?
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Why do the gills in the frog disappear? (frog)
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Why do some eggs have a chick and some have a yolk inside?
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How long do they live? (ladybug)
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.
Students initiated spontaneous dramatic play of the community helpers and making
connections in the different workstations.
Students acted out the butterfly life cycle.
Students are looking for living organisms in their environment during recess. They are now
more respectful of the insects that they find. They are also looking for the stage that the living
organism is in.
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
9. Teacher notes
As a Technology Class, guided lessons along with the use of computers and software such as
Education City Science will provide our students with the multiple opportunities to be
exposed to diverse and meaningful interactions between the natural world and human
societies.
Also, our students will be able to comprehend how human behavior impacts our planet.
Students will develop and portray characters with voice, body, and gesture… cont.
performance in drama situations.
Function: How does the character move?
Causation: How do we know when a story or play is finished?
Reflection: (retelling a familiar story) What are your favorite /special memories of
childhood?
Activities:
Game: “Add-on”
Students will improve acting and memory skills by incorporating multiple actions to
characters (while moving across an open space.)
Character
Add-on #1
Add-on #2
Pirates
catching a big fish
with poison ivy
Mad Scientists with stomach aches playing freeze tag
Disco dancers
with itchy backs
need to use the bathrm
Jugglers
on skateboards
yodeling
Ghosts
snowboarding
singing opera
Next Year Initiative:
We will incorporate Language Arts Reading lessons within our IB planners. For example
“The very hungry caterpillar”- Lifecycles, etc.
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007