Planning the inquiry lesson – Sharing the Planet - Pam Fowler
1. What is our purpose?
Class/grade:1st Grade
1a) To inquire into the following:
School: The American School of the Hague
● Transdisciplinary theme
Title: Sharing the Planet
Rights and responsibilities in the struggle to
share finite resources with other people and
with other living things.
Teacher(s): 1st Grade teachers, specialists
Age group:6-7
Date: April
Proposed duration: 4 weeks
● Central idea
Number of hours 20 hours over
People can make choices to support the
sustainability of the Earth’s resources
4 of weeks
1b) Summative assessment task(s):
2. What do we want to learn?
Students take action in their own homes to
increase the use of resources more prudently.
What are the key concepts :
Perspective, responsibility, reflection
Related concepts:
Lifestyle, resources, waste
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the
inquiry into the central idea?
● Earth’s finite and infinite resources
● The impact of people’s choice on the
environment
● The balance between meeting human needs
and the use of limited resources
What teacher questions/provocations will drive
these inquiries?
How can we change the way we use natural
resources in our home?
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2011
3. How might we know what we have
learned?
Throughout this unit students work on a
display of Natural resources in their home
country and how they use these
resources. This is a culminating project
that allows for formative assessment of
the student along the course of the unit
of inquiry.
4. How best might we learn?
1. Have pictures of the students in their home countries and allow
the student to explore the environment of the country and the
natural resources of that country. Why are the resources different
in different countries? How are these different resources used?
How do students use these resources in their own homes?
2. In science students can study natural resources from the
perspective of all other living creatures and their needs.
In Reading students are learning about non-fiction books. These
books can all have a focus on Natural resources, their uses and how
we can take responsibility for our planet.
In math this age group is learning addition, subtraction and graphs.
These three skills can be incorporated into understanding
resources.
In art, using recycled material to create different projects – the
“recycled Robot”, etc.
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2011
Reflecting on the inquiry
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2011