Planning the inquiry
1. What is our purpose?
To inquire into the following:
How We Express Ourselves: An inquiry into the ways in which we discover
and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs, and values; the ways in
which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the
aesthetic.
Central Idea
Illustrators use pictures to convey meaning.
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?
Students will write a personal narrative and use what they’ve learned to illustrate
their published book. They will answer the following questions about their book.
1.
How did you decide on the technique and medium to illustrate your
book?
2.
How do your illustrations connect to your story?
3.
What is extra in your illustration that is not in the words of your story?
Class/grade: 2nd grade
Age group: 7-8
School: Roberts Elementary
School code: 02254
Title: How We Express Ourselves
Teacher(s): 2nd grade
PYP planner
Date: 10-8-13 revised
Proposed duration: 2 hours a day over 5 of weeks
2. What do we want to learn?
What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection,
perspective, responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry?
Form, Connection, Reflection
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?

Artwork in children’s literature

Connections between story and illustrations

Illustration techniques and the qualities of good writing they suggest
What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
1. How does an illustrator decide on the technique and medium to use?
2. How do the illustrations and the words work together to make meaning?
3. Is there anything happening in the illustrations that isn’t happening in the
words?
4. Do illustrations ever stand alone? If so, how do they carry the meaning
without words?
5. How do illustrators craft the tone using color, size and perspective?
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
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?
Students take picture walks through various texts. Have students take notes on what
they notice about the illustrations and then discuss the Teacher Questions as a
whole group. At the end of the planner, repeat the same activity with the same text.
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 create illustrations for their personal narrative using the technique of their
* Frontloading – Students will rotate through five books (including wordless books) and write down
things they notice about the illustrations.
* Frontloading – The teacher will lead students through picture walks. The students will respond in
writing. The teacher will make a chart with answers to such questions: What layout features are used?
How do illustrations and words work together to make meaning? Do the illustrations extend the
meaning in any way? How do the illustrations evoke feelings?
* Students will explore the elements of art - line, shape, value, texture, space, color, form
choice. (see summative)
* Students will explore the techniques of watercolor, pastel, drawing with your eraser, collage, black
and white, cut paper, prints to illustrate pre-existing text.
* Students will create a series of pictures (comic strip, flip book, tri-fold) that show different
actions, passage of time, and/or movement through different places. (Tomie dePaola, Kevin
Henkes)
*Students will create a picture of a setting using various techniques and then have another student
make-up a story that tells the story of the picture.
* Students will write a story based on another student’s illustration (cut paper). Each class can
be given an illustration assignment, classes will trade illustrations, students will then write a
story to convey the meaning of the picture.
* Students will create a four-square given a single sentence (Martha was worried.) crafting tone
with color, crafting tone with size and physical space, and crafting tone by accentuating or
exaggerating features. The first square would include the sentence and be illustrated before the
lesson. Following each lesson, each square would be completed.
*After reading aloud ,I Feel Silly by Jamie Lee Curtis, students will create their own feeling
illustrations to create their own feeling book.
*After reading aloud Where the Wild Things Are, students will use the technique of cross
hatching to illustrate their own Wild Thing.
What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the
development of the attributes of the learner profile?
Skills: Thinking, Communication, Social
Profile: Thinker, Communicator, Risk Taker, Reflective
Attitudes: Creativity, Appreciation, Commitment, Enthusiasm
5. What resources need to be gathered?
What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
Picture books (see Teacher Notes), art supplies (water colors, paper), In Pictures and In Words: Teaching the Qualities of Good Writing Through Illustration Study by
Katy Wood Ray, Second Grade Writers by Stephanie Parsons, About the Authors: Writing Workshop With Our Youngest Writers by Katy Wood Ray; I Feel Silly, Voices in
the Park, Blackout, Where the Wild Things Are, How to Heal a Broken Wing, A Ball for Daisy, Let’s Get a Pup Says Kate, Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good
Very Bad Day, Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?
Children’s book illustrator and/or author, art teacher
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
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:
Through this unit, the students have been able to apply color and light to all of
their illustrations. Beyond their own illustrations, students are better able to
notice the little details in illustrations in children’s’ books. They seem to have a
better connection to the pictures and can better visualize during their own
reading comprehension. They seem to love picture books again. This was a
great way to start the school year. It sets things up beautifully for readers and
writers workshop. The pictures have meaning – more than just the words. They
are digging into books. There is a true love of books – pictures and words.
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.
We learned that we need to include the reflection questions. We would like to
know their reasoning and thinking behind their choice. We adding the feeling
book to assess if they can use size, color, and perspective to convey tone in
their story.
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea
and the transdisciplinary theme?
This has been internalized and carried through their work all year. The students
truly have changed the way they create their own illustrations and how they look
at illustrations in books now. As seen through ongoing book talks and when
reading to self, students are sharing their observations and learnings on a daily
basis.

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.
Concepts Form: students explored the various elements of art and the techniques while
creating their own pictures
Connection: through class discussions and exploring various children’s books
students (especially in wordless books) explored how the meanings and the
pictures are connected
Reflection: why did the illustrator chose the technique they did; what technique
will best express my story
SkillsThinking: students examined the children’s books for how the words connect
with the pictures on critical level
Communication: students expressed themselves through pictures and words
while creating their works of art
Social: students chose their audience prior to writing and illustrating their
personal narrative and share with peers, book buddies, and parents
Learner Profile and Attitudes: –
Thinker, Communicator, Risk Taker, Reflective – while creating the various
artistic techniques to create meaning in their personal narrative and feelings
book
Creativity, Appreciation, Commitment, Enthusiasm – while creating and sharing
their illustrations and stories with the class and book buddies
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
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.
Geometric shapes: Arrow to the Sun (Pueblo Indian)
How did the illustrator learn the technique in the book?
Why did that book win an award?
How do the pictures get into the book?
Why are there no words on the page?
Why did the events in Picasso’s life affect his art?
How do you stir up your emotions to find the illustrations inside of you?
Collage: The Snow Day; Smoky Night
Pattern: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (African)
Realistic Drawing: Owl Moon
Line: Song and Dance Man
Panels: Lon Po Po (Chinese)
Light and Shadow: Officer Buckle and Gloria
Positive/Negative Space: Ashanti to Zulu p. 84
Prints: Once a Mouse (Indian)
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.
Torn Paper: Alexander, the Little Mouse
Painting:
Pointilism
Aboriginal Dot Painting: invite Mindy to contribute
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award – Multicultural books awarded
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 continue to use techniques to illustrate their work throughout the rest of the
school year (cut paper in carnival comic, interior line in book illustrations, etc).
Students recognize illustrators’ styles, techniques, and mediums.
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Fruit and Veggie prints (stamps)
** We have figured out that it is important to do a writing unit on Authors as Mentors
(like Judith Viorst) at the same time as this unit.