Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose?

Class/grade: 3

1a) To inquire into the following:

School: DOMUSCHOLA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

School code: 7800

transdisciplinary theme
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.

Age group:

Title: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES

Teacher(s): Gina, Bea, Brenn, Carmina, Dean
Date: January 7 to February 24, 2015
Proposed duration:

6 weeks

central idea
Natural materials can undergo changes that may provide challenges and benefits
for society and the environment.

1b) 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?

Students will conduct a Science investigation about the practical application of

changes that occur in their daily life. They will present their findings using display
boards that come with explanations of what the task is all about; the significance
of their task and its usefulness to society; along with the ethical dilemma that

goes with it.

Students present their projects during the Science Fair, where explain their

investigations.
Goal: To conduct experiments on rusting, food preservation, bleaching and
ripening; To educate other people about the practical applications and ethical
dilemmas involved in their assigned topics
Role: As a scientist and resource speaker for their topics
Audience: Teachers, classmates and students from other levels
Scenario: People in the Science Fair need to be educated about how materials
come about, their practical applications and the ethical dilemmas involved in the
use and production of such materials

Focus Key Concepts: change, function, responsibility

Related Concepts: interaction, transformation, industrialization
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?

Product: Science journal; Information boards containing the following:

Scientific process
Photos of experiments
Actual objects/products/materials related to their projects
Sufficient information on the practical applications and ethical dilemmas
International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

-Nature of chemical and physical changes

-Practical applications and implications of change in materials
-Ethical dilemmas associated with manufacturing processes and byproducts
What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
1: Nature of chemical and physical changes
a. What is physical and chemical change?
b. What are the characteristics of physical and chemical change?
c. What evidence tells us that there is physical and chemical change?
2: Practical applications and implications of change in materials
a. What are the practical applications of physical and chemical change at home, in different industries and in
the environment?
b. What are the useful and harmful implications of physical and chemical changes to men and nature?
3: Ethical dilemmas associated with manufacturing processes and byproducts
a. How can development brought about by physical and chemical changes in science and technology
balance economic progress and protection of life for men and nature?

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 possible ways of assessing students prior
knowledge and skills? What evidence will we look for?

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?

Students dissect the central idea by highlighting the big words, and then
simplify them by creating a concept/mind map through identifying words

related to the big words. They try to express the central idea using their own
words.

What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in

the context of the lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look
for?
Line of Inquiry

What will be
assessed?

-Nature of
chemical and
physical changes

Physical and chemical

changes are caused by
a lot of factors

-Practical
applications and
implications of
change in
materials

There are various

applications of chemical
and physical changes
evidently seen at home,
in different industries, in
the field of medicine and
in the environment as
well.
There are ethical
dilemmas associated in
manufacturing processes
and by-products

-Ethical dilemmas
associated with
manufacturing
processes and
by-products

How will evidence be

collected?
Using a Venn diagram, students
compare and contrast physical
from chemical changes. They
include the factors that cause the
change.
Students perform different
experiments that involve physical
and chemical changes. Details will
be placed in a display board.

Students identify dilemmas related

to their own investigation. This will
also be in their display boards.

Tuning-in:
#1: Unpacking of concepts from the Central Idea
Students identify the words from the Central idea that they are not familiar with. Using those words, they tour the school to find
anything that represents them. (words such as temporary and permanent changes were unlocked through simple experiments;
words such as benefits and challenges were unlocked through pictures and videos)
Students identify statements from the Central Idea (smaller ideas) which they will unpack using words and illustrations. They share
this with the rest of the group through gallery walk.
Students restate the Central Idea using their own words.
Students come up with their wonderings (questions) about the Central Idea
#2: Nature walk. Students take a nature walk to find objects or things that are evident of change. They describe the object in its
original state. They also describe how it changed, mentioning the factors that caused the change.
(see continuation in Attachment A)

What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the development of the
attributes of the learner profile?
A. Transdisciplinary Skills
thinking - Students enhance their thinking skills through gaining knowledge about the different concepts involving physical and
chemical change.
Application: Students apply what they learned in class as they perform experiments at home.
Synthesis: Students come up with ideas on how to be responsible in manufacturing considering the impacts of changes.
social - Students are able to develop responsibility, decide as a group and adopt a variety of roles as they engage in small group
work.
Accepting responsibility: Students demonstrate initiative in taking their responsibility after performing the experiments.
Resolving conflict: Students try to give suggestions on how to solve the negative impacts of manufacturing to the environment.
research - Students conduct research on the application of physical and chemical change in society, at home, in industry and the
environment.
Organizing data: Students organize the data that they gather from their own investigation for presentation.
Recording data: Students observe and record the data from the experiments.
B. Learner Profile
knowledgeable - Students conduct their own experiments to prove the indicators of physical and chemical change that they have
observed. They will also come up with appropriate hypotheses for every experiment.
risk takers - Students carry out science investigations and other experiments unknowing of the possible outcomes

5. What resources need to be gathered?

What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/science9/chemistry/lesson8.html
http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/
http://www.chem4kids.com/index.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/rev_irrev_changes.shtml
http://www.huntel.net/rsweetland/glossaries/attitudes.html
http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/textbook/statesofmatter.html
http://www.ric.edu/faculty/ptiskus/chemical/
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/fun-science-projects-for-kids.htm
http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_TRANSITIONMAIN&node_id=878&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=622267d2-8f1e-4188-97e8-0a3735fba19c
http://www.learner.org/courses/essential/physicalsci/session4/closer1.html

How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?

Materials will be gathered, displayed and observed as they undergo changes each day in the Unit of Inquiry Corner. They will serve as a spring board in focusing and understanding the first line of inquiry. This will be used in identifying different
changes that take place. Pictures that show changes will be posted on the Unit of Inquiry board for students to analyze the characteristics of physical and chemical change.
Tables that contain observable changes will be constructed and updated as the inquiry progresses.

 International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

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:

The experiments conducted in class in the discussions after the

experiments helped the students have a better understanding of the
Central Idea. Their
How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would
have a more accurate picture of each students understanding of the
central idea.
Conducting various experiments to investigate the characteristics of
physical and chemical change is a good way to prove the commonalities
and differences of both types of changes. This engagement triggered their
curiosity to explore further the applications of these changes to benefit usa.
while considering its impact to the planet.
Watching videos and interviewing people from the production company
made them realize that they could actually do something to reduce the
negative impact of manufacturing things. They learned that balancing
production with the demands and pre-processing the waste before
throwing it away are ways to be responsible.
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central
idea and the transdisciplinary theme?
Students were able to grasp the connection of the transdisciplinary theme
with the central idea when they were able to identify the impact of the
changes to the environment and made posters connected to it. They were
also able to understand this when they gave their opinion on how to limit
the negative impact of manufacturing to the environment.

develop an understanding of the concepts identified in What do we want to learn?

change: They were able to understand this concept through exploration of the three states of
matter and while performing experiments. They understood that change is necessary to meet
our needs in terms of material things. They also understood that, because of this, detrimental
change can happen to the environment.
function: The students realized the importance of physical and chemical changes of materials
when they visited a plastics production plant. They were able to see that, because of these
changes, humans are now experiencing an easier way of living. Visiting the same plant also
became an eye opener to the students about the responsibility to nature that the plant is
doing. They found out that they pre-process the waste material before disposing of them.
demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?
Thinking Skills
Application: Students were able apply, in their investigations at home, the process of performing the experiments
learned in school.
Synthesis: Students come up with ideas on how to be responsible in manufacturing, considering the impacts of
changes
b.
Social Skills
Accepting responsibility: Students tried to conduct their own investigation on their own
Resolving conflict: Students suggested ways on how to minimize the negative impact of manufacturing including
intensive farming.
c. Research Skills
Organizing data: Students organized the data gathered from their own investigation for presentation
Recording data: Students observed and recorded the data from the experiments

develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?

In each case, explain your selection.
Knowledgeable - Students are knowledgeable because they came up with a topic to investigate based on the
changes that they see in materials. They consider common problems to solve and try to find out simple solutions.
Risk takers - Students carried out science investigations and other experiments

 International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

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.

Challenge: Sending the investigation home without explicit instructions for parents.

What are the forms of changes in materials?

How will we lessen the impact of changes in nature?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of changing materials?

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.
After finding out the impact of changes, a student investigated on the cause of
calcium blocking the arteries of the heart as a means to help people avoid the
same ailment that her grandparents experienced. She understood that, somehow,
she can make changes to intervene or work toward a solution.
Because he found out that citronella is a natural mosquito repellant, one of the
students tried to prove that it is also good as a bug buster by creating his own
citronella spray.

International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

Attachment A
Tuning-in continuation:
#3: Exploration tables. Set up stations for students to explore different materials; their properties, compositions and uses
A. Solid
Box 1: Different kinds of metals, copper, aluminum, steel, magnet
Box 2: Different kinds and forms of wood and paper
Box 3: Plastic, glass, rubber, textile/ cloth, porcelain
Box 4: Different forms and kinds of rocks, stone, pebbles
In groups of 3, students explore the properties and composition of the group of objects in their box. They use their senses to manipulate or investigate the
materials. They come up with a chart to show both.

B. Liquid, Solid, Gas: Experiments

Identifying the states of matter: Students collect materials and identify the states of matter. They make a concept map of what matter is.
Changes in the states of matter: Students perform experiments to see how the states of matter can change (Mixtures and solutions). They also watch videos
showing the different properties of the states of matter. They collect materials and identify the state of matter. The students make concept map of what matter is.

#4. Wonderings. Questions of students are consolidated on a chart and grouped to find out categories of their interest.

Finding Out

Sorting Out

Experiences to assist students to gather new information about the topic

Experiences and texts that add to the knowledge base. Emphasis on gathering first-hand data in a
range of ways (usually shared experiences)

Data collection

Gauging, organizing or representing new information

Activities to assist students to process and work with the information and ideas they have gathered about
the topic (including exploring values)
Organizing, analyzing and communicating the information gathered using a range of vehicles (e.g
through Maths, Arts, English, Drama, Music or IT)

LOI #1- Nature of chemical and physical changes

Experimentation: Students perform different experiments to explore and find

out the different characteristics of physical and chemical change in materials

Students create a T-Chart that shows physical and chemical change, and the
different characteristics of physical and chemical changes. They update the
table after each of the experiments and other engagement.

Jigsaw Reading: Students will be grouped into 4 small groups. Each group
receives an article about a specific characteristic of physical or chemical change.
LOI #2- Practical applications and implications of change in materials

Students investigate changes that are happening inside their own homes. They
list down those changes and classify whether physical or chemical.

Donut Sharing: From the results of the homework, students share what they
know about the applications of changes.

Students create a graphic organizer that shows the applications of the changes
around us. They update the graphic organizer as they go through all the activities,
including the donut sharing and video analysis. They will add a category that would
include the impact of the changes to the environment.
From their understanding gained from the reading, the students create a poster
that shows the applications and implications of the changes that happen to
materials.

Video Analysis: Students watch videos that show the application of changes.
Video also shows other effects of changes especially to the environment.
In small groups students read articles about the applications and implications of
changes
LOI #3- Ethical dilemmas associated with manufacturing processes and
byproducts

Students view more videos about manufacturing, its benefits and its impacts on
the environment.

Through TUG O WAR(a visible thinking routine), the students share their opinions
when they are faced with the dilemmas of manufacturing.
Using a table, each of the students will identify the positive and negative aspect of
farming. The third column of the table will be used as a placeholder for their opinion
whether to continue farming or not.

Students read an article about the advantages and disadvantages of farming.

They will have pair sharing after reading.
Going Further
Activities to challenge and extend
Raising new questions, extending experiences, challenging assumptions. May be individually negotiated.
The students come up with their own investigation on the application of changes. They conduct experiments at home with their parents. They present the results of their
investigation during the Science Fair.
Drawing conclusions
Raising new questions, extending experiences, challenging assumptions. May be individually negotiated. Students draw conclusions of what they have learnt. This is an
important time to evaluate the success of the unit and the needs and achievements of individuals. This is where students put it all together.
Students should be able to conclude that, although there are negative impacts brought by the changes in materials to the environment, responsibility of the manufacturer
and users is a key to minimizing those challenges.

Reflecting and Taking Action

To reflect on what has been learnt and process of learning. It is important that students be given opportunities to act upon what they have learnt. Actions are things that students can themselves and from which
they can see results.

From their learning about the dilemmas brought by the manufacturing processes and byproducts, the students understand that everyone needs to do everything in
moderation because of the negative impacts that changes can bring as we try to make changes in materials to get what we need and to have what we want.