Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose? Class/grade: Grade 1 Age group:

To inquire into the following: American International School of
School: School code: 002357
• Transdisciplinary theme: Mozambique
Title: How The World Works
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 Teacher(s): Nancy Wong, Raquel dos Santos, Ana Gil, Lena Thomson PYP planner
their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances Date: 15 August 2013
on society and on the environment.
Proposed duration: 6 weeks
• Central idea:
2. What do we want to learn?
People need to care for plants in order to grow food successfully.
What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection,
Summative assessment task(s): perspective, responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry?

What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central • Function • Causation • Change • Responsibility
idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for? What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?

Strategy: Open–ended task / Tool: Checklist 1. The process of planting a garden

2. The process of nurturing a garden
Children plan the different stages plants need to go through before becoming ready to be 3. The process of harvesting from our garden
harvested.
What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
Then make a book with the different stages of a plant with pictures and writing: What should/ • How do you …plant/nurture/harvest? 1 2 3
would/could you do to successfully grow food?
• What should/would/could you do to grow food successfully? 1 2 3
Provocations:

Field trip to Mr. Miguel vegetable garden (Machamba)

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Planning the inquiry

3. How might we know what we have learned? 4. How best might we learn?
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior knowledge and skills? What are the learning experiences suggested by the teacher and/or students to
What evidence will we look for? encourage the students to engage with the inquiries and address the driving
questions?
Strategy: Open-ended task / Tool: Anecdotal records
Planting a variety of vegetables and herbs in the garden
Communicate through pictures and labels what a garden is, looks like, and what it needs to
grow. Planting students’ experimental garden (in cartons)

What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines Book discussion “Whose garden is it?”
of inquiry? What evidence will we look for? Songs “Green plants” and “Parts of plants”
• The process of planting a garden Research on types of gardens
Investigation F Diary
Timeline of own gardening with photos
Make an entry every day.
Math Problem Solving with Big Book The Surprise Garden
Strategy: Open-ended task / Tool: Anecdotal records
What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the
• The process of nurturing a garden development of the attributes of the learner profile?
Investigation F Diary Selected Learner Profile Items
Make an entry every day. • Inquirers: We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know
Strategy: Open-ended task / Tool: Anecdotal records how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love
of learning throughout life.
• Caring: We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service,
and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.
5. What resources need to be gathered?
(Please see End Notes section).
What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer
Attitudes
software, etc, will be available?
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be Cooperation, Commitment, Enthusiasm.
used to facilitate the inquiry? Transdisciplinary Skills
Book bag from the library, songs, online activities, garden tools, seeds, compost and soil • Research Skills: Formulating Questions, Observing, Planning, Collecting Data,
Recording Data.
Materials Shared: Book- Grow Flower Grow! (Lisa Bruce) Scholastic; Plant parts floor puzzle • Self-Management Skills: Organization.
(Kindergarten); Oh say can you seed? Dr. Seuss (check library for this book); The Surprise • Thinking Skills: Acquisition of Knowledge, Application.
Garden big book • Social Skills: Accepting Responsibility, Cooperating.
• Communication Skills: Listening, Writing.

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Reflecting on the inquiry
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 talk about the concepts in classroom discussions. They make the connection to
planting, growing and nurturing but are not making the connection to growing food as a
necessity to survival.
Next year the central idea should be rephrased to make it broader and not focus so much on
planting and growing only, rather focus on the process of getting food. We should include a
learning activity about preparing and eating a meal.
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.
The summative assessment assesses the planting, nurturing and harvesting of a plant but
needs to be changed to food. The same for the formative assessment.
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and
the transdisciplinary theme?
The students understand how a garden works but also need to make a connection to how it
relates to food.
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
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?”
All the main activities contributed to the development of these concepts.
Next year, consider starting the unit with a food eating activity as a provocation, in which we
link the food we eat to its source.
What were the learning experiences that enabled students to demonstrate the
learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?
The research skills came with the experiments.
The assessment tasks focus on communication skills.
Social skills and the self-management and thinking skills came from the gardening activities
and were used in the summative assessment tasks.
What were the learning experiences that enabled students to develop particular
attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?
The garden allowed for, supported, and continues to be meaningful for the fostering of these
attitudes and traits of the Learner Profile.
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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.

What are plants for?

What if we don't nurture plants?
How do plants grow?
How long will it take for our plants to grow?
What will happen if you plant a seed in an unhealthy soil?
What happens if plants are not in the sun?
Many other experiment connected questions.

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.
Some students started growing seeds/plants at home.

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 End Notes

3. How might we know what we have learned?

What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look for?

• The process of harvesting from our garden

Investigation F Diary
Make an entry every day.
Strategy: Open-ended task / Tool: Anecdotal records

5. What resources need to be gathered?

What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?

Website: /http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/growing_plants_fs.shtml

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007