Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose? To inquire into the following: Transdisciplinary theme: How The World Works Central idea How materials are used in construction depends upon their properties. Summative assessment task(s):
Task: Checklist on the properties of different materials. Assessment Tool: Use a checklist to identify if material choices and reasons for choices are appropriate.

Class/grade: Kindergarten School: AIS Saigon Title: Materials

Age group: 5-6 Years School code: 300553 PYP planner

Teacher(s): Ros Braham, Andrew Stewart, Jane Finnimore Date: Term 2 Start October 2011 Proposed duration: 6 Weeks

2. What do we want to learn? What are the key concepts? Change Function

Related Concepts:
Behavior, prediction, features and characteristics

What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?
Behavior and functions of materials Changing properties of materials Manipulation of materials for specific purposes Strength of various shapes

What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?

Why did you choose that material/shape etc? What can you do with that material? What form can it take? What is it best be used for? How does it change? Why did you choose it? What it's purpose in your construction? Why did you not choose x? What else could you use? Would it be a better choice (why/why not)? How could you use this material? What is this made of and why did they choose to make it out of x material not y?

Learner Profile Focus: inquirers

thinkers

communicators

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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? Pre-Assessment:
Provide wide variety of materials and give free exploration and creation. Anecdotal notes of choices, ideas, changes/adaptations, comments, observations etc Task: Complete free construction using three different types of materials. Children to name the types of materials they used in the construction.

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? Tuning In (Week 1): - Provide variety of materials and let them have free exploration time to see what they want to create, how ideas change, what they can and cannot do/know with regards to materials. - Looking at books related to this topic and sharing back with class. - Questions wall. Finding Out (Week 2 & 3): - Field trips: construction site in compound, visit to a Potter, visit to a furniture/table factory - Watch videos and research in books and online. - Experts to talk to class (parents or community members) Sorting Out and Making Connections (Week 4): - Scientific investigations to make connections to new learning. Attempt to make/create/manipulate/change materials to investigate properties such as transparency, melting, waterproof etc. - Field trip back to the construction site to make connections with new learning. Going Further (Week 5): - Small interest-based inquiry groups on a material, then expert groups where they take their knowledge they have learned in their interest-based group and share in a group situation with people from other interest-based groups. - Burning questions that still havent been answered. Reflecting and Taking Action (Week 6):

Formative Assessment:
Show and Share Mystery Bags. Students choose item from home and create '3 Clues' that link to the properties of the materials used in the construction of the object. Record and comment on quality of clues, preparation for the presentation and quality of presentation.

5. What resources need to be gathered? What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
Variety of materials and objects, books, you tube How its made, class trip to potter and lacquerware factory.

- Re-visiting pre-assessment and reflect on how their thinking has changed about the type of materials they used in their construction. Also reflect on which materials they would use next time based on their new learning. What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the development of the attributes of the learner profile? Transdisciplinary Skills: Communication Skills Show and share mystery bag. Children develop and communicate clues related to their object. Research Skills Using library books, you tube clips and online games. Thinking Skills Think and reflect on the properties of materials and how they are used in construction. Use this information to Attitudes: Cooperation Creativity Curiosity

How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?
Community walk to note variety of materials in world around us. Class trip to see how things are made (potter, lacquer factory etc.). Science to explore changing properties. Library for research. Art room to explore materials and learn what various materials can do. Classroom for discovery table, student work, books, material and role-playing stations, pictures, I Wonder Wall, Vocab wall etc

International Baccalaureate Organization 2007

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.
Awareness of materials c hosen for their properties Awareness of what materials used in everyday items Increased knowledge of vocabulary Able to use a variety of materials in construction and explain the different materials used.

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?
FORM - touch and feel bag, texture rubbings, blocks and building FUNCTION - Making parachutes, free exploration. Materials used at the construction site. CHANGE - Science experiments allowed the students to develop their scientific knowledge and skills related to how the properties of materials can change when exposed to other elements. Visit and make something at potter.

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?
Have students create something versus just a model. Link to Art

Demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?

COMMUNICATION Able to communicate the properties of an object in their touch and feel bag using pre-determined clues. Presentations at assembly. Portfolio sharing with parents. Turn and talk with a partner to reflect and on new learning. THINKING - Creations using materials/recyclables. Needing to balance/assemble/fasten and consider shape choices. Predictions with science experiments and guessing mystery bag items, sorting items by materials or properties or 3D-shapes. RESEARCH SKILLS - I wonder wall, test hypotheses, videos, books and do activities to find answers. Investigate strength of shapes. Learn to adapt/change choices of materials etc.

Adding checklist proformas to portfolio pieces. Opportunities for self and peer assessment.

What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and the 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.
Visiting real life situations such as construction sites, a pottery workshop and a laquerware processing factory to see how the materials were used in construction. Science experiments allowed the students to develop their scientific knowledge and skills related to how the properties of materials can change when exposed to other elements.

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

INQUIRER - "I Wonder" wall, science experiments, for Tommy the potter,curiosity in materials/objects/purpose in everyday objects, recyclable stuff. THINKER - Predictions/Guesses in Mystery bags, science experiments, ordering procedures. COMMUNICATOR - Show and Share presenters and active listeners, Sorts, Reasons for choices, Pictures/Drawings, Graphs, I Wonder Wall, Sharing at assembly.

International Baccalaureate Organization 2007

Reflecting on the inquiry

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. 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 are bricks made of? How do you use materials to make things fly? What is cardboard made of? What glass made of? What is a drink bottle made from and how is it made? Looked at books, students shared questions about pictures etc. and then we read to see if we could answer the questions (often students able to answer their peers questions before I read about it) Changed/Added to various procedures for experments (what happens if we add more water, more vinegar, more lemon juice etc.)

9. Teacher notes
Excellent unit of inquiry and great link to Art Specialist to provide necessary skills in manipulating various materials at this age. They need experience cutting, folding, moulding, bending, gluing etc. It also allowed class inquiries to get more into properties and changes of materials. Class trip to Overland Pottery was the best class trip for Kindergarten in Vietnam. Tommy is knowledgeable and organised, it is safe and the plates the children left with were beautiful keepsakes. They saw the process and played a role in many steps of the process. Fantastic Science experiments promoted opportunities to see how materials change from solid to liquid etc Use of mystery bag and clues helped provoke student inquiries and action. They wanted to know how it worked, what they needed to do it at home. Important to bring out how materials have purpose and sometimes the purpose is aesthetic. Takes it away from 'construction'. Students need tons of experience to use manipulate, sort, examine, test for themselves. Try not to make assumptions but give them the experience to see what they know and can do. Opportunity to better link with Art Specialist to use items created for reflection and as part of formative/summative process. Tricky balance to ensure both curriculums covered but possible. Visiting the construction site within the APSC Compound numerous times provided an excellent opportunity to view the different types of materials that are used in construction. It also provided an opportunity to view the 3D shapes in a real life context.

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. Have been talking about which materials are recyclable. Visited the construction site with parents and reported back on the changes. Raised money through Walk N Wheels to buy products made from different materials for less fortunate children. Individual unit reflection.

International Baccalaureate Organization 2007