Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose?

To inquire into the following: transdisciplinary theme Who We Are An inquiry into the nature of self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human central idea Systems rely on integral parts to maintain functionality 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? OPEN ENDED TASK Students will organize, establish, and maintain a classroom government that is based upon a constitution. EVIDENCE Students will hold a classroom constitutional convention to address how the class should be conducted during the school year. Outcomes of the convention should include: Students will identify the important rules for regulating a classroom community Students will create a classroom constitution that outlines a three branch government with checks and balances Students will apply the rules for regulating their classroom All students will serve in a governing capacity (executive, legislative, or judicial) TOOLS A student designed rubric will be used monthly for peer assessment of students abilities to organize, establish and maintain a classroom government. Teacher assessment of the classroom government will include 1) review of completed student designed rubrics, 2) teacher observations and anecdotal notes throughout the school year, and 3) assessment of the class constitution by rubric.

Class/grade: School:

5th

Age group: School code:

9-12 006610
PYP planner

Oak Forest Elementary

Teacher(s): Date:

Jones, Parks, Rice, Legate, Staffa, Stephenson, Rawlings, Vester 08/06/12 9/14/12
over number of weeks - 6 Proposed duration: 40 hours

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? Key concepts: function, connection, responsibility Related concepts: systems, government, organisms, entity What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea? Systems are an interacting or interdependent group forming a unified whole. Systems co-exist in different forms to perform different tasks. Systems advance when each interdependent part performs its function.

What teacher questions will drive these inquiries? Similarities and differences between plant and animal cells. The three states of matter Rights and responsibilities Forms of governmental systems Provocations: Have learners arrange their desks wherever they would like them to be in the classroom. Allow no more than three minutes for this chair, desk or seat movement. The teacher will observe the chaos and bring the learners back to attention and discuss what happened. Write student responses and frustrations to chaos on board. Teacher will lead learners to conclude that problems occurred because they didn't have any rules, organized plan or developed procedures to help them. Conduct the Properties of Matter Wonder Boxes engagement to have students wonder about weight, smell, sounds, etc. Students try to determine what is inside the 4 boxes based upon the weight, smell, and size of the box all properties of matter.

Taught August 6 - 31 2012

Reflected September 6, 2012

Planning the inquiry

3. How might we know what we have learned?

What are the possible ways of assessing students prior knowledge and skills? What evidence will we look for? Students individually answer the questionnaire U.S.* Constitution: An Anticipation Guide - a survey of constitutional knowledge which includes topics such as: 1) adoption of the Constitution, 2) amendments, 3) articles, 4) the Bill of Rights, and 5) the three branches of government. Students answers will reflect their understanding of the US Constitution and how individual citizens have a role to play in their system of government. Divide students into groups of 4 and ask, Do plant and animal cells look alike? Do they have the same parts? In groups, students should discuss these questions and develop agreed upon answers. Groups will then present their answers to the class. Teacher will make anecdotal notes based upon presentations. Have students create a State of Matter chart with headings, solids, liquids, and gases and list as many items under each heading as possible to determine students understanding and identification of the three states of matter. What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look for? Engagement for Social Studies and Science (from Box 2) Teacher observes and makes anecdotal notes of students organization and responsible updating of unit work portfolio. Teacher will look for understanding that each piece within the portfolio has a function. Look for student understanding of the three states of matter by listing solids, liquids and gases under the correct heading. Explore and Explain As part of all unit discussions and group work, students will be asked to explain verbally the system currently being discussed and its interdependent functions, connections, and responsibilities. Extend The Constitutional Amendment poster should 1) be a visual representation of the amendment, and 2) the amendment number should be clearly represented. Someone viewing the poster should be able to determine which amendment is being represented. Students plant and animal cell models should depict 1) shape, 2) number and location of organelles, and 3) the function of all organelles. Assessed by rubric. Leading and facilitating student inquiry: The essay comparing the US and another government around the world should compare the organizational structure of the two governments as well as the functional components which helps the governments to advance. A writing rubic will be used to assess the essay. Students will write a childrens book (fiction or non-fiction) which will describe the cells organizational structure and the function of the many parts (organelles). Assessed by rubric. Students journaled thoughts on the Alka-seltzer experiment should convey that the tablet changed states from solid to gas.

Taught August 6 - 31 2012

Reflected September 6, 2012

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? Engagement Have learners arrange their desks wherever they would like them to be in the classroom. Allow no more than three minutes for this chair, desk or seat movement. The teacher will observe the chaos and bring the learners back to attention and discuss what happened. Write student responses and frustrations to chaos on board. Teacher will lead learners to conclude that problems occurred because they didn't have any rules, organized plan or developed procedures to help them. (from box 2) Conduct the Properties of Matter Wonder Boxes engagement to have students wonder about weight, smell, sounds, etc. Students try to determine what is inside the 4 boxes based upon the weight, smell, and size of the box all properties of matter. (from box 2) Explore and Explain Portfolios as a system: discuss the purpose of a unit portfolio, how portfolios are organized, and a students responsibility to add to and maintain their work. Create a Classroom Constitution or Essential Agreement. What are our responsibilities as students? What is our teachers responsibility to us? What are our rights in the classroom? What are our teachers rights? Explore governmental systems around the world with Government Scramble cards one set for each students. Which forms of government seem most alike? Which terms describe the US government? Learn the song, Dancing and Singing to the Bill of Rights to the 12 Days of Christmas tune. Complete Inside a Cell sheet by identifying cell organelles and functions. Build a water molecule (H2O) with marshmallows and toothpicks. Extend Create a Venn-diagram of the US government and another government around the world showing similarities and differences. Students work in collaborative groups to analyze quotes on democracy. They will then share their understanding to the class. Create a poster which illustrates what one of the constitutional amendments in the Bill of Rights means to you. The number of the amendment should be clearly represented and the subject of the amendment should be depicted through through drawings, pictures, wordles, magazine cut-outs, writing, or in any combination. Conduct classroom hands-on experiments involving states of matter (solid, liquid and gas). In their journals, students will hypothesize how matter can change its state. Students construct a plant and animal cell that identifies all the interdependent parts. Students should label role of each part and why it is important to the cells function. Leading and facilitating student inquiry: Students reflect in their journals upon a guest speakers presentation regarding a life event in which they were denied equal opportunity by a government perhaps someone who has lived in another country under another form of government. How would the way they were treated Using the Venn-Diagram comparing the US government and another government around the world, students will write a compare and contrast essay on the two governments. Write a Childrens book about cells (fiction or non-fiction). In their journals, students will predict what will happen when an Alka-seltzer tablet is dropped into a glass of water. What state is the tablet in before dropping it into the water? After? What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the development of the attributes of the learner profile? Transdisciplinary Skills: Thinking: Acquisition of Knowledge students will have the opportunity to gain knowledge about the individual parts that make up cells, matter and government. Self-Management: Organization by developing and maintaining a system for their unit portfolio, students were able to see why it is important to be organized, have self-management skills, and to accept responsibility for their work. Social: Cooperating During our time of classroom chaos, students will realize that it is necessary to work cooperatively as part of a system. Learner Profile: Knowledgeable: Through exploration and open discussion, students will explore the systems that make up all matter as well as the governmental systems in which we live. Caring: Students will examine governmental systems from an empathetic perspective, identifying how that system affects the people being governed and meets or does not meet their needs. Reflective: Students will analyze famous quotes about democracy and explain what those quotes mean to them.

Taught August 6 - 31 2012

Reflected September 6, 2012

5. What resources need to be gathered? What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available? Guest speaker whose story shares their loss of human rights. http://pbs.org www.commercialappeal.com http://www.wordle.net Commercial Newspaper: Nightly News Portfolio filing materials and storage locations. Supplies to conduct experiments and create models. http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/ How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry? The center for analysis of systems within governments and cells will be the classroom environment. This will be the forum for exploration, communicating ideas and concepts, serving as a common place for interaction and collaboration with peers. Students will have access to instructional activities that focus on systems, their function and responsibility. Guest speakers will be brought into the classroom or schools multi-purpose room to discuss their personal experiences.

Taught August 6 - 31 2012

Reflected September 6, 2012

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. 1) KWHLQ chart for matter showed that students grasped the idea that matter is made up of parts that create a system.

7. To what extent did we include the elements of the PYP?

What were the learning experiences that enabled students to: developed an understanding of the concepts identified in What do we want to learn? 1) Using graphic organizers to illustrate the relationships between integral parts of systems including 3 branches of the federal government, 2) Table templates to analyze relationships of integral parts of government, matter, and cells 3) Students realized their responsibilities as a citizen; for example to vote. 4) Through researching the branches of government, students learned that each branch has a responsibility to work independently and function as a whole. 5) Students learned through group work that if one person isnt responsible for their function, then the group suffers or fails. 6) Making analogies between the judicial system and the school cafeteria heirarchy. 7) Creating a water molecule with toothpicks and marshmallows helped to show students that the whole is made up of parts atoms. 8) Constructing cell models helped students to see the many parts of a cell which make up the whole as a system. 9) Groups of students constructed a model of a dog using styrofoam and then presented their model and explained 10) Through research, students generated a student led government body of governments around the world to understand human rights and lack of human rights around the world. 11) In groups, students wrote their own Declaration of Independence documents stating their basic rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 5 of the group declared their independence of the school cafeteria and one of their teacher. They supported their declaration with examples of tyranny.

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. 1) 2) 3) Include more student generated skits that demonstrate systems that have integral parts. Have students relate systems that they live with in every day life. Include systems that have nothing to do with government, cells or matter. Ideas would include systems such as pennies to a dollar and cups to a gallon. Compare government systems to Oak Forest Elementary.

4)

What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and the transdisciplinary theme? Students did not want to work together in groups. By refusing to work, they found that their group work wasnt completed their group failed. Teachers observed that there was a realization point that they were going to have to work together to get the job done. Group work in several of the learning activities was an excellent method of learning about the central idea the group in all cases are a system and each student in the group is an integral part of the system. Students were observed demonstrating checks and balances within the groups as a responsibility to keep the group on task.

demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?

Thinking: Students acquired new knowledge through research and project based assignments of governments around the world. Self Management: Students conducted in class experiments and demonstrated their ability to follow steps and procedures. Social: Multiple group work activities demonstrated their development of cooperating. developed particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes? Knowledgeable: Students demonstrated their acquired knowledge through class presentations. Caring: Students demonstrated an act of kindness within the larger community by creating and sending thank you cards to governmental officials. Reflective: By journaling about their thoughts and feelings from each learning experience.

Taught August 6 - 31 2012

Reflected September 6, 2012

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. Students asked to have class government elections. One student created a cell model with a report without an assignment. She then shared it in class. Are humans made up of matter? . 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 the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells? Rights and Responsibilities

9.

Teacher notes: (Ms. Vester moved to the 3rd grade team during the 2nd week of this unit) In this unit there was heavy integration of composition and reading. Students engaged in writing journals on a consistent basis. In addition, students wrote some pieces in reflection of their learning experiences. Lastly, students created formal reports to share what they had learned. Through their research, students engaged in reading newspaper articles and books. Several strategies and experiences were very efficacious in elucidating the central idea of the form and function of systems. The creation of water molecules out of marshmallows and toothpicks helped students see how systems have integral parts that make up the whole. Governmental systems and analogies to systems more familiar to the students brought much larger systems into a relevant context. The cafeteria discipline system at Oak Forest was used as a bridge to the judicial system, as similarities and differences were discussed to improve student understanding. The students learned best through the use of organizational templates to compare governmental systems, project-based activities, research, presentations and jigsaws. Newspapers and class discussions worked well to discover how systems function in their many forms. There were some areas that we struggled with and would benefit from deeper reflection and modification for their next implementation. Students had a difficult time in writing a comparative essay in which they needed to compare our government to other governments in the world. This needed to be changed into a research project and expository essay. Debates did not go as expected, but upon a second glance we decided that the guidelines for healthy debating needed to be more clear and that expectations were confusing to the students. When working collaboratively in groups, students did not always fulfill their individual parts. Some students were far more assertive in the thinking process, while others did not actively participate and were relying on others to think for them. The submission of projects in a timely manner, if at all, was an issue for some classes. At times students worked hard towards their objectives, but at other times there were many that were just playing, especially with science experiments. Ms. Hayes, our technology specialist, was very helpful in assisting the students develop internet research skills for their projects. She helped the students also in setting up their Glogster and Bit Strip projects. These online tools were very useful to the students. Mr. Staffa, our Chinese specialist, discussed the interaction of the different parts of the behavior system in Chinese class, where students take on individual responsibility for their own behavior to earn tickets that get pooled collaboratively at the classroom level, and then finally entered into competition at the grade level. This process is facilitated by student managers in each class who keep track of progress and participation in the behavior system. It connects how an individual can affect a much larger system. We encountered several difficulties in the teaching of this unit. First, class size and student assignments were unstable for approximately the first three weeks due to enrollment and the removal of a team member who was asked to teach 3rd grade. Next, some students had difficulty in relating governmental and other systems to their own lives. Applying the concept of systems to themselves proved difficult. Also, some teachers found the foundational skills were not in place for certain students, in addition, some students did not complete preparatory class and/or homework. (continued on next page)

What student-initiated actions arose from the learning? Students suggested having class debates

Taught August 6 - 31 2012

Reflected September 6, 2012

9. Teacher notes (continued): Next time this unit is taught we have some things to keep in mind. One is to remember to verbally remind or ask students how what they learned or are learning connects back to the central idea. Another is to provide some additional examples and analogies that would serve to connect the concept of systems to the students daily lives, which would have helped students grasp the concept more concretely. One idea was to have the students create their own declaration of independence. Lastly, expectations for individual and group work need to be very clear to reduce the amount of confusion. There are some changes to consider before teaching this unit again. The unit needs to be made longer. 6 weeks would be optimal. We need more print materials for students to read that are related to the unit. Having the students demonstrate the various forms of governments and then do a contrast and comparison of them would help to clarify these different types of systems. Also, having a grade level election would let them become an active part of a system and help clarify our own system of government. Some resources to think about pre-ordering for next year for this unit would be classroom copies of A Narrative of Frederick Douglas, more trade books that portray systems in general, both governmental and otherwise, magnets, scales videos and an election kit. We all agree that there is always room for growth. Although there was evidence in their research projects and in-class discussions, there were opportunities for additional support and learning that were not capitalized on. One main reason may be the length of the unit. There always needs to be a deliberate effort to constantly connect back to the central idea. Also, some more ways to differentiate the learning to reach all students need to be brainstormed. All things aside, the students did well given the resources and time at their disposal for this unit.

Taught August 6 - 31 2012

Reflected September 6, 2012