Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose?

Class/grade: Pre-Kindergarten Age group: 4 - 5 year olds

1a) To inquire into the following:

School: Domuschola International School

transdisciplinary theme Who We Are

Title: Families

An inquiry into the nature of the 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

School code:7800

Teacher(s): Diana, Love, Brenn, Mina, Dean

Date: August 4 to September 3, 2015
Proposed duration: 9 Weeks

Family relationships contribute to shaping our identity.

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?

Goal: Students should be able to demonstrate their understanding on how

families work together and influence the way our identity is shaped.
Role: Family Member
Audience: Teachers
Scenario/Situation: You are to look at a photos of different family members.
Choose family members of your choice that makes up a family where you will
explain the roles and responsibilities of that member. You should be able to
explain how each member influences each other. Look at a different family
mobile and explain how families are diverse.
Product: Family Mobile (Assessment: Checklist with narrative)

Focus Key Concepts: Form, responsibility, reflection

Goal: Students should be able to demonstrate their understanding on how

families work together and influence the way our identity is shaped.
Role: Family Member

Audience: Teachers
Scenario/Situation: You are to create an album/scrapbook that shows your

understanding on how your family is different and influence each other.Choose

family members of your choice that makes up a family where you will explain the
roles and responsibilities of that member by writing captions for each photo. You
should be able to explain how each member influences each other. Explore the
different album/scrap of your friends and explain why families are so diverse.
Product: Family Mobile (Assessment: Checklist with narrative)

What is a family? (Form)

Related Concepts: Similarity and differences, belonging, roles

What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?
Diversity of families
Responsibilities within the family
How families influence who we become
What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?

What does a family look like? (Form)

Are all families the same? (Form)
What roles do family members play? (Responsibility)
How does your family member help one another? (Responsibility)
Is my family important? (Reflection)
How does my family influence who I am or who I will become? (Reflection)

 International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

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?

Pre-unit Assessment:
Family Picture- Bring a family picture to school. It will be placed in a black frame which they need to decorate with a
drawing of their favorite family bonding activity. Each one will present their family picture to the class.
My Familys House- Given a template with identified parts of the house (living room, bedroom, kitchen, garden, etc.),
identify family members, paste the family member cut-outs in the part of the room they often stay at and draw the
activities they usually do in that part of the house.

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

The childrens stories, comments, actions, questions, and conversations

with their classmates and teachers during the activity will be recorded
through photos, anecdotes, and checklists.
The students should be able to enumerate, retell, and describe details about
themselves through their family picture frame and house template.

Line of
Inquiry
Diversity of
families

What will be assessed?

There are different types of families.

- Students define what is a family
- Students talk about and describe similarities and
differences in families through the explorations of
cultures, personal preferences, beliefs and values.
- Students identify positive thoughts and attitude in
themselves and their family.

Responsibilitie
s within the
family

Our role within the family comes with

responsibilities.
- Students recognize that within the family there
are emotions, feelings, and perspectives that may
be different from their own.
- Students cooperate with family members, and
reach out for help when it is needed for
themselves or for their family.
- Students celebrate accomplishments within their
family.

How will evidence be

collected?
Students will look into their own
family and the families of their
classmates through the different
pictures they will bring to school.
They will look at the different
types, size, composition,
attitude, personal preferences,
culture, beliefs and values that
their families have.
Students will do demonstrations
or role-playing of the different
roles and responsibilities that
members of the family do.

Pictures of their parents while at

work can be looked into as well.
They can also share what they
know in a form of illustration or
story.

Tuning-in:
Story of summer What did you do during the summer vacation?
Suggested Story: The Berenstain Bears Out West
Students are to identify the PLACE they took a vacation, PEOPLE they were with or who they saw
there, and THINGS they saw while they were there. They will show the story of their summer by
creating an artwork: draw and color, or paint their family on vacation.
Family Photos
Students will be asked to bring family pictures: a photo of their family on a vacation, and a photo of
their family at home
Students will share their photos to the class and everybody will look at the things that are common
between their families in terms of composition. Observations will be noted and organized in a
chart.
Story on my family
Suggested Book: Lets Look at Families by Laura Driscoll
Students will look into the different types of families single parent or not, nuclear family or
extended, with adopted children or not, as well as the physical features of a family, its number or
size, and physical characteristics whether tall or short, etc. Findings will be placed in a bar or picture
graph.
Routines and Roles at Home
Suggested Story: Olivia by Ian Falconer
Students will draw their home and what they usually do while at home. Comparing themselves to
Olivia, they will share their routines at home.
Routines and Roles in School
After sharing their routines at home, students will relate these to their routines and roles in school.
Students will come up with their essential agreements and the different jobs they have to do in
school.

What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the
development of the attributes of the learner profile?
A. Transdisciplinary Skills
Thinking Skills:
application: Students apply what they have learned about their own family and those of others in
shaping their own identity
evaluation: Students have the opportunity to reflect and evaluate what it means to be part of a family
Social Skills:
accepting responsibility: Students learn that being part of a family means taking on certain
responsibilities
respecting others: Students learn how to respect one another while working in groups as they go about
finding out about themselves and their family
cooperation: Students learn how to cooperate while working in groups
adopting a variety of group roles: Students learn to take on different roles within a group
Communication Skills:

- Students recognize the different family roles and

responsibilities, and assume responsibility for a
role in the family.
How families
influence who
we become

Relationships in a family influence who we

become.
- Students identify self in relation to family.
- Student explain how different experiences can
result in different emotions.
- Students reflect on their experiences in order to
build a deeper understanding of self and/or family.
- Students identify feelings within the family and
begin to understand how these are related to
behavior.
- Students identify and understand that their
actions have impacted people in their family.

Students will be asked to share

some family practices and

activities that they love doing.

Evidences will be collected
through their observable

behavior and discussions that

happens in class.

reading: Students have many opportunities to read stories about families.

writing: Students write their own stories about their family and their part as a member of a family
Self-Management Skills:
codes of behavior: Students have various opportunities to show how to conduct themselves while
working with a group and with the entire class.
gross motor skills: Students play favorite games that they play with their own families.
fine motor skills: Students develop further their fine motor skills through creative writing and responses
to stories..
Research Skills:
formulating questions: Students develop questions about what it means to be a part of a family
presenting research findings: Students present their findings about their own family and those of
others.

B. Learner Profile

Open-minded: Students develop open mindedness in accepting that other families are not like their own
and that other peoples ides may differ from their own ideas.
Balanced: Students show being balanced in their thinking as they are exposed to different types of
families and what families do together.

5. What resources need to be gathered?

What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?

PEOPLE AND PLACES

Immediate family members:

parents, siblings

Extended family members:

aunts/uncles, grandparents

Home, others homes

LITERATURE
Olivia by Ian Falconer
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
My Working Mom by Peter Glassman
My Little Brother by David McPhail
Youre All My Favorites by Sam McBratney
Little Bear Wants to be Big by Judith Koppens
Papas House, Mamas House by Jean Lee Patindol
Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti by Anna Grossnickle Hines
Im a Big Brother by Ronne Randall
Chenelyn, Chenelyn by Rhandee Garlitos

Lets Look at Families by Laura Driscoll

My Mom is Fantastic by Nick Butterworth

Im a Big Sister by Joanna Cole
My Grandma is Wonderful by Nick Butterworth
I Love You, Mommy and Daddy by Jillian Harker
I Like It When by Mary Murphy
My Mom is Fantastic by Nick Butterworth
Im a Big Sister by Joanna Cole
My Grandma is Wonderful by Nick Butterworth
I Love You, Mom by Iris Hiskey Arno

AUDIO-VISUAL
Family pictures/videos
The Family Song
My Family and Me song
The Finger Family
Songs About Family

LINKS FOR TEACHERS

Our Family LP

We Are Family

Family Collage
Family Book

Family Celebration
All Of Me
Me Shirt
Quilt Square
Where We've Been
Family Graph
Family Album Ideas

OTHERS
Costumes and props
Favorite item/s at home
for show and tell
Home living dramatic
play props

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

Classroom is set up as a home. Objects that students commonly use in their houses are placed around the room. Students and also the teacher will bring different
materials to be displayed inside the room.
Books and different resources will be available inside the classroom to cater to students needs.

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:

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

Students were given opportunities to reflect on their familys practices and those of
their classmates. Students were observed and interviewed in order to see their
understanding of the lines of inquiry. In looking at diversity of families, students
shared their families favorite activities and food by using family pictures and bringing
their familys favorite food. To show their understanding of the different roles of
family members they used the gingerbread man template to draw how each family
member contributes to the family. And through the home living role play, they were
able to show how some of the things they do in various rooms are actions that were
influenced by their family members. Students were interviewed at the end of the unit
on all the engagements they accomplished in order to show their understanding.

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.
More exposure to differences of families:
Visiting a home of a classmate as part of a field trip opportunity and
interviewing opportunity for the students
Additional assessment tool:
Video recordings of students during home living role play
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and
the transdisciplinary theme?
Students proudly shared about what their family enjoys doing together and listened
to the stories of their classmates creating a deeper understanding of themselves and
how their family dynamics differ from others. They enjoyed the family home living
roleplay and made connections on how each family member acts differently.

Form - Students learned the different types of families through presenting their family pictures and the
favorite food of their respective families.
Responsibility - Students read different books on family members and drew on their gingerbread
families the different roles that members do for one another.
Reflection - Students were observed in the different areas of the home. Their practices were
connected to the things that the family values, like taking a bath, brushing and dressing up is
connected to the family valuing cleanliness and health.

demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?

Thinking Skills:
application - Students demonstrated the activities they do at home during the Home Living Role Play activity.
evaluation - students applied their understanding by writing about how a specific family member helps in the home
Social Skills:
accepting responsibility - Through the various role play activities, students showed how they are responsible
depending on the role they chose to play.
respecting others - Students practice and refined how they should respect one another just they way they show
respect at home (or how they should show respect at home).
cooperation - Students were given opportunities to cooperate with one another when it came to achieving specific
roles they were playing.
adopting a variety of group roles - Students were given the opportunity to choose a family member to portray other
than themselves during the Home Living Role Play activity.
Communication Skills:
reading - Stories about families were presented to students as the avenue for reading. Books in the classroom library
were all about family.
writing - Writing opportunities were done through reading responses of stories read (i.e. Gingerbread Family)
Self-Management Skills:
codes of behavior - Being able to show respect, sharing and taking turns were observed during the Home Living
Dramatic Play activity as something practiced by the students because it was taught by their family to them.
gross motor skills - Students showed some of their family bonding activities like playing outdoor games through
movement activities during house games or outdoor games that were set up for them
fine motor skills - Students created drawings and craft projects to practice their skills and creativity
Research Skills:
formulating questions - In completing their Diversity Book, each student worked with a partner. They asked questions
to one another to complete the missing information in the book.
presenting research findings - Students brought their familys favorite breakfast food and showed it to the class. The
different foods were grouped into four: rice, bread, cereals and fruits. These were charted by the class.

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

In each case, explain your selection.

International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

Open-minded - Students were exposed to the different types of families in stories read as well
as through discussion with classmates and seeing the different types of families.
Balanced - Students reflected on how they play a part in their family and their role in the class
room.

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.
Questions were teacher inititiated.
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.

Students inquired about what family means by reading stories. They also
inquired about how families are the same and different through books and their
interactions with their classmates.

Students learned about the different roles in their families as well as the
families of their classmates and teachers.

9. Teacher notes
Pre-Unit Assessment:
Have family cutouts before hand and model drawing furniture and human bodies.
Formative Assessment: Diversity Booklet; Gingerbread Man Template; Writing sample

Since writing is not the focus of this engagement, maybe next time the text will
already be provided and the pictures that the child draws represents his/her answers.
However, if they child should be practicing writing/recognizing familiar words for
Literacy, this will be a great way to integrate literacy into UOI.
Some students had a hard time drawing pictures with details. To assist students in
this case, perhaps providing pictures that they can color and stick to their
gingerbread man may help the child.
Provide more time for the writing sample activity on writing about a role of a family
member. This will help the child write about not just one family member but other
ones he/she would like to write about.
Summative Assessment:

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 wondered how a child can have two dads, only a mother, or only a father.

International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

Provide more time for the child to reflect on his work and explain in full sentences
what he/she learned. Record on video childs explanations of his/her work.

Attachment...
Finding Out
Data collection
Experiences to assist students to gather new information

Teachers & Students Questions

Teacher and student questions that help drive the inquiry
Focus questions to for inquiry

Sorting Out
Gauging, organizing or representing 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)

LOI 1: Diversity of families

What is a family?

Read stories about different types of families and make

connections with the texts.

What does a family look like?

Look at family pictures, albums and videos brought by

the students to look into the composition and
characteristics of their families.

Go on a field trip to a classmates house.

Are all families the same?

LOI 2: Responsibilities within the family

What roles do family members play?

Read stories about responsibilities of the family

members and make connections with the texts.

How does your family member help one another?

Invite family members as resource speakers that will

talk about their roles in the family.

Set-up a home-living dramatic play area where students

can take turns in role-playing.

Go on a field trip to a classmates house.

LOI 3: How families influence who we become

Invite family members as resource speakers that will

talk about their jobs, family practices or bonding
activities.

Share in the PYP assembly who they want to be when

they grow up, and share a favorite activity they do
together with their family.

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)

Students will put their observations of different

types of families in a chart. They will compile
photos as a class to make a family album.
Similarities and differences in families that they
have noted can be put in a graph. They will also
sequence the activities that they did in their
house visit.

Students will be given different scenarios and

they will reenact the roles and responsibilities that
their families have. Each student can also make a
family album about that will talk about each
member of their family.

Is my family important?
How does my family influence who I am or who I will
become?

Students are to identify and sort their own likes

and dislikes, and the likes and dislikes of their
family members in terms of foods, hobbies,
talents, games, attitudes, etc. They can think of
an artwork, a demonstration or an oral
presentation in order to share their families
influence on them.

Going Further
Activities to challenge and extend
Raising new questions, extending experiences, challenging assumptions. May be individually negotiated.

Look into roles and relationships with relatives, going beyond the nuclear family
Visit/expose different types of families (orphanage, multi-cultural)

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.

At the end of each engagement, create charts to sum up the learning that arose.
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.

Collaboration with parents on students inquiry about family when they are at home or during family gatherings.