Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose? Class/grade: 4th Age group:

To inquire into the following:
School: Semper School code: 060135
- Transdisciplinary theme:
● Sharing the Planet: Inquiry into rights and responsibilities in Title: Sharing the Planet
the struggle to share finite resources with other people and
Teacher(s): Doerr, Giddings
with other living things; ​communities and the relationships
within and between them​; access to equal opportunities; Date: 1/9/19
peace and conflict resolution.
Proposed duration: 30 hours over 6 weeks

- Central idea : 2. What do we want to learn?

● A society’s beliefs and values affects how it uses its resources What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective,
responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry?
Summative assessment task(s):
Key Concepts: Responsibility and Function
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central
Related Concepts: Environment and Supply/demand
idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for?
Approaches to Learning: Self management skills
Introduce IB/Inquiry board and discuss theme and central idea. Discuss
key concepts, related concepts, profile, attitudes and show the following Profile: Balanced and principled
picture. Ask “what do you see, think, wonder”
Attitudes: Cooperation and integrity
Choose image from Google​:
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?
An inquiry into -
-​The positive and negative impacts of resources on the environment and
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the Central Idea in one of communities.
the following ways:
-How the Earth and Sun provide a variety of renewable and nonrenewable
Students will create a presentation to give to other classrooms about resources that are captured in a variety of ways (light, heat, sound, chemical,
conserving resources / reducing waste. electrical…)
● Presentation with a rubric for grading: ​CCSS Presentation Rubric --How resources are not distributed evenly.
○ 4th grade students ask younger classroom, “What are
-The function of resources in different environments?
things that are wasted? Take information.
○ Give presentation on common waste reducing strategies. How are resources used and valued in other communities (countries)?
■ Name some things that get wasted?
■ How do we reduce the waste? How do we know waste was How can responsibility, or lack thereof, affect the environment?
reduced? What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
■ In what ways have you adjusted to reduce this waste?
 ● Follow up visit What would change in our lives if we ran out of resources like water or
○ 4th grade students ask younger classroom, “How have we medicine?
been reducing waste?” take responses and log on original
How do we depend on and use the resources provided by the Earth?
note page.
● Independent reflection opinion essay What is the global impact of capturing natural resources (including energy
○ “My group was impactful because…” sources)?

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 learning experiences suggested by the teacher and/or students to
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior knowledge and skills? What evidence will encourage the students to engage with the inquiries and address the driving
we look for? questions?

Thinking map ‘Ways People Conserve Resources” Setting The Stage (Tune In)​:

● Examples of conservation Skype/Facetime with an expert

● Using conservation in context correctly www.nepris.com
● Using resources correctly
Parent involvement--- transdisciplinary theme-sharing the planet. take home the
● Identifying actual resources in real life.
theme and discuss with parent. what do you think this means? reflection on the back,
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines of inquiry? What bring back tomorrow for discussion. Cut apart activity-break apart the theme. T chart
evidence will we look for? ​(Pre, along the way, post)
● Introduction of presentation by guest speaker. Discuss with students that we
have been studying energy and how it can be best used to avoid waste. Now
Pre-assessment: class thinking with a KWL chart and wonder wall. we will talk about other resources that can be wasted.
RAFT project; Role, Audience, Format, Topic. ○ Net zero classroom (​Net Zero Classroom​)
● Gallery walk
Students will choose a continent or country and research how a society's beliefs and values affects
how it uses its resources. ○ Picture of trash
○ Dumping of trash and recycling from our classrooms
They will create their own research questions and their own rubric to be graded upon.
○ Polar bear video- see, think, wonder for each station (combined
Groups will present their project so students can connect how resources are used the same and science and social studies)
differently throughout the world.
-​https://act.sealegacy.org/s/face-of-climate-change
● Peer work idea generation
○ Take a poll of the classroom “What do we waste every day?”
○ How can we reduce our waste?
○ How can we measure it in this classroom?
○ How can you measure it at home?

Facilitating Student Inquiry

(Finding Out)
● website for research:​ ​A Student's Guide to Global Climate Change
 ● NREL field trip
● Dump out trash of classroom bin
● AOW’s (Newsela article
https://newsela.com/read/starving-polar-bear-climate/id/38852/​ )
● Videos
● Shel Silverstein poem “Sarah, Sylvia, Cynthia Stout”
● Graphs
● Simulation​ where we reduce the resources students can use.
○ No paper use?
○ No electricity?
■ No lights, pencil sharpeners, videos, digital clocks, cell
phones, watches, etc
●
What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the
development of the attributes of the learner profile?
Sorting out:

Math: Graphing, multiplication of paper usage

Writing: Poem,
Reading: Articles on waste
Science: Renewable and non-renewable resources
Social Studies: Continent footprint on paper use, why do
we choose to live where we live? Why migrate to CO?
Art:
Music: Colorado history songs
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apkgmgKR9
G8
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAyom4zZU
M4​ AhsHSS
PE:

Discovering resources around the world-Atlas hunt

The Lorax book- compared themes with Sarah Cynthia Sylvia
Stout--how do we have a caring environment?
Compared resources from Colorado and Michigan using DNR websites
 and other websites-what did we notice/double bubble map
Colorado explorers- and resources used
Colorado history songs
Going Further:
RAFT/GRASPS activity. Student planned. Begins with wonder
wall/inquiry. From here, we TAKE ACTION. Pick 7, place kids in groups
based on their wonderings/inquiry. What topic do you want to teach
others about: compost, global warming, reduce, reuse, energy,
recycling. Create together.
Students create rubric to be graded/successful
Making Conclusions: ​After presentations, students will reflect on their rubric; did
they answer their focus question? How did they meet the central idea?
Students will also engage in a discussion about what they learned about other
countries and how their society values resources differently from their research.

5. What resources need to be gathered?

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

Derek James- environmental engineer

Field Trip- ENREL
Print out pictures
Create rubric

How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community to be used to facilitate the inquiry?
Discovering resources around the world-Atlas hunt
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 What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:
central idea. The reflections of all teachers involved in the planning and teaching of the inquiry
● develop an understanding of the concepts identified in “What do we want to
should be included.
learn?”
The students understanding of our central idea, a society’s beliefs and values affects how it ● demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?
uses its resources, was effective. They were required to create a project that taught others ● develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?
how we could reduce waste and/or using resources more effectively. In each case, explain your selection.

Concepts:
How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have a more accurate
● Polar bear video and see, think, wonder thinking routine
picture of each student’s understanding of the central idea.
● Guest speaker on NetZero classroom
We need to start the unit by conducting a pretest on the topic of resources. Some students ● NREL field trip
had trouble making the connection with a society’s beliefs and values to the resources they
● Picture of trash using ​see, think, wonder thinking routine
use.
● Dumping of trash and recycling from our classrooms to analyze our use of
resources
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and the Transdisciplinary skills:
transdisciplinary theme?

Projects seemed to focus more on the school community and their direct audience. In order to ● Research skills- students researched how to inform their audience about
deepen their understanding and apply their understanding more globally, consideration can renewable/nonrenewable resources and how to use resources more
be made to expand their thinking outside of the local community. effectively.
● Communication skills-students shared with their audiences their findings
and learnings about their taking action projects.
● Thinking skills- students developed an action plan to inform others about
how to reduce waste/inform others about waste/renewable/nonrenewable
resources.

Learner Profile and PYP Attitudes:

● Balanced and principled: Students demonstrated positive interactions and

behaviors with guest speakers and on fieldrip. They worked to understand
that resources are not distributed equally and is not balanced in our country.
● Cooperation and integrity: students worked together with teams to take
action and create a plan to educate and teach others about ways to
reduce/reuse/recycle as well as how the use or misuse of resources affects
the environment.
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.
**Next year use SEMPER elementary energy usage to from Molly’s husband to see
● How do we compost?
how schools use money. Then compare and contrast to the one from Meiklejohn.
● Can we compost at school?
● I wonder why there is so much trash?
● I wonder why people litter?
● I wonder where all of this trash goes?
● I wonder what I can do to help?
Pictures don’t explain what is going on! Can’t remember what student’s
presentations were about or on. Take notes!
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.
Refer to district Bridge Doc.
How are resources used and valued in other communities (countries)?
How can responsibility, or lack thereof, affect the environment?
What is the function of resources in different environments?
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.

Flyers for recycling.

Videos and skits on how to compost.
What not to feed to animals.
Things you can/cannot recycle (lists and demos)
Why it’s important to unplug things not in use.
Survey and presentations to other classrooms
Social media group worked to create posts on energy usage and resources
Play demonstrating the importance of using our resources responsibly
Ways to save energy- games and incentives for doing so.
Wrote a book about what they learned
Experimental booth at school sock hop to educate and build awareness
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2011
Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the
Planet
Inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the
struggle to share finite resources with other
people and with other living things;
communities and the relationship within
and between them; access to equal
opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.