Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose? Class/grade: EY 2 Age group: 4-5

To inquire into the following:
School: LWIS Hazmieh School code: 060141
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 PYP planner
technological advances on society and on the environment. Teacher(s): Stephanie Challita, Tania El Kattar, Nadine Nawfal, Ghadir Sbeity.
Hanadi Al Hussein

Transdisciplinary theme: Date: January 2018

 How the world works Proposed duration: number of hours over number of weeks: 7

 Central idea
 Exploring light helps us interpret the physical surrounding. 2. What do we want to learn?
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 idea? - Reflection (How do we know?)
- Function (How does it work?)
- Causation (Why is it like this?)
- Ongoing observation and documentation of learners’ understanding
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central
and reference to light in their surroundings.
idea?
- Reflections
- Performance task: Learner will create a light source of their choice - Sources of light
and explain its function and importance. A follow up interview will - Properties of light
also take place and questions about the usage and value of light in - The value of light
learners’ lives will be asked. Learners can use either the English
language or the Arabic to elaborate on their understanding. What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
- Checklists will be used to evaluate learners’ understanding.
- How does light work? (Function)
Action: the learners decided to take action and create their own source of - What’s the purpose of light? (Function)
light and share with other learners. - What can you use shadows for? (Function)
- How can you make a shadow? (Causation)
- How does light affect our everyday life (Reflection)
- What would we do without light? (Reflection)

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007

 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?
Planning the inquiry
3. How might we know what we have learned? - Tuning in: provide learners with a set of different light sources and allow them to discover them.
Teacher will then ask learners to think of different light sources and show their thinking in a drawing.
This column should be used in conjunction with “How best might we learn?” Learners went on a light hunt around the school which led them to a dark room found in the back.
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior knowledge and skills? Learners started thinking of ways to be able to see in that particular room.
What evidence will we look for? - Finding out: Learners were taken outside and were asked the following: “what is one thing that
always follows us around?” learners inquired on that a little while in the sun, and finally found out
- Watching videos and provoking responses through discussions that our shadows follow us around all the time. The learners then tried to recreate shadows in their
classroom using different items and flashlights. Are shadows always the same size? Do they change
- Teacher generated questions position? Learners found out the answers to that through play. Learners then tried to make their very
own shadow theatre based on what they learned.
- Introducing problems and allow learners to come up with solution based on their
prior knowledge. - Sorting out: Teacher got a bunch of different items to class some of which will let the light go
through and some that won’t. Learners were given the time to inquire and learn about opaque and
- Drawings transparent objects. Also, learners were able to identify artificial and natural light sources.
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines - Going further: learners went to a dark room and used flashlight to discover it. This facilitated their
of inquiry? What evidence will we look for? understanding on the value of light. Also, learners watched different videos and listened to different
stories that allowed them to take it further and understand that light saves our lives on the streets
Lines of inquiry Formative Strategy Assessment (traffic lights headlights, blinkers, airports, airplanes…)
tools - Making conclusions: through different inquiries throughout the unit, learners concluded that only
opaque objects make shadows because they block the light while transparent objects don’t. They
Draw the different Process focused Rubric also made the conclusion that, at night, if we didn’t have artificial light we wouldn’t be able to see
sources of light and anything and that electricity facilitated our lives in many different ways.
-What are sources Checklist
sort them under - Taking action: the learners decided to take action and create their own source of light. They made
of light?
natural and artificial their very own Kaleidoscopes and used special material that reflected light in different colors onto
sources. the wall.
observation Anecdotal
What are the Choose a source of record What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the development of the
attributes of the learner profile?
properties of light? light and elaborate
on its properties 1. Inquirer: learners will inquire into different sources of light and into how to make shadows. Also,
and importance they will have the opportunity to inquire into the value of light.
2. Reflective: learners will constantly reflect on different inquiries throughout the unit to check for
understanding and seeing their own point of view on the matter.
3. Risk taker: learners will be risk takers because they will be trying new things and building their own
source of light. Also, learners will be exposed to a dark room in order to inquire into the value of
light.
4. Communication skills: learners will learn to communicate their findings as a group and will showe
improvement when discussing certain key concepts.
5. Social skills: learners will often work together and share their material for a more successful
outcomes.
6. Thinking skills: learners will improve their thinking skills specially when executing the summative
assessment.

5. What resources need to be gathered?

What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
Light box- flashlights- shadows- opaque and transparent objects- mirrors- images- different stories about light
different videos about: emergency lights, traffic lights, natural and artificial light sources, opaque and transparent objects, shadows…
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?
Visuals on the walls, available flashlights at all times, sunny classroom, outdoor activities, shadows all around, prisms, electrical circuits… © 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.
P.E:
Arabic:
French: Les EY2 ont aussi exploré le thème de leur unité durant les périodes de
langue française. Les activités ont surtout porté sur les actions réalisées durant le
jour (ex: je danse, je mange, je joue) et d’autres la nuit (je dors, je rêve).
Pour mettre en relief l’importance de la lumière et de l’ombre, un dessin en noir sur
blanc du profil de chaque apprenant couronna la fin de l’unité.
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?”
 Reflection: Learners reflected on how light is useful in the classroom.
 Function: Learners understood how light helps our community and
keeps us safe.
 Causation: Learners reflected on light and emergency situations.
 Demonstrate the learning and application of particular
transdisciplinary skills?

Art:  Communication skills: learners learned to communicate their findings as a group and
showed improvement when discussing certain key concepts .
Homeroom: The learners wanted to make their own Kaleidoscope, a discussion
was held in order to state the material needed. Material was provided to the  Social skills: learners often worked together and shared their material for a more
successful outcome.
learners and the summative assessment took place. The learners could identify
 Thinking skills: learners improved their thinking skills specially when executing the
the need to use metallic paper for the reflection of light, were able to identify the summative assessment.
top of the kaleidoscope as transparent allowing the light to go through, and
could also identify that the reflected light on the walls from the kaleidoscope had
 Develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or
different colors due to the sequins having different colors themselves.
attitudes?
A checklist was used to assess the learners’ understanding of the central idea.
 Learners were risk takers and thinkers when putting the summative assessment
into action. They were risk takers while putting the project together; they didn’t
How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have hesitate when it came to trying different ways to make it work effectively and took a
a more accurate picture of each student’s understanding of the central chance in personalizing each of their kaleidoscopes using different material. They
idea. were thinkers when they thought of different ways to make the light reflect from the
mirror paper used as one of the tools for the kaleidoscope.
More murals should have been created by the learner showing their
understanding of the lines of inquiry and the central idea.
Bring different materials to allow them to create varied light sources as well.
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central
idea and the transdisciplinary theme?
The learners made different posters and murals to sort out and sum up what
they have learned using paint and different material from around the
classroom.
The learners were able to use different material and light sources found in
the classroom, and presented to explain their understanding to their peers
and teacher.
Learners always made connections in their everyday lives related to the
central idea and that was evident when they would share stories, and even
through different observations.
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.
- Taking more effective notes throughout the unit in order to have more
- Can we hide from our shadows? concrete evidence for my comments at the end of the unit, would make
- Can we go to the dark room and see in the dark? the comments process move faster and more effectively.

At this point teachers should go back to box 2 “What do we want to learn?” - Thinking of more hands on activities would keep the learners more
and highlight the teacher questions/provocations that were most effective in interested and challenged throughout the unit.
driving the inquiries. - Using more checklists and rubrics throughout the unit would make it
- Is light always yellow? easier to assess the learners’ ongoing process.
- Where do we see light? - Set up an ongoing inquiry station in class available for the learners to
use freely which will allow a better learning environment and will
- How can we make shadows?
facilitate learning as well.
- How does light help us?
- How does light travel?

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.
1. When introduced with the problem of not being able to create a shadow
puppet theatre, the learners thought of ways to solve this problem.
- New material was introduced to them and they were asked to come
together and communicate on ways to use the material effectively, in order
to create a successful shadow puppet theatre.
- Together, they chose a plan, reflected, and acted on it.
- The shadow puppet theatre was a success.
- They then used it to create shadow puppetry and play “guess what” games
using shadows.
2. When making their own light source, the learners chose to use metallic
paper in the tube and were able to reflect that light will reflect from the
metallic paper creating a light source.
- Learners reflected that the colored sequins are the reason why the light
created onto the wall was colored.

©
© International
International Baccalaureate
Baccalaureate Organization
Organization 2007
2007