Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose? Class/grade: grade 3 Age group: 8-9

To inquire into the following:
School: German European School School code:200319
 transdisciplinary theme
Title: Wheels and Wings
How the World Works
PYP planner
An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and Teacher(s):Landrum, Bismilla, Matechuk
communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-
making; economic activities and their impact on human-kind and the Date: Nov.5 - Dec 11
environment.
Proposed duration: number of hours:25, over number of weeks:4-5 (pre-
Christmas time)
central idea
Transport systems influence the way we live.

2. What do we want to learn?

Summative assessment task(s): What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection,
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central perspective, responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry?
idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for? Form, function, change last year
Mapping project discussing modes of transport used, describing how modes of Responsibility?
transport and systems link together, mapping countries and seas that transport
system depends upon and positive and negative impacts upon community.
Assessment tool: rubric What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?
Student create product report answering these questions:
development of transport systems
What materials is your product made out of?
impact of transport systems on communities
Where is your product made and why might it be produced there?
impact of transport systems on the environment
How is your product transported to Singapore?

What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?

Write a recount using transition words that describe our transportation
excursion. LA portfolio task? 1. How is the public transport system organized in Singapore?
2. How are goods and supplies transported around the world?
Import Pie Chart Project. Students take surveys around their house to find out 3. How have transport systems affected our lives?
where items have been imported from. Some examples that students selected 4. How have transport systems affected the environment?
were: shirts; pants; shorts; items in the bathroom; condiments; dry food. Math
portfolio task?

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007

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?
Transport poster- students use magazines and locate pictures that they will use
to make a poster showing different forms of transport. They will then write the
advantages or disadvantages of each of the forms of transport.
Transport poster will guide us in our initial questions
Survey makes of cars in school parking lot. Purpose? To see where card we use
might come from around the world.
Pretest: see if student can name continents, oceans and seas of the world. Do
we have this?
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the
lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look for?
Identify various ways to get from point A to point B on a map. Singapore map?
Planning trip to LTA Museum, bumboats?
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?
Development of transport systems
- Mapping activities- port cities, major airports, bodies of water and countries (political maps
showing boundaries)
- Mapping: estimating distances and using scale and using a compass
- How are items in class and home moved from place to place and finally to my class or home?
Survey: types of transportation at school. In parking lot. What are the positive and negative
impacts of transport on our community?
- Advantages and Disadvantages Chart of various transport systems
- Advantages and disadvantages chart of impacts of having good produced locally or far away
Maybe we can survey adults around the school about what modes of transport they use?
How do transportation systems impact my life?
- Survey my home: where do my things come from- check labels clothes, electronics, shoes,
sports, hats, food
- Create maps of where things come from by country or by region
- Good and bad of importing and exporting
- What are the top import/export of a country- CIA fact book has percentages website?

Discuss the different modes of transport that are used to import the goods we
have in our homes. Any websites for this? Home survey for homework?
What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and
for the development of the attributes of the learner profile?
Thinking skills/Thinker: planning bus routes for field trips
Research skills/Communicator – presenting data about ___________

5. What resources need to be gathered?

What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
Graphing Software: NumberBox 2, part of the BlackCat suite of software which includes Fresco, PawPrints, Logo and Talking Write Away. (used for what?), Related
literature: Transport: Environment Starts Here by Angela Royston (In library, I made multiple copies of this short text for the class)

How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry? Excursion to Land Transport Authority’s Transportation
exhibit going by bus; Singapore Transport Excursion – bus to Dhoby Ghaut MRT (check ‘graffiti art’) to Rafflles Place, Bumboat along river, walk along river. Import
survey from house.
Oxford International Primary Atlas- Library has about 30 of these.

© 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.
Transport systems influence the way we live.
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, function, change last year
Responsibility?

How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have a demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?
more accurate picture of each student’s understanding of the central idea.
develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?
Transport systems influence the way we live. In each case, explain your selection.

Thinking skills/Thinker: planning bus routes for field trips

What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea Research skills/Communicator – presenting data about ___________
and the transdisciplinary theme?
An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and
communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-
making; economic activities and their impact on human-kind and the
environment.
Transport systems influence the way we live.

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007

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.
Subject Portfoli Activities to Support Units
o (Y/N)

ART
At this point teachers should go back to box 2 “What do we want to learn?” and GMT
highlight the teacher questions/provocations that were most effective in driving the
inquiries. GSL
GFL Y Learn related vocabulary, directions, left, right.
Write a story using known characters going on a
journey using 3 types of transport OR a set of
What student-initiated actions arose from the learning? directions of how to get from one place in school
to another
Record student-initiated actions taken by individuals or groups showing their ability
to reflect, to choose and to act. ICT
MUSIC
PE N Adventure and gym – organize an adventure
course around school yard
PE – swim portfolio task this term

People in parent community used in previous years - Head of Lufthanza Cargo

Asia- Sharon Mueller helped arrange for a the head of Lufthanza Cargo Asia to
visit our class and talk about how goods are moved around the world. Parent
Marco Babic- Economist- presentation on trade, money and bartering.

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007