Planning the Inquiry

1. What is our purpose? Class/grade: 4 Age group: 9-10

To inquire into the following: School: CMIS school code-060159
Transdisciplinary theme : How the world works: Title: Energy
An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world Teacher(s): Pushpita Nandy, Esmat Hashmee (Art), Jalal Uddin (PYPC)
(physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of Date:
scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and
Proposed duration: 48 hours over 6 weeks
on the environment.

Central Idea: Energy may be converted, transformed and used to support human Music Art PSPE
progress. Mathematics Science

Summative assessment task(s):

What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central idea? 2. What do we want to learn?
What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for? What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective,
Task: Students will be given a scenario and they will play the role of a young scientist. responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry?
They will arrange a Science Fair where they will explain how energy may be converted,
transformed and used to support human progress.  They should come up with Key concepts: Form, Causation, Responsibility
innovations with investigatory board showing findings, methods and alternative forms of Related concepts: Conservation, transformation
energy resources. The whole school community will be invited.
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?
Scenario: In today's vastly changing and developing world, man has constantly changed
1. Different forms of energy sources (renewable and non-renewable).
his ever growing needs and wants that have severely limited the world's finite energy 2. How energy is used (transformation).
resources. As a scientist your task is to come up with different ways or methods that 3. Sustainable energy practices.
would help promote sustainable and alternative energy practices to help curb pollution, What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
conserve and ultimately protect our limited energy resources.  What is the main source of energy?
Products: 3D Models, PowerPoint Presentation, Posters or any other way.  What are the different types and forms of energy?
 How is energy transformed?
Evidences: Students should focus on:  How energy can be sustained?
- Different forms of energy.  How can we encourage energy conservation at home?
- How energy is transformed and used  How will you conserve energy in your school?
- How energy can be sustained. Provocations:
Strategy: Process focused   Materials will be shown in the class before the unit starts, so that students
start playing inquiring about it. For example: Wire, batteries, bulbs, small
Tool: Rubric motor of a broken toy, etc.
 Picture of people and places where adequate energy is not there.
 A day without any power and water.
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 What are the learning experiences suggested by the teacher and/or students to encourage the students to engage with the inquiries and
might we learn?” address the driving questions?
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior Tuning In:
knowledge and skills? What evidence will we look for?  Students will show their understanding of the theme by talking about the topics that they covered in their previous grades. Later they will try to
Task: Students will create a map with the word ‘energy’ using connect the central idea with the theme and break the central idea to create their own central idea.
pictures and words. It will help them to organize their ideas and  Students will create a map with the word ‘energy’ using pictures and words. It will help them to organize their ideas and can generate questions.
can generate questions. Evidence: Their concept maps will be  Students will work on KWL Chart to organize their knowledge on ‘Energy’. They will write what they already know in ‘K’ column and in ‘W’
open ended and this will let them fill in the wonder wall. column, they will write what they think or wonder about the topic.
Finding Out:
 Students will watch videos on energy and its different sources. They will try to identify the different forms of energy from videos, books and
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in
articles.
the context of the lines of inquiry? What evidence will we
look for?  Students will summarize their understandings by creating posters or hand written documents.
FA1  Students will perform an experiment with different types of balls like, football, basketball, tennis ball, etc. They will observe and identify various
Task: Students will be given options to compare one renewable forms of energy involved in ‘Ball Drop’ experiment (Science). They will measure the height of the balls to be dropped, record the number of
and non-renewable energy and identify similarities and bounces and time taken for the ball to stop bouncing (Maths integration). Later they will write a report for the experiment.
differences among them. They might use a Venn diagram, T-  They will research on the energy saving measures and try to create a poster to share with the class.
chart or list down. Evidence: As they fill in their points they Sorting Out:
should focus on properties of those resources. Strategy: open-  Students will be given options to compare one renewable and non-renewable energy and identify similarities and differences among them. They
ended. Tool: Anecdotal. might use a Venn diagram, T-chart or list down.
 The different forms of energy are used in a variety of ways in order to power whole cities or simple machines/gadgets. Students need to identify
FA2 how human are using energy transformation for their progress. They might choose any mode of presentation.
Task: The different forms of energy are used in a variety of ways  In order to continue with current energy practices, alternatives and solutions must be sought that would conserve and sustain present energy
in order to power whole cities or simple machines/gadgets. resources. Students need to identify different ways of conserving energy and can present their finding in any form like, booklet, poster, etc.
Students need to identify how human are using energy Going Further:
transformation for their progress. They might choose any mode  Students will read and explore their resource books and share their understandings to the class.
of presentation. Evidence: They need to identify the source of  Students will meet a Physics expert who will guide and answer their wonder questions about energy and sustainability.
the energy, the transformed energy and the method of  Students will visit a place where they can observe how energy is transformed and used.
transformation. They may choose any two uses of energy. Making Conclusion:
Strategy: Selected response. Tool: Checklist  Students will watch a video on the process of Photosynthesis. They will prepare a picture chart to show the various forms of energy that are
involved in this process - its energy storage and transformation.
FA3 Taking Action:
Task: In order to continue with current energy practices,  Students will be given a scenario and they will play the role of a young scientist. They will arrange a Science Fair where they will explain
alternatives and solutions must be sought that would conserve how energy may be converted, transformed and used to support human progress.  They should come up with innovations with investigatory
and sustain present energy resources. Students need to identify board showing findings, methods and alternative forms of energy resources. The whole school community will be invited. They may build a 3D
different ways of conserving energy and can present their model for their work (Art integration).
finding in any form like, booklet, poster, etc. Evidence: As they
work, they need to focus on a type of energy, the source of it, What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the development of the attributes of the learner profile?
how can we use it to sustain in future, any alternatives and any Transdisciplinary Skills:
inventions for sustainability. Strategy: process-focused. Tool: Self-management: They will show their skills when they will prioritize and work to managed their time for preparing for the science fair.
Checklist. Research: They will show their skills when they will formulate their own questions, plan and organize the information that they will gather.
Learner Profiles:
Knowledgeable: Students will become knowledgeable by learning more and more about energy.
Principled: Students will learn to follow rules while working with different forms of energy.
Balanced: Students will take actions for sustainable energy practices.
Attitudes:
Curiosity: Students will be curious to learn how to produce energy from different sources.
Integrity: They will develop this attitude while noting down the actions to save energy.
5. What resources need to be gathered?

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

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0LBegPWzrg (energy), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqV5L66EP2E (potential and kinetic energy),

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsXQ9ijV54w (sources of energy), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaK8RnGY-eM (different forms of energy),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kUE0BZtTRc (renewable energy), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thdKsEA-llo (non-renewable energy),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftj23FRS2LI (how do energy convert), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8atIc3XixY (Energy transformation),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Rxb-3jIqQ (energy transformation), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qvZ-LfKPB0 (energy transfers and transformation),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RSrviqvAmY (global energy demands), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq94w1fEjsE (energy conservation),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxnwCWhRZQw (energy conservation), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-g73ty9v04 (lets save energy)
 Guest speaker: A Physics expert
 Field trip: a place where they can observe energy transformation and usage

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

 Classroom will have books related to energy.

 There will be experiments showcasing how energy is used.
Reflecting on the Inquiry

6. To what extent did we achieve our purpose? 7. To what extend did we include the elements of the PYP?
Assess the outcome of the inquiry by providing evidence of students’ What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:
understanding of the central idea. The reflections of all teachers involved
in the planning and teaching of the inquiry should be included.  Develop an understanding of the concepts identified in “What do we want to learn?”

Homeroom teacher: As it was the second and science related theme,

Form: Our first LOI ‘Different forms of energy sources (renewable and non-renewable)’ focused on the concept ‘Form’. Students
students showed great interest for it. Students showed their understanding
of the central idea, ‘Energy can be converted, transformed and used to found out the meaning of Energy, researched and discussed the different forms of energy and identified two groups of energy
support human progress’, by creating concept map for the word Energy, sources: renewable and non-renewable. They even compared the two types of energy sources via a Venn diagram.
researching on different forms of energy sources and energy
transformations. They reflected themselves by creating a 3D model to show Causation: Our second LOI ‘How energy is used (transformation)’ focused on the concept ‘Causation’. Students participated in the
the use of alternative energy sources in a city. Ball-Drop experiment where they identified the energy forms involved and discussed the reason for the balls to bounce higher and
longer. They researched on energy transfers and transformations to understand how are we using different energy forms in our daily
Mathematics: Students used the Venn diagram to compare renewable and
life.
non-renewable energy sources. They even used measuring tape for
measuring heights and stopwatch for recording the time during the Ball-
Drop Experiment. Responsibility: Our third LOI ‘Sustainable energy practices’ focused on the concept ‘Responsibility’. Students listed some ways of
saving energy at home, school and road by researching on the topic. Later they changed their behavior to follow the ways of
Science: This unit was mostly science based, all about energy and its sources. conserving energy. They even created a 3D model to reflect their ideas on the same topic.
Students gained knowledge on the different types of energy forms and its
sources. They enjoyed the Ball-Drop experiment where they identified the
 Demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?
energy forms which were involved in that process. They researched on
energy transfers and transformations and presented their work. They listed
some ways of saving energy and gave a solution to use alternative Research Skills: Students used their research skills when they researched on the different forms of energy, how energy is converted,
renewable energy sources. how energy is transformed and ways of saving energy at home, school and road. They presented their research works to the class to
share and reflect their learning on the same.
Art: Art was integrated as students came up with the idea of creating a
‘Solar City’ where every building had solar panels on the roofs. They Self-management Skills: Students managed themselves during the Ball-Drop Experiment where they measured two different heights
reflected themselves as young scientists as they identified a solution for
by a measuring tape, dropped three balls from the marked heights, counted the number of bounces and used a stopwatch to record
saving non-renewable energy sources.
the time taken by a ball to stop.
How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have
a more accurate picture of each student’s understanding of the central  Develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?
idea.
LEARNER PROFILES
Next time, we will let the students choose their own items and discuss the
energy transformation involved in those items. They will focus on types of Knowledgeable: Students became knowledgeable by learning new things and participating in different learning engagements
transformation and how the transformation is happening. throughout the unit.

What was the evidence that connections were made between the central Principled: Students became principled by following the ways of saving energy and reminding each other about it as well.
idea and the transdisciplinary theme?
Balanced: Students became balanced by following the ways of conserving energy at home, school and road.
The central idea and the transdisciplinary theme (How the world works) is
connected by: how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; ATTITUDES
the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the
environment. Students showed this connection when they identified how Curiosity: Students were curious to know about the energy transformations as it was new to them. They were also
we use different energy transformations for our use. They played the role of curious during the Ball-Drop experiment to observe the changes and identify the energy forms involved in the process.
a young scientist and gave a solution to use alternative energy sources for
saving non-renewable energy sources. Integrity: Students showed their integrity while they practice the ways of saving energy at home and school.
Reflecting on the Inquiry

8. What student-initiated inquiries arose from the learning? 9. Teacher notes

- This unit was an interesting one for the students as it was based on Science
Record a range of student-initiated inquiries and student questions and highlight any concept.
that were incorporated into the teaching and learning.
- Formative 1 has been changed. My student compared renewable and non-
Students questions:
- How solar energy work? renewable energy sources in general rather than choosing one from each type.
- From where we get electricity?
- How wind energy works? - Formative 2 has been changed from presentation to a quiz where pictures of
- Why there are lots of energy forms? different items were printed and students had to identify the energy transformation.
- Why energy is important to us? We even changed the assessment tool from checklist into exemplar.
- How machines work?
- From where energy come? - We could not manage the guest speaker and the field trip for this unit.
- How energy works?
- How can we measure energy?
- This year we could not arrange a science fair as our students were not interested to
- How can gravity pull us?
- Why do magnets have N and S poles? do it. But next time we will try to do it.
- What is the difference between chemical and physical energy?
- What will happen if our Earth stop moving?

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 students-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.

- One of the parents told us that her child always aware everyone to save energy
at home.
- Students turns off lights, fans and the air conditioner before they leave any
room.