Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose?

Class/grade:

1a) To inquire into the following:

School: Domuschola International School

School code: 7800

transdisciplinary theme
Inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature,
culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy
our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic
central idea

Age group:

Title: Materials
Teacher(s): Charo, Brenn, Carmina, Dean, Bea
Date: November 4 to December 15, 2015
Proposed duration: 6 weeks 8 hours a week

Understanding the properties of materials can enhance creativity

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: Create and produce an artwork that shows personal styles and
uniqueness

Focus Key Concepts: form: perspective, change:

Role:.Material/Art Engineer
Audience: School community, parents
Scenario: As a Material/Art Engineer you will create and produce an artwork
using a material of your choice. You will also include the benefits of the material
and your artwork to the society
Product: An artwork/instrument made of ready-to-find materials. They also write
an essay showing the concepts, their understanding about the properties of
materials and how they express their creativity in the context of their
artwork/instrument.

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Related Concepts: characteristics, appreciation, creativity, imagination

What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?

How different materials can be used to express creativity

Learning about art through different lenses develop appreciation
Relating properties of materials to the objects they are made into

What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?

What are the properties of materials?
How do the properties of materials determine the objects that it is made into?
How can we express our creativity using common materials?

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?
The students will create a work of art that would show their understanding of the
central idea. They will try to show how materials can be manipulated to express
their uniqueness and creativity
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the
lines of inquiry? 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?

Line of Inquiry

What will be
assessed?

How will evidence be collected?

Tuning-in:
The Spark- Students guess a mystery object in a small bag and also guess the materials used in these objects.
Video Clips- Students watch the video clips Plastic Bottles Light Bulb and Families in the Dump. They share
how the different material were used to create a product, i.e. bulb.
Things Around Us- Look at the objects around you. Identify which materials they are made of.- Examine the
parts of a certain object. List down the different materials used to make each part. Explain why each part is
used.
See Think Wonder- Show an artwork. Question prompts What do you see? What do you think about that?
What does it make you wonder?
Name Them- Name some materials in your home or classroom and identify the properties of each one.

What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the
development of the attributes of the learner profile?

How different
materials can be
used to express
creativity

Students
understanding that
different materials can
be used to express
their creativity.

Table Completion
-Students complete a table about different objects
which can be found at home and give the
properties, uses, and type of materials used for
each.

Learning about
art through
different lenses
develop
appreciation

Students
understanding that arts
can be appreciated
through different
lenses.

Imagination Inspiration
- students to use their imagination to create an
object related to unit of study. They may want to
design a new book cover for a title the class has
recently read, or create a visual representation of
an idea about materials. .

Relating
properties of
materials to the
objects they are
made into

Students
understanding that
change in form and use
of materials can affect
its characteristics.

Be Creative
- Students make four different designs for a cup,
each made from a different material. Two of the
designs must work and two must not work.
- Students explain why each of the cups will be a
success or a failure.

A. Transdisciplinary Skills

Thinking Skills:ANALYSIS-students analysed the materials and which properties were

associated for each. They also analysed what other things they could do with the given
materials; METACOGNITION - students look at different creation and related themselves with the
examples.
Social Skills:ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY- Students will have the opportunity to show their
social skills by working in groups and as pairs to drive their inquiry further; RESPECTING
OTHERS- Students share their own ideas and listen to others on different ways they could use a
certain material.
Research Skills: INTERPRETING DATA-students once they have gathered the data, they
analyze which materials should go together. COLLECTING - students gather information about
certain materials and their properties.
B. Learner Profile: Thinker: The students analysed different materials and their properties and
how they could make use of them. Principled: Students collected plastic bottles and papers and
utilized them for class activities instead of buying new things Reflective:Students thought about
how to improve their work and make it better.

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: San Miguel Bottling Corporation, Junk Art Shop, Recycling Shop
LITERATURE: My Pals Are Here.Science.4A
WEBSITES: http://tinkerlab.com/, http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/science/contents_materials.htm, http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml,
http://inquiryproject.terc.edu/curriculum/curriculum3/materials/investigation5/, http://artnc.org/lessons/properties-clay,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/ks2_lessonplans/science/characteristics_of_materials.shtml, http://www.slideshare.net/reflective_learning/class-6-different-kinds-of-materials, http://www.udel.edu/cds/dapa/0809/GLE/Sci%202.pdf

How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?
Artifacts that are made up of different materials are displayed in our UOI museum.
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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:

The exposure of students to the different properties of materials through their

exploration and field trips made them appreciate materials that enhanced their
curiosity to manipulate and come up with any objects they want.
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.
Teachers should design an individual assessment based on their interests. In this
way, each student could come up with something tangible that reflects their creativity
and understanding.
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and
the transdisciplinary theme?
There were various activities related to recycling done by the students in different
subjects. In connection with the central idea and the transdisciplinary theme, the
students were able to express their creativity and reflect on how they could show
that they value the environment.
In UOI for example, the students created stationary and also made recycled paper.
They decided to decorate and color the papers.
Also, during the tuning - in stage, students were given different materials and with
these they were tasked to create a car prototype which would run by batteries. They
were able to come up with different car designs. However, because of the limited
time some of them were not able to make their cars run.
In music class, they express their creativity by altering or changing the materials of
existing instruments.
In Filipino, Using the storyHalu-halu Espesyal they saw how a halo-halo looks like.
They showed their creativity by using their imagination to invent their own halo-halo.

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

learn?
Key Concepts
FORM- The students were aware that there are different materials and each one of them has
different properties. PERSPECTIVE - The students showed this concept during the simulation
experiences and they found out that each one has different point of view looking at a piece of
artwork. CHANGE - The students found out that some materials could change and be modified
through varied factors.
Related Concepts
CHARACTERISTICS- Students came up with the properties of each material. They presented
their understanding through a diagram. IMAGINATION- Students learned that some inventions
came about by accidents. They also realized that they should think of many ways to develop a
material.

demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?

THINKING SKILLS: ANALYSIS - The students analysed the given materials and came up with ways how
to group them. METACOGNITION - The students looked at different artwork and thought about the
reasons and purpose of a certain work. They also tried to relate a given artwork to themselves.SOCIAL
SKILLS:ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY Students worked as a group and accepted responsibilities in
creating something out of papers or plastics.They also shared ideas on identifying the different properties.
RESEARCH SKILLS:COLLECTING During the unit, the students collected information the different
sources. They also brought their own books related to the topic. Furthermore, they also gathered
different materials which they made into something like pencil holder out of plastic bottle, trays/boxes from
recycled paper.

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

In each case, explain your selection.
Learner Profile
RISK-TAKER- Students were able to invent a new product. They also did their best to present and
speak in Filipino. THINKER- Students showed being a thinker by coming up with their own musical
instruments. COMMUNICATOR and OPEN - MINDED- Students were developed into being committed
as they worked on their expert groups. They also practiced with each other so they could present their
ideas effectively to other classmates.
Attitudes
CREATIVITY - Students created their own musical instruments, an artwork made out of eggshells and
christmas decor. They also created a paper out of waste paper. APPRECIATION - They appreciated
everyones artwork by giving compliments and taking care of everyones work.

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.

Enough time should be allotted for the instrument making so students would enjoy
the activity more.

What is creativity? How do I express it?

Why do people create something?
What are the uses of different materials?
Why do we have different opinion on a given piece of work?
What will happen if we will not recycle?
Why do people create something instead of buying?

Also, there should be an integration of summative assessment like Art and UOI as
the unit was focused on the former.

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 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.
In Music, they thought of changing the materials of some instruments. They also
tried to find out the different sounds, their new instrument would produce.
They also told their family member to collect plastic bottles and papers instead of
throwing them right away to the trash. As an effort to help the schools
maintenance team, the students gave plastic and glass bottles which could be sold
by them.

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Most of the activities were about creating something, thus there should have been
several exposures and hands on experiences on creating materials.
The teachers should also consider the multiple intelligences and allow them to
freely create something which is related to the topic.
The students could also be grouped as per their preference or according to the
output they would like to come up with.

Attachment A
Finding Out
Data collection
Experiences to assist students to gather 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)

Students will go to different sites such as:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/materials/, art studios,
potteryhouse,etc. in order to find out how artists used different materials to
express or enhance their creativity.
Students interview resource persons- artists and art lovers to find out about how
we could develop appreciation to arts. We also ask them about how properties of
material help artists come up with ideas.
Students go for a field trip to different art exhibits to see how the artists
manipulated different materials to express their creativity.
Students research in the internet the different properties of materials and how
these properties affect the creative planning of artists.
Students experiment on different materials that can be used to as an
accompaniment to their choice of songs.
Students find-out different indigenous materials that people before used to play
any kind of games. They try to produce these materials and play said games.

Sorting Out
Gauging, organizing or representing new information
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)

De Bonos Hat(Looking and Observing a piece of art/instrument)

Red Hat - (What kind of feelings involved in the art?)
White Hat - (What kind of art/instrument?)
Blue Hat - (What kind of materials or tools used?)
Green Hat - (How will you make it better?)
Properties Chart
Students work together as a group and write down the properties of each given
material.
Observational Drawing
Students will make both written notes and scientific drawings to record important
information to remind them of their observation
Materials Concept Cartoon
Students use their understanding of the different properties of materials in order to come
up with an object that would express their creativity.

Going Further
Activities to challenge and extend
Raising new questions, extending experiences, challenging assumptions. May be individually negotiated.
Expressing their creativity, students manipulate different trashes (that can be recycled) in order to come up with any object that would show their creativity.
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.
Students create a generalization chart and come up with their generalization to show what they understood from the unit.

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.

Students showcase their products during assembly and encourage other students to support the recycling program of the school.