1. What is our purpose? How We Organise Ourselves Humans

1. What is our purpose? How We Organise Ourselves Humans

1. What is our purpose?
Class/Grade: 6
To inquire into the following:
th
Age Group: 11-12
TRANSDISCIPLINARY THEME
School: Colegio Colombo Británico
How We Organise Ourselves
CENTRAL IDEA
School Code: 0033
Humans create different political systems in order to govern
themselves to specific ends based on their beliefs, ideas and
principles. This in turn affects individuals within them.
Title:
Year: 2012/13
Summative assessment task(s):
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central
idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for?
Strategy: Performance Assessment
Tool: Rubric
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The political system can have any characteristics from the different political systems
that you have seen in this unit.
Your presentation must include:
 How the political system works
 How the power is distributed
 How the rules and laws are made
 What the benefits are for the students
Shows a detailed description of how the political system works
Not shown 1___ 2___ 3___4___5 clear
Shows how the power is distributed
Not shown 1___ 2___ 3___4___5 clear
Shows how the rules and laws are made
Not shown 1___ 2___ 3___4___5 clear
Shows the benefits for the students in the classroom
Not shown 1___ 2___ 3___4___5 clear
Proposed Duration:
27 Aug – 5 Oct 2013 (6 Weeks)
What are the key concepts to be emphasized within this inquiry?
Perform/present a campaign for the political system that you have designed.
Political system:__________________________
How we organize ourselves
Teachers: Roosevelt Atehortua, Cesar Barrero, Luke Whelan, Jaime Chala,
Orfa Nuri Acevedo, Maricel Vivas, Ximena Hurtado, Carlos Andrés Piñeres,
Benjamin Skinner, Malgorzata Zarzycka, Juan Ortiz
2. What do we want to learn?
Prompt:
CCB Primary Section has decided to implement a political system within the
classroom. Design a political system that you think is best for the classroom.
Group Names:
_________________________________________
PYP Planner
Causation
Power
Connection
Systems, Organisations
Responsibility Participation,
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?
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An inquiry into what the different political systems are
An inquiry into how political ideologies work in real-life
An inquiry into what the role of the individual is within a
political system
What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
Teacher Questions
 What are the best political systems?
 Does our role change depending on the political system in which we
participate?
 Can ideologies be followed taking into account our differences as
human beings?
Provocation:
Students will participate in the Exhibition Transdisciplinary Theme elections
on the first day of the unit. They will then discuss afterwards their role, vote,
reasons for choosing their elected theme, feelings towards the result (was it
the result that they wanted?).
OVERALL GRADE/COMMENT:
Created: 18/09/12
Latest Revision: 16/10/12
Printed:
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?
Media
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Pre-assessment : Skills
Formulating Questions (L2, SS)
Students will listen to an article about real-life in a Communist country and then be asked what they
would like to know more about if given the opportunity to interview an expert.
Strategy: Observation
Tool: Anecdotal records
Habilidad de investigación: Planificar, registrar y presentar (L1)
Los estudiantes en grupos deben organizar los datos de una investigación de manera organizada y
luego presentarla a toda la clase. Al finalizar se sacarán las conclusiones de lo observado.
Estrategia: Observación
Herramienta: Checklist
Pre-assessment : Knowledge
Cells
Students answered questions about cells to show their knowledge.
Strategy: Selected responses
Tool: Anecdotal records
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines
of inquiry? What evidence will we look for?
Line of Inquiry 1 : An inquiry into what the different political systems are
Students take part in an open discussion regarding their research findings in relation to the different
political systems being seen during the unit.
Strategy: Observations Tool: Checklist
S’s do a test regarding specific characteristics that each political system has.
Strategy: Selected responses Tool: Checklist
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Interview
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Survey
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English: Students watch animal farm to gain understanding of how people use organizations to promote their
personal ambitions. The movie will trigger the investigation about different types of governments.
Social studies: Using a jigsaw S’s will teach other 6th graders about different political systems – Democracy,
Communism, Dictatorships and Theocracy. They use any type of media that they want.
Social Studies: S’s listen and discuss a real-life account of someone who lived in a Soviet Russian communist
society.
Social Studies: S’s watch and discuss short clips of Lord of the Flies film where democracy breaks down.
Social Studies: Ss watch the Anima Farm synopsis to understand the background of the Communist Russia.
Language: S’s read texts on different political systems and then answer questions.
Social Studies: Research about a communist country and compare the ideology with reali life.
Science: S’s investigate about different types of viruses and present to the class in the form of a poster.
Social Studies: Expert will talk to the children about living in Communism. (Gosia Zarzycka)
Social Studies: Expert will talk about political systems, in particular dictatorship and democracy (Tulia Ocampo)
Social Studies: S’s provide a report that details past frustrations, opinions and things that need improving
within the actual Student Council in Primary section.
Observation/ Experience
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Social Studies: ¨ Political systems experiment¨¨. Children will be put into three groups (teacher-led, student
leader voted by group, no prior organization of group) to resolve the same problem and present their information
to the class
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Social Studies: S’s take part in various elections during the unit, including Student Council, Transdisciplinary
Theme, and House Captains. They use this experience to comment on feelings, opinions and overall thoughts
about the process and its implications for them.
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Social Studies: S’s take part in the ‘Orange Trading Game’, where they experience what it is like to live in a
free-market democracy where there are rich and poor.
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L1: Los estudiantes realizarán un trabajo de indagación acerca de la biblioteca escolar de primaria.
What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the
development of the attributes of the learner profile?
Transdisciplinary Skills
SOCIAL
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Line of Inquiry 2: An inquiry into how political ideologies work in real-life
Students take part in an open discussion about an article that depicts real-life in a specific political
system.
Strategy: Observations Tool: Anecdotal Records
S’s do a test regarding specific characteristics that each political system has.
Strategy: Selected responses Tool: Checklist
Line of inquiry 3: An inquiry into what the role of the individual is within a political system
S’s perform role-plays showing different situations that amplify the role and responsibilities of the
individual within a political system.
Strategy: Open-ended task Tool: Anecdotal Records
5. What resources need to be gathered?
What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
Guest speaker: Malgorzata Zarzycka – Living in Communism, Tulia Ocampo – Being a politician in Colombia
Bibliography: see the attached file
Videos: Animal Farm movie, Animal Farm Synopsis, Lord of the Flies
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?
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The Unit uses the Student Council election process within the CCB school to form the basis of LOI 3 and to make other
connections to the inquiry as a whole.
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A teacher with experience of living within a Communist block will be interviwed by the S’s as an expert.
Created: 18/09/12
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?
Accepting responsibility (Dance): Los estudiantes asumen diferentes responsabilidades durante el
desarrollo de esperiencias dancisticas de caracter grupal.
COMMUNICATION
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Presenting (V. Arts) Visual Arts: Students design a poster for a political campaign.
RESEARCH
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Planificar, registrar y presentar (L1): Los estudiantes en grupos deben organizar los datos de una
investigación de manera organizada y luego presentarla a toda la clase. Al finalizar se sacarán las
conclusiones de lo observado.
SELF-MANAGEMENT
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Oranizacion de un evento atletico (Actividades Individuales/Educacion Fisica): Los alumnos se
organizaran por grupos para realizar un evento atletico, donde desarrollaran una prueba atletica
asignada, mostrando pleno conocimiento de la prueba, la aplicaciobn del reglamento y entregaran un
informe escrito de los resultados obtenidos en el evento. Ellos deben hacer la parte de organizadores y
ejecutores de la prueba.
Attributes:
Thinker: S’s have the opportunity to think about and imagine what life must have been like for millions who live
under communist rule
Principled: S’s have the chance to vote for who they want in various elections, showing their principles through
their choices.
Attitudes:
Commitment and Integrity: S’s will be observed on how much effort and commitment they show towards their
studies throughout the unit. The various votes that they have to make will also indicate the S’s integrity against
outside influence.
Latest Revision: 16/10/12
Printed:
6. To what extend 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 teacher involved in the
planning and teaching of the inquiry should be included.
What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:
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develop an understanding of the concepts identified in “What do we want to learn?”
Power
The students showed good understanding of the central idea. They could
discuss dirrefernt political systems, analise their advantages and disadvantages,
compare different ways to organize and govern society. They realized the
countires in the world rarely have one clear form of political system, they would
rather have a combination of two or several.
The students watched Animal Farm (George Orwell) and they reflected on different styles of
leaderdship and the way people react to these styles.
Students read articles about different political systems and they shared information about the
distribution of power and the responsibility attached to having power.
S’s listen and discuss a real-life account of someone who lived in a Soviet Russian communist
society.
Systems
The students discovered the functions of the different parts of the cell and why they are a
fundamental part of the system by which we survive. Students analised different viruses and
identified how viruses attack and destroy the cell system.
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 idea.
The assesment was changed this year, the students were to think of a
school scenario as opposed to the national scenario, which the
students found easier to grasp. The assessment was accurate and
showed the student´s understanding. Next year we could give them
more time, and we should be more specific in the level of detail
regarding the criteria.
Organisation
Students were working in different groups experiencing how the different political systems work
and are organized. They reflected on anarchy, where there is no organisation.
Participation
S’s take part in various elections during the unit, including Student Council, Transdisciplinary
Theme, and House Captains.
Student reflected on the above experience and realized the importance of their participation
within the democratic system as the candidate and the voter.
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What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and
the transdisciplinary theme?
The students understood that all political systems have a purpose and a
structure. They also realized it is important to have knowledge about the topic as
they will need it when they are grown ups and will have to take decisions as the
citizens of Colombia. Students made the conclusion that in regards to Karl
Marx´s ideology he was trying to implement a perfect world, though this was
never possible as humans are not perfect. With this conclusion in mind they
realized no political system are perfect, though some are better than others in
practice.
Created: 18/09/12
demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?
Accepting responsibility (Dance): Los estudiantes lograron asumir diferentes responsabilidades durante
el desarrollo de esperiencias dancisticas de caracter grupal donde cada ejercicio fue el resultado de un
liderazgo compartido. contruyeron multiples ideas encuanto a patrones y secuencias d e movimiento.
Planificar, registrar y presentar (L1): Los estudiantes en grupos deben organizar los datos de una
investigación de manera organizada y luego presentarla a toda la clase. Al finalizar se sacarán las
conclusiones de lo observado.
Oranizacion de un evento atletico (Actividades Individuales/Educacion Fisica): Los alumnos se
organizaran por grupos para realizar un evento atletico, donde desarrollaran una prueba atletica asignada,
mostrando pleno conocimiento de la prueba, la aplicaciobn del reglamento y entregaran un informe escrito de
los resultados obtenidos en el evento. Ellos deben hacer la parte de organizadores y ejecutores de la prueba.
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develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?
During the entire unit we had a lot of opportunities to reflect on being principled and the necessity for
integrity when you participate in the political system. We reflected on being a thinker when you take a
decision to vote. Emphasis was placed on the importance to think carefully on who you vote for and to not
allow any outside influence to affect your final decision. Students reflected on the commitment as a
necessary attitude for a Student Representative who would have to carry out different functions in his role.
Latest Revision: 16/10/12
Printed:
8. What student-initiated inquiries arose from the learning?
Record a range of student-initiated inquiries and student questions and highlight
any that were incorporated into the teaching and learning.
After students got to know the princilpes of communism they wanted to know why
communism is not a political system in Colombia and why people historically wanted to
escape communism.
Why was I told that China was not a communist country when I visited it, when it still is?
Why do people still try to implement communism if it does not really work?
9. Teacher notes
In general we thought that this unit was better than previous units, mainly
down to the fact that we had more time to go into more depth which resulted
in engaged students.
Learning experiences were more focused which resulted in more
understanding on the students’ part. A major difference and success was the
experiences being slightly more teacher-led which in turn led to more open
discussions, opinion forming and deeper connections both to the content and
concepts of the unit.
Why do people want to escape communism in Cuba?
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.
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What are the best political systems?
Does our role change depending on the political system in which we
participate?
Can ideologies be followed taking into account our differences as
human beings?
Provocation:
Students will participate in the Exhibition Transdisciplinary Theme elections on the first
day of the unit. They will then discuss afterwards their role, vote, reasons for choosing
their elected theme, feelings towards the result (was it the result that they wanted?).
The assembly was a successful action which went well and where primary
section learnt from – it stemmed directly from the unit. The drawback to this
was that the preparation time required for the assembly which didn’t allow us
to cover all the learning experiences that we had initially planned.
Having had a lot of interruptions (Assembly, Intercasas, Parent´s Academic
Day, San Francis Day, etc.) there wasn’t enough time to allow for a field trip.
There could have been more hands-on learning incorporated into the
experiences as well.
Next year a further step could also include an investigation into different
countries’ political systems once the main concepts and knowledge have
been established.
More time could be spent on discussing theocracy and dictatorship.
What student–initiated actions arose from the learning?
Students prepared an Assembly for the Primary Section. They were
teaching other studnets about the importance of voting for the right
reasons and the problems in the past, for example corruption (giving
out stickers, sweets), negative influence (peer pressure), non realistic
campaigns, lazy representatives. The assembly was held a day before
the Student Council elections.
Students reflected on the past years´Student Councils and they
created a report for Orfa to indicate things to be improved in this
year´s Student Council and in the future.
Created: 18/09/12
It was a very good decision to change the order to make this unit as #1 – it
worked with all of the different elections and that we are organizing ourselves
at the beginning of the year. It needs to stay as unit 1 for next year.
Religión: La habilidad asignada al inicio de la unidad no la pude realizer porque se perdieron
muchas clases con los estudiantes por diferentes situaciones tales, reunión con padres, ensayo
de izada de bandera y reunión de los estudiantes con Caludia Fayad. Con una sola hora de
trabajo es muy complicado cumplir con todos los pasos que requiere enseñar una hablidad.
Arte: En esta primera unidad estaba planeada una habilidad de artes
visuales para desarrollar; sin embargo el profesor de planta, Cesar Barrero,
se accidento y se encuentra fuera del colegio. Mientras se ubico su
reemplazo y se hizo el empalme no fue posible cumplir con lo programado.
Latest Revision: 16/10/12
Printed: