1. What is our purpose? 2. What do we want to learn?

Key Concepts:
To inquire into the following: What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective,
responsibility and reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry?
Transdisciplinary theme
Connection: How is it connected to other things?
Who We Are Perspective: What are the points of view?
An inquiry into the nature of the self, beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental,
social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, Learner Profile: Open-minded and Knowledgeable
and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human. Attitudes: Curiosity and Appreciation

Central idea Approaches to Learning: Collecting. Organisation. Recording. Interpreting.

Cultures share core values and beliefs
which can foster connection.
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?
The Important Book - Suz to send on PPT (Provocation)
The important thing about culture is...
Students create their own Important Book about culture
Related Concepts:
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?
An Inquiry into:
Assumptions, stereotypes and generalisations (Perspective)
The complexity of culture and community (Perspective)
Similarities and differences between cultures (Connection)
Indigenous Australians sense of the interconnectedness of country/place,
people, culture and identity
What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
What is culture? (Connection)
What are similarities and differences between cultures?(Perspective)
What stereotypes or assumptions are there about your culture? (Perspective)
How do you make a connection to your own cultural background? (Connection)
How do cultures share similar values and beliefs? (Perspective)

Maths Links:
Statistics and probability: Graphing - Graphing cultures in our classroom/year
Percentage of parents/children born overseas
Fraction and decimals; What fraction/percentage is a certain culture

English Links:
Description texts about students own culture
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?
I used to know and now I think.
Lotus Diagram on Culture
Wonder wall
Chalk talk with teacher questions - A3 size (one question per
page).
Class discussions to determine prior understandings.
Students bring in artefacts from home showing their prior
interests/knowledge about cultures.
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context
of the lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look for?
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?
Class Experts:
4A - Indian Culture
4B - Aboriginal Culture
4C - Greek Culture
4D - Saudi Arabia
4E - Chinese Culture
Week 1/2: Connection (Make it relevant)
Circle time - share and learn (kids bring in item and discuss) - Check Georgie email
Unpack the central idea
Chalk Talk/Carousel task - review teacher questions so each student can answer.
Provocation - Cultural X-Ray (Complete at the start and the end of the unit).
What is Culture? Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KW6RO8Rcs
Exploring Cultures task - Give each student an information page on Australia. Use highlighters to find
adjectives about Australia - One colour for something that describes them personally. One colour that
has nothing to do with them.
Show the IB PYP statement for the TD theme and discuss how it is relevant to the current unit.
Previous units brain/our learning (year 3), healthy bodies (year 2), feelings (year 1), friends
(foundation)
Week 3: Invitation and Tension (What they need to know)
Introduce Class Experts
Important Book Provocation - Introduce summative assessment
Cultural X-ray
Culture is... postcard as a working document defining what culture (is as a metaphor)
Stereotypes lesson - start a stereotype wall...Chat about what a stereotype is...class definition of what
a stereotype is?
jeffreyhill.typepad.com/english/files/Stereotypes.ppt
Padlet - who are you
Culture Quiz on Kahootz
Week 4: Invitation and Tension (What they need to know)
Introduce Cultural Iceberg - Above the surface (face value) - Introduce classroom culture focus
Stereotype/generalisations of chosen culture
Elements of a cultural iceberg
Dress, language, food, music, festivals (visible)
 Beliefs, communication style, values, handling emotions, norms - dos/donts, stereotypes of that
culture (non-visible).
Mirror - Jenny Baker
Im Australian Too - Mem Fox
Week 5: Invitation and Tension (What they need to know)

Mystery Skype
Class Expert - Jigsaw - students bring in an a artefact (something that theyve gathered to show their
understanding of their class culture focus).

Week 6: Summative Assessment - Important Book
WORK ON SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT - Important Book

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

5. What resources need to be gathered?

What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
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 What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:
understanding of the central idea. The reflections of all teachers involved in the Develop an understanding of the concepts identified in What do we want to learn?
planning and teaching of the inquiry should be included. Demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?
Develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?
This unit would have been improved if we spent less time discussing types of
conflict and had more of a focus on peace and conflict resolution. Once we
have discussed the different types of conflict and made it explicit that we are
not focusing on war, we then need to focus on how we can take steps to
resolve conflict.

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?

What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea
and the transdisciplinary theme?

During discussion after the bridge building, children did bring up the inequity of
resources as being a factor in how well or poorly they worked as a team and
they made connections between the activity and the wider world. Our
provocation video elicited full discussion but a reflection was written individually
too. Children compared the issues presented in this to issues they were facing
in friendship groups and in their life. They also related this video to lack of
resources.
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.

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.
REPORT COMMENT Sharing the Planet
Low
Throughout our investigation of Sharing the Planet {Name} has started to demonstrate more respect for others and exhibited appropriate behaviour for
maintaining friendships. {He/She} is developing the skills to support {his/her} peers by sharing ideas, materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate
feedback and acknowledging individual differences. {Name} is working with others to reduce, avoid and resolve conflict on a more regular basis. With
support {Name} developed a conflict resolution strategy on(insert topic here).

Medium
Throughout our investigation of Sharing the Planet {Name} has demonstrated respect for others and exhibited appropriate behaviour for maintaining
friendships. {He/She} supported {his/her} peers by sharing ideas, materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate feedback and acknowledging
individual differences. {Name} worked with others to reduce, avoid and resolve conflict. This was particularly evident in {his/her} conflict resolution
strategy on(insert topic here) which involved(insert comment here)

High
Throughout our investigation of Sharing the Planet {Name} regularly demonstrated respect for others and exhibited appropriate behaviour for maintaining
friendships at all times. {He/She} supported {his/her} peers by sharing ideas, materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate feedback and
acknowledging individual differences. {Name} worked effectively with others to reduce, avoid and resolve conflict. This was particularly evident in {his/her}
detailed conflict resolution strategy on(insert topic here). {Name} incorporated this strategy in their everyday life and applied other strategies learnt
throughout this unit.

WHO WE ARE: CULTURE

Low
During our inquiry into Culture, {Name} investigated different aspects of Australian society and explored some of the different cultural groups
including their food, festivals, core values and beliefs, and with support began to see the connections between cultures. {He/She} was able to
describe some of the roles and purposes of groups in our community. During Education Week, {Name} further developed {his/her} understanding
of (insert culture here e.g. Greek Culture) by inquiring into how a specific technology evolved.

Medium
During our inquiry into Culture, {Name} investigated different aspects of Australian society and explored some of the different cultural groups
including their food, festivals, core values and beliefs, and fostering connections between cultures. {He/She} was able to describe some of the
roles and purposes of groups in our community and inquired into the complexity of culture itself. During Education Week, {Name} further
developed {his/her} understanding of (insert culture here e.g. Greek Culture) by inquiring into how a specific technology evolved.
High
During our inquiry into Culture, {Name} investigated different aspects of Australian society and explored some of the different cultural groups
including their food, festivals, core values and beliefs, and fostering connections between cultures. {He/She} was able to describe some of the
roles and purposes of groups in our community and inquired into the complexity of culture itself. During Education Week, {Name} further
developed {his/her} understanding of (insert culture here e.g. Greek Culture) by inquiring into how a specific technology evolved.