Download unit planner - Iredell

MYP unit planner
Unit Title
Take your Last Breath
Teacher(s)
Ed Huffman; Northview School;
Subject and grade level
Earth/Environmental Design Cycle Level 4 - Unit 2
Time frame and duration
Nov. 2010
Statesville, NC
~ 5 weeks
Stage 1: Integrate significant concept, area of interaction and unit
question
Area of interaction focus
Significant concept(s)
Which area of interaction will be our focus?
Why have we chosen this?
What are the big ideas? What do we want our
students to retain for years into the future?
Health & Social
What you’re made of is important
Aims to help students understand &
appreciate the changes undergoing Earth’s
atmosphere and the affects these changes
may be having on human health.
MYP Unit Question
“How is “global warming” really going to affect me?”
Assessment
What task(s) will allow students the opportunity to respond to the unit question?
What will constitute acceptable evidence of understanding? How will students show what they have understood?
Writing:
A researched-based reflection on the role of science in society as it affects the natural resource of our
atmosphere. This assignment will be 700-1000 words with site references of a minimum of 3-5 resources
and a minimum of 2 print resources. The assessment should address the impact of science upon our
atmosphere from the standpoint of social, economical, political, cultural, ethical and most certainly
environmental, to name a few.
Which specific MYP objectives will be addressed during this unit?
A – One world
 Describe & discuss ways in which science is applied and used to solve local & global problems
B – Communication in science
 Present scientific information in a variety of formats
 Demonstrate honesty when handling data and information
C – Knowledge & understanding of science
 Explain & apply scientific information to solve problems in familiar & unfamiliar situations
D – Scientific Inquiry
 Define the problem or research question to be tested by a scientific investigation
 Formulate a hypothesis & explain it using logical scientific reasoning
 Design scientific investigations that include variables & control, material/equipment needed, a
method to be followed, data to be collected and suggestions for its analysis
 Evaluate the method, commenting on its reliability and/or validity
 Suggest improvements to the method
E – Processing data

Organize & transform data into numerical & diagrammatic forms, including mathematical
calculations and visual representations (tables, graphs & charts)

Draw conclusions supported by scientific explanations and a reasoned interpretation of the
analysis of the data
F – Attitudes in science

Carry out scientific investigations using materials & techniques safely & skilfully

Work effectively as a team, collaborating, acknowledging & supporting others as well as
ensuring a safe working environment

Show respect for themselves and others; deal responsibly with living & non-living
environment
Technology
A. Investigate

Identify the problem to be solved

Develop the design brief

Formulate a design specification
B. Plan

Design the Product or Solution

Plan the Product or Solution
C. Create

Use the appropriate techniques and equipment

Follow the plan

Create the solution
D. Evaluate

Evaluate the product or solution

Evaluate the use of the design cycle
 Which MYP assessment criteria will be used?
Criteria B Communication in science
Technology A-F
Stage 2: Backward planning: from the assessment to the learning
activities through inquiry
Content
What knowledge and/or skills (from the course overview) are going to be used to enable the student to respond to the unit
question?
What (if any) state, provincial, district, or local standards/skills are to be addressed? How can they be unpacked to develop the
significant concept(s) for stage 1?
Students will develop an understanding of the science concepts of energy (heat convection and effects of
atmospheric heating and climate change), structure of matter (changes of state; gas properties;
atmospheric phenomena) and the concept of change (atmospheric changes and heat/water cycles).
Conceptual as well as procedural knowledge will be required in this unit as it relates to earth &
environmental science. Students will use reflection, communicating, evaluating, information-processing,
inferring, inquiring, classifying, collaboration and processes skills to name a few.
Competency Goal 5: The learner will build an understanding of the dynamics and composition of
the atmosphere and its local and global processes influencing climate and air quality.
5.01 Analyze air masses and the life cycle of weather systems
5.02 Evaluate meteorological observing, analysis, and prediction
5.03 Analyze global atmospheric changes including changes in CO2, CH4, and stratospheric O3 and the
consequences of these changes:+
Technology Goals:
3.01 Use scientific instruments to perform experiments.
3.02 Use appropriate technology tools to efficiently collect, analyze, and display data.
3.03 Use electronic resources for research.
3.04 Use spreadsheets and/or databases to collect, record, analyze, and present data.
3.05 Select and use technology tools for class presentations.
3.06 Adhere to Fair Use and Multimedia Copyright Guidelines, citing sources of copyrighted materials in papers, projects,
and multimedia presentations.
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS: Students will do a research project consisting of a power point presentation.
Their goal is to explore the global changes in the Earth’s atmosphere due to greenhouse gases and ozone
depletion. They will understand why certain continental areas are experience more drastic and dangerous
changes and the additional, worldwide environmental implications these localized changes may bring.
Technology assessed here.
Approaches to learning
How will this unit contribute to the overall development of subject-specific and general approaches to learning skills?
. Since students will be working together as project partners, collaboration skills will be stressed. They
will have an opportunity to work on their communication skills as they work in different media to present
their research which will require information-processing & organizational skills. Analysing and
interpretation skills will be used to study and explore weather maps and knowledge-acquisition skill
necessary to form concepts and understanding of scientific principles and ideas. Reflection is always
an ATL skill used within the unit.
Learning experiences
How will students know what is expected of them? Will
they see examples, rubrics, templates?
How will students acquire the knowledge and practise
the skills required? How will they practise applying
these?
Do the students have enough prior knowledge? How will
we know?
Rubrics will be provided on assessments along
Teaching strategies
How will we use formative assessment to give students feedback
during the unit?
What different teaching methodologies will we employ?
How are we differentiating teaching and learning for all? How have
we made provision for those learning in a language other than their
mother tongue? How have we considered those with special
educational needs?
CFA: Common Formative Assessments throughout unit
with examples and teacher models. Student
exemplars will be used when available.
Powerpoints, practicing with familiar &
unfamiliar situations; Students will apply
knowledge choosing investigation project and
participating in labs. Vocabulary games,
concept mapping, work sheets & study guides,
non-linguistic drawings/interpretations and other
such high yield strategies will be incorporated to
facilitate learning.
Student’s prior knowledge will be assessed via
baseline/benchmarks.
will monitor strategies for learning
Cooperative Learning - students lab partners will work
together during experiments/inquiry and together will
analyze & evaluate results; students will collaborate on
internationalism as well as their research based
international project.
Students will keep process journals throughout the
cycle.
Research projects and presentations - refer to
International Focus discussed under Stage 2 “Content”.
Traditional assessments throughout unit such as tests,
oral quizzes, exams, etc.
Use of media articles and current events (newspapers,
periodicals, etc) to show relevancy.
No special educational needs are required with this unit
or for my students. Differentiation strategies will be
used in order to satisfy learning styles among students.
Resources
What resources are available to us?
How will our classroom environment, local environment and/or the community be used to facilitate students’ experiences during
the unit?
Powerpoint technology examples and presentations will be utilized. Teacher demonstrations and modelling
will be used along with cooperative learning as student teams conduct inquiry investigations during labs..
Everyday examples from day-to-day life will be explored/exemplified.
Textbook available. Computers and internet suitable websites will be used. Discovery education videos
used; media articles/periodicals/newspapers/current events as well.
Weatherbug and local TV weather stations will be monitored as we explore weather concepts.
Ongoing reflections and evaluation
In keeping an ongoing record, consider the following questions. There are further
stimulus questions at the end of the “Planning for teaching and learning” section of
MYP: From principles into practice.
Students and teachers
What did we find compelling? Were our disciplinary knowledge/skills challenged in any way?
What inquiries arose during the learning? What, if any, extension activities arose?
How did we reflect—both on the unit and on our own learning?
Which attributes of the learner profile were encouraged through this unit? What opportunities were there for student-initiated
action?
Possible connections
How successful was the collaboration with other teachers within my subject group and from other subject groups?
What interdisciplinary understandings were or could be forged through collaboration with other subjects?
Assessment
Were students able to demonstrate their learning?
How did the assessment tasks allow students to demonstrate the learning objectives identified for this unit? How did I make
sure students were invited to achieve at all levels of the criteria descriptors?
Are we prepared for the next stage?
Data collection
How did we decide on the data to collect? Was it useful?
Figure 12
MYP unit planner