PYP Unit of Inquiry at a glance

CENTRAL THEME

One sentence that expresses concisely an enduring understanding and connects students to the connected Transdisciplinary Theme or at least one of its aspects. Strong central statements:

• Are written in one sentence
• Challenge and extend students' prior knowledge
• Are globally significant and have relevance to students in all cultures and contexts
• Can lead to a summative assessment
• Can include unfamiliar words that students need to unpack

What are the responsibilities connected to each element?

TRANSDISCIPLINARY THEME

Organizing the curriculum around the six trandisciplinary themes contextualizes the learning for students and enables them to experience a balance of subject-specific knowledge. Each is accompanied by a description (in italics) that explains what students will be inquiring into under the theme. All aspects of the descriptions should be epxlored at some point in the POI (i.e. by the end of grade 5).

What are the responsibilities associated with each element?

LINES OF INQUIRY

The purpose of the lines of inquiry is to clarify and develop understanding of the central idea. Each unit of inquiry will contain three or four lines of inquiry. Strong lines of inquiry:

• Are written as statements or phrases, not questions
• Define the scope of the inquiry
• help focus student research
• provide opportunities for students to develop understandings through multiple perspectives

What are the responsibilities connected to each element?

CONCEPTS

All learning and teaching is through concept-based inquiry.All 8 key concepts must be represented on the POI at each grade level. No more than 3 key concepts should be selected in any one UOI.