overview of the 1st unit of inquiry–a note for parents

Unit Title: School is Cool
Trans-disciplinary Theme: How we organise ourselves
(An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organisations; societal decision-making)
Central Idea: ‘Our school is a community of people working together’
Lines of Inquiry:
* The organisation of our school
* The jobs people have in our school
* How we work together in our school
Sample questions which will drive these inquiries:
* Where can we find the library in our school?
* What do people in our school do?
* How do we all work together?
Sample activities:
* discover who works in our school and what their job entails
* make observations and record what goes on in different parts of the school
* discuss ‘what might happen if’ someone was not there to do their job
Duration of unit: 7 weeks
Summative Assessments:
* use new knowledge of the layout of the school to locate people and places
* identify staff members and explain what is their responsibility in the school
* demonstrate an understanding of the importance of working co-operatively within the classroom environment
Trans-disciplinary skills to be emphasised:
Social skills will include adopting a variety of group roles
Research skills will involve collecting data and formulating questions
Thinking skills will involve the acquisition of knowledge
Communication skills will involve listening to information and taking notes
Self-management skills will involve planning and carrying out activities effectively
Elements of student profile/attitudes to be emphasised:
Inquiring, becoming more knowledgeable, being caring and developing independence.
Examples of cross-curricular links:
Collect and display data as pictograms and bar charts; note-taking and letter-writing