WIS MYP unit planner

Unit title
/
Scientific Method
Teacher(s) / Erik Bullock
Subject and grade level / Science MYP1 (Scientific Method)
Time frame and duration / 1st Trimester (6 weeks)
Stage 1: Integrate significant concept, area of interaction and unit question
Area of interaction focus
Which area of interaction will be our focus?
Why have we chosen this? / /
Significant concept(s)
What are the big ideas? What do we want our students to retain for years into the future?
Approaches to Learning / The process of how to solve a problem
MYP unit question
How do you find evidence to answer a question?
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?
Students will create a poster and present their favourite scientific investigation done in class. The requirements will be laid out in a rubric, the scientific method and all of its components must be discussed.
Which specific MYP objectives will be addressed during this unit?
-Students will demonstrate understanding of basic scientific language by using appropriate scientific terminology, units of measurement and symbolic representation.
-Provides scientific information using appropriate modes of communication: oral, written, visual representation formulae, graphs, tables, diagrams) with guidance.
-recognized, with guidance, the problem or research question to be tested by a scientific investigation
-identify, with guidance, the factors that can be measured in an investigation (dependent variables), the factors that can be manipulated (independent variables) and those that must remain constant (control variables), identify some of the materials/equipment needed; describe a simple method
Which MYP assessment criteria will be used?
-B (Communication in Science) D (Scientific Inquiry)
Stage 2: Backward planning: from the assessment to the learning activities through inquiry
ContentWhat 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?
-study of the steps of the scientific method and basic laboratory procedures
-writing the aim, hypothesis, variables of laboratory activities
-observing, recording and analysing data
-measuring mass, volume, temperature, distance and time
-graphing skills
Approaches to learning
How will this unit contribute to the overall development of subject-specific and general approaches to learning skills?
Organization (self management- student will set a goal at the beginning of the unit)
Collaboration (students will work together in groups)
Communication (students will present their favorite scientific investigation to the class)
Learning experiencesHow 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? / Teaching strategiesHow 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?
-Students will be given a rubric for their poster/presentation
-Student will participate in several different labs where they have to identify the variables (mentos and coke, paper rockets, Barbie bungee, egg drop, paper air planes)
-Students will practice using laboratory equipment and the metric system (balances, glassware, rulers, microscopes)
-Students will practice making charts/graphs using data (paper ball fight, favorite color etc.)
-Students will have a test to check their understanding of the terms associated with the scientific method.
-Prior knowledge will be determined from brainstorming activities at the beginning of each lesson. / -Students will have daily warm up activities to validate understanding of main concepts (formative assessment)
-Students will complete several laboratory activities (use of hands-on/minds-on activities) (formative assessment)
-Students will work together as a group (cooperative groups)
-Students will practice research skills to gather information for their introduction (acquiring knowledge on their own)
-Struggling students will be given more one on one help and more time will be given to students to complete tasks (differentiating)
-ESL students may use translators when needed
-ESL students' work will be graded on content not language and grammar
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?
-classroom
-lab equipment
-internet
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.
1. Students and teachersWhat 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?
2. 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?
1.  Students did not know the terms associated with the scientific method at the beginning of the lesson. We had to spend a lot more time at the beginning going over simple terminology and units of measure. The students did know how to convert within the metric system. I tried to have the students determine the scientific investigation done in class. We would brain storm ideas and I would find possible experiments to do; for example, students were fascinated with rockets so we did the paper rocket lab. We reflected at the end of the unit and students really enjoyed all of the scientific investigation done in class. I think that next time I need to be a little more organized and only have one objective for each lab. I tried to do too much at once and ended up confusing the students at first.
The following learner profile attributes were encouraged: inquirers, communicators, and risk takers. The students had to come up with how to carry out several experiments. Some of the students had to go out of the comfort zone to complete the experiments, and they had to present their information to the class.
2.  More communication needs to be addressed for next year. I did make the connection between the metric system and mathematics. I feel a more direct connection could be addressed.
Assessment
A majority of the students were able to demonstrate their learning of the scientific method; however, a few students struggled. I spent extra time with the struggling students to make sure that they understood the concepts at hand. I feel that if I was more organized next year and only introduce small chunks of information the students will be more successful.

Figure 12

MYP unit planner