Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose?

To inquire into the following:

transdisciplinary theme

Self-management Skills

Class/grade: Grade 2-5

Age group: 7-11

School: Domuschola International School

School code:

Title: Swimming and Water Safety

PYP planner

Teacher(s): Brenn Bavia

central idea

Learning of survival skills and stroke techniques lead to safe participation in the
aquatic environment.

Date: Month of March to April

Proposed duration: 6 hours

over number of weeks: 4 weeks

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?
Goal: Students will be able to perform floating, basic swimming strokes, and
water safety
Role: Students will be responsible swimmers
Audience: Teachers, Coaches and Students across 7-12 years of age
Scenario: Students will participate on different aquatic events and perform
different stroke techniques that they will use and compete for the Interclass
House Games.
Product: Students will have a chance to compete on a friendly swimming
competition across different schools.

2. What do we want to learn?

What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection,
perspective, responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry?
Focus Key Concepts: Form / Responsibility / Causation
Related Concepts: Survival, Pattern, Well-being, Balance
What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?

Aquatic Survival Skills

Stroke Development
Water safety in various aquatic environment

What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

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What are the pool rules and why are they important? (Form)
What do I need in order to stay afloat in the pool? (Form)
Why do we breathe out underwater? (Causation)
Why is it important to learn to swim? (Causation)
How can you move around the pool safely? (Responsibility)
How do we organize ourselves in the changing rooms so we are
ready to start swimming quickly? (Responsibility)

Planning the inquiry

3. How might we know what we have learned?

4. How best might we learn?

This column should be used in conjunction with 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?

What are the possible ways of assessing students prior knowledge and skills?
What evidence will we look for?
Prior knowledge and Observations on students on how they participate and
perform safety entering/exiting pool area. (Self management)
Self-reflection and students developing skills. (See Spreadsheet)
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the
lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look for?
Students will be assessed through observations based on how they apply the
different skills and knowledge taught. They will also be asked to have written
reflections sharing their application of skills and knowledge taught.

Getting Started:
-Different ways of entering the pool ranging from sliding into the water to straddle entry and
diving depending on the situation in the water
-Floating to improve buoyancy
-Moving up and down underwater swimming to encourage students to breathe bubbles and
exhale under water (bubbles)
Lesson Proper
-Activities which include legs only work with floats and noodles. Simulation of arm and leg
action on the pool side
-One arm and catch up work (for more advanced). Full stroke technique concentrating on
breathing
-Follow progression of skills lessons.

What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the
development of the attributes of the learner profile?
Thinking Skills: Students will know about different aquatic survival skills and be able to apply
them.
Self-Management Skills: Students will work on different gross motor skills during this unit while
doing different activities each class

B. Learner Profile
Risk takers Facing the unknown in deep water and unfamiliar territory
Reflective Looking at their own stroke and that of others and giving feedback
Caring Making sure everyone is happy and looking after others who are not quite so confident
in the water
Inquirers children and exploring and developing their natural curiosity in the water they will
experiment as to the best way to float, how to swim underwater etc

5. What resources need to be gathered?

What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
Olympic size Swimming Pool and Swimming Equipments
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?
By demonstrating proper execution of skills, safety and self-management. Links will be made between good practice in the school pool and then safe practices when by
the river and beaches etc.

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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

understanding of the central idea. The reflections of all teachers involved in the
planning and teaching of the inquiry should be included.

What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:

Swimming is a fitness activity that requires teacher led activities to a higher

degree than other activities which can be more student led. Creating a mindmap on water-safety will be effective to bridge their knowledge and skills on the
learning outcome and facilitating an event for a class as their summative
assessment will be effective.

Concepts: the concepts form, responsibility, and causation were constantly used
throughout the discussions and swimming activities we had in class. Knowing what it is like in a
pool, floating and stroking made the students realized that they need to have techniques in
order for them to stay afloat in the water. The students also thought of their responsibility to
always stay safe in an aquatic environment. As they progressed to higher level skills in
swimming, they were able to realize the reasons why they need to do something that their
teacher tell them to do.

Active living, Interactions and Identity is obviously having strong links on this unit.
Compare to other physical activities like team sports, swimming unit inquires selfmanagement into a different settings wherein the students promote active fitness.

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.

Evidence excel spreadsheet detailing self-management skills

learnt.

Anecdotal notes referencing areas of strength and areas of

improvement

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

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develop an understanding of the concepts identified in What do we want to

learn?

demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?

Thinking Skills: Acquisition of knowledge and application

The students worked hard and were constantly challenged to remember and
apply the survival, safety and stroking skills that were taught to them.
Self-Management Skills
The students were required to work on a variety of gross motor skills during
many of the activities that we did in class. They were engaged in all sorts of
gross motor activities and had to manage themselves in the space available to
them.

develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?

In each case, explain your selection.

1.

Risk takers The students develop this profile when they were able to
conquer their own fear in water and apply some more difficult swimming
skills.

2.

Reflective The students were constantly giving feedback to each other

in terms of their swimming and observance of safety.

3.

Caring Student made sure everyone is happy and looking after others
who are not quite so confident in the water. Children swam out to give
those children who were tired a kickboard or swum back with them.

4.

Inquirers Students explored and developed their natural curiosity in

the water they experimented as to the best way to float, how to swim
underwater etc.

Reflecting on the inquiry

8. What student-initiated inquiries arose from the learning?

Record a range of student-initiated inquiries and student questions and highlight any
that were incorporated into the teaching and learning.

How can I improve my swimming?

How to do proper breathing?

How to do the butterfly stroke?

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.

Being responsible by preparing their equipment earlier on time.

Self-regulation during activities.

Helping their classmates on how to float, front crawl and keeping their
buddies away from unwanted accidents.

International Baccalaureate Organization 2007

9. Teacher notes