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Class/grade:  4    Age group:     9-10 

School:   Wildwood School School code: 2068

Title: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

Teacher(s):  Wiedegreen, Melidis, Elipas

Date: September - October 2013

Proposed duration: number of hours 2 everyday over number of weeks 5.5

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Planning the inquiry
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1. What is our purpose?
To inquire into the following:

• Transdisciplinary theme: WHO WE ARE !

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• Central idea: When people understand their body systems they’re able to make
responsible choices for their personal health and well being.!

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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?

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-Using teacher checklist, students will be graded on specific contents of “body book” which
includes written evidence of responsible reactions to stressful situations

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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
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Planning the inquiry
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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?

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Related concepts: Responsibility, Function, Perspective, Connection

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What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea
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1. Understanding various systems of the human body
2. Choices fostering good physical health and emotional health
3. Strategies for improving or maintaining health
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What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?

1. What are some actions and behaviours that keep the body systems healthy? (responsibility)

2. How do healthy bodies promote healthy minds? (function)

3. What are some coping mechanisms for expressing anger? (perspective)

4. How does the international food pyramid compare to the U.S. food pyramid? (connection)

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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Planning the inquiry
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3. How might we know what we have learned?
This column should be used in conjunction with “How best might we learn?” (#4 Learning
experiences)

What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior knowledge and skills? What
evidence will we look for?

- Students will be given a blank body outline with a list of organs to place in the appropriate
position. Students will exchange and discuss.

- Students will participate in discussion about what makes a person healthy.

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What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines of
inquiry? What evidence will we look for?

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Formative assessments:

1. Teacher checklist for job, location and fun facts about the human body and its systems.

2. Using the current school lunch menu, students will make healthier substitutions and suggestions
during class/group discussion.

3. Students conduct interview with a family member or friend. Question topics include them about
food choices guide and their exercise habits. From the results of the interview and what they have
learned in the unit the students will decide if they think the person they interviewed lives an overall
healthy lifestyle and record their findings.

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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Planning the inquiry
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4. 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?

A. Frontloading:

1. Students will explore the classroom library on the body.

2. Students will view various body websites using the laptop computers.

3. School skeleton will be on display.

B. Leading/Facilitating students’ acts of inquiry:

1. Students bring in food labels, learn how to read them and then decide what foods are
healthy.
2. Students will draw an outline of two different bodies. They will draw and label healthy foods
in one and unhealthy foods in the other. Students will exchange with one another and
discuss.
3. “I messages” activity: Students are given various scenarios that trigger different emotions/
feelings. They analyze their emotions and respond by stating how each situation made them
feel.
4. After studying the research packet on the human body, students will complete a graphic
organizer identifying the job, location, and fun facts of various organs and organ systems,
which will be added to the “Body book” and portfolio
5. Students will again be given the blank body outline and asked to fill in correct placement of
organs. Students will reflect ton their learning.
6. “Be a Nutritionist” - Each group of students was given a “mystery person” card with a food journal and
health concerns. The students had to act as “nutritionists” and make a food pyramid and a food journal
(meal plan) which meets the needs of that individual mystery person. Finally, they had to identify
problems with the “mystery people” and offer suggestions/solutions to their health concerns.
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What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the development of the

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attributes of the learner profile?

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Skills: Self- management, Communication

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Learner Profile: Reflective, Balanced

The LP attribute of reflection was highlighted as students learned to get in touch with their
emotions. We also talked about being well balanced in body and mind. We discussed what it
means to respect themselves and others.

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Attitudes: Respect, Curiosity

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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
planning on the inquiry
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5. What resources need to be gathered?
What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc,
will be available?

Websites:
“Body books” classroom library
“Health teacher” project kit www.healthteacher.com
www.healthyfood.org Eat 5 a Day
www.ific.org International food information council
www.weird-food.com Teacher supervision only
www. Innerbody.com; www.enchangedlearning.com
Books: Macmillan/McGraw –Hill Science Grade 4 Chapter 4 Life Processes/Badal Science
Open Court Reading Series Unit 3 “From Mystery to Medicine”
Videos: Bill Nye The Science Guy: Skin, blood, and Circulation, The Magic School bus Videos, The Human Machine-Eyewitness

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Ariana’s Nutrition Expedition Resource-2008

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How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate
the inquiry?

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*Resources were displayed around the room. Books/skeleton/Nutrition Labels
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*Student made posters displayed around the room.

*School Lunch Menu displayed

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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Reflecting on the inquiry
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 REFLECTION
6. To what extent did we achieve our purpose?
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.

This unit was very relevant to the students because they are becoming more aware of keeping a healthy body
and mind and the relationship between the two through all of the activities we did.Each group is different every
year. I find that the improvements that I would make for the following year usually would work best with the
current class. While teaching the unit, all students were engaged and motivated. Students liked this unit a lot
because of how they can relate it to their lives. All students learned various things about their bodies and
minds and how to take care of them. The activity that students liked the most was keeping a 1 week food
journal and then using the iPads to graph the information they collected. We know this because we got a lot of
student feedback and they were all very involved in the process. I also added another activity this year that
was very engaging and promoted collaboration, problem solving, and higher order thinking. Each group of
students was given a “mystery person” card with a food journal and health concerns. The students had to act
as “nutritionists” and make a food pyramid and a food journal (meal plan) which meets the needs of that
individual mystery person. Finally, they had to identify problems with the “mystery people” and offer
suggestions/solutions to their health concerns. It was GREAT!

4th Grade PYP Physical Education Reflection

Physical Education Teacher: Maria Elipas
October, 2013

The physical education curriculum supported the 4

referenced assessment known as the FITNESSGRAM. This health related physical fitness assessment consisted of six
fitness areas: Aerobic Capacity, Abdominal Strength and Endurance, Trunk Extensor Strength and Flexibility, Upper& Lower
Body Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility. The students were introduced to each fitness assessment and explain why it is
used, how to perform each assessment and what it evaluates. From the results of the FITNESSGRAM assessment the
students developed a greater understanding of their bodies and how to keep them healthy through exercise and nutrition.!

How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have a more accurate
picture of each student’s understanding of the central idea.

* I would like to add a task in which the students are assigned a body part. They will keep a 3 day journal on
what that body part is thinking and feeling as the owner’s actions impact the well-being of that body organ/
system.
*I would like to continue with the group Food Guide Pyramid Activities in which they drew a Food Guide
Pyramid. The students learned a lot from this activity and from each other.
*Finally, next year I would like to do a challenge based learning activity with this unit. This year, even with
extending the unit a week, we simply didn’t have the time. The topic will be: “How Can We Make Our School a
Healthier Place”. They can chose where they want to go from there. Some ideas are....improving the lunch
menu, raising awareness about exercise, suggesting better gym activities and longer gym times or more per
week, trying to get the school to eat healthier, etc.

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

Central Idea: When people understand their body systems they’re able to make responsible choices
for their personal health and well being.

Theme: WHO WE ARE: Evidence of connection: As students learned more about their anatomy and
nutrition, they took more ownership of their health. Students were able to make a connection between not feeling well, ex.
Stomach ache to feeling guilty ex. Not doing homework. Many times when they did not feel well, we were able to figure out

! that the problem was not physical, but mental because something was bothering them.

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007 Reflecting on the inquiry

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7. To what extent did we include the elements of the PYP?
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What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:

• Develop an understanding of the concepts identified in “What do we want to learn?

CONCEPT 1: Function - body function and connection between body and mind.

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CONCEPT 2: Responsibility - students gained an understanding of how they have some responsibility for their health
and how to express emotions appropriately.

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CONCEPT 3: Perspective - Comparing nutrition from various countries allowed students to see other perspectives.

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*Develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?

Learner Profile: Reflection, Balanced

The LP attribute of reflection was highlighted as students learned to get in touch with emotions. We also talked about being
well balanced in body and mind.

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Attitudes: Respect, Curiosity

This unit allowed the opportunity to discuss what it means to respect themselves and others. It also allowed students to be
express their curiosity in an appropriate way.

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*Demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills?

Skills: Self-management, communication.

This unit ga’’’ve ample opportunity for students to reflect on and gain self-management and

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communication skills during discussions, reflections and final product presentations.

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This unit was very relevant to the students because they are becoming more aware of keeping a healthy
body and mind and the relationship between the two.
*I enjoyed teaching this unit because I felt that the students enjoyed it as well. They were all engaged and
eager to learn more about their health from their own prior knowledge to vocabulary never heard before.
They will be able to apply this new information to their lives on a daily basis.
*The students’ summaries were a very helpful guide to know what to spend more time on next year.
*Independence was shown by making their own food selections.

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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Reflecting on the inquiry
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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.

Student questions

1. Why are peanuts and beans considered part of the “Protein/Meat” group of the Food Guide Pyramid?

2. Is fat good for you? Don’t we need fat?

3. Do I have to exercise everyday to stay healthy?

4. What are some ways to exercise if you don’t go to a gym?

5. What is a metabolism? Is it different in boys and girls?

6. What is under our skin? What do we look like and how is everything all held together?

7. How much of our brains do we use and how does our brains send signals?

8. If our taste buds only taste sweet, salty, sour and bitter, how do we taste spicy foods?

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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?

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*Students were creating their own fitness tests as an extension of what they were doing in PE.
*Students used the “healthy snack” suggestions given to them to take home.
*A student tried to make one day out of the week “family activity day” where the family would do a
physical activity
*Students kept a 2-day food journal to monitor and try to improve their own eating habits.
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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007
Reflecting on the inquiry
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Teacher Notes:
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**Using the i-pads for the food journal activity was very meaningful to students. To make this activity even
better next year, I want to make sure the software/application is loaded onto ALL i-pads. I would also like
to extend the time period of the food journal from a 2-day period to a 5-day period.
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**The food journals for this year were printing off a document online, which was great. The journals were
a lot more organized and detailed. It was much easier for the students to record their habits and graph
their charts in the i-pads.
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**Next year, I would really like to have a larger selection of non-fiction books displayed in the classroom
and in the classroom library.
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**Next year, I would also like to have a dentist come in and speak about oral hygiene. I did it the year
before and the kids loved it. When a speaker comes in it is very engaging and meaningful to the students.
Maybe instead of a dentist, I can invite a pediatrician to come in. She would be able to talk about keeping
the mind and body healthy in a different way that I could.
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**Look up experiments for next year!!!
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**Finally, next year I would like to do a challenge based learning activity with this unit. This year, even with
extending the unit a week, we simply didn’t have the time. The topic will be: “How Can We Make Our
School a Healthier Place”. They can chose where they want to go from there. Some ideas are....improving
the lunch menu, raising awareness about exercise, suggesting better gym activities and longer gym times
or more per week, trying to get the school to eat healthier, etc.
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