Interdisciplinary unit planner

Teacher(s) Christian Durcan Subject groups Individuals and Societies

Louise Fung Greaves Mathematics

Unit title Warning: Hazard zone! MYP year 2 Unit duration 8 weeks (I&S), 6
weeks (Maths)

Inquiry: establishing the purpose of an interdisciplinary unit

Purpose of integration

Practical solution:

Students will combine their knowledge of 3D shapes and environmental hazards to design and model buildings that can withstand natural disasters.

Key concept(s)/(related concepts) Global context

Time, place and space (Management and intervention, Model, Space) Globalization and sustainability

Exploration: Managing the impact of environmental hazards

Statement of inquiry

Careful modelling and management of infrastructure and space is needed to protect places from environmental hazards.

Inquiry questions

Factual – How is the earth structured? What are plate tectonics? What is the surface area and volume of a 3D shape?
Conceptual – What are the different ways that societies can respond to natural hazards? How do disasters affect the identities of societies? How accurate do we have to be
when modelling space?
Debatable – Are wealthy countries safer from disasters?

Summative assessment—interdisciplinary performance(s) of understanding

Interdisciplinary criteria Task(s)

Interdisciplinary unit planner
 Criterion A: Disciplinary grounding Goal: To model, experience and evaluate the management and intervention strategies that
countries use to protect their places from environmental hazards.
● Demonstrate relevant disciplinary factual, conceptual and/or
procedural knowledge Role: You and your group members are government advisors on environmental hazards. You
will use your expertise and document your planning and proposed procedures to advise on
what countries can do to protect their citizens from potential environmental hazards.

Criterion B: Synthesizing Audience: You will document and gather your findings and evaluations in a presentation,
which will be discussed at a global forum hosted by the UN Hazards Committee.
● Synthesize disciplinary knowledge to demonstrate interdisciplinary
understanding Situation: Working in groups, students will be allocated a specific fictitious country (set in a
context of an LIC or HIC) to represent. Using the different resources allocated to their group,
which mimic real life resources that are available to LICs and HICs, students will need to
construct and design a building that can withstand different environmental hazards. The
Criterion C: Communicating volumes and shapes of the buildings that is created must fit a set of specified standards and
requirements, with calculations shown and the degrees of accuracies explained and justified.
● Use appropriate strategies to communicate interdisciplinary The management and intervention strategies must be selected with reason and evaluated
understanding effectively carefully.
● Document sources using recognized conventions
Product:

 A model-sized building that satisfies the specified volume and combination of 3D

Criterion D: Reflecting shapes.

● Reflect on the development of their own interdisciplinary
understanding
● Evaluate the benefits and limitations of disciplinary and
interdisciplinary knowledge and ways of knowing in specific
situations.
 A process journal on Microsoft Sway. This will be separated into three sections:
1) Planning and preparation – Students will need to demonstrate their
knowledge of the context of the place they have been given. They must
provide their reasoning behind how they have prioritized particular hazards,
how they have determined their management and intervention strategies, an
orthographic projection and a scaled drawing of the net of the building, and
also the building and volume calculations.

2) Description of the event – Using their models, students will mimic the
hazards. Students will video what happens then describe the impacts
generated from the natural hazards. They will then identify what effects these
had on their buildings.

3) Reflection and evaluation – Students will evaluate their chosen strategies and
think about whether they successfully worked and what they would do to

Interdisciplinary unit planner

 improve the protection of the building. Students will create solutions to
improve their buildings’ ability to survive a natural hazard. Furthermore, they
will consider how this will fit into a local area natural hazard management
approach to plan, protect and predict natural hazard impacts. Students will
then create a short questionnaire to find out another groups’ management
plan. Students will then evaluate their plan against another groups’.

Students will also evaluate their mathematical approach and think about their chosen
degree of accuracy in their calculations and consider the authenticity and impact of
these in their model and if they were to construct the building in real-life. In this
section, students will also be expected to analyse and reflect upon the
interdisciplinary learning process and how they have synthesized and developed their
ways of knowing to find a solution to this problem.

Standards: Student will work on the initial planning part and the construction of buildings
together in groups. The process journal and documentation will be completed individually.
This summative assessment will take place in one week of I&S and Maths lessons.

Approaches to learning (ATL)

Self-management: v. Reflection

In order for students to synthesize disciplinary knowledge to demonstrate interdisciplinary understanding, use appropriate strategies to communicate interdisciplinary
understanding effectively, document sources using recognized conventions, students must focus on the process of creating by imitating the work of others. In particular,
they will be using and applying their disciplinary knowledge of management and intervention strategies in their solution and thinking about how existing real-life buildings
are designed to withstand potential hazards.

Thinking: x. Transfer

In order for students to demonstrate relevant disciplinary factual, conceptual and/or procedural knowledge, reflect on the development of their own interdisciplinary
understanding and evaluate the benefits and limitations of disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge and ways of knowing in specific situations, students must make
connections between subject groups and disciplines. In this IDU, students will draw upon their knowledge from I&S and Mathematics to produce a solution that satisfy
specifications from their disciplinary learning. In their Mathematics lessons, students will consider designs and calculations of buildings that are referenced in their case
studies in I&S so students can experience the integration of their knowledge.

Interdisciplinary unit planner

Action: Teaching and learning through interdisciplinary inquiry
Disciplinary grounding
Subject: Individuals and Societies
MYP objective: A i, ii, D i, ii, iii, iv,
Related concepts: Management and intervention
Content
1) LO: To identify the types of hazards (e.g. terrestrial etc.)
Inquiry questions: Can we categorise hazards?
2) LO: To describe the distribution of Tropical storms and to identify the factors that
are needed for tropical storms to form
Inquiry question: Why are there tropical storms in the East of China but not in the
West?
3) LO: To outline the formation of tropical storms
Inquiry question: How are tropical storms formed? What is the eye of the storm?
4) LO: To research the impacts of tropical storms
Inquiry question: Are all impacts the same?
5) LO: To identify the different ways humans manage the impacts of tropical storms
Inquiry question: Can humans manage tropical storms?
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Subject: Mathematics
MYP objective: A i, ii, iii; D i, ii, iii, iv, v
Related concepts: Model, Space
Content
Review prior knowledge of area and measurement
 Review and apply understanding of area formulae for a rectangle, triangle,
parallelogram, trapezoid and circle
 Draw upon existing knowledge of area formulae to find the area of composite shapes
and regular polygons
 Review ratios and scale factors for scale drawings and measurements
3D shapes and their properties
 Review and classify 3D shapes such as a cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone, prism,
pyramid and sphere
 Recognise 3D shapes from orthographic projections
 Investigate transversal cross-sections of 3D shapes and identifying the associated
2D planar shapes, including oblique cross sections
 Recreate 3D shapes with curved surfaces by using revolutions of 2D shapes
 Recognising composite 3D shapes and draw their orthographic projections
 Identify where 3D shapes occur in real-life situations
Volume and surface area
 Review and apply understanding of the concept of volume, using cuboids
 6) LO: To research previous examples of tropical storms
Inquiry question: Can we learn lessons from previous tropical storms?
7) LO: To model how the earth is structured
Inquiry question: How does the earth’s structure impact natural hazards?
8) LO: To identify what plate tectonics are and how they move. To debate whether
convection current theory is correct.
Inquiry question: Why does the earth look like a broken jigsaw?
9) LO: To describe the different Plate boundaries
Inquiry question: Why is the summit of Mount Everest getting a little higher each year?
10) LO: To describe and explain the distribution of Earthquakes
Inquiry question: Why are there no Earthquakes in England?
11) LO: Causes of EQs
Inquiry question: Why did Mr Durcan use his pool table to decide whether to evacuate
his house?
12) Impacts
13) Management of EQ;s
14) Case study LIC vs HIC
C3 standards: D2.Eco.1.6-8. D2.Eco.2.6-8.
D2.Geo.12.6-8.
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 Recognise and use units of volumes in calculations
 Review and apply understanding of the concept of surface area
 Recognise and use units of surface area in calculations
Prisms and Cylinders
 Recognise and understand that prisms are 3D solids with a constant cross-sectional
area
 Identify and construct the net of prisms, including cylinders
 Calculate the surface area and volume of prisms, including cylinders
 Calculate the volume and surface area of compound solids
Cones, pyramids and spheres
 Identify and construct the nets of cones and pyramids
 Calculate the areas of sectors
 Calculate the surface area and volume of cones
 Calculate the surface area and volume of pyramids
 Calculate the volume and surface area of frustums
 Calculate the surface area and volume of spheres
Common Core State Standards: 7.G.3, 7.G.6, 8.G.9
CNC: Grade 6 Book 2 Ch1; Grade 7 Book 1 Ch1
MYP 2: Ch5; MYP 3: Ch4
 CNC 3 ii Sea and Land , Climate IV regional differences
Disciplinary learning engagements and teaching strategies
Why were the impacts so great during Typhoon Haiyan?
Students will investigate what happened during Typhoon Haiyan. Following a
mapping exercise they will apply their knowledge to identify the reasons for the
effects. Considering the human and natural causes and focusing on the economic,
social and environmental impacts of the storm. This will be presented within a news
report.
How can humans manage the impacts of a tropical storm?
Focusing on the related concept of management and intervention students will
evaluate the best responses. They will consider both long- and short-term
responses. Students will create a Charity leaflet that highlights the main priorities
going forward.
What are the natural causes of earthquakes?
Students will identify why different areas experience tectonic hazards while others
do not. Students will look at different theories and the types of plate boundaries that
exist. Students will have misconceptions and presumptions challenged.
HIC VS LIC EQ case study-
Students research two case studies and compare the impacts and responses of the
two earthquakes. They will use the research to form an opinion on the reasons for
the differences in impacts while using a range of data and sources.
How does money impact a country’s decision making?
Volcano evacuation exercise. Using party popper and weights a imminent volcanic
eruption is being prepared for. Students must use the case study and the economic
impacts of evacuation vs the dangers of an eruption. Students will decide on when
an area should evacuate from an imminent eruption. They will use the information to
decide on their evacuation plan. They will compare their plans with other students to
evaluate whether their plan was best or in hindsight they would do things differently
and why
Interdisciplinary unit planner
Disciplinary learning engagements and teaching strategies
Review prior knowledge of area and measurement
Diagnostic quizzes will be useful here to know how familiar students are with the concept
of area. An activity choice chart will then be provided to help students self-direct their
learning, to ensure all basic area calculation skills are fully consolidated. There will be
particular focus on what area means and how it can be found for regular and irregular
shapes. Students will also look at the derivation of area formulae for some shapes and
think about the geometric proofs that support these rules.
3D shapes and their properties; Volume and surface area
This section extends the students’ understanding of the 2D space into a 3D space.
Students will first look at what ‘3D’ means. A list of key mathematical terms, e.g. “faces”,
“vertices”, etc. will be defined and manipulatives will help students think about 3D solids
and their projections. The related concept of space will be discussed here to further
students’ understanding of how we construct shapes. When discussing surface area and
nets, manipulatives such as these pop-up nets will provide a clear, visual way of
demonstrating the relationships between surface area, nets and volume.
Cylinders and cones; Prisms, pyramids and spheres
There will be several opportunities for students to practice their volume and surface area
calculation skills and improve their fluency in recognising these shapes. Students will
also apply their understanding and solve problems involving combinations of these
shapes. The derivation of the volume formulae will be investigated through inquiry (and
provide a similar experience to criterion B style assessments in Maths).
Throughout this unit, as students grow confidence in solving problems with these shapes
and referring to the case studies that have been learnt in I&S, students will examine a
(famous) building in the same country and draw together the skills they have learnt in the
unit so far in open-ended tasks. This could range from constructing an orthographic
projection of the structure, finding the volume, recreating a scaled model of the building,
examining skyscrapers, etc. where research on real-life structures and their sizes are
needed.
 Interdisciplinary learning process
Interdisciplinary learning experiences and teaching strategies
Students will be studying the following case studies in I&S:
Typhoon Haiyan - (Philippines)
Hurricane Irma- Florida vs British Virgin Islands -
Japan, New Zealand, Nepal Temple that collapsed, Mosque in Istanbul that
remained standing- Research two case studies – 1 LIC 1 HIC for an
earthquake – comparison task.
Using the I&S case studies mentioned above, students will summarise their
knowledge of the management and intervention strategies used and their effects.
Widening these contexts, students will then consider particular buildings and
infrastructures relevant to the location of these case studies and think about
recreating the buildings using their knowledge of volume, surface area and nets in
Maths. This task will allow both I&S and Maths teachers to provide feedback on their
understanding of these case studies and also, whether their creation has been
accurately calculated. Also, this will give students the experience of integrating their
knowledge of two disciplines, which will be prevalent in the summative assessment.
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Formative assessment
Skills practice in Maths: Students will complete short quizzes formatively assessing the
knowledge and understanding of how to calculate familiar and unfamiliar problems involving
their recent learning of 3D shapes. These will be completed individually, and its results will
form starter and plenary activities throughout the unit.
Typhoon Haiyan newspaper report- Knowledge and understanding i, ii,
Students will identify the using sources provided primary and secondary effects from the
storm using keywords. Student will then explain the reasons why these impacts were so great
by identifying the human and natural causes.
LIC vs HIC earthquake impact comparison task (Investigation + Critical thinking)
Students research two case studies and compare the impacts and responses of the two
earthquakes. They will use the research to form an opinion on the reasons for the differences
in impacts while using a range of data and sources.
Volcano evacuation activity.
Students will decide on when an area should evacuate from an imminent eruption. They will
use the information to decide on their evacuation plan. They will compare their plans with
other students to evaluate whether their plan was best or in hindsight they would do things
differently and why. This will be done using party poppers and weights to model a volcano
erupting.
Differentiation
Seating plans and groupings
Questioning adapted for student levels.
Keyword help boxes to aid student responses.
Choice of activities – Students can either choose to follow the example case studies or
choose their own LIC and HIC case study for the earthquake comparison task.
Extra support questions added to the assessment tasks e.g., example responses provided in
a table in the charity leaflet task
 Resources

Pop-up 3D nets: https://teacherthrive.com/teaching-surface-area-with-3d-nets/

Timeforgeography – www.timeforgeography.co.uk
Pop up hurricane -
Sky News report - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2GqdIISjko&t=639s
Party poppers- scientific weights for simulate a volcanic eruption.

Interdisciplinary unit planner

Reflection: considering the planning, process and impact of interdisciplinary inquiry
Prior to teaching the unit During teaching After teaching the unit

The sequence of the lessons and case studies will

change depending on the progress of learning. We may
need a little more integration planned in so students can
truly experience interdisciplinary learning but we can only
do this once we know how much progress they have
made. This will then feed into the formative assessment
strategies and feedback we provide for students to
prepare for their summative assessment.

Interdisciplinary unit planner