© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007 Walking the talk! 1. Choose a new topic or use the topic with which you’ve already been working. 2. Decide on a MYP year (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and write the topic and the MYP year at the top of the chart paper. 3. Discuss at the wall: Why are we asking students to study this topic in a way that is transferable beyond the topic itself? Write down (brainstorm) the possible timeless key concepts and the more disciplinary big ideas related to the topic that you would want your students to walk away with by the end of the unit. Avoid proper and personal nouns (that is probably a fact). Use active, present tense verbs to convey a more timeless sense. Avoid arriving at concepts that are definitions by not using the verb “to be” (for example, “is” is a clue that you could be asking for a definition).
© International Baccalaureate Organization Draw a box on the upper right hand side of the chart paper and break it into three parts horizontally (see diagram). Label the top part key concepts, the middle part related concepts and the bottom part concept statement. * This concept statement is a further refinement of what was previously known as the significant concept and creates a platform for deepening the students’ understanding of the topic. Concept statement* Key concepts Walking the talk! Related concepts
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007 Concept statements Brainstorm key concepts for topic Brainstorm related concepts driven by each key concept Concept statement Choose one key concept to start with and two related concepts. Then combine all three into a concept statement. Make sure the concept statement isn’t too long. It should allow for a profound exploration of the topic.
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007 Areas of interaction Provides a context for the inquiry at hand Only choose one: Environments, health and social education, human ingenuity, community and service Natural flow with the concept statement
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007 Area of interaction 5. Draw a box on the upper left side of the chart paper. This is where the area of interaction will go. Look at the concept statement and decide which one area of interaction will best focus or contextualize this unit of work. The key and related concepts help inform this contextual choice. Concept statement Related concepts Walking the talk! Key concepts
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007 Area of interaction Inquiry questions 6. The inquiry questions in the unit question box are how we encourage looking at this topic through multiple perspectives in order to lead students through the metacognitive process from academic knowledge to thoughtful action. This helps to develop positive attitudes and a sense of personal and social responsibility. It is helpful to have anywhere from three to five inquiry questions that will guide students through the unit. Use your related concepts to help guide you in this process. Key concepts Related concepts Concept statement Walking the talk!
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007 Gallery walk 7. At this point, take blank sticky notes and go from unit plan to unit plan making helpful comments, raising questions and suggesting modifications. 8. Groups return to their original units and discuss comments among yourselves. 9. Whole group debrief