Teacher(s

Hagenbaugh

Subject
group
discipline

Unit title

Communities and Belief Systems

MYP year

and

Language A
3

(The Giver and non-fiction texts)

Unit
(hrs)

duration

15

Inquiry: Establishing the purpose of the unit

Key concept

Related concept(s)

Global context

Communities

Point of View

Communities are groups that exist in

proximity defined by space, time or
relationship. Communities include, for
example, groups of people sharing
particular characteristics, beliefs or
values as well as groups of
interdependent organisms living
together in a specific habitat.

Context

Identities and Relationships Students

will explore belief/value systems.

The focus of this unit is the exploration

of communities mainly what their
belief/value systems are and how those
formed. This is meant to serve their
knowledge base of other societies and
further their critical thinking skills as
internationally minded students.
Statement of inquiry
Concept Statement = Communities-Point of View-Context-Theme Communities are formed as a result of context and point of view. In the process
of observing the phenomenon of communities, one can find consistent and parallel themes (across similar and dissimilar communities).
Statement of Inquiry: Communities are formed as a result of context and point of view including differing value/belief systems.
Inquiry questions
Line of Inquiry Students will explore different communities/societies belief systems and their degree of control.
Factual How are communities formed?

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

Line of Inquiry Students will explore how the different developmental contexts of various nations affected their value/belief
systems.
Conceptual How do different contexts of a community affect its value/belief systems?
Line of Inquiry Students will explore the outcomes in degrees of control between various communities/societies.
Debatable Is control a benefit, detriment or arbitrary entity of a society/community?

Objectives

Summative assessment

A -understand and analyse the language,

content, structure, meaning and
significance of both familiar

Outline of summative assessment task(s)

including assessment criteria:

Relationship between summative assessment

task(s) and statement of inquiry:

In a group of three or four, students

will work cooperatively to create a
utopian society. This requires
integrating the factual knowledge
students have acquired in their
readings of non-fiction texts, the
Giver, and viewing documentaries.
They will also need to demonstrate
their conceptual knowledge of
various contexts of communities
affect their development. Lastly,
students will need to evaluate their
utopian societys degree of control
and determine if it is positive,
negative, or arbitrary.

This assessment task was planned directly

from the statement of inquiry. My assessment
criteria (rubric) was taken from my statement
of inquiry and inquiry questions.

and previously unseen oral, written and

visual texts
B -compare and contrast works, and
connect themes across and within genres
C -express an informed and independent
response to literary and non-literary texts
D gives detailed justification of opinions
and ideas with a range of examples, and
thorough explanations; uses accurate
terminology
E. effectively organizes opinions and ideas
in a logical manner with ideas building on
each other in a sophisticated way
F. makes excellent use of referencing and
formatting tools to create an effective
presentation style.

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

My statement of inquiry is: Communities are

formed as a result of context and point of view.
One of the areas of my rubric (factual)
required students to create their utopian
society. The Community Formation
Presentation) requires students to reflect on
the process of developing their society,
specifically HOW it formed. The Communities
& Contexts Discussion requires students to
reflect and explain the contexts that affected
the development of and value/spiritual beliefs
present in their society.

Required Elements: government,

religious/spiritual beliefs, citizen

responsibility, laws/policies,
education, and logistics
1. Students will meet with their
group to discuss the formation
of their utopian society. They
must discuss which type of
government they will establish
and how that functions, what
religious/spiritual beliefs are
present or encouraged in this
society and how that affects
day to day life, what each
citizen is responsible for (must
they have a full time job,
required volunteer hours, etc),
what laws/policies are in place
(not all, but the major and
influential policies) in this
section they must include the
degree of control in their
society, what education system
is in place and how that affects
their society, location, and
lastly the logistics of their
society. This will take place
over multiple class periods.
Students must reflect after
every day of discussion and
reflect on how their personal

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views, values, culture,

upbringing, and other possible
contexts affected the
development of their society.
All of this needs to be recorded
to help students in the next two
steps of the project.
2. The group must create a visual
representation of their utopian
society so that others can
understand and have tangible
evidence of their discussions.
This can be a trifold, brochure,
video, or other approved
format.
3. Students will present their
society to the class. This
should take 10-15 minutes.
The class will analyze their
society and ask probing
questions of the group. The
group should be prepared to
answer questions about the
formation of their society, its
required elements, and their
rationale.

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**The rubric is attached at the bottom.**

Approaches to learning (ATL)

In order for students to express an informed and independent response to literary and non-literary text, students must read a variety of sources
for information and write (for different purposes). (ATL Research)

In order for students to understand and analyze the language, content, and structure, meaning and significance of both familiar and
previously unseen oral, written, and visual texts, students must read critically and for comprehension. (ATL - Communication
In order for students to understand and analyze the language, content, and structure, meaning and significance of both familiar and
previously unseen oral, written, and visual texts, students must make inferences and draw conclusions. (ATL Communication)
In order for students to understand and analyze the language, content, and structure, meaning and significance of both familiar and
previously unseen oral, written, and visual texts, students must compare conceptual understanding across multiple subject groups and
disciplines. (ATL Thinking)
In order for students to compare and contrast works, and connect themes across, students must read critically and for comprehension.
(ATL - Communication
In order for students to compare and contrast works, and connect themes across and within genres, students must make inferences and
draw conclusions. (ATL Communication)
In order for students to compare and contrast works, and connect themes across and within genres, students must compare conceptual

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understanding across multiple subject groups and disciplines. (ATL Thinking)

Action: Teaching and learning through inquiry

Content

Learning process

The Giver How does this community

operate? How does this differ from
communities we know/understand?
(IBLP Thinkers Students will develop as
thinkers by critically thinking about their
prior/current knowledge of different
communication and analyzing the
similarities/differences between these
communities and that of The Giver.)
What may be the causes for these
differences?
(IBLP Thinkers Students will develop as
thinkers by brainstorming causes of
differences among differet communities?)
What are the guiding values/belief systems of
this community?
(IBLP Knowledgeable/Inquirers Students
will develop as knowledgeable individuals and
inquirers by gathering/learning information
about the utopian society of The Giver.)
What social, political, economic, etc. contexts
affected the development of these systems?
(IBLP Thinkers Students will develop as
thinkers by analyzing the causes and
trajectory in development of these belief
systems.)

Learning experiences and teaching strategies

Other communities (through non-fiction texts)

How do other communities operate?
(IBLP Knowledgeable/Inquirers Students
will develop as inquierers and knowledgeable

Activity #9 (ONGOING): As a class, we will read The Giver. Throughout the novel, we will
highlight and discuss the different norms of the community, possible causes, effects, merits, and
drawbacks of the community.

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

Students will read non-fiction texts and watch documentary style films about different
communities/societies.
Activity #1: Students will individually brainstorm on the following question: What is a
community?
Activity #2: Students will work in groups of 4. In each group, students will create a poster
comparing and contrasting 3 different communities (cities, states, or countries). This will include
comparing/contrasting their logistical operations, culture, government presence, food, and
factual information about the community.
Acitvity #3: As a class, we will discuss the various attributes of the different communities.
Activity #4: In partners, students will place each community in Activity #1 on the spectrum of
Free-Controlled. This will require partners to discuss why they feel some communities are more
free than others using the information provided from Activity #1 or their prior knowledge of the
communities discussed.
Activity #5: Students will watch the following documentaries (or excerpts thereof): The Secret
State of North Korea, The Miracle of Asia Singapore, Red Light Blues, and Apartheid Did Not Die.
Activity #6: Students will be introduced to a recent event and assigned a community. They
must determine whether that event could happen in their assigned community.
Activity #7: Students will each be assigned an article that highlights the freedoms/constrictions
of a community. They will then summarize (or bullet point) their finding and present to the class.
Activity #8: Students will discuss the merits/drawbacks of the various policies and norms of the
countries they watched in the documentaries or read about in their various articles for
homework. (Graded on a discussion rubric.)

Activity #10: In groups of 3, students will create their own utopian society. This must include

individuals by gathering information about

the operations of others communities.)
What guides their values/belief systems?
(IBLP Knowledgeable Students will develop
as knowledgeable individuals by discussing
guiding principles of communities through
their own knowledge.)
What social, political, economic, etc. contexts
affected the development of these systems?
(IBLP Knowledgeable/Inquirers Students
will develop as knowledgeable individuals and
inquirers by gathering information about
different social, political, and economic
contexts of different systems/communities.)
This unit will develop within students a sense
of international mindedness in multiple ways.
First, students are required to explore
different ways of thinking/operating furthering
their knowledge of the world. With this
knowledge, students will analyze
similarities/differences, pros/cons, and
arbitrary issues within the communities and
their belief systems. The hope is that this
perspective will help students to further
understand and change the world they live in
for the better.

Learner Profile:
Inquirers In this unit, student
curiosity and exploration is the
driving force in their learning.
Many of these assignments do
not ask specific questions or

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laws, logistics, essential freedoms (or lack thereof), customs, and cultural traditions.
Activity #11: Each group must present their utopian society to the class. The class must ask
questions of that group its reasoning for rules, traditions, etc.
Activity #12: Each group will revise their utopian society based on the questions and comments
from the class.
Activity #13 (HOMEWORK): Students will write a short paper where they reflect on the creation
of their utopian society, how the rules, beliefs, values, traditions, etc. were formed, how the
beliefs/values of the creators affected their community, the degree of control in their community
and how that was affected by their beliefs/values.

Learning Experiences: Before students begin the project, I will hand out
and explain the summative assessment unit in depth. I will also provide an
exemplar project, including notes from the discussions, visual
representation, and video of the class presentation. Given that this project
has so many required elements and large components, I will have each
group create a plan of action. Here, they will set goals for each day and
create deadlines. I will also provide a checklist of tasks with which students
can self-assess progress each day.
When groups complete a task, I will provide detailed feedback and a mock
grade. This mock grade is the grade they would earn if the students
turned in that component today.
This allows for them to revise any parts if need be. This strategy also
prevents groups from being completely unprepared for the presentation.
Inquiry Learning Experiences
1. Activity 1 - Students will complete an individual brainstorm with this
stimulus: What is a community? After thoroughly brainstorming, students
will discuss this topic in small groups (3-5 students), and should come out of
the discussion with similarities they found in their brainstorms. I will then
facilitate a short class brainstorm on what a community is.

push students in any one

direction, but rather give
students a broad umbrella under
which to gather and dissect
information. This begins in the
first assignment when students
must define what a community
is. They first brainstorm on their
own, then discuss in a small
group, and later with a larger
group. This is students exploring
their knowledge, making
connections, and deriving
meaning on their own. Later in
the unit, students are asked to
take a recent current event and
place it in the context of a
different community. Can that
happen? is one of the only
questions asked. From there,
students must dig deep and find
why a particular event could
happen in the context of their
community or why not.
Knowledgeable In this unit,
students extensively research
many different communities.
They build their factual
knowledge, but more importantly

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2. Activity 4 - Students will work cooperatively with a partner in this

experience. Before this assignment, students have researched information
on various countries (U.S.A., India, Singapore, Pakistan, South Africa, North
Korea, etc.). In this experience, students must place these countries on a
spectrum from Free to Controlled. Partners must reach the same
conclusions on where to put the countries and therefore need to discuss
their reasoning for where they place countries. Students are allowed and
encouraged to seek out information while completing this activity.
3. Activity 6 - Would this happen? In this experience, each student selects
a community (a country, city-state, territory, etc.). I will then present
information on a recent event. (For example, the Sewol ferry disaster in
South Korea. The crew was not trained, the 3rd mate was directing the ferry
in treacherous waters, passengers were told to stay below deck, and the
crew was the first people off of the ferry. Over 200 students died. Foreign
help was not taken.) Students then need to determine whether that event
could/would happen in their assigned community. This requires gathering
information on cultural norms, beliefs, and general operations. After
gathering sufficient information, students will explain to each other if this
event could/would occur in their community and support their evaluation
with evidence.
4. Activity 10 - In groups, students will create their own utopian society.
This is my summative assessment and is described in detail in my unit
planner.
Formative assessment

Over a period of 1-2 weeks (depending on the class), we will learn about
various societies, one at a time. Before we study a particular society, I will

their conceptual knowledge of

administer a small pre-assessment inquiring about factual information for
communities and the facets
that particular society. This and the self-assessment will give me valuable
thereof. In learning about these
information about how to proceed with the unit.
communities, students build their
knowledge of communities on
the local, regional, and
international level giving this unit
global significance.
Communicators In this unit,
students build their
communication skills in spoken
and written communication. For
their summative assessment,
students must express their
views through multiple mediums
visually, written, and spoken.
In this assignment, they create a
utopian society based on the
knowledge and concepts theyve
learned in the course of this unit.
For the class, they must create a
visual that effectively illustrates
their society and give an oral
presentation to further their
peers understanding of the
society. This requires preparing
an outline, and presenting in a
way that makes sense to their
peers.

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Differentiation
Groupwork, Student Choice, Small Group Instruction

Differentiation: Each assessment in this unit is differentiated. For the

summative assessment, there are three major components, and each
component has multiple parts. For the visual aspect of the summative
assessment, each group can choose their format so that they will work in a
format best suited to them whether that be through a video, oral
presentation, or written paper.
For each subject we will read about, multi-level texts will be available to
accommodate the differing reading levels.
Self-assessments are included to keep students on track, and will be
particularly useful for students with certain learning disabilities.
Formative assessments have many of the same accommodations, such as:
student choice, varied text levels, and assignments in multiple learning
modalities.

Open-Minded In this unit, the

communities studied are so
diverse that students will be
challenged with their
views/beliefs. Another
community will show a contrast
to what students have known,
experienced, and believed. The
analysis and evaluation required
in this unit charges students with
the task of reserving judgment
and examining differences with
an open mind.
Resources
The Giver, Non-fiction articles, documentaries

Student Resources
Documentaries The Secret State of North Korea The Miracle of Asia Singapore Red Light Blues
Apartheid Did Not Die
Books (Excerpts) Pakistan A Hard Country, France Culture Smart!,Amsterdam A History of the Worlds
Most Liberal City, Nigeria Dancing on the Brink, Japan Culture Smart!, Russians The People Behind the
Power, The Argentina Reader History, Politics, Culture
Extensive Resources World Book Online Student, CountryReports.org
**In multiple assignments, students will seek out their own resources which will differ from those above.**

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Reflection: Considering the planning, process and impact of the inquiry

Prior to teaching the unit

Factual

Community
Formation
Presentation

During teaching

0 Incomplete
Students did not
provide information
on all of the
required elements.
Students did not
explain their
society or its

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2 Below Standard
Students provided
limited information
on the required
elements.
Students explained
portions of their
utopian society, but

After teaching the unit

3 Meets Standard
Students provided
sufficient
information on the
required elements.
Students explained
their process of
developing their

4 Above Standard
Students provided
extensive
information on the
required elements.
Students clearly
explained their
process of

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development.
Communities &
Contexts
Discussion

Students did not

discuss the
contexts that
affected their
societies
development
and/or value/belief
systems.

Control Evaluation

Students did not

explain the degree
of control in their
society.

did not explain the

development of
their society.
Students minimally
discussed the
contexts that
affected their
societies
development and
its value/belief
systems.
Students explained
the degree of
control in their
society, evaluated
it as positive,
negative, or
arbitrary but did
not provide
sufficient
information from
their research of
other societies
control.

utopian society.

developing their
utopian society.

Students
sufficiently
discussed the
various contexts
that affected their
societies
development and
its value/beliefs
system.
Students explained
the degree of
control in their
society, evaluated
it as positive,
negative, or
arbitrary using
sufficient
information from
their research of
other societies
control.

Students deeply
discussed the
various contexts
that affected their
societies
development and
its value/beliefs
system.
Students clearly
explained the
degree of control in
their society,
evaluated it as
positive, negative,
or arbitrary using
extensive
information from
their research of
other societies
control.

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

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