“Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.” Roger Lewin
PLANNING A UNIT OF WORK (LEARNING SEQUENCES)
by Ellen Cornish and Don Jordon, Ph.D.
TOPICFeel good, feel great. The human body. |
SHARED VALUESSelf, family and others. Maintaining wellbeing, a healthy lifestyle, nutrition, fitness. |
PRINCIPLESIdentity and culture. Inclusivity, preparing for life (through change), relevance. |
KEY COMPETENCIESThinking and creativity. Relating to people. Making meaning. Living a healthy life. Learning sustainable practices. Using technology and media. |
Goals for Learning
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Overarching Goals.
Students will understand that:
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Learning Experiences that lead to Understanding
teachers’ and students’.
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Demonstrations of Successful Learning
Measure learning across all dimensions; multiple methods; use feedback; reflect on learning; express thought through writing, concept maps, rubrics, pictorial representations, oral presentations.
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Tuning InBrainstorm with the class the following question:
What do you know about wellbeing and good health?
Read Dr Dog story as Tuning In activity (Author Babette Cole. 1996)
Brainstorm with class what messages they think the author is giving in relation to well-being.
Ongoing Assessment
Focus on students’ ability to:
Ask the students to try not to just re-tell the story of Dr Dog
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Finding Out, Sorting OutHow can we find out about how our bodies work?
Guiding questions:
What is inside my body?
Teacher directed: Lead a discussion on ways to look after our bodies related to what is inside our body and how it works.
Teacher directed: Explain the complex nature of how all the body parts work together. Tell students that to help us understand this complexity, we can look at ‘systems’ in the body.
Examples of body systems:
Ongoing Assessment· Display the students’ ‘bodies’ and use these representations as references for ongoing reflection.· Encourage oral presentations, technology (models etc.), visual artwork, graphs, maps, collage.· Have each group present their information about their specific body system to the class in the form of an oral presentation supported by a life-sized labelled poster/diagram, Power Point.· Explain to the groups the criteria that will be used to assess each group’s oral presentation. Suitable criteria include: using strong, clear voices, facing the audience, ensuring each person has equal turn to speak, agreeing on a time frame, making it interesting for the audience, referring to the poster/diagram to assist understanding, explaining how the system works.· Assess students’ oral presentations to the class of their research task, including their diagram/ body poster.· Assess how effectively the group explains the body system and how its parts work together.· Score 1-4 on each criterion. At the completion of each presentation, have the whole class assess the presentation using a rubric.
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Investigate factors contributing to well beingFood Do we need more of some foods than others?
Teacher directed, ask the students:
Illustrative pictures. Ongoing Assessment
Assess students’ ability to:
How do we know what is in particular foods?
Teacher directed: Ask and discuss with students questions such as:
Investigate breakfast foods
Ensure students justify their choices when showing their graph to the class. Ongoing AssessmentAssess students’ ability to:
Describe the components of a balanced diet.
Teacher note: Ask students to refer to the Healthy Diet Pyramid and the information on the recommended number of serves per day in order to initiate a class discussion.
Pose these further questions:
Ongoing AssessmentAssess students’ ability to:
Plan a healthy breakfast or lunch for the class.
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Culmination
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Glossary
Overarching Goals: Goals which overshadow the whole topic.
Tuning In: Finding out what the students already know about the topic, as well as what they would like to find out in order to stimulate their interest and enthusiasm for the topic.
Brainstorm: group discussion and sharing of ideas.
Guiding Questions: questions related to the topic which promote thought as well as refining the investigation to be undertaken.
Graphic Organiser: Charts which help visually organise information (there are many examples, including Y charts, T charts, fish bones, placemats, concept maps, flow charts etc. on the internet)
Rubrics: Teacher or student generated charts based on the topic being studied to assist with self-assessment.
Formative Assessment: Teacher assessment, as well as student self-assessment which can be demonstratedthrough drama, oral presentations, written material, information technology, art and craft etc.
Summative Assessment: System and school based testing.
Culmination: The final part of the topic where students demonstrate their understandings using a variety of methods including drama, information technology, oral presentations, written material, art and craft etc.
ELLEN CORNISH
Ellen Cornish has had 33 years’ experience teaching in Tasmanian schools. She has taught in both primary and district high schools during that time. She has spent time in senior management roles within the school setting. Ellen has also held the positions of treasurer and president of the Early Childhood Educators of Tasmania Association. She has led many professional learning sessions for her colleagues and is skilled in the mentoring and training of pre-qualification teacher trainees, newly qualified teachers and teachers who experience difficulties and those re-entering the profession. Teaching in Korea helped to enrich her experience as an educator.
In March 2011the Mechai Viravaidya Foundation invited her to evaluate the leadership, curriculum, resources and teacher training and experience, at the Mechai Pattana Secondary School in north eastern Thailand. She was also asked to make recommendations for improvements to help bring the school up to the standard required to support the development of a teacher training institute.
She is skilled in providing a creative and challenging program where her students are encouraged to develop their own strengths as well as to take on board responsibility for their own learning and behaviour. She strongly believes that all children can reach their full potential by being given the appropriate guidance within an environment that is non-threatening and one which fosters self-belief.
She has expertise in the education of children with disabilities as well as those with challenging behaviour and their ability to function within the mainstream school.
One of her passions is to foster creativity in children. In order to facilitate this successfully she has regularly updated her skills by enrolling in professional learning courses. An example of this was a drawing course with the Art School, University of Tasmania.
Ellen has a Bachelor of Education, a Diploma of Teaching and is currently registered with the Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania, Australia.
Don W Jordan
Dr Don Jordan, D.Sc.Ed, is an experienced educator, having taught in primary schools in Tasmania, Australia.His perspective has been enriched by his work with disaffected students in the United Kingdom and with Bachelor of Education students in the Gaza Strip and working with curriculum developers and teachers on behalf of UNICEF in the Maldives.
In March 2011, Don was invited by the Mechai Viravaidya Foundation, to evaluate the leadership, curriculum, resources and teacher training and experience, at the Mechai Pattana Secondary School in north eastern Thailand, in preparation for it to become a demonstration school for the a proposed Teacher Training Institute.
Don has a particular interest in the philosophical and theoretical place of computers in primary classrooms in Tasmania, and their effect on students’ learning, behaviour and social development.