Dear Parents,

Below is a new blog following on from our previous learning about civics and citizenship, however, we are shifting our focus more to the history aspect of how Australia came to be.

There are a few significant topics to be covered throughout this unit, including

• Eureka Rebellion
• The Australian Goldrush
• The Federation Of Australia
• Gallipoli

How will this topic be approached?
Because this topic is so broad, it becomes a lot of information for students to learn. I will, therefore, break it into smaller parts. To achieve this, students will undertake a research project with a focus on group work. “Group work has been proven to, reinforce information, and provide the opportunity for students to get a second opinion and learn from their peers through another perspective”. (The Center For Innovation In Research And Teaching, 2019). To achieve this student's will be broken up into four groups and each given a different topic. They will not be guided to answer as I want them to really dive deep into their research and not be restricted, however, each group will be required to answer the following questions;

How has it contributed to the shaping of Australia? 

what role did aboriginals play?

Students will be asked to provide a presentation to the class. Research shows that breaking down tasks allows students see it as more approachable and manageable also increasing willingness and participation to learn. (Positive behavioral and intervention and supports, 2019)

Why is this topic important for students to learn about?

It is important that students learn about the history of their county to assist their understanding of change and societal development. "History provides a context from which students can understand themselves and others around them". (Deutsch, 2019). The learning in this unit will be authentic, encouraging students to link the learning to their own lives, connecting learning to real-world issues and problems. (Australian Council for Educational Leaders, 2016)

Curriculum Links:

This unit links to the Australian curriculum humanities and social sciences from year six such as "Locating and collecting relevant information and data from primary sources, secondary sources and Working in groups to generate responses to issues and challenges "(Acara, 2019)

This lesson also incorporates general capabilities, including; literacy in how students research their topic and write it down. ICT by using PowerPoint to present their final presentations. Students will also be critical and creative in their designing of their presentations to the class, .The research students will undertake within the cross curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. will give students the opportunity to look at how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s lived and how they were treated. 

                                        (Victorian Responsible Gambling, n.d)

The history of Australia is imperative for your child to learn, this will provide them with full understanding of the world they live in. Your child will hopefully have many questions which I encourage your child to research these questions or bring them into class for me to address.

Regards,
Nicole

References:

Australian Council For Educational Leaders (2016) Authentic learning: what, why and how?. Retrieved from.http://www.acel.org.au/acel/ACEL_docs/Publications/e-Teaching/2016/e-Teaching_2016_10.pdf'

Deutsch, S (2019) Why should we teach our children history?, Retrieved from. https://www.dltk-kids.com/articles/whyhistory.html

Positive Behavioral and Intervention Supports (2019) break down the assignment. Retrieved from.https://www.pbisworld.com/tier-1/break-down-assignment/

The Australian Assesment And Curriculum Reporting Authority (2019) HASS Grade 6. Retrieved from. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/?

The Center For Research And Innovation in Research and Teaching (2019) Group Work in the Classroom. Retrieved from. https://cirt.gcu.edu/teaching3/tips/groupwork

Images
All images are not my own.
Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (n.d) Research. Retrieved from. https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/research/published-research/

Geography And Civics And Citizenship And Sustainability

This will be linked to our previous learning about civics and citizenship and the important role we play in our own society.

welcome back everyone,
This week our focus is moving onto geography, in particular, we will be focusing on the importance of sustainability ."Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments"(National Geographic Society, 2019)

Curriculum Links:
In the curriculum year six students, "Identify why businesses exist -eg to produce goods and services. and investigating the different ways that goods and services are provided to people such as through shopping centers, local markets, online, small and independent stores. (Acara, 2019). This activity has the cross-curriculum link of sustainability as well as also addressing the general capabilities of literacy, where students will use literacy skills to write their recounts, students will also be critical and creative in the making of their sustainable bins.

what we will be doing:
We will be doing many things during our learning the main ones being

• An excursion to the local shopping center
• having people from local small businesses come in and talk to students about their businesses.
• making a sustainable bin

(Yelp, 2019)


The excursion will show students how the local shopping center works, eg how the food gets to the shelves, where it comes from, how they keep it fresh? students will also be looking to see how the supermarket is sustainable. When we get back to school for the following lessons students will be preparing recounts of our guest speaker visits and the supermarket, students will then be asked to say how the supermarket is sustainable?

Sustainability
Sustainability is an important topic for students to learn because it empowers students to want to protect their planet an important part of civics and citizenship is to be engaged in your society. Students are able to take responsibility for their actions eg putting their own rubbish into the bin, this will help students in the future to lead sustainable lives. (Education for sustainability project, 2016)


A hands-on activity
To get students to complete is that we will be each making our own bins, only using sustainable materials.  By giving students a hands-on an active approach to the task it will increase engagement, motivation and students will be able to build stronger neural connections. Learning is also more likely to be converted to long term storage as the learning has relevance to students own lives. (Briggs, 2014)  

Assessment:
From the various recounts from our small business talks, the excursion, their final bin and reasoning for their choices on their bin.

How can you assist your child throughout this unit?
Parents I want you to be aware that students are going to have questions, however, I want each parent to be conscious of sustainability in daily life at home. I will also need you to keep some rubbish for your students to bring in to complete their designing of their own bin project.




References:

Australian Assesment And Reporting Authority (2019) Year Six Humanities and social sciences. Retrieved from. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/?

Briggs, S (2014) How To Make Learning Relevant To Your Students (And Why It’s Crucial To Their Success). Retrieved from. https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/how-to-make-learning-relevant/

Education for Sustainability Project (2016) Why should I teach sustainability?. Retrieved from. https://sustainabilityinschools.edu.au/why-teach-sustainability

National Geographic Society (2019) WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?. Retrieved from. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/what-is-geography/


Images
Yelp (2019) Woolworth's shopping center. Retrieved from.
https://www.yelp.com.au/biz/woolworths-perth-6

Civics And Citizenship Education

Parents,
In our classroom, we are starting a unit on civics and citizenship. We will be focusing on democracy and why we need laws to function as a society.

Curriculum Links:

(ACARA, 2019)

Why learn about democracy?
There has been a recent democratic understanding decline (Mortimore, 2010) Therefore it is important that students learn about democracy and the world. Democracy not only affects the air we breathe, the water we drink, the taxes we pay; it also affects education. Democracy is a very important decision and part of your child's life and future. (Ray, 2019)


how?
The unit will get students to design their own island, students will be asked to include things such as

• food
• housing
• Jobs
• laws
• community

By incorporating many different elements, the task allows the use of curriculum integration.
This will then put students in control of their learning, allowing engagement in topics that interest them. Offering students choices about their learning can increase motivation in the task. (Anderson, 2016)

Cross-Curriculum Priorities
"enhance and offer opportunities to add depth and richness to student learning" (Acara, 2019). The sustainability priority is addressed through students making their models out of sustainable resources.

                                                                                                           (3BL Media, n.d)


General Capabilities

"encompass the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that assist students to live and work successfully in the 21st century" (ACARA, 2019). This task incorporates the capabilities of numeracy in the way that students will need to design a currency for their island. Literacy through the way students will need to write down their ideas for their islands. ICT as students will use computers to produce their final portfolios.critical and creative thinking in the designing of their islands. and ethical understanding, in the way students will develop an awareness of the influence of their values and behaviors on others.


The main focus question students will answer is:

how are going to make sure that things are are fair and equal for everyone?
By students answering this question they will dive deeper into their understanding of democracy which will allow students to link democracy to their own lives, Students will look into the levels of government and the ways in which laws are made in their country to assist students with their own projects.

Assessment:

At the end of this unit of work, students will be required to hand in a portfolio which includes all of their different elements of their island and their physical model in which they have created using sustainable resources.

Your children will have questions and it is important to help them find the answers rather than provide them with the answers. Jennifer Zosh's studied children and the way in which they understood information and found that if a child understood why and were not just told they had a deeper understanding (Zosh, 2013). This activity has so much opportunity for deep learning, it's important to support your child through this and ensure they are not overwhelmed.

                                                                             (Toya, 2014)

                                    

                                                                                                

References:
Australian Curriculum And Assesment Reporting Authority (2019) General Capabilities. Retrieved from. https://australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/curriculum-connections/portfolios/food-and-wellbeing/general-capabilities/

Australian curriculum And Assesment Reporting Authority (2019) Structure. Retrieved from. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/structure/

Australian Curriculum And Assesment Reporting Authority( 2019) Cross Curriculum Priorities. Retrieved from. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/

Carr, P (2006) Democracy In The Classroom. Retrieved from. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265553884_Democracy_in_the_Classroom

Mortimore,P (2010) Children need to learn how to participate in a democracy. Retrieved from.https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/sep/07/citizenship-in-the-classroom

Nowiki, J (2019) Intergrated Curriculum. Retrieved from. http://www.users.miamioh.edu/shermalw/edp603_group3-f00.html

Ray, A (2019) The Importance Of Teaching Democracy. Retrieved from. http://www.parents-choice.org/article.cfm?art_id=168&the_page=reading_list

Zosh, J (2013) children learn better when they figure things out for themselves. Retrieved from https://news.psu.edu/story/265620/2013/02/21/society-and-culture/children-learn-better-when-they-figure-things-out

Images:

All images are not my own,

Made By Toya (2014) Island. Retrieved from. https://madebytoya.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/story-island/

3BL Media (n.d) P&G environmental sustainability. Retrieved from. https://3blmedia.com/News/Campaign/PG-Environmental-Sustainability?page=6