Blog 2

Year 4
Geography

What we are learning

Your child will be learning within the topic of geography about the environment and sustainability. We will be addressing the issue of “the use and management of natural resources and waste, and the different views on how to do this sustainably” (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2018a, ACHASSK090). We will also be developing skills in the areas of “posing questions to investigate…issues” (ACARA, 2018a, ACHASSI073) and “locating and collecting information and data from different sources, including observations” (ACARA, 2018 a, ACHASSI074). We will also be exploring the general capability of ethical understanding outlined in the Australian curriculum (2018b) that students will explore ethical concepts, values, traits, and reasoning to assist judgement. The cross-curriculum priority of sustainability will also be involved in this unit as students “develop the knowledge, skills, values and world views necessary to contribute to more sustainable patterns of living” (ACARA, 2018c).

Photo sourced from VectorStock.com

Why we are learning this

Learning about the environment and sustainability is an important part of your child’s education as this content will enable them to understand and consider the impact that is being made by individuals and communities on the environment. MCEETYA (2008) highlights sustainability as a key aspect of your child becoming an active and involved citizen. This learning journey will educate your child about the variety of resources that are available naturally and the importance of sustainability and its impact on the Earth. While learning this content, your child will also be exposed to situations which will develop their ability to create and answer appropriate, thoughtful questions. By the end of this unit, your child should be able to integrate sustainable practices into their days.

How we are learning

We will be learning about resources and sustainability through a lesson sequence provided by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) of Tasmania. The lessons in this sequence are aligned with the Australian curriculum, ensuring that your child will be learning according to the guidelines of education. This learning sequence focuses on plastics and their effect on the environment, also outlining alternatives to plastics and how to reduce, reuse, and recycle (Environmental Protection Authority [EPA], 2013). Through this sequence, the class will be investigating commonly used plastics (such as plastic bottles) and what happens to these items after they have been used, outlining things such as plastic in the sea and micro plastics. Art lessons will also be incorporated into this learning sequence to highlight reusing resources in creative ways.

Your role

Throughout this unit, I ask that you encourage your child to investigate and ask questions about the resources that are being used in your home and community. This is inquiry learning and will help them to develop the skills that we are focusing on in class. Also, as your child comes home with ideas about sustainability and lifestyle options, I ask that you endeavour to apply these into your lives to help your child explore the application of sustainable practices.

References (Minimum of 2 references in APA format – not included in Word count)

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2018b). Ethical understanding. Retrieved from the Australian curriculum website: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/ethical-understanding/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2018a). HASS. Retrieved from the Australian curriculum website: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2018c). Sustainability. Retrieved from the Australian curriculum website: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/sustainability/

Environmental Protection Agency. (2013). Plastic waste teaching resource. Retrieved from the Environmental Protection Agency website: https://epa.tas.gov.au/sustainability/resources-for-schools/waste-education/plastic-waste-teaching-resource
MCEETYA. (2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf

Blog 1

Year 6
Civics and Citizenship

What we are learning

Your child will be learning about “the roles and responsibilities of Australia’s three levels of government (ACHASSK144)” (Australian Curriculum Assessment, and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2018). This means identifying and examining the responsibilities of each level of government, figuring out which level/s of government are responsible for issues, and how multiple levels of government could be involved because of hierarchy of power. This knowledge will be found through your child’s developing skills in being able to “locate and collect information and data from primary and secondary sources (ACHASSI123)” (ACARA, 2018) as well as being able to  “work in groups to generate responses to issues and challenges (ACHASSI130)” (ACARA, 2018) and “use criteria to make decisions and judgements and consider advantages and disadvantages of preferring one decision over another (ACHASSI131) (ACARA, 2018).

Photo sourced from: https://questions.peo.gov.au/ 

Why we are learning this

This is an important learning journey for your child to encourage them to become an informed, active, invested citizen in Australia. An active citizen will use their knowledge to put their beliefs into action, rather than forming no opinion or keeping it quiet (Senate Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, 1989). This involves acquiring an understanding of how the government works, how they individually impact on it, their role as an Australian citizen, and the importance of forming their own opinions and following through with their actions to align with their beliefs.

How we are learning

As a class, we will be learning about government throughout the year through forming and rotating through a simulation of government. The class will be separated into three groups, each representing a level of government. Beginning in the second term, each student will take a role within their level of government, such as ministers, premier, and council members; as well as being active citizens when their level of government is not ‘in session’. Using this format, decisions will be made about current local and national issues to simulate real decision making in government. Students will be required to investigate current issues, form their personal opinions, work in groups to take sides to fight for their cause, and debate positive and negative aspects of each decision. Through this, students will learn about current issues, the role that each level of government plays, and how decisions are made in each level, possibly involving multiple levels of government.

Your role

To support your child in this learning journey, I ask that you engage with your child outside of the classroom through discussing and encouraging further investigations. When discussing government with your child, please raise current issues with them, share your own opinions, but also inform them of differing opinions and allow them to form their own opinions and beliefs on these issues. To encourage your child, allow them to explore different media such as newspapers and online articles, to introduce them to learn about current issues, as well as building their research and inquiry skills.

References (Minimum of 2 references in APA format – not included in Word count)

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2018). Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass

Senate Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training. (1989). Education for Active Citizenship. As cited in: Reynolds, R. (2014). Teaching humanities and social sciences in primary school. 

Blog Post 3

Year 3 

History

Photo sourced from pexels.com

What we are learning

Through this unit of work, your child will be learning about Australian history and building their literacy competency. Your child will be learning about “how the community has changed and remained the same over…(ACHASSK063)” (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2018a). We will also be building inquiry skills through “examining information to identify different points of view and distinguish facts from opinions (ACHASSI056)” (ACARA, 2018a). We will also be addressing literacy in this unit through using “expressive language and…composing different types of texts for a range of purposes…” (ACARA, 2018b)

Why we are learning this

This is an opportunity to create an integrated curriculum by combining history and literacy content. These subject areas are valuable for your child in their education and their future. MCEETYA (2008) highlights the importance of your child learning about history to develop their status as active and informed citizens. Literacy is an important content area as it is a lifelong skill that effects all aspects of life such as communicating with people as well as affecting employment potential. In 2006, almost half of Australians aged 15-74 were below the recommended base level of literacy required for everyday living (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2013). At the same time, a third of Australians were sitting at this required level (ABS, 2013). Considering this, literacy is a priority in our classroom and so will be endeavoured to be integrated effectively into units such as this one.

How we are learning

Photo sourced from the My Place website

This unit will be driven by the ‘My Place’ website found at http://www.abc.net.au/abc3/myplace/. We will be investigating different points in history and life for children at these times. Each lesson in this sequence will begin with exploring a year on the website, looking at the different materials provided and discussing what life was like. The materials mainly consist of visual, written and audio pieces. These variations will help your child to connect with different forms of media within their literacy learning. We will then have some writing time for each child to create their own journal entry. They will imagine how they would be living at that time in history and create a story for their life. These entries will be handwritten in a journal separate to all other work so that it can piece together the different decades in Australian history until the present.

Your role

To assist learning in this unit, I ask that you make an effort to talk about history with your child. Particularly, it would be great if you could bring your child to visit grandparents and other elderly members of your community. During these visits, please encourage conversation and stories about their past and what life was like when they were young. As you will be a part of the conversation, please drive it to include different points in history and comparisons to then and now. 

References (Minimum of 2 references in APA format – not included in Word count)

References (Minimum of 2 references in APA format – not included in Word count)

ABC. (2019). My Place. Retrieved from the ABC website: http://www.abc.net.au/abc3/myplace/

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). Adult literacy and life skills survey, summary results, Australia, 2006 (reissue). Retrieved from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/4228.0Main%20Features22006%20(Reissue)

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2018a). HASS. Retrieved from the Australian curriculum website: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2018b). Literacy. Retrieved from the Australian curriculum website: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/literacy/

MCEETYA. (2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf