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lesson plans and resources

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Assessment Stratagies

Summative Assessment: Student understandings will be monitored during the sequence of lessons through the use of a combination of higher and lower cognitive questions, in order to:

  • Develop interest and motivate students to become actively involved in lessons
  • Develop critical thinking skills and inquiring attitudes
  • Review and summarize previous lessons
  • Nurture insights by exposing new relationships
  • Assess achievement of instructional goals and objectives
  • Stimulate students to pursue knowledge on their own (Cotton, 1998)

Formative Assessment: Students will show their understanding of the real world issue of waste management and its effects on the environment by choosing one or more photographs taken on the excursion to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary that show a living thing of their choice and its environment for their postcard. Students will then use their knowledge of living things and their needs and sustainable practices to write a persuasive message to an identified target audience that has the potential to change their behaviour to protect the environment and living things. In this assessment piece, students must demonstrate their understandings of why sustainability is important to living things. Task sheet and Rubric are made available electronically for parents and carers to view, from http://tasksheetandrubric.wordpress.com/

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Differentiation Stratagies

There were students with diverse needs in the practicum classroom that required differentiation in terms of lesson and assessment, which included learning difficulties, social/emotional issues, time away from class due to overseas holiday, difficulties with writing tasks as well as a range of ability levels. These were catered for through the following strategies:

  • Extended time
  • Cooperative learning groups
  • Ongoing feedback provided
  • One-on-one teacher support for all student levels
  • Work emailed to students to complete while away from class
  • Instruction/assessment modified for a variety of learners e.g.
    Option to type/answer verbal questions rather than write for specific students
    Stimulus material provided in a variety of formats to cater for a range of learning styles 
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Lesson Sequence

Week 1 

 

Lesson 1: Geography

Reducing Waste: Environmental effects of consumption

Students engage with digital resources via YouTube and Google Earth on the Interactive Whiteboard to identify different categories of waste and research how waste is disposed of. Students consider their own habits and reflect on their own impact on the environment by completing a weekly audit of items thrown away at home and completing a graph to show the results. Students select items that could be reused, reduced or recycled and defend their choice.

Lesson 2: Science

Categorising things into living, non-living and once living

Students first sort picture cards into categories that make sense to them, share with the class, then engaging in a learning experience about how scientists sort these same items via the internet and the Interactive Whiteboard. Students jointly construct questions about how waste affects living things in a variety of contexts.

Week 2

 

Lesson 3: Geography/Science

Excursion to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Students visit Currumbin to learn about the needs of living things, their natural environment and how the sanctuary is managed in a sustainable manner and record evidence of their learning through photographing living things and their environments with digital cameras. Students research the types of waste generated by the park and how it is reduced, reused and recycled.

Lesson 4: Geography

Investigating how Tambourine Mountain National Park is managed

Students consider what they already know about living things and the environment, make predictions about the role of a Park Ranger, engage in internet research in teams to discover how Tambourine Mountain National Park is managed, then create an information poster depicting how visitors could behave in the Park to ensure the environment remains healthy

Lesson 5: Science

The similarities/differences in plants and animals and their interdependence

Students predict how animals and plants are similar and different then engage with digital and print-based learning materials to expand on their knowledge then explain their understanding of the relationship between living things

Week 3

 

Lesson 6: ICT/English

Postcard Assessment Piece

Students begin work designing postcards using Netbook computers and the digital photos taken during the excursion to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Lesson 7: Science

Sorting out life

Students engage with digital learning materials to examine the classifications that scientists use to group animals and discuss the specific environments each type of animal needs to be healthy. Students make connections between animal health and the health of the plant life in its context.

Lesson 8: ICT/English

Postcard Assessment Piece

Students complete their postcard assessment, using photographs to depict a living thing and its environment and use persuasive writing to defend the importance of sustainability and the environment to the chosen living thing
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Example Assessment Piece

postcard assessment example

Updated on 04 September 2013, 14:26; 7355 page visits from 21 September 2012 to 17 September 2024