UNIT NAME: OUR COMMUNITY LEVELS: F-2 TIME: 5 weeks

LEARNING AREAS/ DISCIPLINESHistory/Geography/English

CAPABILITITIESIntercultural capability: Cultural Practices and Cultural Diversity

LEARNING INTENTIONTo enable students to develop and demonstrate literacy skills alongside knowledge and understanding of historical, cultural and geographical aspects of their community using the F-2 curriculum for History, Geography and English, and Intercultural Capability.

HISTORY CONTENTSTRAND CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDSHistorical concepts and skills

Historical knowledge

Identify examples of continuity and change …in the local area by comparing past and present

Identify the content features of primary sources Identify the significance of a person and/or place in

the local community How … communities commemorate past events that

are important to them The history of a significant person, building, site or

part of the natural environment in the local community.

Students working at levels F-2:

..explain aspects of daily life to identify how some have changed while others have remained the same.

…describe … a person, a site, or an event of significance in the local community.

use sources …to describe … the significance of …, places or events.

Students working at Levels 3- 4:

…explain how and why things changed in the past, and identify aspects of the past that remained the same

Describe the experience and perspectives of an individual or group over time

Identify sources….and locate information about their origin and content features.

Create a narrative or description which explains continuity and change and cause and effect using historical terms

GEOGRAPHY CONTENTSTRAND CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS

Geographical concepts and skills

Geographical knowledge

Identify and describe the features of places at a local scale and how they change, recognising that people describe the features of places differently

Describe and explain where places and activities are located

Identify how people are connected to different places Collect and record geographical data and information

from the field and other sources Represent data and the location of places and their

features by constructing tables, plans and labelled maps Interpret data and information to draw conclusions and

describe the direction and location of places, using terms such as north, south, opposite, near, far

Natural, managed and constructed features of places, their location and how they change

Reasons why some places are… important to people and how they can be looked after

Activities in the local place and reasons for their location,

Students working at levels F-2

identify and describe features of places and changes in these, at a local scale.

They identify how people are connected to different places and…explain the value of places to people.

They collect and record geographical data and information.

They represent data and information in tables, plans and labelled maps and interpret it to draw conclusions.

Students working at Levels 3- 4:

identify and describe spatial characteristics, and the characteristics of places… at a range of scales.

They identify and explain interconnections

They identify responses to a geographical challenge and the expected effects.

They collect and record relevant geographical data and information and…

…represent data and information in tables, simple graphs and maps of appropriate scale that conform to cartographic conventions.

They interpret data and information, and use

and the influence of purpose, distance and accessibility on the frequency with which people visit places

geographical terminology, to identify and to develop descriptions, explanations and conclusions.

ENGLISH CONTENTFoundation

STRAND/SUBSTRAND CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS

Literature/Literature and context

Literacy/Interacting with others

Recognise that texts are created by authors who tell stories and share experiences that may be similar or different to students’ own experiences (VCELT148)

Deliver short oral presentations to peers, using appropriate voice levels, articulation, body language, gestures and eye contact (VCELY175)

Listen to and respond orally to texts and to the communication of others in informal and structured classroom situations using interaction skills, including listening, while others speak (VCELY174)

Students working at level F:

Reading and ViewingIdentify connections between texts and their personal experience.

Speaking and ListeningIn informal group and whole-class settings, students communicate clearly.They retell events and experiences with peers and known adults.

Listen to and use appropriate interaction skills to respond to others in a familiar environment…….identify and use rhyme, letter patterns and sounds in words.

Level 1

Language/Expressing and developing ideas

Literacy/Texts in context

Compare different kinds of images in narrative and informative texts and discuss how they contribute to meaning (VCELA180)

Respond to texts drawn from a range of cultures and experiences (VCELY185)

Students working at level 1:

Reading and Viewing…understand the different purposes of texts… recall key ideas and recognise literal and implied meaning in texts.

Writing… provide details about ideas or events, and details about the participants in those events.

Speaking and Listening… create texts that show understanding of the connection between writing, speech and images…interact in pair, group and class discussions, taking turns when responding.

Level 2

Literacy

Creating texts

Interacting with others

Construct texts featuring print, visual and audio elements using software, including word processing programs (VCELY233)

Rehearse and deliver short presentations on familiar and new topics, speaking clearly and varying tone, volume and pace appropriately, and using supportive props (VCELY245)

Students working at level 2:

WritingStudents create texts that show how images support the meaning of the text.

Speaking and ListeningStudents create texts, drawing on their own experiences, their imagination and information they have learned. Students use a variety of strategies to engage in group and class discussions and make presentations.

Level 3Literacy

Creating texts

Interacting with others

Use software including word processing programs with growing speed and efficiency to construct and edit texts featuring visual, print and audio elements (VCELY269)

Reread and edit texts for meaning, appropriate structure, grammatical choices and punctuation (VCELY267)

Listen to and contribute to conversations and discussions to share information and ideas and negotiate in collaborative situations and use interaction skills, including active listening and clear, coherent communications (VCELY275)

Plan and deliver short presentations, providing some key details in logical sequence, using appropriate tone, pace, pitch and volume (VCELY276)

Students working at level 3:

WritingStudents' texts include writing and images to express and develop in some detail experiences, events, information, ideas and characters…They reread and edit their writing, checking their work for appropriate vocabulary, structure and meaning.

Speaking and ListeningThey create a range of texts for familiar and unfamiliar audiences. They contribute actively to class and group discussions, asking questions, providing useful feedback and making presentations.

Level 4Literacy

Creating texts

Interacting with others

Use a range of software including word processing programs to construct, edit and publish written text, and select, edit and place visual, print and audio elements (VCELY302)

Reread and edit for meaning by adding, deleting or moving words or word groups to improve content and structure (VCELY300)

Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations incorporating learned content and taking into account the particular audiences and purposes such as informative, persuasive and imaginative, including multimodal elements (VCELY308)

Students working at level 4:

WritingThey create texts that show understanding of how images and detail can be used to extend key ideas…..They demonstrate understanding of grammar, select vocabulary from a range of resources and use accurate spelling and punctuation, rereading and editing their work to improve meaning.

Speaking and ListeningThey create texts that show understanding of how images and detail can be used to extend key ideas…..They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, varying language according to context.

INTERCULTURAL CAPABILITYSTRAND CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS

Cultural Practices

Cultural Diversity

.Identify what is familiar and what is different in the ways culturally diverse individuals and families live (VCICCB001)

Describe their experiences of intercultural encounters in which they have been involved (VCICCB002)

Identify and discuss cultural diversity in the school and/or community (VCICCD003)

Imagine and explain what their responses might be if they were placed in a different cultural situation or setting (VCICCD004)

Students working at levels F-2:

They…identify cultural diversity in their school and/or community

Students explain how they might respond in different cultural situations

Students working at Levels 3- 4:

Students….compare a range of cultural practices and explain their influence on people’s relationships

Students explain the role of cultural traditions in the development of various identities.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES ASSESSMENT TEACHING NOTES

Prior learning: History:Students have completed material on personal and family history and been introduced to concepts of chronology, perspectives and change and continuity over time through considering their own history and the history of their family.

Celebrations and commemorations in our communityStudents will listen to and read texts on the theme of celebrations and commemorations. They demonstrate their understanding of celebrations in their community by producing a poster, contributing pages for a factual picture book, or web page.

Activity 1:Show students visual images of celebrations and commemorations (Anzac Day, Diwali, Australia day, Sorry Day, AFL Grand Final march, Moomba march, Christmas, Buddha’s birthday, weddings, local celebrations).

Use the photographs as a discussion starter and encourage students make links to their own experience of one or more of these days, explicitly drawing attention to similarities and differences in student experience and what it might be like to experience different ways of celebrating.

Students could use a graphic organiser, such as a Y chart or mind map to consider: what the celebration looks like what the celebration sounds like how it might feel to be there why we celebrate particular days

Activity 2:Create headings on sheets of poster paper of the types of celebrations and using students’ ideas add words and sentences which describe certain celebrations. Discuss with students the reasons for these celebrations and commemorations (these might include, an important time in the past of Australia as a whole or importance to particular groups of Australians, traditions, religious events etc.)

Activity 3:Students choose a particular celebration about which to complete a poster or book eBook page.Their page could include illustrations, words and sentences which describe a particular celebration or commemoration and explain reflections based on discussions from Activities 1 and 2.

On completion, teachers could provide students with opportunities to share their work with the class or a particular group.

Places in our communityStudents will look at continuity and change in the local community. They will compare past and present features of a place in their community and will describe the historical significance of a place.

Teachers will then take students on a site visit to one or more important places in the community such as a war memorial, place/s of worship, town hall, school, house, park, other recreations area or a suburban street. At least one of the sites should preferably be connected to one of the celebrations studied above.

Assessment tasks are examples only – teachers may choose to use or adapt activities as required.

Formative Assessment Intercultural capability:

Can students identify familiar and different experiences across culturally diverse lives?

Use Activity 3 as aSummative Assessment task:History/English/Intercultural capability

Formative assessmentGeography: Do students know the difference between natural, managed and constructed features?

*This unit relies on resources teachers may choose to download and display on the whiteboard.

Bring in a photograph of a celebration and tell the class about it (e.g. a family or cultural event)

A grammar and vocabulary building activity with a focus on proper nouns

The relationship between words and images with a focus on adjectives.

Activity 1: The features and activities of our community

As a class, look at photographs of a place in the local community, one taken from the past and one taken recently.For each photograph:

(i) Work with students to identify and classify some natural features, for example, rivers or native vegetation; constructed features such as buildings or roads; and managed features such as parks or community gardens. In pairs, students find any further examples of these kinds of features (this could be recorded in a table).

(ii) Ask students to suggest what activities were/are at that place, and to support their suggestions with evidence from the photograph

Activity 2: Continuity and change

Using the same photographs as for Activity 1.

Ask students to:

Suggest possible eras or dates when these photographs may have been taken.Consider how they might find out how old places are.

These could include: other information in the photographs such as what people are wearing, types of transport, street lighting, types of advertising, building materials dates on the buildings, books, records of local historical groups and local government asking parents/grandparents/carers/ local historical society

In groups and using a template of a page with two columns labelled ‘Past’ and ‘Present’ students describe what has changed over time and what has remained the same. Ask them to consider such things as:

Is the place still the same size? Have features of the place changed over time? (i.e. What kinds of features have stayed the same and what kinds have changed?) Is the place still used for the same purpose or purposes?

Groups share their findings and contribute to a class collage or school web resource.

Activity 3: Places in our community

As a class look at historical photographs of important buildings and/or other important constructed features in the local area.

Using a map of the local area, show students where these places are located. Work with students to understand the legend of the map and then ask them to point out other features near these places.

Ask students to suggest possible reasons why these locations might have been chosen, given the activities that the place is used for. These might include being close to water, main roads, close to the centre, near other places of importance or away from an industrial area.

Activity 4: Photograph Investigation

Formative assessment:History: Can students identify continuity and change by comparing aspects of the past and present?

Formative assessment:English: create a text that uses images to support written information.

Explain that students will investigate this place and how it has changed over time. Ask each group to brainstorm questions they might ask to find out about the place.These could include:

What were the activities at this place? Was this place used for any celebrations? Is the building or place used for the same thing today? How has it changed since the photograph was taken? Who are the people who would go to this place? How often would they visit? Why? Who was living and working at this site first? What kind of activities might have happened there then?

Activity 5: Site visitAs a class visit selected constructed features in the photographs. Using the map of the local area, students might be asked to suggest the best route that the class could take. While walking to or from the site, ask students to look for clues to find out how about the accessibility of the place. This might include car parking, nearby public transport stops, disabled access, street signs and so on. Ask students if they can make a link between this, what the place is used for, and how often it is visited.

At each site ask students to:

Describe the materials that the constructed feature is made of and other interesting clues about its purpose and how it is used such as porches, steps, dates or plaques.

Identify what the place is currently used for, including any celebrations. Identify any changes that have been made to the place since the photograph that was looked at in class. Draw or photograph the place. Interview the present owners/employees (if possible) using questions from Activity 4. Ask students to draw a conclusion about how this place is

and why.

Alternatively, back in class, invite people to talk to students about important places in the community. Possibilities include, local historical society, former students at the school, former soldiers, former local workers, parents etc.

Activity 6: Places in our community.

Have students use the information they have collected to contribute to a collage or poster display, eBook or school Web resource to share with othersProvide each group with an A3 sheet of paper, with the heading Our Place and divided into two with the headings ‘Past’ and ‘Present’.

Ask students to

include a photograph or drawing of their place or ‘past’ and ‘present’ photographs construct sentences about their place in the past (on the ‘past’ side of the A3 paper) construct sentences to identify their place in the present and any changes over time (on the ‘present’ side of the A3 paper).

Alternatively, complete this activity by annotating a large map of the local area with the photographs and sentences placed at their locations on the map, to create a story map that could be displayed on the classroom wall.

Students develop a group presentation for the class to share information about the location of their place, how the place and the activities there have changed and how important it is. Students reflect on differences in each other’s descriptions of places.

Formative assessment:English: use adjectives and prepositions to write descriptive sentences about a architectural features

Formative assessment:Geography: Can students:

interpret maps to draw conclusions, in this case about reasons for the location of constructed features?

use everyday terms to accurately describe direction and location?

collect and record useful information?

History: can students:Ask questions about the difference between past and present?Talk about continuity and change over time?

Use Activity 6 as aSummative Assessment task:Geography/History/English

Provide feedback to students as they rehearse their presentations on tone, volume and pace and use of supporting props.

Students practise listening and turn-taking skills by each preparing and asking a question of the person visited or the visiting speaker/s

Focus on writing, speaking and listening skills developed during this unit