Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

Activity introduction:

This curriculum-linked activity is the third part of a larger inquiry where students will connect, understand and then act for a very special Australian species, the Plains-wanderer. In this activity, students will become an expert in a local species of bird and educate other people to make wildlife friendly choices.

By completing this activity, students will identify a species of bird that is special to them. They will research the habitat, features and adaptations of the species. They will identify wildlife friendly choices that will help the species to thrive in the wild and use research skills to create an information report.

This activity is designed as a flipped classroom where students can learn at their own pace. The accompanying student Workbook for this activity has all the instructions students will need to learn independently. You are welcome to invite your class to complete this activity as a stand-alone or as part of the larger inquiry.

At the completion of this lesson you may choose to debrief with your students about their learning. This teaching guide is designed to assist you in this process by providing teaching tips and suggested answers from the Zoos Victoria Education Team.

Resources required:

● Student Workbook - 1 per student (either printed or as a digital copy)● Access to the Fauna podcast episode, The Unannounced Visitor● Internet access● Pens or textas● Something to record research e.g. notebook, paper or device

Suggested timing:

● 90-120min

Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

Victorian Curriculum Learning Outcomes

Here is how you might use the Love Your Locals to teach the Victorian Curriculum:

Level Learning Area Content Descriptor

5 English Recognise that ideas in literary texts can be conveyed from different viewpoints, which can lead to different kinds of interpretations and responses (VCELT315)

5 English Use comprehension strategies to analyse information, integrating and linking ideas from a variety of print and digital sources (VCELY319)

5 English Analyse the text structures and language features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text (VCELY320)

5 EnglishCreate literary texts that experiment with structures, ideas and stylistic features of selected authors (VCELT327)

5 EnglishPlan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (VCELY329)

5 EnglishReread and edit own and others’ work using agreed criteria for text structures and language features (VCELY330)

5 EnglishUse 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 (VCELY332)

6 English Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas, comparing content from a variety of textual sources including media and digital texts (VCELY347)

6 English Identify and explain how analytical images like figures, tables, diagrams, maps and graphs contribute to our understanding of verbal information in factual and persuasive texts (VCELA340)

6 English Select, navigate and read increasingly complex texts for a range of purposes,

Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

applying appropriate text processing strategies to recall information and consolidate meaning (VCELY346)

6 English Experiment with text structures and language features and their effects in creating literary texts (VCELT355)

6 English Create literary texts that adapt or combine aspects of texts students have experienced in innovative ways (VCELT356)

6 English Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, choosing and experimenting with text structures, language features, images and digital resources appropriate to purpose and audience (VCELY358)

6 English Reread and edit own and others’ work using agreed criteria and explaining editing choices (VCELY359)

6 English Make connections between own experiences and those of characters and events represented in texts drawn from different historical, social and cultural contexts (VCELT365)

5 and 6 ScienceLiving things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment (VCSSU074)

5 and 6 ScienceScientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to inform personal and community decisions and to solve problems that directly affect people’s lives (VCSSU073)

5 and 6 ScienceThe growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment (VCSSU075)

5 and 6 GeographyEnvironmental and human influences on the location and characteristics of places and the management of spaces within them (VCGGK096)

5 and 6 GeographyFactors that influence people’s awareness and opinion of places (VCGGK097)

5 and 6 Ethical Capabilities Examine how problems may contain more than one ethical issue

(VCECU011)

5 and 6 Ethical Capabilities

Discuss the role and significance of conscience and reasoning in ethical decision-making (VCECD013)

Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

5 and 6 Personal and Social Capabilities

Reflect on how personal strengths have assisted in achieving success at home, at school or in the community (VCPSCSE026)

Level Cross Curriculum priority5 and 6 Learning about sustainability

Learning Intention:

● In Part A of this lesson students will become experts in a local species of bird● In Part B of this lesson students will create a resource that educates and informs people to

help wildlife grow in their local habitats● In Part C of this lesson students will share their information report

Learning Outcomes:

● Students can explain why it is important to help endangered species in the wild● Students can research using online resources ● Students can identify a local species ● Students can create an information report about an endangered species● Students can edit and improve my drafted ideas● Students can publish an information report that informs people about local wildlife

Educational pedagogy:

This teaching guide uses a framework called Connect – Understand – Act (CUA). This real-world learning framework is based on research into best practice pedagogy. CUA can be used to teach constructivist approaches like inquiry-based learning, project-based learning and problem-based learning. Zoos Victoria uses CUA to educate its visitors and the wider community.

Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

Here is how it works:

Connect – powerful experiences that engage and inspire learners to want to know more about their worldUnderstand – repeated practice that transforms new skills and knowledge from working memory to long-term memoryAct – mastering what has been learnt by applying skills and knowledge in real-world contexts

The activities in this teaching guide focus on guiding your students to act for an important animal species, and are part of a larger inquiry that uses the CUA framework. Act learning experiences enable people to master their skills and knowledge. Here are some ideas for how students can apply what they’ve learnt in real-world contexts.

Teaching the Lesson:

Below is a summary of the instructions on the student Workbook with suggested answers to help you debrief your class on the activity and guide any students that may require assistance.

Part A – Identify a Habitat (45 minutes)

Step 1. To begin this activity, students are encouraged to read through the learning intention and learning outcomes. This will tell students what they will be doing in this activity.

Step 2. Students are then given the following information about the act stage of Connect - Understand - Act to read through:

Act Stage - You have already connected with the Plains-wanderer by hearing the story in the podcast, and understood more about the species by researching how the choices people make influence wildlife and the environment. It is now time to act by using your skills and knowledge to build a resource to help protect animals that live in your local community.

In the act stage of Connect - Understand - Act, you can help a local endangered species to thrive in the wild by creating something that others can be informed by. If you would like to see examples of an action that Zoo Victoria have created to help people act for wildlife have a look at the Community Conservation Campaigns page - www.zoo.org.au/fighting-extinction/community-conservation-campaigns/

Part B – Become an Expert

Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

Step 1. To begin acting for local wildlife, students will identify a species that is local to them.Using the Atlas of Living Australia website to identify a species of bird that they might find in their local community. The following steps are provided in the student workbook to guide them through this process:

● Open Atlas of Living Australia – Explore you Area –● www.biocache.ala.org.au/explore/your-area ● Enter your school or home address or postcode ● From the ‘Group’ column, select ‘birds’● Read through the list, some birds will display both the scientific name and the common

name

Students are given the information that the number in the ‘Records’ column shows how many times that bird has been tracked in the area. If a bird is recorded many times, this indicates the species uses the area as a regular local habitat.

Step 2. In this step, students are encouraged to explain to a classmate or adult which local species you have chosen and why. If this is not possible in your setting please modify this instruction in the student Workbook. Student are given the following prompts to assist in this conversation:

● Why you choose this species of bird● If you have seen this bird in the wild before ● What kind of habitat do you think the bird lives in (where does this bird call home?)

Step 3. To increase their understanding of actions taken to conserve biodiversity in their local area students will be exploring the SWIFFT website. SWIFFT lets you search for active conservation projects happening in your local area.

Students are encouraged to take note of any actions already taking place in their community that could help their chosen species of bird.

The following instructions are provided in the student workbook to guide them through using the SWIFFT website:

● Open: SWIFFT – www.swifft.net.au/● Search the map of Victoria for your local area● On the top right hand corner, click ‘biodiversity projects’● Record any current projects that could impact on your chosen species of bird

It is also brought to the students’ attention that the map is broken into the different Indigenous Nations, who are custodians of the land.

Step 4. Using their research skills, students will then further research the species they have selected. The following links are provided to assist them in this process:

Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

● Zoos Victoria YouTube Channel ● Zoos Victoria - Local Threatened Species ● Birdlife Australia

Students are invited to write and/or draw what they have learnt on the research page of their student workbook. These notes will be used in Part B of this lesson.

Part C – Draft, Edit and Publish a Report

Now students will use the knowledge that they have gained to draft, edit and publish a report. Their information reports are aimed to educate other people about the species they have been researching and help others understand how to make wildlife friendly choices.

Step 1. Students are invited to choose a format for their information report and are given the following suggestions:

● a PowerPoint presentation● a written report● a short video● a pamphlet ● a diorama ● an information poster

If you need for these reports to be done in a certain format or there are other mediums you would like to include in this list, you are encouraged to modify the student workbook.

Step 2. To draft their reports, students are invited to use a piece of paper to sketch down their ideas and begin to write each paragraph.

Student are then prompted to remember to include the following:● labelled diagrams● facts● data - information that is used as evidence, e.g. 33 sightings of Tawny Frogmouths have

been recorded in 2017● images● headings and subheadings

Step 3. Students are then asked to edit their information report with a classmate, adult or teacher. They are invited to ask their volunteer editor to read over the report looking for any things that they could improve including the following:

● Spelling● Punctuation● Adding in extra information

Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

● Rearranging information so it is easier for the reader to understand● Adding labels to diagrams

Teaching tip: If this step will be done digitally, you may want to edit it in the student Workbook to include details about how you would like students to provide feedback to each other. For example, using comment mode in Google Docs, sticky notes on a PDF or track changes on Word.

Step 4. Students are then asked to finalise and publish their reports.

Part D – Share your Information Report.

Students can share a video of their information report with Zoos Victoria and other schools.

If your students would like to share their report with Zoos Victoria and people from other schools, or find out what others have created, they can join Zoos Victoria’s Flipgrid.

Flipgrid is a free Microsoft platform specifically designed for learners to share their ideas, stories and work. Students can record their video using: Flipgrid website, using the camera on their laptop or computer Flipgrid’s app (available for Apple and Android), using the camera on their phone or tablet

Instructions:1. Decide on the level of privacy. Students can present their information report in front of the camera or narrate from behind the camera. Zoos Victoria’s Flipgrids are available to anyone who has the URL and password. Please refer to your school’s privacy policy. If you need parent/guardian permission, here’s a sample form – https://static.flipgrid.com/docs/Flipgrid_consent_form.pdf All videos will be approved by a moderator before being visible to others.

2. Give students the URL and password for their website browser or Flipgrid app.URL – https://flipgrid.com/zvlocals Password – Localanimals

3. Students are welcome to watch the videos already in the grid. If they want to share their design and record their own video.

Here’s what to do (instructions are also on this webpage).

Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

Click the green plus symbol to get started.

Students will need to log in using their Google or Microsoft password. At least one these accounts is probably already linked to their Catholic Education, Department of Education or independent school email address.

Tap the record button on the bottom to start. If students are using a web browser, they made may need to enable Adobe Flash Player. They can add fun stickers, filters, text, and more.

Review the video – trim, rearrange, or add more.

Take a thumbnail photo for the video. This could be a selfie or a photo of the prototype.

Students can edit their name, video title or attach a link. Then submit! They will get a confirmation email with a link to share with your class. They can also download their video.

You are welcome to visit this grid at any time to see what your students and others have created.

Getting Feedback:Zoos Victoria staff will provide feedback on your students’ information report so they can improve their design. Other people in the Flipgrid might give feedback too. Your student will get an email notification when any feedback is provided.

New to Flipgrid? Here is some support: Student Privacy Pledge – http://blog.flipgrid.com/news/2017/5/19/flipgrid-student-privacy Help Centre – https://help.flipgrid.com/hc/en-us FlipGrid YouTube Channel – www.youtube.com/channel/UCaE_edn77lDzCxI3pinKvHg

Thank you for participating in Zoos Victoria’s Education Online.

Extra Support

Love Your Locals – Teaching GuideAct for the Plains-wandererYear 5 – 6

Got a question? Zoos Victoria’s Education Team is here to help you. Here is how to get extra support:

Teacher Tribe Facebook Group Our Teacher Tribe is a community who use real-world learning to enable young people to thrive as learners and conservation change-makers. Use this Facebook group to share your stories, ideas and resources with zoo staff and teachers from other schools and get support for your teaching.

Teacher Membership and Professional DevelopmentBecome a Teacher Member to receive exclusive access to teacher professional development events, unlimited entry to our three great zoos, the education e-newsletter and all the benefits of a Zoos Victoria membership.

Zoo Education OnlineWant to do another real-world learning unit with your students? Check out Zoo Education Online. We're bringing the zoo to you with learning activities, resources, webinars and live stream animals to help with real-world learning.

Zoos Victoria acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live and work, and pay our respects to Elders both past and present.

This program is funded by the Department of Education and Training’s Strategic Partnerships Program.

This program is funded by the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria.