Hodgins_Amy_17943956_A2_Task3_EDP323

Task Three Plan Explanations!

Central focus and Content descriptors:
The central focus of this unit is to inform students about the diversity of the
Indigenous Australians and their connection to place in regards to significance,
perspectives and resources. The significance of the environment to nonIndigenous Australians in terms of resources is also a central focus and the
differing perspectives between the two groups regarding environmental
sustainability (Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2016).
The content in this unit was strongly influenced by the knowledge and
understanding strand relevant to year 4, from the Humanities and Social
Sciences (HASS) subject area of the Australian curriculum. Aspects of the inquiry
and skills strand were also influential in the development of this unit, and were
drawn from the History and Geography sub-strands. The reason aspects were
derived from both strands is because the two are interrelated and have been
developed to be taught in an amalgamated way (ACARA, 2016). The specific
content descriptors that were chosen when developing the unit plan focus on
enabling students to identify the interconnections that the Indigenous Australians
have with the land and the differing points of view between Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australians regarding the sustainability of the environment.
Content descriptors from other subject areas were also incorporated in the
planning of this unit. This ensures the students are engaged in a systematic and
sequential learning experience that is appropriate for and leads towards the
summative assessment. The chosen content descriptors from the science subject
area of the year 4 curriculum focuses on students being able to interpret data
and information from maps and make comparisons with other maps, in order to
retrieve the image that is required to be embedded into their report. The
content descriptors taken from the literacy strand focus on students developing
and using language features that are relevant to the specific writing genre create
coherence and add details their report (ACARA, 2016).
Understanding backward design:
Unlike a traditional curricular approach where assessments are created near the
conclusion of the unit development, the backwards design approach involves
teachers using educational goals and objectives to devise assessments prior to
planning the teaching and learning experiences that take place. Through the
implementation of this approach the teacher is required to think like an assessor,
they consider their educational goals and objectives to develop assessments that
provide evidence of these goals and objectives. Doing this leads to coherence
among their teaching and learning targets, desired results and key
performances. Such coherence is important in enabling students to perform
better and achieve learning goals (Wiggins & Tighe, 2011, pp. 8-9).
Assessment types and recording formats:

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Three assessment types have been integrated into the unit plan. Prior to the
commencement of the unit, students are prompted to document their current
knowledge on the unit topic in the K section of the KWHL chart. This will then be
used by the teacher as an informal diagnostic assessment tool to determine the
students existing knowledge in relation to our country and the significance of
the environment to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The KWHL chart
will also be used as a formative assessment throughout the unit. Students will
document their learning at the conclusion of each lesson and the teacher will
collect the charts to review in order to determine if students are on the right
track and provide timely and appropriate feedback to their students about their
learning (Readman & Allen, 2016, p.51).The KWHL chart has also been
incorporated so that students can self-assess their learning as the unit
progresses. Throughout the duration of each lesson the teacher will also make
observations of their students engaging in learning experiences. They will
facilitate a combination of one on one, and group discussions as another form of
an informal formative assessment to provide constructive guidance and improve
their students performance (Readman & Allen, 2016, p. 50). The report that
students will produce at the end of the unit will be used as the main / summative
assessment. The rubric included has been developed specifically to assess the
students learning and was designed based on the assessment criteria within the
plan and using the principles of backwards design. The teacher will mark and
provide personal feedback on the students report using notes they will also
attach the marked rubric with the appropriate aspects highlighted in order to
illustrate the students standard of the criteria.
Connection to the real world:
When producing their reports students are encouraged to think critically and use
their higher- order thinking skills in order to evaluate the information on their
KWHL charts and determine what they will use in their report. When sourcing the
satellite image of the Dharug nation boundaries that students are to include in
their report, students connect and apply their learning to the real world
particularly the Indigenous country that their school is in the vicinity of. When
completing this assessment task the students are to self- assess what they have
learned regarding Indigenous Australians, the environment and sustainability
practices. Students will acquire authentic knowledge regarding environmental
sustainability and the ability to identify and consider different perspectives.
Alignment between learning tasks and achievement standards:
The learning activities that are embedded in this unit have a strong alignment
with the content descriptors and Achievement standards of the year 4 Australian
curriculum. Careful consideration was taken by the educator when sourcing
learning activities. The educator assessed the Activities by asking themselves
questions such as; will this activity equip my students with the required
knowledge and skills to reach achievement standards? Do the activities promote
authentic learning? and how beneficial are the required resources and materials
for developing a conceptual understanding of the big idea? During the first

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lesson the students are introduced to dreaming stories and the video clip
Aboriginal place names such activities enable students to develop an
understanding of the interconnections between the Indigenous Australians and
the environment (ACARA, 2016). The dreaming story Kootear the echidna was
chosen as it is a dreaming story from the local Indigenous community. By
introducing the children to this story, the map of Aboriginal Australia and
through the implementation of the locate the Dharug boundaries map
comparison task, students develop an understanding regarding the diversity of
the Indigenous people and knowledge about their local Indigenous community.
Throughout the unit students are required to document their learning and
discipline- specific vocabulary using the KWHL chart. The use of this assessment
tool involves the students being constructive learners and make connections
between existing and new knowledge in order to develop a conceptual
understanding of the big idea. The video clips that are to be played in the second
lesson, enable students to develop an understanding of the perspectives that the
Indigenous Australians have regarding the environment and sustainability. The
think, pair, share strategy will assist students to reinforce new knowledge
through collaboration and sharing their understandings. The student teacher /
group discussions undertaken throughout the unit enable the educator to identify
and address any potential misconceptions that their students might have. The
Greenway sustainability excursion in lesson three enables students to gain an
understanding of the differing points of view regarding the significance of the
environment and environmental sustainability. This excursion immerses students
in an authentic learning environment where they are required to be hands on.
This will further enhance their conceptual understanding. During the final lesson
the students conceptual understanding is deepened as they use their criticalthinking skills to analyse information and produce the report that will be used for
their summative assessment.
Reporting Justification:
Anecdotal records will be written at the end of each lesson by the educator
regarding the informal- formative assessments that take place of student
achievement in the form of student- teacher and class discussions. They will be
kept so that they can be used if required to report information to the students
parents / carers. The KWHL charts will be marked at the end of each lesson so
that they two can be used as an informal formative assessment to both the
students and their careers. Comprehensive information about student learning
and achievement will also be documented in the form of written comments on
the students report, a marked rubric and regular communication with families
regarding the students developmental progress and learning needs.