2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
The unit plans are the first port of call when it comes to planning the content you wish to teach. The unit plan can need alterations, especially when it comes to unexpected school events. In the case of my third year Professional Experience Placement, a Year 8-10 event over three days was unexpected so I had to change my assessment timeline to ensure that I was able to assess the students by the end of my time there. The Year 9 unit plan below show what changed when I was notified about the school event and it also shows what the content was and the strategies that I used were.
The unit plans are the first port of call when it comes to planning the content you wish to teach. The unit plan can need alterations, especially when it comes to unexpected school events. In the case of my third year Professional Experience Placement, a Year 8-10 event over three days was unexpected so I had to change my assessment timeline to ensure that I was able to assess the students by the end of my time there. The Year 9 unit plan below show what changed when I was notified about the school event and it also shows what the content was and the strategies that I used were.
| re-do_y9_unit_plan.docx |
2.2 Content selection and organisation
When designing the units across all of my Professional Experience Placement's I had to keep in mind the age level of the students as well as their maturity and ability to 'handle' the content. The unit below, I designed for Year 8 Poetry, it focused on In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, haiku's, sonnets, the ballad Mulga Bill's Bicycle by Banjo Patterson and blackout poetry. I organised the unit by starting with In Flanders Fields as ANZAC Day had been a few days prior to the start of Term 2 so therefore there was a relevance to the wider national events. I then set haiku's as the next form of poetry to look at as they would be more light-hearted than the first poem. I then set sonnets and ballads after to give the students a bit of a challenge; in terms of the rhyme scheme (sonnets) and the overall length (ballad). I finished with blackout poetry, which is challenging in its own right but also a bit of fun for the students. The major assessment piece was a poetry anthology which was to show the students understanding of the different types of poetry and was also required include a writers statement. There were a series of lessons planned to work on the writers statements, before the anthologies were finished. Due to changes in the school calendar, transition to the new unit of work did not start until week 6. The unit plan below shows the transition between what work I planned for them as well as a leading into the unit of work that my mentor teacher would be doing after I left (narratives).
When designing the units across all of my Professional Experience Placement's I had to keep in mind the age level of the students as well as their maturity and ability to 'handle' the content. The unit below, I designed for Year 8 Poetry, it focused on In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, haiku's, sonnets, the ballad Mulga Bill's Bicycle by Banjo Patterson and blackout poetry. I organised the unit by starting with In Flanders Fields as ANZAC Day had been a few days prior to the start of Term 2 so therefore there was a relevance to the wider national events. I then set haiku's as the next form of poetry to look at as they would be more light-hearted than the first poem. I then set sonnets and ballads after to give the students a bit of a challenge; in terms of the rhyme scheme (sonnets) and the overall length (ballad). I finished with blackout poetry, which is challenging in its own right but also a bit of fun for the students. The major assessment piece was a poetry anthology which was to show the students understanding of the different types of poetry and was also required include a writers statement. There were a series of lessons planned to work on the writers statements, before the anthologies were finished. Due to changes in the school calendar, transition to the new unit of work did not start until week 6. The unit plan below shows the transition between what work I planned for them as well as a leading into the unit of work that my mentor teacher would be doing after I left (narratives).
| year_8_poetry_-_unit_plan.docx |
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting
When it came to curriculum and assessment, I utilized curriculum documents on the Australian Currciulum and SACE websites but also communication between my mentor and myself. The first document are screenshots of emails between my mentor and myself, while she was absent during my final Professional Experience Placement. This shows how I kept her abreast of any changes within the planned unit or assessment whilst she was absent. I also utilized exit-cards as a way of assessing how students were progressing within the unit. The second document shows a sample of exit cards from the Year 9 English creative writing unit I taught during my final Professional Experience Placement. I used all of these as a guide to how I progressed with the units of work.
When it came to curriculum and assessment, I utilized curriculum documents on the Australian Currciulum and SACE websites but also communication between my mentor and myself. The first document are screenshots of emails between my mentor and myself, while she was absent during my final Professional Experience Placement. This shows how I kept her abreast of any changes within the planned unit or assessment whilst she was absent. I also utilized exit-cards as a way of assessing how students were progressing within the unit. The second document shows a sample of exit cards from the Year 9 English creative writing unit I taught during my final Professional Experience Placement. I used all of these as a guide to how I progressed with the units of work.
| emails_between_mentor_and_myself_fypep.doc |
| emails_between_mentor_and_myself_fypep__2_.doc |
| exit_cards_-_year_9_creative_writing.docx |
2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
Please see Standard 1.4 – Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Please see Standard 1.4 – Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies
Please see Standard 1.3 – Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.
Please see Standard 1.3 – Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.
2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are in all aspects of the curriculum and while ICT strategies can be seen in the numeracy document for Standard 2.5 (highlighted in pink); students also should be taught about ICT safety and cyberbulling as part of the curriculum. The linked blog post from the core topic EDUC3628 Numeracy and ICT across the Middle and Secondary curriculum shows how ICT can be utilized within the curriculum and how cybersafety can be taught within the classroom.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are in all aspects of the curriculum and while ICT strategies can be seen in the numeracy document for Standard 2.5 (highlighted in pink); students also should be taught about ICT safety and cyberbulling as part of the curriculum. The linked blog post from the core topic EDUC3628 Numeracy and ICT across the Middle and Secondary curriculum shows how ICT can be utilized within the curriculum and how cybersafety can be taught within the classroom.
