Click on the image to be directed to the full resource.
Below are a few mind maps from twinkl.co.uk that summarise the key areas of support and strategies to use for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, Oppositional Defiance Disorder and Attachment Disorder. Click on the image to be directed to the full resource.
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This video, Austin's Butterfly, demonstrates the process of a student named Austin using a 'scientist's eye' to draw a picture of a butterfly. He makes multiple drafts and seeks feedback from his peers to help him produce a better result. It covers the topics of constructive criticism, having a growth mindset and learning from your mistakes.
I view this as a useful and motivational exercise that could be used with students to demonstrate that it takes work to be good at something. I think that it is important that educators build resilience and a persistent attitude in their students so that they seek to improve, want to keep learning and perform at their personal best. During my 5 week placement at Rose Park Primary School, I engaged with the IB Curriculum including the Learner Profile. Two of the attributes an IB learner strives for is to be caring and reflective. I looked at the book Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox with the Year 1 and 2 students and engaged students in thought and reflecting about what it means to be kind. ACARA ConnectionsThis lesson connected to the Australian Curriculum under the following sub-strands:
StrategiesConnection to five essential components of reading In reading this text to the class, it was important to be that students could comprehend what they were hearing. I encouraged students to raise their hand if they were unsure of a word and I stopped at particularly tricky words and modeled how to sound them out. Throughout my reading of the text, I routinely stopped and asked different students questions to ensure that they were comprehending what was being said. Inferring and making connections through visual imagery In the class I worked in, a number of students were EALD students and one student with mild hearing loss. I worked with the classroom teacher to encourage students to predict what would happen throughout a text. Whenever students were making a prediction they were encouraged to cup their hands in the shape of a crystal ball. When students had make connections in the text to their prior knowledge, they would shape their hand into a C shape to share their thinking. This was a fantastic formative assessment tool in order to grasp which students were engaged with the content, thinking about it and making connections. Discussing the illustrator's intentions by accompanying images to text By focusing students' attention on the images, I was able to facilitate a connection between what they were hearing and what they were seeing. I gave students time to view the images and develop opinions about what the characters were feeling. Relating content to the students' experiences This is by far one of the most important strategies in helping students to engage with concepts and relate to them. Following the story, we discussed actions that students had taken to care for somebody that they knew. In a heart-shaped template, students wrote and drew about their act of kindness. Lesson Plan
The Final ProductI found this lesson to be a valuable teaching experience for both the students and I. I think that the greatest benefit of this activity was the sense of confidence that students felt when they were thinking about the good things that they had done. By engaging with this story, students expanded upon their literary knowledge by comprehending spoken word and connecting this to their own experiences.
In the classroom
In English, Year 5s are researching text structures to analyse the purpose of each text for its intended audience. Students will be using ICT to,
Strategy 1
Discuss online safety: Promote the message: "A stranger online is still a stranger"..
Why?
Children enjoy using technology for entertainment, however there are people who use technology to scam people and/or try to coerce children (Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner, n.d.) . We want our children to know how to respond if they feel unsafe online. Strategy 2
Take cyberbullying seriously: Read the book ‘Bully’ by Patricia Polacco
How? Read 'Bully' and discuss issues of cyberbullying and how to respond to bullies online. The story is about a girl named Lyla who makes a new friendship group at school but then finds out that her new friends are using Facebook to post nasty and hurtful material about her classmates. The eSafety website encourages children to stop interacting with bullies, block and report them, and seek support (Australian Government: Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner, n.d.g) Why? Cyberbullying is “...the use of technology to bully a person or group. Bullying is repeated behaviour with the intent to harm others” as defined by CyberSmart in this booklet titled 'Parents’ guide to online safety'. It’s important that your child knows that you won’t judge them or remove their device if they report cyberbullying to you. Cyberbullying can result in children not wanting to go to school, poor performance at school and low self-esteem (NoBullying, 2015). Strategy 3
Limit online use: Set up a favourites list of websites and use parental controls
How? Together, set up a list of websites that are safe for your child to use. Share the online experience and use parental controls to filter information. Even by setting up a list of favourites, children can still become exposed to dangerous content or spam. You can watch this video with your family to teach them about hidden adverts, using their real age online and to ask before signing up to anything. IAB Animation from dom1986 on Vimeo. To stay updated with recent online threats, you can sign up for the Stay Smart Online Alert Service. Why? The internet contains violent, dangerous and sexually explicit content. By limiting what they can view online, you are limiting the likelihood that they are exposed to unwanted content. Strategy 4
Why use Youtube Copyright School?
To teach children that it's not okay to steal, copy or use someone else’s videos without their permission. You could also discuss copying words and pictures when doing school projects. Why use Budd:e? Through a variety of different activities, children learn different online safety skills. View the captions below to learn more about its educational value. Strategy 5
Set your own boundaries: Have a technology use agreement
How? Work out a set of rules together for using technology. You could do this yourself, together or through a letter from Santa at Christmas like this parent. These rules could include,
Why limit screen time? Too much screen time contributes to poor sleep which impacts growing, learning and school performance (Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner, n.d.e.) Why control sharing? Personal information posted online can be reached by criminals and misused. The disclosure of personal information can influence a person’s reputation.
It is easy to accept that your child is competent with technology, however it's important for us to ensure that children are safely using it. Technology is becoming an increasingly important part of our lives and by working together, we can educate our children to be confident, literate, responsible users of it..
Additional information:
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Technology blogs written by parents
References
Australian Government: Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.). eSafety for parents - Online grooming. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-online-grooming>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.e). eSafety for parents – Too much time online. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-too-much-time-online>
Australian Government: Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.g) eSafety for parents - cyberbullying. Retrieved from
<https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-cyberbullying>
NoBullying.com (2015). The Real Effects of CyberBullying. Retrieved from
<http://nobullying.com/the-effects-of-cyber-bullying/>
Bibliography
Australian Curriculum (n.d.) Introduction. Retrieved from
<http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-and-communication-technology-capability/introduction/introduction>
Australian Government: Australian Communications and Media Authority. (n.d.). Parents’ guide to online safety. Retrieved from
<http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/~/media/Cybersmart/Documents/Documents/Parents_guide_to_online_safety.pdf>
Australian Government: Department of Communications (n.d.). Stay Smart Online Alert Service. Retrieved from
<https://alerts.staysmartonline.gov.au/em/forms/subscribe.php?db=367399&s=82046&a=38192&k=20950e0&wt=1&_ga=1.248890895.908797292.1442472158>
Australian Government: Department of Communications (n.d.a). Stay Smart Online. Retrieved from
<https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/stay-smart-online>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.a). eSafety for parents – Inappropriate content. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-inappropriate-content>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.b). eSafety for parents – Basics. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-basics>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.c). Parental Controls. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/parental-controls>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.d). Games, apps and social networking. Retrieved from
<https://esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/games-apps-and-social-networking>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.f). Protecting personal information. Retrieved from
<https://esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/protecting-personal-information>
Budd:e (n.d.). What is Budd:e? Retrieved from
<https://budd-e.cybersmart.gov.au/teachers/primary/budde.html>
Budd:e (n.d.a). Budd:e. Retrieved from
<https://budd-e.cybersmart.gov.au/primary/main.php>
BullyingNoWay (2005) Okay Bingo. Retrieved from <http://bullyingnoway.gov.au/resources/teachers/anti-bullying-bingo.pdf>
BullyingNoWay (2005a). Okay, Not Okay. Retrieved from <http://bullyingnoway.gov.au/resources/teachers/anti-bullying-okay-not-okay.pdf>
Cool Mom Tech (n.d.) Cool Mom Tech. Retrieved from
<http://coolmomtech.com/>
Coulson, J. (n.d.). Get Help. Retrieved from
<http://happyfamilies.com.au/>
Dom1986 (2014). IAB Animation. Retrieved from
<https://vimeo.com/87748773>
Life Education (2015). Parents – it’s time to bCyberwise too! Retrieved from <http://www.lifeeducation.org.au/parents/item/522-parents-its-time-to-bcyberwise-too>
Merton-McCann, A. (2015). Author: Cybermum Australia. Retrieved from <https://blogs.mcafee.com/author/cybermum-australia/>
Oglethorpe, M. (2015). Parenting in a digital world: Stop fighting, start connecting. Retrieved from <http://themodernparent.net/>
Oglethorpe, M. (2013a). A letter from Santa for your new technology, games and devices. Retrieved from <http://themodernparent.net/letter-santa-new-technology-games-devices/>
Thompson, J. (2011). CEOP KS1 Film : ‘Lee & Kim’ Cartoon Suitable 5 yrs – 7 yrs. Retrieved from
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nMUbHuffO8>
Australian Government: Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.). eSafety for parents - Online grooming. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-online-grooming>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.e). eSafety for parents – Too much time online. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-too-much-time-online>
Australian Government: Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.g) eSafety for parents - cyberbullying. Retrieved from
<https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-cyberbullying>
NoBullying.com (2015). The Real Effects of CyberBullying. Retrieved from
<http://nobullying.com/the-effects-of-cyber-bullying/>
Bibliography
Australian Curriculum (n.d.) Introduction. Retrieved from
<http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-and-communication-technology-capability/introduction/introduction>
Australian Government: Australian Communications and Media Authority. (n.d.). Parents’ guide to online safety. Retrieved from
<http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/~/media/Cybersmart/Documents/Documents/Parents_guide_to_online_safety.pdf>
Australian Government: Department of Communications (n.d.). Stay Smart Online Alert Service. Retrieved from
<https://alerts.staysmartonline.gov.au/em/forms/subscribe.php?db=367399&s=82046&a=38192&k=20950e0&wt=1&_ga=1.248890895.908797292.1442472158>
Australian Government: Department of Communications (n.d.a). Stay Smart Online. Retrieved from
<https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/stay-smart-online>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.a). eSafety for parents – Inappropriate content. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-inappropriate-content>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.b). eSafety for parents – Basics. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-basics>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.c). Parental Controls. Retrieved from
<https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/parental-controls>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.d). Games, apps and social networking. Retrieved from
<https://esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/games-apps-and-social-networking>
Australian Government - Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner (n.d.f). Protecting personal information. Retrieved from
<https://esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/protecting-personal-information>
Budd:e (n.d.). What is Budd:e? Retrieved from
<https://budd-e.cybersmart.gov.au/teachers/primary/budde.html>
Budd:e (n.d.a). Budd:e. Retrieved from
<https://budd-e.cybersmart.gov.au/primary/main.php>
BullyingNoWay (2005) Okay Bingo. Retrieved from <http://bullyingnoway.gov.au/resources/teachers/anti-bullying-bingo.pdf>
BullyingNoWay (2005a). Okay, Not Okay. Retrieved from <http://bullyingnoway.gov.au/resources/teachers/anti-bullying-okay-not-okay.pdf>
Cool Mom Tech (n.d.) Cool Mom Tech. Retrieved from
<http://coolmomtech.com/>
Coulson, J. (n.d.). Get Help. Retrieved from
<http://happyfamilies.com.au/>
Dom1986 (2014). IAB Animation. Retrieved from
<https://vimeo.com/87748773>
Life Education (2015). Parents – it’s time to bCyberwise too! Retrieved from <http://www.lifeeducation.org.au/parents/item/522-parents-its-time-to-bcyberwise-too>
Merton-McCann, A. (2015). Author: Cybermum Australia. Retrieved from <https://blogs.mcafee.com/author/cybermum-australia/>
Oglethorpe, M. (2015). Parenting in a digital world: Stop fighting, start connecting. Retrieved from <http://themodernparent.net/>
Oglethorpe, M. (2013a). A letter from Santa for your new technology, games and devices. Retrieved from <http://themodernparent.net/letter-santa-new-technology-games-devices/>
Thompson, J. (2011). CEOP KS1 Film : ‘Lee & Kim’ Cartoon Suitable 5 yrs – 7 yrs. Retrieved from
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nMUbHuffO8>
This week I was exposed to different examples of how dyslexia affects different people. The three examples from the Armstrong and Squires (2014) opened my eyes to how difficulties in reading and writing influence a person’s self-esteem, sense of self-efficacy and social skills.
When looking at the example of John, my group and I highlighted that John struggled with reading and writing. He had a low literacy level and was reading books at a much lower level than his peers. Despite this, John was recognised by his teachers as having a high level of intelligence. Through discussion with my tutor and peers, we connected this with the topic of differentiation by recognising that often teachers will categorise students with learning difficulties into low-ability groups regardless of their intelligence. By placing a student in a group that is below their level of readiness, teachers may see challenging behaviours that arise from boredom, frustration or lack of challenge.
It is important for teachers to be able to recognise the needs of students with learning disabilities in the classroom. This is especially significant as Skues and Cunningham (2011) highlights that in Australia these students are not eligible for special education funding, therefore it is the responsibility of the teacher to learn about and differentiate for their student/s with learning disabilities.
References
Armstrong, D. and Squires, G. (2014) Key Perspectives on Dyslexia. London: Routledge. Introduction (pp. 1-15)
Skues, J. L., & Cunningham, E. G. (2011). A contemporary review of the definition, prevalence, identification and support of learning disabilities in Australian schools. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 16(2), 159-180.
When looking at the example of John, my group and I highlighted that John struggled with reading and writing. He had a low literacy level and was reading books at a much lower level than his peers. Despite this, John was recognised by his teachers as having a high level of intelligence. Through discussion with my tutor and peers, we connected this with the topic of differentiation by recognising that often teachers will categorise students with learning difficulties into low-ability groups regardless of their intelligence. By placing a student in a group that is below their level of readiness, teachers may see challenging behaviours that arise from boredom, frustration or lack of challenge.
It is important for teachers to be able to recognise the needs of students with learning disabilities in the classroom. This is especially significant as Skues and Cunningham (2011) highlights that in Australia these students are not eligible for special education funding, therefore it is the responsibility of the teacher to learn about and differentiate for their student/s with learning disabilities.
References
Armstrong, D. and Squires, G. (2014) Key Perspectives on Dyslexia. London: Routledge. Introduction (pp. 1-15)
Skues, J. L., & Cunningham, E. G. (2011). A contemporary review of the definition, prevalence, identification and support of learning disabilities in Australian schools. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 16(2), 159-180.
In order to continue to develop professional networks and expand my online community, I have created a Twitter account. You can find me at @JuliaTeaches on Twitter.
I plan to use Twitter as part of my professional learning as a 21st Century teacher. I want my students to have a good role model for the safe, appropriate and responsible use of technology. Not only do I intend to role model the correct social and ethical protocols and practices of using technology, but I also intend to use it to create and communicate with other professionals. I intend to use ICT to meet my learning needs as a teacher, and that is also what I intend for my students to achieve.
In the digital age that we live in, we need to engage with new ways of sharing, using, developing and communicating with ICT. For my students to successfully participate in a technologically sophisticated society, and the society of tomorrow, they need to have the knowledge, skills and confidence to be able to use ICT. This is supported by the Melbourne Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians, one of the guiding documents in the development of the Australian Curriculum.
I welcome colleagues from all over the world to connect with me and to grow, learn and share ideas with each other to improve our teaching practice..
I plan to use Twitter as part of my professional learning as a 21st Century teacher. I want my students to have a good role model for the safe, appropriate and responsible use of technology. Not only do I intend to role model the correct social and ethical protocols and practices of using technology, but I also intend to use it to create and communicate with other professionals. I intend to use ICT to meet my learning needs as a teacher, and that is also what I intend for my students to achieve.
In the digital age that we live in, we need to engage with new ways of sharing, using, developing and communicating with ICT. For my students to successfully participate in a technologically sophisticated society, and the society of tomorrow, they need to have the knowledge, skills and confidence to be able to use ICT. This is supported by the Melbourne Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians, one of the guiding documents in the development of the Australian Curriculum.
I welcome colleagues from all over the world to connect with me and to grow, learn and share ideas with each other to improve our teaching practice..
NT Board of Studies (1998) document: ‘What’s the Matter?’
The document ‘What’s the Matter?’ is a booklet of teacher notes for teaching the subject of matter in Science. It was developed in 1998 so it is important to be aware that it fits within the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework so teachers will need to adapt the objectives to fit the Australian Curriculum.
The contents of this document include a unit planner, teacher information about what matter is, a teacher learning model, strategies for ESL studies, 10 in depth activities related to matter, and assessment and evaluation.
When using activities from this document, it's important to remember the specific needs and abilities of the students in your own class. This document does not provide examples of how to differentiate tasks to fit individual students needs, this is the responsibility of the class teacher. This document is a great starting point for planning a unit on matter, but should be adapted to fit individual class needs.
Each activity in this booklet outlines the key ideas, a summary of the learning tasks, teacher preparation information including materials, the activities in detail, vocabulary used, language structures and features (e.g. similes used, or prefixes added to words to form opposites), methods of documenting findings, and considerations to make regarding Indigenous culture. I think that this last point is especially important as it connects to the cross-curriculum priority of understanding, respecting and incorporating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures into the classroom.
These activities are developed for Band 2 and 3 in the Northern Territory. Band 2 is our equivalent of Year 3 and 4, and Band 3 is our equivalent of Year 5 and 6.
In regards to assessment and evaluation, this document gives a variety of suggestions regarding the types of assessment that could be used while completing these activities. It also provides suggestions for questions that teachers can use for self-reflection.
Note that there are other documents available online for different scientific areas – such as energy and flight.
The document ‘What’s the Matter?’ is a booklet of teacher notes for teaching the subject of matter in Science. It was developed in 1998 so it is important to be aware that it fits within the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework so teachers will need to adapt the objectives to fit the Australian Curriculum.
The contents of this document include a unit planner, teacher information about what matter is, a teacher learning model, strategies for ESL studies, 10 in depth activities related to matter, and assessment and evaluation.
When using activities from this document, it's important to remember the specific needs and abilities of the students in your own class. This document does not provide examples of how to differentiate tasks to fit individual students needs, this is the responsibility of the class teacher. This document is a great starting point for planning a unit on matter, but should be adapted to fit individual class needs.
Each activity in this booklet outlines the key ideas, a summary of the learning tasks, teacher preparation information including materials, the activities in detail, vocabulary used, language structures and features (e.g. similes used, or prefixes added to words to form opposites), methods of documenting findings, and considerations to make regarding Indigenous culture. I think that this last point is especially important as it connects to the cross-curriculum priority of understanding, respecting and incorporating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures into the classroom.
These activities are developed for Band 2 and 3 in the Northern Territory. Band 2 is our equivalent of Year 3 and 4, and Band 3 is our equivalent of Year 5 and 6.
In regards to assessment and evaluation, this document gives a variety of suggestions regarding the types of assessment that could be used while completing these activities. It also provides suggestions for questions that teachers can use for self-reflection.
Note that there are other documents available online for different scientific areas – such as energy and flight.
This is the first lesson about syllables as part of a wider units on limericks. This lesson was taught with a Year 1-2 class in order to pre-assess students' prior knowledge of syllables.
ACARA Connections
This lesson connected to the Australian Curriculum under the following sub-strands:
Year 1:
Year 2:
Year 1:
- Listen to, recite and perform poems, chants, rhymes and songs, imitating and inventing sound patterns including alliteration and rhyme (ACELT1585)
Year 2:
- Identify, reproduce and experiment with rhythmic, sound and word patterns in poems, chants, rhymes and songs (ACELT1592
The Task
Each child received a 'silly sentence' and was asked to write the number of syllables on top of each word, then a total underneath for the sentence. Then students were to draw a picture of their sentence in order to demonstrate their understanding of it.
Strategies
Connection to five essential components of reading
In this lesson, students learnt about elements of words and speech that make up the English language. Through learning about syllables, students were exposed to phonemes and parts of words. This is valuable for students in understanding how words are constructed.
Draw a picture for comprehension
Following the counting of syllables, students were asked to draw a picture of their silly sentence in order to demonstrate their understanding of what was being written.
Connections to prior knowledge
I asked the students what their initial thoughts were when they thought about syllables and a number of students linked this to their lessons in music. Some students were able to tell me how to count syllables and others weren't overly certain about what a syllable was.
Parts of a sentence
Before the activity, I explained that all of our words are made up of syllables and that each syllable has a sound related to the letters a, e, i, o, u.
I do, we do, you do
I used this strategy to model to students how to clap the syllables in a word. I went around the circle and clapped out the syllables in a few students' names. I then encouraged the class to join me and clap the rest of the class members' names along with me. Then, the students were asked to think of something they did in their school holidays and clap the syllables of those words out, one at a time.
In this lesson, students learnt about elements of words and speech that make up the English language. Through learning about syllables, students were exposed to phonemes and parts of words. This is valuable for students in understanding how words are constructed.
Draw a picture for comprehension
Following the counting of syllables, students were asked to draw a picture of their silly sentence in order to demonstrate their understanding of what was being written.
Connections to prior knowledge
I asked the students what their initial thoughts were when they thought about syllables and a number of students linked this to their lessons in music. Some students were able to tell me how to count syllables and others weren't overly certain about what a syllable was.
Parts of a sentence
Before the activity, I explained that all of our words are made up of syllables and that each syllable has a sound related to the letters a, e, i, o, u.
I do, we do, you do
I used this strategy to model to students how to clap the syllables in a word. I went around the circle and clapped out the syllables in a few students' names. I then encouraged the class to join me and clap the rest of the class members' names along with me. Then, the students were asked to think of something they did in their school holidays and clap the syllables of those words out, one at a time.
I found this lesson to be a good introductory lesson for a unit on limericks. The silly sentences were a fun way of engaging students with syllables that was memorable and interesting. This lesson gave me an opportunity to work on building my skills in explaining how letters, sounds and words are constructed which is essential knowledge for students to have in order to know how words can be made and used in the English language.
Today I taught a lesson to a class of 25 Year 1s and 2s. The aim of this lesson was to introduce the students to colour associations to do with mood, essentially cool colours for happy feelings and warm colours for unhappy feelings.
This lesson was connected to the Visual Arts section of the Australian Curriculum (awaiting endorsement): 'Use and experiment with different materials, techniques, technologies and processes to make artworks (ACAVAM107)'
Facial Expressions
We began the lesson by looking at the features of facial expressions from a picture I found through Pinterest sourced from this website. (I actually added eyeballs to all of them to make them look less scary).
This lesson was connected to the Visual Arts section of the Australian Curriculum (awaiting endorsement): 'Use and experiment with different materials, techniques, technologies and processes to make artworks (ACAVAM107)'
Facial Expressions
We began the lesson by looking at the features of facial expressions from a picture I found through Pinterest sourced from this website. (I actually added eyeballs to all of them to make them look less scary).
I printed out each of these faces to half an A4 page. I began by randomly selecting students to come to the front of the classroom and I gave them one of the expressions. The class then had to guess how they were feeling. Once they had guessed, the students stuck up their expression on a large sheet of brown paper under the category of 'happy' or 'unhappy'.
Another way this could have been done would be to tell the class what the expression was and not the person out the front, and then the class would've had to describe the expression to the person at the front for them to guess.
I then asked the students to make observations about each expression. What did their eyebrows look like? What did their eyes look like? What did their mouth look like? Students noticed commonalities between the eyebrows and eyes of the happy expressions compared to that of the unhappy expressions.
Another way this could have been done would be to tell the class what the expression was and not the person out the front, and then the class would've had to describe the expression to the person at the front for them to guess.
I then asked the students to make observations about each expression. What did their eyebrows look like? What did their eyes look like? What did their mouth look like? Students noticed commonalities between the eyebrows and eyes of the happy expressions compared to that of the unhappy expressions.
The Story
Prior to reading the story, I briefly mentioned the connection between warm colours being associated with anger and cool colours being associated with happiness.
I read the book to the class, asking questions regarding their predictions, observations and literary techniques they noticed. This book was a great example of the connection between feelings and colours as the happy monster is blue and green and the angry one is red and orange.
I was so happy that after not long one of my students noticed that one was the warm colours and one was the cool colours! This was a topic that the class had covered previously with their normal teacher.
The Colour Wheel
Once we finished the story and the student mentioned the warm and cool colours, we began to look at a picture of the colour wheel and a chart of the colours that I had printed out earlier.
I was so happy that after not long one of my students noticed that one was the warm colours and one was the cool colours! This was a topic that the class had covered previously with their normal teacher.
The Colour Wheel
Once we finished the story and the student mentioned the warm and cool colours, we began to look at a picture of the colour wheel and a chart of the colours that I had printed out earlier.
I talked a little about why we have these associations with mood. Mentioning that anger is like fire, and the students guessed that the happiness was associated with calm things such as the ocean, grass and the sky.
The Paper Bag Monsters
Before making their own monsters, the students were asked to complete a writing task where they were to choose how their monster would feel, the associating colour to go with that feeling, and to write why we use that colour to go with that feeling. In making their paper bags, they were also asked to incorporate features of the face, especially the eyes and eyebrows, to make the monster's expression more clear.
The Paper Bag Monsters
Before making their own monsters, the students were asked to complete a writing task where they were to choose how their monster would feel, the associating colour to go with that feeling, and to write why we use that colour to go with that feeling. In making their paper bags, they were also asked to incorporate features of the face, especially the eyes and eyebrows, to make the monster's expression more clear.
The class did a great job of this and were so excited to make paper bag monsters. They used coloured markers and coloured paper to design their monster however they pleased. I've posted a few examples of student work below which I thought was just excellent.
What I would do differently
Next time I do this task, instead of spreading the paper bags on each table at the start of the lesson I would have made sure that each of them had completed their writing neatly and to an appropriate standard before giving them a paper bag.
I would give more visual examples of warm colours used in anger and cool colours used for happiness.
I would focus on better strategies for concluding the activity and set a time limit for students to pack up by.
I would have repeated the task more than once to reiterate the importance of the writing activity.
What I think I did well
I think that this lesson was appropriate to the level of understanding that the students already had of colour and visual arts.
All students were engaged with the lesson and grasped the concept of warm for anger and cool for happy.
I was well organised, had all craft materials, pictures, colour charts, and sheets ready to go before the lesson. I had also written the lesson out in full and made connections to the Australian Curriculum before presenting the lesson to the class.
The lesson followed a natural progression of growth and understanding. I took on suggestions given by students and used these to guide the conversation in the right direction.
Next time I do this task, instead of spreading the paper bags on each table at the start of the lesson I would have made sure that each of them had completed their writing neatly and to an appropriate standard before giving them a paper bag.
I would give more visual examples of warm colours used in anger and cool colours used for happiness.
I would focus on better strategies for concluding the activity and set a time limit for students to pack up by.
I would have repeated the task more than once to reiterate the importance of the writing activity.
What I think I did well
I think that this lesson was appropriate to the level of understanding that the students already had of colour and visual arts.
All students were engaged with the lesson and grasped the concept of warm for anger and cool for happy.
I was well organised, had all craft materials, pictures, colour charts, and sheets ready to go before the lesson. I had also written the lesson out in full and made connections to the Australian Curriculum before presenting the lesson to the class.
The lesson followed a natural progression of growth and understanding. I took on suggestions given by students and used these to guide the conversation in the right direction.
About Me
My name is Julia Calabrese. I'm a pre-service teacher from South Australia who is focused on Primary Education and Disability Studies.
I work as part of a Learning Support Team that supports secondary school NEP students with their education.
This work by Julia Calabrese is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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