Unit For Year 6
- 1. Unit for Year 6/7 on Biodiversity Biodiversity is the study of ecosystems and is the focus of the Queensland Environmental Sustained Schools Initiative (QESSI) unit for 2009. Through the study of introduced plants and animals students will become aware of their effect in the native environment. Students will be presented with information concerning the positive and negative impacts and will be required to develop a persuasive argument to represent their point of view. They will present their arguments to an audience of their peers.
- 2. Unit length – 8 weeks Key Questions Are all plants and animals native to Australia? What plants and animals have been introduced to Australia? What impacts have introduced species had on the Australian Environment? What strategies are in place to reduce the impact? What does this mean to me? Deep Understandings Introduced plants and animals have an impact on the native environment. Controls have been put in place to regulate the impact on the native environment. Some plants and animals that have an impact on the environment are also a necessary aspect of modern society.
- 3. Key Learning Area(s): Science, SOSE, English, ICTs Ways of working Students will be able to: • identify problems and issues, and formulate testable scientific questions • collect and analyse first- and second-hand data, information and evidence • evaluate information and evidence and identify and analyse errors in data • draw conclusions that summarise and explain patterns in data and are supported by experimental evidence and scientific concepts • communicate scientific ideas, data and evidence, using scientific terminology suited to the context and purpose • reflect on different points of view and recognise and clarify people’s values relating to the applications and impacts of science • reflect on learning, apply new understandings and identify future applications. Knowledge and Understanding Science as a human endeavour Science impacts on people, their environment and their communities. • Scientific knowledge can help to make natural, social and built environments sustainable, at a scale ranging from local to global Life and living Living things have structures that enable them to survive and reproduce. • Survival of organisms is dependent on their adaptation to their environment • Different feeding relationships exist within an ecosystem
- 4. SOSE Ways of working Students will be able to: • identify issues and use common and own focus questions • collect and analyse information and evidence from primary and secondary sources • evaluate sources of information and evidence for relevance, reliability, origins and perspective • draw conclusions and make decisions based on information and evidence by identifying patterns and connections • communicate descriptions, decisions and conclusions, using different text types for specific purposes and the conventions of research-based texts • reflect on and identify different perspectives, and recognise and clarify beliefs and values relating to social justice, the democratic process, sustainability and peace • reflect on learning, apply new understandings and identify future applications. Knowledge and Understanding Place and space Environments are defined by physical characteristics and processes, and are connected to human activities and decisions about resource management. • Australian environments are defined by patterns of natural processes, by human activities and by the relationships between them, including climate and natural resource distribution, resource use, and settlement patterns • Natural hazards are a result of natural processes, and human activity can affect the impacts of these occurrences • Sustainability requires a balance between using, conserving and protecting environments, and involves decisions about how resources are used and managed
- 5. English Ways of working Students will be able to: • identify and demonstrate the relationship between audience, subject matter, purpose and text type • identify main ideas and the sequence of events, make inferences and draw conclusions based on ideas and information within and across texts • recognise and select vocabulary and interpret the effect of literal and figurative language • interpret and identify that readers/viewers/listeners are positioned by aspects of texts • construct non-literary texts to express meanings and messages, to identify causes and effects, and to state positions supported by evidence • make judgments and justify opinions using information and ideas from texts, and identify how aspects of texts contribute to enjoyment and appreciation • reflect on learning, apply new understandings and identify future applications Knowledge and Understanding Speaking and listening Speaking and listening involve using oral, aural and gestural elements to interpret and construct texts that achieve purposes across wider community contexts. • The purpose of speaking and listening includes advancing opinions, discussing, persuading others to a point of view, influencing transactions, and establishing and maintaining relationships • Words and phrasing, syntax, cohesion, repetition, pronunciation, pause, pace, pitch and volume establish mood, signal relationships, create effect and are monitored by listeners. • Nonverbal elements, including facial expressions, gestures and body language, establish mood, signal relationships, create effect and are monitored by listeners. • Active listeners identify ideas and issues from others’ viewpoints and clarify meanings to justify opinions and reasoning. • In presentations, speakers make meaning clear by organising subject matter, identifying their role and selecting relevant resources
- 6. English cont. Language elements Interpreting and constructing texts involve selecting and controlling choices about grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, audio and visual elements, in print-based, electronic and face-to-face modes (speaking and listening, reading and viewing, writing and designing) across wider community contexts. • Paragraphs sequence information and arguments, and include topic sentences that emphasise a point or argument. . • Cohesive devices and other text connectives within and between sentences signal relationships between ideas, including cause-and-effect and comparison and contrast e.g. Don Bradman was a star cricketer and, as a result, he became an Australian icon. — as a result is the cohesive device showing the relationship between the two ideas. • Noun groups and verb groups are used to provide specific descriptions of subject matter, express degrees of certainty and uncertainty, and develop characterisation, setting and plot e.g. We had to run quickly in the other direction as strange creatures overcame our inadequate fortress. • High-frequency words are replaced by more complex forms of vocabulary and give more specific descriptions e.g. keep going can be replaced with persevere; did can be replaced with performed. • Evaluative language, including adjectives, can appeal to certain groups, express opinions, and represent people, characters, places, events and things in different ways e.g. a devastating result for the defeated team in a sporting match would be a wonderful outcome for the successful team in the same match — devastating and wonderful are evaluative words expressing opinion. • Punctuation • Vocabulary is chosen to establish relationships, persuade others, describe ideas and demonstrate knowledge e.g. an absolutely brilliant and innovative … — the choice of vocabulary can be deliberately persuasive. • Auditory, spoken, visual and nonverbal elements add meaning, interest, immediacy and authority to multimedia texts e.g. gloomy music in a film could indicate Writing and designing Writing and designing involve using language elements to construct literary and non-literary texts for audiences across wider community contexts. • The purpose of writing and designing includes evoking emotion, persuading and informing • Writers and designers establish roles, make assumptions about their audience and position them through language choices • Words and phrases, symbols, images and audio affect meaning and position an audience • Text users make choices about grammar and punctuation, to establish meaning. • Writers and designers refer to authoritative sources and use a number of active writing strategies, including planning, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, publishing and reflecting Literary and non-literary texts Evaluating literary and non-literary texts involves understanding the purpose, audience, subject matter and text structure. • Texts present subject matter from a particular perspective e.g. organic farming can be presented as having a positive health benefit or as an old-fashioned method with limited benefits. • A text can be constructed for more than one purpose e.g. an autobiography can be used to recount experiences, express emotion and record history. Non-literary texts evaluate, inform, present arguments and persuade. • Arguments have a particular structure, including an introduction that identifies a position, a body with details and further evidence, and a conclusion that restates the position. • Main ideas, issues and events are selected and organised to sustain a point of view and to project a level of authority that matches a purpose and an intended audience e.g. climate change can be discussed by focusing on endangered species or personal action, and can be presented in an information text that introduces the outline or scope of the topic