Community and Personal Celebrations - Essay Example

 Community and Personal Celebrations What stage, class and school context is it suitable for? Why? The learning experiences have been designed for Stage 1, Year 2 class which is composed of students with mixed abilities. Some of the students are familiar with the usage of technology and while few others are not with four ESL students requiring extra assistance which may be a weakness. The class having students of mixed capabilities is a positive element as the students can guide each other during the course of learning. Due cultural diversity in the class, the students are failing to understand different festivities; hence, through the learning experiences they will be able to strengthen their knowledge on such. Additionally, the inclusion of bright students is a positive aspect as well. As a result, this unit of work is suitable for stage 1 students as it teaches them about multiculturalism in the community to help them accept and value those who are different from oneself and of the various beliefs in the local area. Celebrations Focus Question 1. What are the different festivities/ celebrations in our community? 2. How are the different festivities in our community practiced? Contributing Questions 1. What are celebrations? 2. What different types of celebrations are there? 3. How have celebrations/festivities contributed to the local and wider community? Big Ideas/Generalisations (HSIE) There are religious, cultural, national days, community and personal celebrations. Enjoying and organising an event or preparing for an event is a celebration. There are many celebrations practiced in our local and wider community. People in our community celebrate religious events in different ways, such as every culture has a different place to worship, for example, the church, mosque and sacred sites. People in our community celebrate non religious events in different ways such as Australia Day and ANZAC Day. As there is multiculturalism in our community, there as different celebrations. The different festivities in local and wider community have contributed in a way that resulted in multiculturalism, hence, allowing our community to understand, appreciate, value and outline the importance of respect towards one another. Are there other HSIE skills (e.g. acquiring information, social and civic participation) or perspectives (values and attitudes) the unit covers? Acquiring information is a skill in HSIE that can be achieved through various ways, such as writing, reading, viewing, listening and talking about the subject matter. Intercultural understanding of the different attitudes and values is a skill which is taught to shape the perspective of students. Through this, they will be able to respect and acknowledge the different ways people around the world live. Through the students developing an insight into the understanding of the significance of beliefs and morals as a skill that will help them to appreciate the diversity of cultures in our society (Board of Studies, NSW, pp 11-14). How does the unit begin? All the three learning experiences involve hands on activities for the students in order to implement cooperative learning. Additionally, each learning experience begins with discussions in order to observe the students’ knowledge and if they have gained new knowledge from the previous lessons. Hence, through the discussions students will brainstorm about the topic. The topic of ‘Celebrations’ is first introduced through the discussions as the focus questions are: What are the different festivities/celebrations in our community? How are the different festivities in our community practised? Hence, through this unit, there will be a wide range of activities which involve creativity, resulting in students having fun as they learn. They will equally be able to experience first hand celebrations and experience different celebrations they are unfamiliar with, as this is achieved through research, student knowledge and teacher-student discussions. The way in which this unit will be introduced is to start the topic by introducing “Celebrations.” This will begin by having the students sit on the classroom floor. Using the IWB has prepared a document that has the word ‘Celebrations’ in the centre of the page (see appendix 1). As the students are sitting they will be asked the following question: “Who can tell me what different celebrations they know exist?” The different responses will be written down on the IWB. This will allow the students to put their thoughts and ideas to engage in a whole class discussion in order to link to the focus questions. After this, ensure the students are still seated on the floor. As the class is sitting down, have prepared pictures of different celebrations (see appendix 2) and ask the students, “Who can tell me what celebration this picture represents?” When the students are responding, if there are any mistakes correct the students. Learning Experience 1 This is introduced to implement cooperative learning Modified this lesson in order to implement cooperative learning This is done in order for the students to develop writing skills This is developed for students to develop thinking strategies This is added to improve their art skills and memory skills Question 1 (What are celebrations and what are the different types of celebrations?) Modification Lesson 1: 30 min G- on the floor Sit the students in a circle on the classroom floor place a butchers paper and a permanent marker in the centre of the circle Tell the students “each student is going to come up and write on the butcher’s paper what you think a celebration is. Before you come up and write you have to say your answer out aloud.” (possible responses: parties, dancing, cakes) Remind the class “you can also write any words that relate to celebrations such as cakes, lollies, dancing” After this, put the butchers paper with Blu Tak on the wall or board Read all the answers to the class and add to the student responses Lesson 2: 1 hour O/A- The teacher is to provide a range of pictures that include celebrations and non celebration (see appendix 3) The teacher is to ask the class, “Do you believe this is a celebration, hands up for no.......hands up for yes” Get the students to then go to their desks and write down what they believe they may need for a celebration, however they are to choose one celebration they know about. The students are then to discuss their answers with the person sitting next to them Lesson 3: 40 min S- The teacher is to inform the class that there are different types of celebrations such as religious, community, cultural and family celebrations -on the IWB draw up a table (see appendix 4) and ask the class, “What celebrations do you know about?”, then ask them “So under which heading does it belong, is it a religious, community, cultural or family celebration?” and Write down the answers as a class. Discuss this as a whole class. - The teacher is to then explain the differences between these types of celebrations - Show the class pictures of the different types of celebrations there are, such as the community, religious, cultural, and family (see appendix 5), and discuss it as a whole class. Lesson 4: 1 hour A - This is a continuous lesson from lesson 3 - Remind the students the different types of celebrations and have a class discussion to refresh their memory - Put the class into mixed ability groups; assign each group one type of celebration, for instance one group has family celebrations. The group is to then use the arts and crafts supplied by the teacher and draw and design one celebration on butcher’s paper. Provide some examples to the class, for instance religious celebration could be Eid, community celebration could be a Spring Festival, family celebration could be a new born. As a group they are to visualise what they believe happens on that celebration Assessment One way in which the class can be assessed about their knowledge for celebrations and what it is, is through lesson 2, when the students are required to write what is required for a celebration. The teacher is to collect those and mark them, hence, assessing their knowledge. Through lesson 3, the teacher can assess the students’ knowledge as they answer the questions, hence, this will show their understanding and if they understand the different types of celebrations. Through lesson 4, the teacher can collect their pieces of work and asses how they worked as a group and what they understood throughout the lessons. Learning Experience 2 Question 2 (What are the different celebrations in the local and wider community?) Modification Has been modified and done on the IWB in order to engage children This is developed for students to develop thinking skills This is done in order to engage the students This is modified and developed in order to engage the students This will allow the students to have responsibility as they are to get the resources This is done in order for the students to develop confidence if they are lacking Description of activity in this stage G: lesson 1: 1 hour Students seated on the floor On the interactive whiteboard write in the centre ‘local community’ and ‘wider community’ Tell the class, “Who can tell me what is our local community and what is in it?” As a class brainstorm ideas and write them on the IWB. Then tell the students, “Who can tell me what is our wider community?” Write the responses on the IWB and form a discussion by giving the students information about local and wider community. The teacher will ask the students to sit in a circle, the teacher is to tell the students “I am going to go around the circle and ask you what you celebrate.” As the teacher is going around the class, the teacher is to write the responses on the IWB. The teacher can inform the students that “all these celebrations are practiced in our local and wider community.” Talk about the different cultural/religious celebrations evident in the local area. Example a Mosque is where people go pray on Eid. Show videos of different celebrations, these include: Chinese new year-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKzNPxu_QBU Australia day- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfENhCHZR_s ANZAC day- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMDCBcBRAh4 Hannukah- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKuoWX554Dg O/A: lesson 2:1.5 hours The teacher is to seat the children on the floor. Inform the class that a worksheet will be done as it involves matching the religious/cultural group to the celebration. (Refer to appendix 6) Send the students to their desks to complete the worksheet. If students complete the task earlier than others allow them to colour the visuals in Teacher then will put the students in mix ability groups, each group will be given a celebration to research of their local community.(Australia Day,Chinese New Year, Eid) Students are asked to complete the table on a A3 sheet with the headings name of the celebration and find interesting facts ( Refer to Appendix 7) The students will be given fact sheets Students will then be asked to return to their tables and each group will be asked to present as an informal group presentation/speech S: Lesson 3: 1.5 hours Students are told in the previous learning experience to bring something significant from a celebration they celebrate. This may include, a picture, symbol, outfits, food etc The teacher is to ask every student to go get there chair and put the chairs in a circle and sit down on them. They are also asked to bring their celebration symbol and place it under the chair The students are then asked to stand up behind their chair and place their celebration symbol on the chair. Going around the circle each student is to explain to the class what they have got and why it is used for that particular celebration After this the teacher allows some time for the students to walk around the displays and find out more information Sit the students back on the classroom floor. The teacher is have prepared a worksheet that involves the students to write down all the celebrations practiced by their class and tick the box if they believe it is a local or wider community celebration or both (see appendix 4). However the teacher is to have a sample table of the IWB and as a class write down all the celebrations and get the students to copy the celebrations in their worksheets A: lesson 4:1.5 hours Inform the students as they are sitting on the floor inform them “that there are different celebrations practiced around the whole world, which is our wider community and some of them are practiced in our local community, for example Christmas is celebrated all around the world and our local community. However, Australia Day is practiced only in the whole Australian community.” As a whole class have a discussion about what celebrations the students know about and if they believe it is practiced in the local or wider community or both Then put the students into mixed ability groups as their task is to perform a dance based on a celebration. Inform them that the dances include Hannukah, Diwali, Vesak dance and some will be learning a Christmas carol song. This is done in order for the students to accept and respect the celebrations within the community When the children are placed in groups, allow each group to go to a computer and watch the video in order to practice their dance/song. The videos include: Hannukah dance-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSxeSTGiT10 Diwali dance- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLZ27Rmetwc Vesak/wesak- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3tRbAJkPpM Christmas song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PgNPc-iFW8&feature=fvwrel (However, the students who cannot dance because of their personal reasons will be doing the Christmas carol. Thus, add other students from the class in order not to allow the students they are left out. The instruments include woodblock and triangles.) Assessment Through lesson one the students can be assessed through the students answering the teachers’ questions. In lesson two, the students’ abilities can be seen through the information they gather and what information they believe are important. In lesson three, the teacher can assess the students by marking the worksheet that involves them to write down all the celebrations and tick whether it is local or wider community, hence, this will reveal the students memory and thinking skills. In lesson four, the way the teacher can assess the class is by asking the groups to perform their performance they have practiced in that lesson in front of the class. Hence, this will give the teacher an understanding whether or not the students have understood the concept of celebrations that are evident in our local community. Learning Experience 3 Question 3 (How are the celebrations practiced and how they contribute to our community?) Modification Modified this activity in order to know what the students know about and what they don’t know about This is modified so the students can have more understanding of why cultures celebrate their celebrations This has been modified in order for the students to do template in order to engage them in the learning and their English and literacy skills are extended This activity is added in order to enhance the students research skills Description of activity in this stage Lesson 1: 30 min G Using the IWB provide the students with videos to watch as a whole class about how different celebrations are practiced. Have a class discussion about what they know about any of the celebrations shown. The teacher is to talk through and discuss how they celebrations shown are practiced. Lesson 2: 1.5 hours O/A Refresh the students memory of Chinese New Year from learning experience 2, and show the students the video of how it is celebrated from the previous lesson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKzNPxu_QBU Have a class discussion about how it is celebrated in a different way to the Australian New Year Day The teacher is to then explain that due to this celebration it has contributed to our community by providing multiculturalism. Show them a picture of their local area designed for Chinese New Year (see appendix 8) Put the students in mixed ability groups. As a group they are to discuss how the Chinese New Year is practiced. They are then to type it up on the computer as a group Lesson 3: 40minutes S-individual work - the teacher is to prepare a template (see appendix 9)and put it up on the IWB as this template will feature: Name and age Languages I speak What do I celebrate at home? How is it celebrated? - Students can discuss their answers with the person sitting next to them, as this could be a session of Q and A. E.g. What do you celebrate at home? I celebrate Christmas Lesson 4: 1 hour minutes Explain that there are many celebrations and people practice it in many ways Provide the students with fact sheets (see appendix 10) about different celebrations such as Easter, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Eid Explain how each celebration contributes to our community, mainly showing the students it brings multiculturalism Put the students in mixed ability groups. As groups they are to draw how they believe that celebration is practiced and in front of the class they are to say how it contributes to our community Assessment Through the class discussion in lesson two, the teacher will be able to assess those who understood the celebration - Chinese New Year, and those who did not. From lesson three, the teacher will collect the template from the students and mark it, as through marking it the teacher will be able to assess the students’ knowledge about their own celebration. In lesson four, the teacher can assess the students through the piece of artwork they do as it will show exactly what they understood and pictures in their minds about the celebrations they chose. The teacher can assign the students with an extra assessment which involves them to choose a celebration they do not have in their culture and create a poster. The poster can involve information about the celebration, pictures, drawing, and collages. Through this the teacher will be able to assess the students’ understanding of the celebration, and also it will be clear to the teacher what the student may not understand. Culminating activity This unit will end with students finding out the similarities and differences in the celebrations and reflecting on these as a class. This unit of work can be concluded by a performance to another class on a specific celebration. This celebration could be the Chinese New Year. The class is to make a dragon, lanterns and a lion as these are three traditions in the Chinese New Year. The stage will be designed all with Lanterns. The equipment is provided from the school and the students are to provide anything they may have at home that they may not need. This performance includes a lion dance, and dragon dance in order to show the other class the traditional Chinese New Year. This performance and the costumes will be rehearsed during class times. Hence, all the knowledge from the previous lessons will be able to be recognized. References http://images.smh.com.au/2011/01/01/2115347/fireworks3-600x400.jpg http://www.detroitmommies.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/easter-bunny.gif http://www.freechristmaswallpapers.net/images/wallpapers/Christmas-Tree-Nature1024-226431.jpeg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BkvekVEOufY/Tt6uYHPPNZI/AAAAAAAAAGI/IyVj5QDn7AU/s1600/cartoon-santa.jpg http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/content/cache/400x225/Recipes/Thumbnails/anzac_biscuit.jpg http://bcpharmacy.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/lastlong-with-sitting.jpg http://www.vadirectory.net/birthday.jpg http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/sydney-fireworks.jpg http://blog.eventbrite.com/wp-content/uploads/sleep-on-books-1.10.12.jpg Chinese new year-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKzNPxu_QBU Australia day- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfENhCHZR_s ANZAC day- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMDCBcBRAh4 Hannukah-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKuoWX554Dg http://www.hensleys.net/photos/120907BirthdayFoodCelebration.JPG http://www.bostonhomestayblog.com/chinese-new-year1-1.jpg http://www.loretonh.nsw.edu.au/uploads/images/News%20and%20Events/Spring-Fair Panoramic-hero.jpg http://www.sierravistaregional.com/en-US/ourServices/medicalServices/PublishingImages/SiblingNewborn.jpg http://www.stow.ac.uk/media/diwali.gif Appendices Read More