Assignment two - Planning Task and Professional Reflection
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (2011) – Graduate standards demonstrated in this assignment:
PART A - RATIONALE (650-800 words)
Selection of "The Whispering Land" (Durrell & Thompson, 1962) in design of a grade seven mini unit as the selected teaching text provides both sensory and perspective based language for the learner. Learning goals from students engaging in reading this text includes gaining understanding of the importance of visual texts builds individual perspectives and points of view from reading this particular text. Further learning goals and outcomes engages the students in constructing understanding of the importance of how language frames creating interesting characters. Students learn how creating these characters using words in turn, creates our own emotions and opinions when we read about them. As an instructional text, students reading "The Whispering Land" (Durrell &Thomas, 1962) gain a pragmatic understanding of the outcomes of using sensory rich text for proactive creative communication. The initial learning experience use of the multimodal text purposefully encourages students' anticipation aligned with the unit focus contextually aligned connecting with students' existing beliefs constructively formed by their existing knowledge from prior learning experiences. Reading the text of "The Whispering Land" (Durrell & Thomas, 1962) instils the students with individual and group thinking formed around different perspectives drawn from the story including ethical confrontations and forming moral opinions connected with the language of the text connected to the characters creating emotional responses when reading about their situations in the story line. According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority (ACARA) as a basis for developing and incorporating curriculum learning outcomes, "The Whispering Land" provides contextual use for assessing learner capabilities including English, science, creative and critical thinking, ethical behaviour, and sustainability (2012).
The New London Group (1996) multiliteracies connection to 'design elements' provides encouraging students 'consideration of how these components of design exist reading texts they engage in this learning unit. Further student learning goals from the reading material for this unit include identifying and understanding linguistic delivery, information structural components, spatial, and narration factors. Intentional structure of the mini unit engages participating students' thinking about the use of literacy and language as representative of emotional spectrums created by the actions of the characters in their environments in story lines depicting both real world and fictional realities.
Engaging learners in literacy groups provides instructional differentiation as needed with ongoing assessment of both individual and group learning. Group work as posited out by Vygotsky (1978) in his Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory the basis for learning tasks linking directly with the mini unit overall focus. Pre-selection of the literacy group work derives from pre-assessment of individual student reading skills connected to ongoing documentation of reading aptitude including empirical evidence justifies the rationale for particular student selection as participants in these learning tams. According to Freebody and Luke (2003) student participation at every level of this type of text-based curriculum also allows pragmatic experience throughout the unit timeframe including activities as code breakers, analysing texts, participating in reading and using texts as learning tools. Application of the learning outcomes leads to students developing their own digital stories by developing their own script. The script serves as the unit's proactive assessment task.
Participating students engaged in the unit learning experience draws on his/her prior knowledge/understanding leading to student scaffolding as they move through the specific learning experiences as part of the unit curriculum design. The curriculum design of the unit provides learning tasks where students experience a balance between reading, writing, listening, as well as speaking. At the completion of the mini curriculum unit students, demonstrate how transformed practice develops his/her understanding of the learning material, activities, and his/her ability applying this understanding from contextually different perspectives (The New London Group, 2006).
PART B - PLANNING THE ENGLISH LITERACY BLOCK
- Concept map - brainstorm of reading and writing strategies to include in sequence of learning
GUIDED READING PLAN OVERVIEW (strictly one page overview only)
*Differentiate texts and learning experiences for each group – use the chosen text for each group across the three lessons.
PART C - REFERENCES (include at least 10 references in APA format)
Anderson, L. H. (2008). Chains. Reed Business.
Australia Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL). (2012) Inspiring Educational Leaders. Retrieved from
http://www.acel.org.au/index.php?id=1700
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2012). The Australian Curriculum – English. Retrieved September 14, 2012 from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English Freebody, P. and Luke, A. (2003). Literacy as engaging with new forms of life: The 'four roles' model. In Geoff Bull and Michele Anstey (Ed.), The literacy lexicon 2nd ed. (pp. 51-66) Australia: Prentice Hall.
Durrell, G. & Thompson, R. (1961). The Whispering Land. Penguin Books.
Frost, H. (1949). Hidden. New York.
Heffernan, J. (2005). The island. Gosford: Scholastic Press.
Kinney, J. (2007). Diary of a wimpy kid: Greg Heffley's journal. New York: Amulet Books.
Mulligan, A. (2010). Trash. David Fickling Books. Oxford, England
Plutchik. (n.d.). The nature of emotions. Retrieved from Centre for Fractal Design and Consultancy: http://www.fractal.org/Bewustzijns-Besturings-Model/Nature-of-emotions.htm
The New London Group. (1996). A Pedagogy of Multi-Literacies: Concepts of Design. Harvard Educational Review. 66(1). Retrieved from
http://wwwstatic.kern.org/filer/blogWrite44ManilaWebsite/paul/articles/A_Pedagogy_of_Multiliteracies_Designing_Social_Futures.htm
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Mind Processes. Copyright by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
PART D: PROFESSIONAL REFLECTION
Weighting: 10%
Professional Reflection Marking Criteria:
Marker:
