Nick Heaslip

EDUC3521

ID: 2030385

EDUC 3521 Assignment 1 Champions Read Section 1: The Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2006) defines champion as: 1. A person who has surpassed all rivals in a sporting contest or other competition. 2. A defender of a cause or person Year level: For this assignment I have chosen to work with year 2 children on the topic of Champions Read. First of all this is the year level that I aim to teach once qualified, and I also feel that it is an important time of a childs schooling as they start to move forwards in their ability to grasp educational concepts. Inquiry question: Is a champion someone who is the best at their sport, or is it someone that helps people without wanting a reward?1 This question is on one hand very straightforward the children will describe what they think a champion is. But it reaches further by way of extending them to research champions and what a champion is perceived as by the wider community, and then resituating themselves if their thoughts have changed. Genre: The genre I have chosen is Explanation This is vital, not only as a genre of writing that will help students in their learning life, but also as a general life skill. Young children are often misunderstood because they lack the ability to explicitly articulate their thoughts or reasons for doing/wanting something. By teaching the students this skill it is hoped that the learning and social lives of those involved will be improved and put on the path towards lifelong learning.

Nick Heaslip

EDUC3521

ID: 2030385

Section 2: Prior knowledge activities Before commencing any knowledge building exercises we will do two group activities to find out what the children already know about champions, or what they think a champion is. These activities will also help to establish their existing explanation skills. Activity 1 Rocket writing: As an initial activity the children will write their names on a sheet of paper, then sit down in their own space and write the names of several champions followed by why they think that person is a champion. It is expected that the stars of their favourite sport or their parents favourite sport will be chosen, but I am looking for children to think of ordinary people as champions also. My Dad is a champion because may be the type of thing handed up. This activity will work in conjunction with the second activity in that I will be able to see if their chosen definition of champion is influenced by what their peers say in the group discussion, or if they maintain their preferred definition thought of during this independent activity. Activity 2 Charted group discussion: prior to commencing this activity I will draw up a large, but simple two-column table to be stuck on the wall with each childs name and a space for a short description of what they think a champion is. There will be another row under each name for their thoughts at the end of the unit, but they will not be made aware of what this space is for at this time. One by one we will go around the class and each child will share their chosen definition of what a champion is. This activity is aimed at gauging their opinion of what a champion is based on what they experience in their family and social world without any influence whatsoever from the teacher.

Nick Heaslip

EDUC3521

ID: 2030385

It will also show if their perception has changed based on what the children before them have said. Texts used Text1: Guest speaker: from SA Ambulance Paramedics Simon Burke (personal friend) who has attended car crashes and saved lives as well as the emergency delivering of 2 babies will talk about and explain what he does for people and how many books he had to read and keep reading to update knowledge so as to be confident in his job and abilities. Text2: Book: Danny Woodhead: Football Dream Come True This illustrated book tells the story of how the undersized and overlooked kid with the heart of a champion made his dreams come true by never giving up. The illustrations will combine with the text to help explain the story for young children in a colourful way. Text3: Newspaper article: Their Winning Ways Tells how mindset and mental attitude is key to being a champion of the Olympics, and that a champion of the human spirit (Nelson Mandella is used as an example) is indeed a champion despite not playing a sport. Text4: Video: Herb Elliots 1-mile victory The narrator in this Australian Screen archived film clip illustrates how tactics and the will to win make a champion runner. His clear and direct approach indicates that explanation is generally factual and direct as said. Text5: Song: We are The Champions (with lyrics) The song by the band Queen as seen on a YouTube video, displays the lyrics as they are sung. It is an inspirational song that emphasises the fight until the end and never give up characteristics of a champion. This text will introduce students to a medium they may not have considered as containing meaning. This may need to be explained to them.

Nick Heaslip

EDUC3521

ID: 2030385

Text6: Image: A cyclist leading the pack with his hands raised The winner of the world championship is in front of the pack celebrating his victory. To be the best (the world champion of a sport) you must finish in front of your competitors. Text7: Image: Shows a man not in sporting attire with a 1st sash around his neck This illustrates how anyone can win at anything be the champion even if you do not look like the typical athlete. This exemplifies what I hope all my texts will explain to the students. Text8: Movie: The Mighty Ducks The children in this film stick together and overcome challenges as a group. These outcasts beat the odds because they tried hard enough and didnt give up. Explanation or meaning can be somewhat ambiguous, but the metaphor of the champion spirit rising above is entrenched within this text. How texts address one of the four resources of a reader Text1: Code Breaker with a subject involving medical terms, but also highly linked to real life situations, students will be exposed to language they may have overheard but may not yet know the meaning of. They will get to ask questions and also see and handle some real paramedic equipment. Text2: Text Participant search for meaning in the illustrations and print (does the mental image the text stimulates correspond to the picture on the page) by initiating discussion throughout the reading of the text. Text3: Text Analyst we can ask the authors authority and what is their agenda for creating this text. Text4: Text Analyst again, we might ask why this has been produced and what they (the author) are trying to convey to us considering who made it and the era in which it was produced.

Nick Heaslip

EDUC3521

ID: 2030385

Text5: Text Participant what does this text mean to them and what is it saying? Text6: Code Breaker this text introduces a specific representation of winning and being a champion. Combine this with any text and the meaning of the text would be inferred without even reading that text. Text7: Text Participant what does this mean? Have I seen an image like this before and what did that say to me? How does my experience relate and does it reflect my life at all? Text8: Text Participant Do the students know what is going to happen in this story, and what will it tell them? Knowledge building activities Talent list: Students will think of any talents they have that are not easily identifiable. Non-sporting talents. All the things no matter how big or small, they consider to be an achievement in their life what they are good at, or like doing. The students will share their lists with the class and we can see that people are good at many different things and they can all be champions of a particular thing no matter how small. It may also encourage some children to consider what they hadnt thought to put on their own list. Group discussion: After watching the movie The Mighty Ducks, there will be a group discussion on whether they think the characters are champions, and what made them think that they were champions. What characteristics did the characters display? Word cloud: The students will listen to the song We Are The Champions once, then again after a break with the lyrics displayed on the Smartboard. I will then ask them how the song made them feel, what single word or feeling comes to mind. These words will be
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Nick Heaslip

EDUC3521

ID: 2030385

entered into the Wordle website, the resulting word cloud gives greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text (Feinberg, 2011). This can be displayed as a visual reminder of what being a champion feels like. Shared reading: Before reading Danny Woodhead: Football Dream Come True, I will ask the children to be aware of any specific terms they use to describe Danny. As a class we will read the book and look at the illustrations. As each page is finished, we will try to see if the image can be linked to a particular term or sentence about Danny. Content descriptor The content description I have chosen to incorporate into my plan is ACELY1666 from ACARAs (2010) The Australian Curriculum document in a broad sense this descriptor asks us to [l]isten for specific purposes and information, including instructions, and extend students own and others' ideas in discussions. I will be showing the children 8 different texts incorporating 5 different media; this presents an ideal space for demonstrating how subject information can be presented in different ways and allow for class discussions on the purpose of these differing texts. Furthermore, it will provide opportunities for students to gather information from a variety of texts and to share their ideas with each other promoting the benefits of collaboration. Assessment strategies One strategy I will use to assess childrens developing understanding is to simply observe them throughout the course of the unit. By making note of their engagement with each text and the interest shown in contributing to discussions and group work, I will clearly be able to identify any problems

Nick Heaslip

EDUC3521

ID: 2030385

that need addressing, not only with the students, but also with the plan for the future. As a second strategy for assessment, I will assign students the task of following an educational video closely, remembering any information that they think is important. In a group discussion, or conference, I will ask each child to note 2 things from the video that they thought was a main point. This will allow me to identify whether the students can remember and follow the instruction of watching closely and keeping information in their heads, as well as listening for the key points in a spoken text.