Going beyond Focus 2

UNIT 2
Going beyond
Focus
into Antarctica, mountain regions, deep sea and
space. They will identify the consequences of
these explorations. Using Habits of Mind (pages
19-21) students will examine the personal qualities
of explorers. They will investigate why and how
people continue to explore, and wonder where
else humans might venture in the future.
Major concepts
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Understandings
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This unit is about the human phenomenon of
constantly wanting to explore, to go beyond the
existing boundaries and to discover what lies
beyond. Students will examine explorers such
as James Cook, Douglas Mawson, Burke and
Wills, and how their discoveries impacted on the
development of Australia and the world. They will
also consider more recent and current explorations
change
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systems
extended by today’s explorers,
• We can never know all there
and will continue to be formed
is to know, and so people
by the explorers of the future.
throughout time have always,
and will continue to, question, • Space exploration has helped
explore and search.
us to understand that the Earth
is part of a complex system of
• Explorers of the past have
planets that revolve around the
influenced our understandings
sun in our universe.
about Australia, the world and
the universe.
• The continuous development
of technology allows people
• Our current understandings
to explore ever-expanding
about the world and beyond
boundaries.
are constantly challenged and
diversity
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responsibility
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energy
Questions
Rich question
How does exploration change the lives and understandings of people?
Contributing questions
• Why do people explore?
• What drives people to want to go further and
discover more?
• What are the qualities of people who explore
and push the boundaries?
• How has exploration affected people and their
lifestyles?
• How have exploration and explorers helped
shape Australia over time?
• What else is left for humans to explore?
• How have advances in technology enabled us
to go further?
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Resources
Books
Young, L. & Janks, A. 1994, I Wish I’d Gone to the Moon With Neil Armstrong, Weldon
Kids, NSW.
Vekteris, D. 2005, Scholastic Atlas of Space, Scholastic, USA.
Wagner, M. 2006, Chatterbox Upper Primary A: The Arctic Tundra: Life on Top of the
World, Pearson Education Australia, Melbourne.
Four Corners Series, Pearson Education Australia
Audiovisual
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• Clyne, M. Griffiths, R. & Benjamin, C. 2004, Four Corners Fluent Stage:
Journey to the Undersea Gardens.
• Goodfellow, G. & Stenson, L. 2004, Four Corners Upper Primary B Stage: A Guide
to Constellations.
• Langston, L. 2004, Four Corners Upper Primary B Stage: Our Mysterious Universe.
• Wishinsky, F. 2004, Four Corners Fluent Stage: Could We Live on the Moon?
• McCormick, R. 2004, Four Corners Fluent Stage: Book of Space: Questions
and Answers.
• Gott, R. 2004, Four Corners Middle Primary A Stage: Astronauts Take Flight.
Snapshots Series, Pearson Education Australia
• Owen, C. 2006, Snapshots Maths Upper Primary A: Everest Adventures.
• Morrison, I. 2005, Snapshots Middle Primary A: Race to the North Pole.
• Owen, C. 2006, Snapshots Maths Middle Primary B: First in Space.
• Evans, L. 2006, Snapshots Science Upper Primary B: Into the Unknown.
• Bacon, F. 2005, Snapshots Middle Primary B: The Travels of Marco Polo.
Surviving Extremes, an ABC DVD (2006)
Captain James Cook, an ABC DVD (2006)
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<www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au> Australian Government website with
biographical details of Australian explorers. Enter ‘Australian explorers’ in the
search feature to access detailed information.
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Websites
<www.burkeandwills.net.au> Complete history of Burke and Wills,
including diaries.
<www.kidcyber.com.au> This website contains biographical details about
Australian explorers (people and places—Australian explorers). Contains
extracts from Burke’s, Wills’ and King’s diaries. Click on the ‘Australia’ icon,
then click on ‘Burke and Wills Expedition’. (2002)
<www.kidcyber.com.au> Click on the ‘Space’ icon, and go to ‘Solar system’
(2006).
<www.nasa.gov> Official website of NASA, featuring all information related to
space travel including videos, podcasts, live feeds and webquests.
<www.noaa.gov> This site details the impact of the deep-sea submersible Alvin
on underwater exploration, including a video clip of Alvin’s launch. Enter
‘Alvin’ into the search feature on the top left of the NOAA home page.
36 The Essentials—Upper Primary
Assessment strategies
The following strategies are designed to assist teachers in collecting assessment information
throughout the unit.
What
Why
How
Lotus Diagram and Unit
Reflections sheet
To find out what students
already know about
the topic. For students
and teachers to track
the development of
students’ knowledge and
understandings over the
course of the unit.
Enlarge the Lotus Grid
on page 45 to A3.
Demonstrate and explain
the lotus diagram.
Students complete the
lotus diagram at the start
of the unit. They complete
the task again at the
Personalising stage.
They compare the pre- and
post-lotus diagrams and
reflect on how effectively
they were able to build
their knowledge using the
Unit Reflections in the
Student Workbook.
At the end of
Investigating stage
Assessment Task
To assess students’
understandings of the
major concepts in the unit.
To give students a choice in
the way they demonstrate
their understandings.
The Data Chart in the
Student Workbook will
provide assessment
information about
research skills.
The Assessment Task is in
the Student Workbook.
Students complete Part 1
individually. Part 2 can be
done individually or with
the group with whom they
conducted the research.
The Data Chart used to
collect and organise their
information needs to be
handed in with the task.
During Personalising stage
What If?
To assess students’ ability to
think creatively and generate
possibilities. To determine
students’ ability to apply
their understandings to a
different context.
Discuss the qualities of
people who explore.
What would happen if
people didn’t possess these
qualities? In pairs or groups
of three students, discuss
specific scenarios on the
What If? sheet in
the Student Workbook.
They record responses.
This can be an individual
or group task.
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When
Pre- and post-assessment
at start of Building and
Personalising stages
Unit 2—Going beyond 37
Building
Viewing, questioning and bundling
Overview
Pre- and post-assessment: Lotus
diagram
Three-Storey Intellect
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Display and discuss with students the title of
the unit and the questions. Enlarge the Lotus
diagram on page 45 to A3 and demonstrate how
to complete it. Students brainstorm what they
already know about explorers past and present
and use the Lotus diagram to record and expand
on the main points. (Collect for comparison later
with post-assessment task.)
• Why did these explorers set out on their
expeditions?
• What were the factors that contributed to the
success of the expeditions?
• What were the hardships they encountered?
• What personal qualities did they demonstrate?
• What were the effects of this exploration on
the rest of the world?
• What other explorers or explorations do you
know about?
In groups of three or four, students brainstorm
and list questions they have about explorers and
exploration. Use strategies such as:
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Immersion
View a DVD, such as Surviving Extremes Part 1,
which follows the exploits of Douglas Mawson and
astronaut Andy Thomas. An alternative DVD about
exploration could be used. Discuss the film as a
whole class.
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Throughout the ages people have explored beyond
their own environment. Students investigate
a variety of land, sea, under the sea, and space
explorations from the past and present. They identify
reasons why (causes) people constantly explore, and
some consequences of their discoveries (effects).
38 The Essentials—Upper Primary
or Six Thinking Hats (see page 19)
to develop some strong questions. Record and
display on a Discoveries and Wonderings board
that will be revised and added to continuously
during the unit.
GATHERING
PROCESSING
The Gathering and Processing tasks are designed to work together and run hand in hand. Students ‘gather’ new
information, then use the processing task to sort out, analyse and make sense of that new information.
Mini investigations
Mini investigations
These sessions are designed to investigate four explorers
or explorations from different times and contexts in order
to build up a broad perspective of the topic. They could be
conducted as a whole class or as a carousel where groups
rotate around the tasks over four sessions. After each
session, discuss using this Six Thinking Hats sequence.
• White Hat. What were the facts? Where and when did
the exploration take place?
• Yellow Hat. What were the benefits of their expedition?
• Black Hat. What hardships did they face?
• Red Hat. How did they feel during the journey? How do
you feel about it?
Follow up each of these sessions with these whole-class
activities. The time line can be continued throughout the unit.
• Record the cause and effect of each exploration on a class
consequence wheel or cause and effect chart.
• Create a class time line including explorations studied and
any major consequences or related events. For example,
1770 Captain Cook discovers the east coast of Australia.
1778 the First Fleet arrives in Botany Bay.
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2 Burke and Wills. Read the story of Burke and Wills’ last
expedition, including their diary extracts. Use reference and
information books. A full account and diaries can also be
found on the websites <www.burkeandwills.net.au>
and <www.kidcyber.com.au>.
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1 Space Exploration. Investigate space exploration using
the NASA website. Other resources could include books,
DVDs or documentaries.
Mini investigations
Individual or group tasks build on the mini investigations.
• Students individually record thoughts and ideas on the
Mini Investigations sheets in the Student Workbook after
each of the mini investigations.
• In small groups or pairs, students represent a system by
creating a 3D-model or diorama of the universe or deepsea environment.
• Individually or in pairs, students create a scaled map
showing the expeditions of Cook, and Burke and Wills.
They can make the maps look like the originals by using
cold tea and tearing or burning the edges. They could add
voyages of other Australian explorers.
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3 Captain James Cook. View excerpts from the DVD
Captain James Cook. Other resources could include reference
books, information books and websites on explorers, maps
of Cook’s voyages.
Science experiment
Science experiment
Conduct the Make a Pop Rocket experiment on page 46 as a
Discuss the following questions:
class demonstration. Make links between the chemical reaction • How have advances in science and technology affected
of the ingredients used and the effects of the chemical
exploration?
reaction of the nuclear fuel that powers space rockets.
• How has exploration affected the advancement of science
and technology?
Students record the experiment on the Science Experiment
sheet in the Student Workbook. Students read Some Benefits
of Exploration in the Student Workbook and create a flow
chart to represent relationships between science, technology
and exploration.
Science experiment
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4 Underwater exploration. Investigate the exploits of the
deep-sea submersible Alvin. Information can be found in the
book Journey to the Undersea Gardens and on the website
<www.noaa.gov>, enter ‘Alvin’ into the search feature on
the top left of the noaa home page.
Unit 2—Going beyond 39
Making connections
Character studies
Divide the class into small groups and assign students one
of the explorers studied so far. Consider these questions: Why
do people explore? What drives people to want to go further and
discover more? What are the qualities of people who explore and
push the boundaries?
Groups use the information they already have to discuss and
identify the characteristics of this explorer. The Habits of Mind
descriptors on pages 20–21 could be used for this. Groups share
ideas with the whole class. Identify any common characteristics
and record them on a class chart.
Habits of Mind goal setting
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Students consider their strengths and challenges using the
Goal Setting sheets in the Student Workbook. They use the Time to
Check In! sheet to see how their goal setting is progressing.
Discoveries and Wonderings
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It took a long time to
train to be an astronaut
and he was persistent.
And when there was a
fire on the space shuttle
he had to think flexibly
to solve the problem.
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Go back to the Discoveries and Wonderings board to see if any
of the questions can now be answered. If so, add these to the
Discoveries board. Are there any further questions? Add them to the
Wonderings board. Check that the recorded discoveries are correct
and revise them if there is any new or additional information.
40 The Essentials—Upper Primary
We think Andy Thomas
the astronaut is very
strong in these Habits
of Mind.
Investigating
Overview
Students conduct further investigations into explorers and explorations. They focus on how their
exploration has affected people and society.
Question for investigation
How does exploration change the lives and understandings of people?
Introduce research techniques such as being
discerning about the reliability of the source of
information, and Internet searching techniques.
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Discuss the use of the Investigating sheet and the
Data Chart in the Student Workbook for recording
information. By stipulating that students use three
sources—one book, one website and one of their
choice—they will add depth to their research.
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The three suggestions below are all based on a
research methodology. Students will need to decide
who or what they are going to investigate before
framing their questions. In order to focus the
research, time needs to be spent developing specific
questions—regardless of the topic. Use a questioning
strategy such as Six Thinking Hats or Three-Storey
Intellect (pages 18-19) to help establish the questions.
Organising for investigation
2 Investigating one dimension of
exploration (such as space) as a
whole class with some small-group
or individual tasks
As a whole class, investigate exploration
in one field, for example space, under
the sea, or how explorers affected the
establishment of Australia as a nation.
Resources that could be used include
videos, Internet, books, media, emailing
an expert. Individuals or groups could
investigate particular aspects within
this field.
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1 Investigating an explorer or
expedition of choice as individuals
or small groups
Students investigate this person
or event, focusing on their specific
questions for investigation. This can
be done by researching the Internet,
books, media, emailing an expert,
contacting relevant authorities.
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The following suggestions are ways in which the investigation can be taken further. Based on the students’ needs, interests
and questions, choose the most appropriate option.
3 Investigating current explorers/
explorations as a whole class with
some small-group or individual tasks
Focus on current explorations, such as
space, deep sea and mountaineering.
Contact some modern-day explorers,
invite as guest speakers or write, email
or phone to ask them about their
expedition. Individuals or groups may
investigate particular aspects within
this field.
Making connections
Assessment task
Students use the Assessment Task sheets in the Student
Workbook to organise their information and present their research
findings to the whole class or small groups.
Add to class charts
Add any additional information to the class time line, Discoveries
and Wonderings boards, or common characteristics chart.
Unit 2—Going beyond 41
Personalising
Overview
Acting on the learning
Students explore the importance of wondering
and searching to find out more, and apply these
understandings in different contexts.
The following are actions that may arise from the
unit. The actions chosen should be in consultation
with the students and as much as possible take
their direction from the Investigating stage.
Reflecting on the learning
• Organise an astronomy night at school. Hire or
borrow a telescope or organise a guest speaker.
Invite families to come and identify aspects of
the solar system in the night sky.
• Contact places such as NASA and the
Ocean Explorer team to send messages of
encouragement or make further inquiries.
• Select a characteristic that the explorers had in
common to work on as a personal goal.
Pre- and post-assessment
Lotus diagram
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Using the blank lotus grid (page 45), students
complete what they now know about some
famous explorers and exploration. Using the
Unit Reflections in the Student Workbook, they
compare their pre-assessment lotus diagram with
the one they have just completed.
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Students consider the importance of wondering.
What if Captain Cook had never tried to find the
Great Southern Land? What if there is life on other
planets? Using the What If? sheet in the Student
Workbook, they discuss ideas in pairs or groups of
three and record their ideas.
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What if? assessment task
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Links to literacy
• Reading and writing information reports
related to explorers and exploration
• Reading science-fiction texts (for example,
about future explorations, also Jules Verne
and Leonardo da Vinci—what were their
predictions and did they come true?)
• Debate the cost of space exploration—is it
worth the money spent? Use ‘Why Explore
Space’, an article by the Administrator of
NASA, as a shared text to initiate the debate.
Visit <www.nasa.gov> and use the tab
‘Missions’ to find information and news about
missions. Into the search bar, type: ‘Why Explore
Space’ to find an article on this subject.
Links to numeracy
• Place value, understanding the concepts behind
large numbers when measuring distance
(especially with regard to space exploration)
42 The Essentials—Upper Primary
• Ratio (distance and time)
• Time: time lines, elapsed time
• Space and location: mapping
Lotus diagram: instructions
The lotus diagram allows students to record
what they know about the major explorers (for
example, Burke and Wills) or explorations (such as
man landing on the moon) in the centre grid of
nine boxes. They can then take each of the eight
explorers or explorations and use the outside grids
to expand on those ideas. At the beginning of the
topic students may not fill many boxes.
Against
Germany and
Japan
England,
Canada, South
Africa allies
ANZACS
Australia and
New Zealand
Australian
prime
ministers
Andrew Fisher
Billy Hughes
World War 1
Many died at
Gallipoli
Germany
invaded France
and other areas
in Europe
Fighting
mostly in
Europe
1914–18 it
lasted 4 years
Gold Rush
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First Fleet
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To demonstrate, use a different topic (like the
one in the example), using the following steps.
• Write the topic in the middle of the centre grid.
• Brainstorm and prioritise the major aspects of
this topic. Choose eight.
• Write these into the eight boxes around the
topic in the middle of the centre grid.
These have now become sub-topics.
• Place each of the eight sub-topics in the centre
of the surrounding outer grids.
• Expand on those sub-topics by writing key
words or ideas in the boxes surrounding the
sub-topic.
Federation
Australian
History
Wool Industry
Rum
Rebellion
World War 2
World War 1
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Eureka
Stockade
Figure 2.1: How to fill in a lotus grid
Unit 2—Going beyond 43
The Essentials Going Beyond—Unit 2
Figure 2.2: An example of a lotus grid filled in by a Year 5 student
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Copyright © Pearson Education Australia 2008 (a division of the Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd). This page may be photocopied for classroom use.
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The Essentials Going Beyond—Unit 2
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Copyright © Pearson Education Australia 2008 (a division of the Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd). This page may be photocopied for classroom use.
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Lotus grid
Please note: Teachers should conduct their own risk assessment of
this activity.
This experiment needs to be conducted outside in a clear space.
The launching pad needs to be on flat ground.
Equipment
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• Effervescing (fizzing) antacid
tablet (the kind used to settle
an upset stomach)*
• An empty film canister (The
film canister MUST be one with
a cap that fits INSIDE the rim
instead of over the outside of
the rim.)
• Paper
• Scissors
• Tape
• Water *
• Eye protection (like eye glasses,
sunglasses or safety glasses)
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Science experiment:
Make a pop rocket
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1 Make the rocket. Roll the paper into a cylinder shape where the film
canister fits neatly inside. It is a good idea to tape the canister to the
bottom of the paper and then roll so it fits snugly.
2 Fill the film canister with water until it is one-third full.
3 Drop half an antacid tablet into the canister and put the lid on tightly.
4 Place the rocket with the film canister onto your launching pad and
step back quickly.
5 Watch the rocket blast off. How high does the film canister fly?
Where does the energy come from to make the canister move?
An alternative to this is to use vinegar and bicarbonate of soda instead
of the water and antacid tablet.
*
The Essentials Going Beyond—Unit 2
Procedure