Concept-based Curriculum - Place

Concept-based curriculum design – a way to organise our Units of Work and their lessons. I’ll explain what it is; how we use it.

I’ll share, and you will experience, lesson tasks that I have chosen because they could be used in a CLS class to teach language and to explore the concept ‘Place’.

Transcript

1. Using the concept Place to model Concept-based Teaching, for deep understanding and to apply learning to life With Kara Matheson Education Officer NSW Community Languages Schools Program Hunter Community Languages Please join in using: www.slido.com with #825005
2. Acknowledgement of country I acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians of the land on which I work, the Pambalong Clan of the Awabakal people. Today we come together from lands far and wide that have been cared for by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for over sixty thousand years. Let us pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
3. What are we learning about today? • Concept-based curriculum design – a way to organise our Units of Work and their lessons. I’ll explain what it is; how we use it. • I’ll share, and you will experience, lesson tasks that I have chosen because they could be used in a CLS class to teach language and to explore the concept ‘Place’. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
4. Why is this important? • Give you understanding of the latest developments in curriculum design in NSW • Give you an evidence-based tool for effective lesson design • Give our students the richest, best experience of learning • Make CLSs learning even more relevant to students’ broader lives Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
5. The ‘How’? • I’ll explain the theory • I’ll share lesson tasks so you experience this kind of learning • Please participate and ask questions Photo by Atikah Akhtar on Unsplash
6. But why start with concepts? New curriculum is using Concept- based lesson design to encourage deep learning and the transfer of learning to unique contexts – to life! What are concepts?
7. Concepts are: • Universal – in every culture and language • Timeless – in the past, now, and in the future • Abstract – an idea, not a concrete thing The concept is like a vehicle for our learning – it helps us to carry the way we learn to think to other contexts. What we learn about a concept, and the way we learn to think using a concept in our language class, can be applied to other contexts – our day class; our home life; our friend life. Photo by Ying Ge on Unsplash
8. In CLSs as well as teaching language skills, we teach thinking skills – how to think. Concept-based lessons lend themselves to higher order thinking Model by Jessica Shabatura https://tips.uark.edu/using-blooms-taxonomy/
9. The kinds of tasks we use and the kinds of questions we ask, invite students to use different levels of thinking
10. Steps to design a Concept- based Unit of Work: Choose a concept Choose a big (Essential) question to overarch all the lessons in the unit – like an anchor Plan the content: Plan the tasks (thinking about level of thinking required for the task) and Plan how to teach the language needed to do the tasks
11. I Chose the Concept: Place Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash
12. ‘Place’ is more than ‘location’. “Location focuses on where; place focuses on what it is like there.” Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/pla ce/
13. Next, I choose an essential question for this Unit of Work I want to inspire my learners to be curious about why places are important to people…. • Why are places special to people? • Why should we care about place? • How does place affect people? • How does our culture affect what place means to us? • What is place?
14. Next, I started planning the tasks (and language that is needed for the tasks) for each lesson Photo by Max Saeling on Unsplash
15. Beginning to Plan a Scope and Sequence Lesson 1: My Special Place Language: places; descriptors of place; values for why places are special – fun; beautiful; peaceful; inspiring; relaxing; nostalgic Lesson 2: Special places for others – local friends and people from heritage country Language: categories for special places. Pronouns. Hypotheticals – I think. Conditionals – If ___, then ____ Lesson 3: Stories and Special Place Language: When I hear / know / learn, then I feel _____ Lesson 4 on: Creative project to re-use language
16. Lesson 1 – My special place 1. Heading on board = my essential question for this unit of work - ‘Why are places special to people?’ 2. Imagination task – My Special Place 3. Small group chat - What place is special to you? Why? 4. On the board – 2 columns ‘Place’ and ‘Why it’s special’. 5. Whole class chat (feedback). I call on non-volunteers and note feedback on the board, saying each word as I write. 6. Individual writing task – write three sentences – your special place and why it is special to you, and two other students’ and why their place is special to them. 7. Home task – worksheet - ask your school friends – ‘What place is special to you? Why?’ and bring the results next week.
17. Scaffolding for Special Place Imaginative Task
18. What is special to you? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
19. Imagine a special place • Close your eyes and think of a place that is special to you, where you feel safe. It could be a city (a busy place), a place in nature (a quiet place), a room (a small place), a place where you are with others or a place where you are alone. A place that, when you think of it, you smile. • Imagine this place – it’s colour; landscape; light; temperature; sounds • Do you feel an emotion when you think of this place? • Does this emotion express itself in your body? Where? What sensations are there?
20. What did you notice in your body and mind? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
21. What place is most special to you? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
22. Why is that place special to you? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
23. Lesson 2 – Special Places for others 1. Heading on board: ‘Why are places special to people?’ 2. Guided imagery again - ask students think of a special place (could be the same as last week or a new place) and decide why it is important to them. 3. Pair share. 4. Elicit answers and write on board. Tally repeat answers. 5. Let’s create categories for the kind of place that’s important eg nature; an inside place. Let’s create categories for the kind of reasons why places are special. 6. Ask for results of home task and add to board 7. Analyse the results and draw graphs and write some sentences. Differentiation – Just draw and label the graph (simple); also write complex sentences (advanced). 8. Hypothesise: Would these results be the same in (heritage country)? Why/why not? 9. Home task – ask your family and friends in (heritage country) – what is your special place and why is that place special to you?
25. Lesson 3 – Stories of Place 1. Heading on board: ‘Why are places Special to People?’ 2. Collate results of home task and discuss results – what did we find? 3. Hypothesise – Do different cultures relate to place differently? How does that affect the way they interact with the environment? 4. Show picture of China Wall and ask “Does this place look special to you?” Count and tally answers. 5. Show story. 6. Ask Q again and tally. 7. Repeat for a story of place in heritage culture. 8. Discussion: How does knowing story of a place change how special it is to us?
26. Look at this place in WA. Do you think this place look special to you?
27. Does this place look special to you? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
28. Task: Listen. Analyse. Evaluate. Listen to this Aboriginal story about this place. Does knowing the Aboriginal story about this place make it more special to you?
29. Knowing the story, does this place feel more special to you? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
30. Knowing stories of place can make them special to people Is there a story in your heritage culture about a place?
31. Lessons 4 - 8 Plan, prepare and present creative projects that bring it all together: • Each student finds or writes a story of place and shares it at a story-telling event for the community, concluding with a couple of sentences about how the story makes place special • Create digital stories of each student’s special place, saying what makes it special
32. In today’s session: Concept-based curriculum is a strategy for bringing more higher-order thinking and transferrable understanding into students’ learning We start with a concept - place We choose a big question for the Unit of Work – ‘Why are places important to people?’ Plan content to explore this question – identify key language features and plan tasks for students to use various thinking skills, including higher order thinking skills
33. Questions? Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash
34. Thanks for being here. Stay well Access the slides and more at our website: www.hptacls.org Beautiful, copyright-free images: https://unsplash.com